DIY AT Accomodations

Build Better Accommodation Solutions for Less

By Andrew Leibs

urchasing an adaptive device doesn't mean a student with a disability will reap its benefits. Cost can lead schools to buy ineffective solutions; ideal products procured with training provision can gather dust in a resource room; some equipment goes unused for lack of one accommodating tweak.

Dr. Therese Willkomm has encountered every scenario that prevent products from becoming solutions. She's built a national reputation for innovating home, school, and worksite accommodations that has earned her the nickname, "The MacGyver of Assistive Technology."

AT Professional approach acc. to RESNA cert.

Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)

An Assistive Technology Professional is a service provider who analyzes the technology needs of consumers with disabilities and helps users select and use adaptive devices. ATPs work with clients of all ages with every type of cognitive, physical, and sensory disability. The solutions provided, whether low- or high-tech, are usually designed to enhance communication, mobility, and access to computers and educational materials.

ATP is a generalist certification covering a broad range of assistive technology, including:

• Seating and Mobility
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Cognitive aids
• Computer access
• Electronic Aids to Daily Living (EADL)
• Sensory
• Recreation
• Environmental modification
• Accessible transportation (public and private)
• Technology for learning disabilities.

Components

1. Assessments of need (27%): Including interviewing consumers, records review, environmental factors and functional abilities assessments, goal setting, and future needs
2. Development of Intervention Strategies -- Action Plan (34%): Including defining intervention strategies; identifying appropriate products, training needs, and environmental issues; assist consumers' decision making, and documentation
3. Implementation of Intervention (Once Funded) (26%): Including reviewing and placing orders, training consumer and others (e.g., family, care providers, educators) in device setup and operation, and progress documentation
4. Evaluation of Intervention (Follow-up ) (10%): Qualitative and quantitative outcomes measurement, reassessment, and repair issues, if necessary
5. Professional Conduct (3%): RESNA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

 More..

AT blog

Keene State College Office of Disability Services

switch accessible learning

abcya.com
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com

Free Communication Symbols and Software

http://www.senteacher.org/Worksheet/6/PECS.xhtml
http://www.photovoca.com/faq/
http://www.mayer-johnson.com/support/pcslibraries/
http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.in/2009/04/free-picture-symbols.html

Innovative Adaptations (Frugal Innovation)

DIY Party ring adapted mouse

Microsoft user experience designer Mike LaManna remembers feeling like a mad scientist as he tried to design a computer mouse that would let children with cognitive and physical disabilities keep their fingers properly positioned to point and click. He brought home old mice, took them apart, and tried everything from clay to Velcro straps. He even baked some of the mice to reshape the plastic. 
More


Mounting alternative for Handheld Devices 


compact switch, velcro band rj cooper

Flopper Stopper mount for chin switch 







Mouse House DIY Adaptation
 How to turn your existing mouse into a single switch.



DIY CD Switch from Instructables

Scanning in PowerPoint: Alternative Access from the adapting creatively blog

Types of Switches

• Pressure switches require pressure on the surface activate.
• Lever switches require pressure on the end of a lever.
• Touch switches are activated by touching a projection in any direction.
• Joysticks can be moved in different directions to provide control of wheelchairs or computers or set up as a switch for four devices.
• Sip-n-puff switches are activated by pressure changes by soft and hard sips and puffs into a mouth tube.
• The SCATIR (Self-Calibrating Auditory Tone Infrared) switch is a multipurpose versatile switch that can be activated by eye blink, or eyebrow, finger, head or facial muscle movement.
• Muscle twitch switches are activated by muscular movement perceived on the skin.
• An eye blink switch is activated by each eye blink or double eye blink and can control communication devices, toys or computers.
• Proximity switches operate through electromagnetic force received from proximity to a body part.
• String switchs are activated by pulling and releasing a three-inch loop of string.
• Tongue switches use a dental type plate positioned on the roof of the mouth that has variety of pressure sensitive spots activated by the tongue.
• Directional switches have five pressure spots that operate as separate switches to control different devices or for devices that require more than one switch.
• Mini-Joystick with Pad or Joystick with Pad switchs are similar to directional switches because they can be used to control any device that requires five single switches or can be adapted to control up to five devices operated with a single switch.
• Rocker switches are a type of lever switch generally with a left and right side usually allowing the activation of two different switches.
• Squeeze switches are activated by gripping with the hand onto a cylindrical or other type of handle.

For More

Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues

Take from WebAIM website

 Blindness

Challenges	Solutions
Images, photos, graphics are unusable	Provide text descriptions, in the alt attribute and, if necessary, longer explanations (either on the same page or with a link to another page).
Users often listen to the web pages	Create links that allow users to skip over navigational menus, long lists of items, ASCII art, and other things that might be difficult or tedious to listen to.
Users often jump from link to link using the Tab key	Make sure that links make sense out of context ("click here" is problematic).
Users generally do not use a mouse	Don't write scripts that require mouse usage. Supply keyboard alternatives (e.g. use onFocus instead ofonMouseover).
It may be difficult for users to tell where they are when listening to data table cell contents	Provide column and row headers (<th>) for data tables. Avoid spanned rows or columns in data tables, if at all possible.
Complex data tables and graphs that are usually interpreted visually are unusable	Provide summaries and/or text descriptions, preferably on the same page, or link to another page as an alternative.
Frames cannot be "seen" all at once. They must be accessed separately, leading to disorientation.	Don't use frames unless you have to. If you use them, provide frame titles that communicate their purpose (e.g. "navigational frame", "main content").
Colors are unusable	Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning
Users expect links to take them somewhere	Don't write scripts in links that don't have true destinations associated with them (e.g. href="javascript: function(this)")
Screen readers read web content in the literal order that it appears in the code	Ensure that complex CSS or table layouts read correctly visually AND in the code.
Individuals cannot see the events in videos	Provide audio descriptions of events in videos that cannot be interpreted by audio alone (e.g. have a narrator describe actions in videos for which there is no dialogue).

Color Blindness

Challenges	Solutions
Colors of similar contrast are often indistinguishable	Make sure that there is sufficient contrast Don't use color alone to convey meaning (supplement the color with text, for example).

Low Vision

Challenges	Solutions
Users often use screen enlargers	To reduce that amount of horizontal scrolling, use relative rather than absolute units (e.g., use percentages for table widths, instead of pixels)
Text in graphics does not enlarge without special software, and looks pixilated when enlarged	Limit or eliminate text within graphics. Use anti-aliasing to make text crisp and readable.

Deafness

Challenges	Solutions
Audio is unusable	Provide transcripts for audio clips. Provide synchronous captioning for video clips

Motor Disabilities

Challenges	Solutions
Users may not be able to use the mouse	Make sure that all functions are available from the keyboard (try tabbing from link to link). Make sure that the tab order is logical
Users may become fatigued when using "puff-and-sip" or similar adaptive technologies.	Provide a method for skipping over long lists of redundant links or other lengthy content.
Users may be using voice activated software	Voice activated software generally cannot replicate mouse movement as effectively as it can replicate keyboard usage, so make sure that all functions are available from the keyboard.

Cognitive Disabilities

Challenges	Solutions
Users may become confused at complex layouts or inconsistent navigational schemes.	Simplify the layout as much as possible. Keep the navigational schemes as consistent as possible
Users may have difficulty focusing on or comprehending lengthy sections of text	Where appropriate, group textual information under logical headings. Organize information in manageable "chunks."
One method of input may not be sufficient	Where appropriate, supplement text with illustrations or other media, and vice versa.

See also:

Assistive Technology for Motor Disabilities

Take from WebAIM website

Mouth stick

A mouth stick is just what its name implies: a stick that is placed in the mouth. Due to its simplicity and low cost, the mouth stick is one of the most popular assistive technologies (though the word "technology" may a bit of an overstatement in this instance). In many cases there is a rubber tip at the end of the mouth stick to give the tip better traction, and a plastic or rubber feature at the other end that the person inserts into the mouth. Someone with no use of the hands could use a mouth stick to type and perhaps to manipulate a trackball mouse, depending on the amount of control that the person has with the mouth stick, and on the amount of patience that the person has if these movements are difficult.

Head wand

Head wands are very similar in function to mouth sticks, except the stick is strapped to the head. A person moves the head to make the head wand type characters, navigate through web documents, etc. Fatigue can be an issue when a lot of keystrokes are required in order to accomplish a task.

Single-switch access

People who have very limited mobility use this type of device. If a person can move only the head, for example, a switch could be placed to the side of the head that would allow the person to click it with head movements. This clicking action is usually interpreted by special software on the computer, allowing the user to navigate through the operating system, web pages, and other environments. Some software facilitates the typing of words by using an auto-complete feature that tries to guess what the person is typing, and allowing the person to choose between the words that it guesses.

Sip and puff switch

Similar in functionality to the single switch described above, sip and puff switches are able to interpret the user's breath actions as on/off signals, and can be used for a variety of purposes, from controlling a wheelchair to navigating a computer. The hardware can be combined with software that extends the functionality of this simple device for more sophisticated applications.

Oversized trackball mouse

A trackball mouse is not necessarily an assistive technology—some people without disabilities simply prefer it to the standard mouse—but it is often easier for a person with a motor disability to operate than a standard mouse. Someone may, for example, use a trackball mouse in conjunction with a head wand or mouth stick. It is relatively easy to manipulate a trackball with these devices and much harder to manipulate a standard mouse. Someone with tremors in the hands may also find this kind of mouse more useful because once the person moves the mouse cursor to the right location, there is less danger of accidentally moving the cursor while trying to click on the mouse button. A person with tremors in the hands could also manipulate the trackball mouse with a foot, if there is enough motor control in the feet.

Adaptive keyboard

In cases where a person does not have reliable muscle control in the hands for precision movements, an adaptive keyboard can be useful. Some adaptive keyboards have raised areas in between the keys, rather than lowered areas, to allow the person to first place the hand down on the keyboard, then slide the finger into the correct key. A person with tremors, or spastic movements could benefit from this type of keyboard. Keyboard overlays are also available as an adaptation to standard keyboards, which achieve the same results. In some cases, adaptive keyboards come with specialized software with word-completion technology, allowing the person to type with fewer keystrokes, since typing can be rather laborious and slow otherwise.

A web-based word on-screen keyboard with word completion technology can be found athttp://www.enetplanet.com/kb_fr/- external link. In nearly all cases, people who need this technology will have it installed on their own computer, rather than using a Web-based version, but an online version can be useful when users are away from their regular computer. It can also be a useful tool to help developers understand how this particular type of technology works.

Eye-tracking

Eye tracking devices can be a powerful alternative for individuals with no control, or only limited control, over their hand movements. The device follows the movement of the eyes and allows the person to navigate through the web with only eye movements. Special software allows the person to type, and may include word-completion technology to speed up the process. These systems can be expensive—usually in the thousands of US dollars—so they are less common than the less sophisticated devices, such as mouth sticks and head wands.

Voice recognition software

Another alternative is to install software that allows a person to control the computer by speaking. This assumes that the person has a voice that is easy to understand. Some people with motor disabilities—those with cerebral palsy in particular—may have a difficult time speaking in a way that the software can understand them, since the muscles that control the voice are slow to respond, and speech is often slurred, despite the fact that these people do not have any slowness in their mental capacity.

Other assistive technologies

The assistive technologies listed above are some of the more prevalent technologies, but there are literally thousands of products available for a wide range of motor disabilities. Despite this wide variety, there is one key point to keep in mind:

Important

Most assistive technologies for people with motor disabilities either work through the keyboard or emulate the functionality of the keyboard.

Knowing this, developers can focus on making their content accessible to the keyboard, and ensure that the site is navigable with as few keystrokes as possible.

Head and Eye Tracking

EYE \ GAZE TRACKING

The ITU Gaze Tracker 
is an open-source eye tracker for Windows


Open gazer
is a free eye gaze tracking program that can be used on LINUX operating systems


HEAD and OBJECT TRACKING
Cam Space
is a free program that can detect human gestures and turns everyday products (like cans, bottles, boxes, etc) into exciting controllers that can operate new or existing games and applications.

Camera Mouse
Camera Mouse is a free program that enables you to control the mouse pointer on your computer screen just by moving your head.

For more Eye Gaze and head tracking programs ...

Assisstive Technology in India

Mind Tree Foundation
Barrier Break Technologies
IICP
Vidyasagar
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), 
Media Lab Asia

How to use switches effectively

 Switch Progression Road Map is a part of Inclusive Technology's Learning Journeys Series and is available for Free Download.

This booklet draws together over ten years of best practice research and classroom observations from around the world into a comprehensive teaching and assessment document you can use every day. Detailing every stage of switch skills acquisition from cause and effect to confident scanning, this document will help you plan meaningful and motivating routes to success for your learners using switches to access communication, learning and leisure.

Packed with practical advice and tons of tried and tested teaching examples, the Switch Progression Road Map will help you assess a learner’s baseline, set achievable learning milestones and provide you with all the help you need to teach these important skills in a way which is both meaningful and motivating for your students. At every stage along the way the booklet provides advice on which software and hardware works best and how to set them up to personalise the learning experience.

Alternative Access Devices

Mouth Game Controller
Quad Control is a mouth operated game controller that uses sip and puff switches. It is used by people who only have control of their mouth and neck muscles. Use of the device has been found to strengthen these muscles.






Quad Control was created by Ken Yankelevitz ( read his story here) 

Accessible Software Design

Switch Software Options
The above link is for an article on the options that switch softwares offer.

Speed Typing Practice

An activity for typing practice with timing

Mounting Adaptive switches

Some of the children at school access computers by using adaptive switches with their head and chin. I am looking for solution that allows us to mount the switches in different positions to suit different childrens needs.

 Double head switch mount for a chair

This cheek, compact switch can be moved to accommodate different size heads.

two individual switch mounts

This is a single mechanical 'click' switch mounted round the neck on a tube for simple operation by chin movement.

The flexible tube can be cut to length to hold the switch under the user's chin.

Over head mount for Sip and puff switch

Wii mote head control