Switch Adapted Toys- Basics
A basic overview of how to adapt a toy to operate with a communication switch. Not a lot of specifics, but hopefully a helpful primer before you jump into your first project. While the innards of most toys these days have more than just a wire, if you can trace the "activate" button back to the circuit board- those two are the wires to jump There are two great examples of soldering and switching specific toys below: &...
Adaptive Equipment Non-Profit Dream Project
My dream is two-fold: -teach others how to make affordable adapted toys and switches for kids with motor delays/impairments -provide low or no-cost toys and switches to families, hospitals, and schools. Lots of kids need help communicating and playing and adapted equipment is crazy expensive compared to a typical kids selection of toys. ($10 crappy singing teddy bear = $40 switched toy, simple single switch ~$60 up to $250 easily) I'd like to create a non-pro...
Making books accessible to all kids
Think of it as video game console, except it plays books that have been turned into movies. The Raspberry Pi w/ KODI, hard drive, and controller are all housed in a $5 dollar Ikea box. This box is not connected to the internet, so all books were put on a small hard drive. I drilled holes for the buttons and used zip ties to attach everything. I heavily modified KODI to make it kid proof. It is cheap and easy to build and can connect to any HDMI TV or monitor. I found hundreds of Cal...
No-Solder Battery Interrupter
A battery interrupter is a tool that adds a switch jack to (aka "switch adapts") an electrical device. This is usually done for the purpose of allowing a person with disabilities to use that device, by using an "ability switch," which can be anything from a plastic button to a muscle twitch sensor. These switches are almost always wired to a 3.5mm (1/8") mono plug, and can be connected to anything with a matching jack. They...
The Open Voice Factory
Speech is important: we communicate; we tell stories. More fundamentally it shapes our personalities, our relationships, our mental health. Joe's little brother Richard has never been able to speak. Until he was about 19, Richard managed on maybe 90 signs, mostly nouns. When he was 19 he got an AAC device, an electronic voice, like the one used by Stephen Hawking. It changed his life, suddenly, instead of 90 signs, Richard had 1000s and it was not, just his family that could un...
LipSync
Touchscreen devices have become a staple piece of technology in this day and age. Most people cannot get through the day without using their smartphone. It keeps us connected. It keeps us organized. It is an integral part of our social lives. For people in wheelchairs whom experience difficulties with fine upper body motor control, the usage of mobile devices can be very challenging. Statistics show there are over 1 million people in the United States and Canada that have very limited or no...
SquareVoice
Existing AAC devices just weren't working well for my daughter. With the advent of (relatively) cheap commercial eyegaze hardware, I set out to develop a system that is easy to set up and absolutely trivial to use. All hardware is off-the-shelf. The software is written from scratch. The symbol sets we used are a mix of commercial and free graphics, although there is no limitation on the symbols that can be used.
FLipMouse
The FLipMouse (Finger- and Lipmouse) is a device which is intended to be a replacement for a normal PC mouse. Instead of moving the mouse device with your hand and clicking with your fingers, you move the mouse cursor by applying very low forces to the mouthpiece. The clicking functionality is done by sip and puff at the mouthpiece. This device is originally designed for people with motor disabilities, who can not afford a medical device as mouse replacement. The FLipMouse is easily configur...
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