Atleast for now... A $10 clearance sale radioshack motion sensor / door chime did the trick. We mounted it 6 inches from her hand, and sure enough all she had to do was wiggle her hand a bit to trigger a gratingly loud "DINGDONG!!". Several posts / emails pointed out this slick little device, and it sure did work like a charm. After playing with it for a half hour she gave me a giant smile and letterboarded me a heartfelt "thank you". Im sharing it with all of you.
So slashdot submission thing was a pretty overkill, but I dont regret it. Ive gotten e-mail from engineers, physicians, EE students, EE proffessors, tinkerers, disabled tech researchers, and most amazing of all, ALS patients.
There seemed to be a general consensus; While quick simple cheap fix could be scrounged together for the time being, a clinical solution for the long term was her best bet. I was pointed off in lots of interesting directions. There is a whole plethora of equipment and research to assist disabled in communication. Here are some interesting / useful links I was given.
Research:
http://archimedes.stanford.edu/ - a Stanford research team that: "work to improve interaction with computers and information and control of their environment for people with disabilities, the elderly, people with limited literacy, and people who use computers and information appliances."
http://www.catea.org/ - a Georgia Institute of Technology research team that focus on "Development, evaluation, and utilization of assistive technology " and "Design and development of accessible environments"
http://www.wata.org/ - Washington Assistive Technology Alliance
Companies:
http://www.toby-churchill.com/ - a company that makes portable text base communication aides
http://www.enablingdevices.com/ - "Enabling Devices is dedicated to providing affordable learning and assistive devices for the physically challenged."
http://www.qualilife.com - "QualiLife is a Swiss company specialized in the development and distribution of state-of-the-art technologies with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people."
http://www.qedltd.com/ - "Innovative Products for People with Special Needs"
http://www.eyecan.ca/ - a company that makes very slick eye tracking computer interfaces
While im sure my friend has been over information like this with her physicians, I will be sure to relay everything Ive recieved to her. At the very least she will take comfort in the outreach of the slashdot community, and perhaps some day she will be able to thank you herself.
Thanks again for all your help. If you have any further questions feel free to email me, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
-Zack : http://www.darktide.nu/nwa/zack
P.S. im still sending individual replies to people who had specific inquiries, im slow - i know
Slashdot Mirror
DeanSpace development comunity - Website : http://DeanSpace.org0 .html
0 1101.htm
0 1/
Articles: http://drupal.org/node/view/2267
Wired News http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,59497,0
Dan Gillmore http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/65
Reason Online http://www.reason.com/links/links081303.shtml
Hesie Online (german) http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jk-26.08.03-0
DeanSpace development comunity - Website : DeanSpace.org Articles: http://drupal.org/node/view/2267 Wired News http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,59497,00 .html
Dan Gillmore
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/650 1101.htm
Reason Online
http://www.reason.com/links/links081303.shtml
Hesie Online (german)
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jk-26.08.03-00 1/
AHAHAH i slashdotted myself then took a nap... i was tired! sorry -Zack
Atleast for now... A $10 clearance sale radioshack motion sensor / door chime did the trick. We mounted it 6 inches from her hand, and sure enough all she had to do was wiggle her hand a bit to trigger a gratingly loud "DINGDONG!!". Several posts / emails pointed out this slick little device, and it sure did work like a charm. After playing with it for a half hour she gave me a giant smile and letterboarded me a heartfelt "thank you". Im sharing it with all of you. So slashdot submission thing was a pretty overkill, but I dont regret it. Ive gotten e-mail from engineers, physicians, EE students, EE proffessors, tinkerers, disabled tech researchers, and most amazing of all, ALS patients. There seemed to be a general consensus; While quick simple cheap fix could be scrounged together for the time being, a clinical solution for the long term was her best bet. I was pointed off in lots of interesting directions. There is a whole plethora of equipment and research to assist disabled in communication. Here are some interesting / useful links I was given. Research: http://archimedes.stanford.edu/ - a Stanford research team that: "work to improve interaction with computers and information and control of their environment for people with disabilities, the elderly, people with limited literacy, and people who use computers and information appliances." http://www.catea.org/ - a Georgia Institute of Technology research team that focus on "Development, evaluation, and utilization of assistive technology " and "Design and development of accessible environments" http://www.wata.org/ - Washington Assistive Technology Alliance Companies: http://www.toby-churchill.com/ - a company that makes portable text base communication aides http://www.enablingdevices.com/ - "Enabling Devices is dedicated to providing affordable learning and assistive devices for the physically challenged." http://www.qualilife.com - "QualiLife is a Swiss company specialized in the development and distribution of state-of-the-art technologies with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people." http://www.qedltd.com/ - "Innovative Products for People with Special Needs" http://www.eyecan.ca/ - a company that makes very slick eye tracking computer interfaces While im sure my friend has been over information like this with her physicians, I will be sure to relay everything Ive recieved to her. At the very least she will take comfort in the outreach of the slashdot community, and perhaps some day she will be able to thank you herself. Thanks again for all your help. If you have any further questions feel free to email me, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. -Zack : http://www.darktide.nu/nwa/zack P.S. im still sending individual replies to people who had specific inquiries, im slow - i know
check out his home page:
e s/ gb_accueil.html
http://www.legrandsaut.org/
or straight to the english version:
http://www.legrandsaut.org/ressources/gb/gb_pag
He has some movies and facts and explanations and interviews....etc