low cost assistive technology solutions

AT on a shoestring

Low cost AAC & AT

Firstly..

• Assistive Technology encompasses lots!

• Lowtech hardware for better ergonomic usage (e.g. A grip on a

tool, a piece of mounting equipment). This tech requires

manual hacking to adapt it.

• Technology specifically designed for a need to make

something better e.g. Electronic aids from battery devices to

mains and bigger battery devices (Lion) to aid communication.

This tech often allows for adaption through software or

soldering ... Or not!

• If you can get what you need off a shelf and only a small

amount of adaption then do..

.. A word of caution...

• Free is rarely best. Neither is paid for. Custom

generally is.

• Remember your role and those involved - how

hard is it for them to use the equipment? What

needs to be done to make it failsafe? Don’t

think of the technology then the person. Think

of the problem or the need first then find the

best technology. Define what you mean by

best

a quick comment on today..

Plan: Communication, Access, DIY Software

adaptions, Environmental Control. PLAY!

•Our ideas! Maybe not everybody elses! The aim

is to give some current tidbits and a flavour of the

kinds of things you can do..

•If you can learn how to do it.. All the better!

•The good thing about lowcost methods is that

you aren‘t the only one.. Others need the same

solution and get stuck too! Get online :)

Sourcing Solutions

• Newsgroups/Lists: SENIT, CM, Access

group, Assistech

• OATSoft: But note only strictly opensource!

• AbilityNet Database but can be out of date

• And AT Search

• ...For real customised solutions: MERU or

Remap

• Realisepotential.org

Communication

• Some reminders:

– Multi-modal methods of

communication are best. Don’t rely on one thing.

– Remember low-tech options

should be tried first - and often

continued along higher-tech

methods

– Communication is complex.

Ask for advice!

Low-tech

• Many forms of presentation

• Books, charts, flash cards,

Talking Mats, Keyrings,

etc..

• Either use photos or

symbols..

• But photos can be tricky to

print..

Printing Photos

Remember Polaroid?

Prints: 5cm x 7.5cm with sticky

back, pack of 70: £10

Printer: £20-40, wireless

Camera: ?

Laminating

• Self-laminating sheets cost around

£30 for a pack of 100. But do look

out if they are matt or gloss

• Inclusive sell poly-paper, 100

sheets for £29. If you want to buy

quite a bit more than one pack and

want a discount - try Inclusive.

Also called Zecom paper and

called “Ruff n Tuff” paper in the

states but not a lot cheaper

Symbols

• Printing symbols..

• You may be “fixed” to a symbol

system either due to a cost

investment already made or a

whole school approach (e.g.

timetabling)

• Important to individualise each

students personal language

• PCS (Boardmaker)

• Widgit (WLS) (Aware of

Symbolworld?)

• Makaton

• Symbolstix

SymbolStix

• Developed by

News2You

• Either available

regular - with

your software

or online $99/yr

• Can request a

symbol

Open symbol systems

• Picto; 4769 symbols. VI friendly. Multiple choices.

http://www.sclera.be/index.php?taal=ENG

• Mulberry http://straight-street.com/

• ARASAAC http://www.catedu.es/arasaac/

• Augmentativa http://www.aumentativa.net/

• Ask for one! http://talksense.weebly.com/symbols.html

Open = Open source.

“Denoting software for

which the original source

code is made freely

available and may be

redistributed with or

without modification.” Different licences but

essentially free!

Making Charts • Do you do any of the dynamic stuff with Boardmaker? Do you or your parents need all the dynamic stuff?!

• Is it for just printing out charts and the odd symbol?

• Consider Matrix Maker: £49 for home use, £129 otherwise

• EdWord (& EdWeb)

• AEGIS Concept Coding Framework - in Open Office

Grid communication

• In-TIC (In-ICT) is one of

numerous open source

projects developed by Orange

Foundation, iMedia group &

University of Corona

• Can be hard to translate(!) but

worth a play

• Recently available on Android

• 2 Options - with ARASAAC

and one with ARASAAC &

Augmentativa

Grid Communication

• Maavis

• Designed originally

as a starting

application for those

wanting simple

computer access

• Can do many things

other than just linking

to applications. E.g.

Run Skype, Picture

galleries etc

Light tech communication

• BigPoint: 30 second messages £7

• Sound Shuffle (Step by step and

randomiser) £19

• Talking Postcards (A5-A4) £7+

• Talking tins £14 for 3

• Low cost bundle £80

High-tech Communication

• Apple’s iDevices (iPod touch, iPad & iPhone) allow the cost of a

handheld AAC aid to be purchased for around £200-£450 (compared

with approx £2k). 133 AAC apps. Some things are locked down

though: for example keyboard layout. Apps are rigorously tested and

relatively bug free.

• Lots of free-£0.59 apps for cause & effect type activities

• Android devices are easier/free to develop on. As such a number of

keyboard designs are available with prediction. With a TTS system =

An AAC aid. Easier right now to add in external hardware - for

example switches and keyboards with Tekla. Apps aren‘t tested and

are (often) a bit more hit or miss.

• Speechbubble & Appsforaac

High-tech Communication

• Windows Platform devices

• Powerbox 7 = A Sahara Tablet PC (£999), a Backbox

(£139-550 with GEWA) and a customised

shell/housing (???) = £5000

• If you don’t need the housing, extra battery or

speakers consider buying the tablet - but do think

about its usage. You also get support remember! (and

v1 tablet PC’s do have a tendency to break!)

Before we continue..

• Linux!

• Not really

covering

today but it

is certainly

low-cost

• Ubuntu is

the most

popular and

easiest to

use distro

• Read the

accessibility

guide,

BREAK! But feel free to play

ACCESS

• Consider adaptions before alternatives

• Physical adaptions to equipment

– SuGru £6.50 for 6

– Polymorph/Polycaprolactone £3/100g

– Foam, Velcro, Craft shops!

• Software adaptions

• E.g, Mouse

E.g Mouse

• Look at standard mice first

• Physical adaptions

– Cover up buttons build up a shape for a mouse using

foam, surgu etc

– Consider a tray for a mouse to help develop an area for

using the mouse

• Software adaptions

– Accessibility features, Button control, cursor control etc

Pointer control Adaptions

• Accessibility options

• Change of cursors (ACE Centre Cursors,

Enormouse)

• TouchFreeze

• SteadyMouse

Alternatives to a mouse

• Standard SEN focused devices have functions

e.g. Scroll button, drag lock buttons. Do

students require these?

• Joysticks, Traxys Roller Plus £285, Traxys roller

Joystick £179, Pointit, EasiTrax £127, Optima £169.

Pointit!

Mouse button

Control

• A drag lock feature

you may be paying

£300 for.

• Mouser, Plus switch

latching box for drag

lock

• Point n click

• Autohotkey

Regular Joysticks

• Can use a range of regular joysticks

(although not many available!).

Joy2mouse software available to convert

it to a mouse. Available from keytools £70

or download a free clone (or make one!

Using autohotkey)

Developing Access Skills

• Cheap ways to develop your skills

• Failsafe activities

• E.g. Pointer control Mouseskills £12

• HelpKizLearn, TuxPaint, Cbeebies, Flash

Games

Scratch

• Want the more dynamic boardmaker type

things?

• Scratch is a visual programming language

designed to help teach programming to

young children

• Developed and supported by MIT lifelong

learning lab

Scratch Demo

• Demos/Scratch/1. Monkey

Dress up

• Click the green flag

• Click on each of the clothes

• Change the monkey to a

person

• Add some clothes

• Take a look at my (poor)

attempts at a switch story

Keyboard

• Regular keyboards are aplenty

• Look carefully at the features of the keys that are needed (size,

separation, travel, feedback)

• Adapt as necessary

• Hardware: Stickers, Keyguards, Wedge,

• Software: Accessibility options, Onscreen keyboards (Click-N-Type)

• Developing skills: Keyboard Shortcuts, Word & Abbreviation

Expansion, Mouseless browsing, Launchy

• LetMeType for Word Prediction (but look for some dictionaries)

Switches

• Ablenet (Specs- £27) vs Inclusive

(Smoothie - £25) switches

• Hard to find cheap options!

• Do consider the switch features needed

• Maxess wedges = foam, perspex..

• Use velcro directly to tray table or use

dycem (gorilla grip from £1 shops!)

Switch access adaptions

• Many Battery operated toys (PRI, Inclusive)

• Look for toys that can be started and then restarted to from the

same point. Can be difficult to find however..

– Toy control box.

• It control box: allows wireless control with it switches. £65.

(Pro: 2 toys, £119)

• Ablenet switch latch timer. £75-85.

– Battery switch adaptor: £9

Adapting Toys

• See the ACE Centre website for

Soldering approach

• Look for toys with a variety of rewards -

you can build an activity around e.g. A

toy washing machine etc,

• See LetsPlay! From Buffalo University

for lots of ideas around toys and

choosing toys

Switch & Computer

• Switch boxes are aplenty

• Inclusive Space & Enter box: £35. Crick:

£99, Inclusive Multiswitch: £95, JoyCable:

£49

• Developing switch skills

– Inclusive - Developing Switch Skills (with

scanning)

– Powerpoint/Adobe Reader slide-show

– SENSwitcher

– Games: oneswitch e.g Run Rabbit Run

Switches to control the

computer

• The Grid and Computer control

• In-TIC

• SAW. Switch Access to Windows.

• E.g. On-Screen Keyboard, IE, Access

Maths

Eyegaze

• Consider Facial

recognition software

e.g. Enable e-

viacam, Facemouse,

Camera Mouse

• Open source eye-

tracking solutions

aren‘t great at

tracking head

movement too

Eyegaze • Opengazer, Cambridge

Inference Group. No

binary available.

• ITU tracker. Technically

very accurate with a fine

resolution. Need IR

camera

• Eyewriter

• TrackEye

• myEye

• OpenEyes

Eyegaze software adaptions

• Free games using flash - but not

fullscreen

• 1. MouseTrap

• 2. Run flash standalone - then

fullscreen…

• To do this use the flash projector

converter (but games need to be

self-contained - not accessing the

web)

• 1. Jacksonpollock.org

• 2. Find .swf link and load that. Save

as..

• 3. Open in standalone and “Create

projector”

• 4. Run exe and ctrl+f for full-screen

Eyegaze software adaptions

• How do I

control non-

eyegaze

games and

activities with

my eyes?

• AltController

• Eyetube, See

cogain

LUNCH

DIY software adaptions

• What do you need to do?

• “Tweaks” to operating system settings

and many software settings can be done

in the registry

• Demo registry editing

• See

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/136393 -

in short backup first!

RegEdit

• Need: “Turn

on and off

filter keys and

change

bounce time

to less than

0.5 seconds”

• 1. Look for

options

standard way

RegEdit

• 2. Search registry

3. Edit registry.

Did it work?!

4. Export a .reg

file. Edit in a text

editor if

necessary.

5. Run on

computer!

Autohotkey

• Input method tweaks = Autohotkey

• http://www.autohotkey.com/

• Great for keyboard mapping (or mouse

mapping.. Or joystick mapping..)

The software equivalent of velcro

Example

• “Disable the mouse buttons so a child can

use a switch for the left and right click

instead”

LButton::B

(Press the Left Mouse button - and it sends a

capital B to the screen)

LButton:: return

(Press the left button and just “return” i.e. Do

nothing)

LButton:: RButton:: return

LButton:: RButton:: Return

; cntrl+s ^s::Suspend

Have a go!

• Ideas

– Map the Q key to an A etc.. - to make a ABC

keyboard..

– Make a switch box piece of software (hint a

switch box is secretly a joystick and the 1 button

is Joy1 and Joy2 etc..

Creating your own software -

Options

• RegEdit

• AutoHotkey

• Flash - although note not supported

widely on new tablet PCs

• Processing.org (Example: CircleArt)

BREAK! But feel free to Play

with software

Environmental Control

• i.e controlling toys, physical devices,

equipment away from the computer

A brief (and scant) history of

connecting tech • Infrared (IR)

– Possum range

– Home Entertainment systems (Phillips, etc)

– Cheap toys

• Radio

– Home easy

– Zigbee

– Proprietary

• Bluetooth

• Wifi

– TCP/IP

– Web servers

“I want to control my TV with

my Communication Aid”

• What is the aid? Is it easier to buy the

licence to enable the IR device that may

be already in the machine (e.g. Tobii..)

• Does the retailer offer a solution?

• What software are you already using?

IR Controllers

• GEWA Prog, BigJack (£541)

• TIRA £50-80

• USBUIRT £50-80

• IR-3SP £350

• (Airlink)

• Advocate+ £395 (but also look

at freeway etc..)

• DIY (Arduino etc)

IR Devices

• Possum (& the Powerlink 3)

• Home entertainment equipment (TVs, DVDs, Hifi,

Computers..)

• Toys

– Simple e.g. Tesco’s £2.99 toys but random usage

– Complex e.g. robosapiens but IR commands can

be be hard to capture

• Lowcost Home Automation / Energy saving devices

e.g. plug sockets

To control your TV

• Train the device with the code

• Plug in switch

• Press the switch

• So simple right?

To control your TV

• Train the device with the code

• Stuck

• Not all infrared toys are equal

• Demo with BigJack and UIRT

Play a video / song with a

switch

• Playing music could be done with a iPod

switcher (£305).

• You could try switch timing with a toy

controller

• But if you have a computer you could just

use iTunes or any other media player

(Space = Play/Pause. Most switch boxes

= Space).

• Latching – but for timed..

Control software

• WDPS IRCommand

• EventGhost

• Walkthrough of how its done

What about this?

• Press a switch (either directly linked to a

computer or via a infrared sending device)

• Turn a light off

• Activate a slideshow/movie for a set

period of time

• Turn a light on

• Demo

Conclude

• What is best?

• Consider man hours, reliability and

appearance

• Is cheap always better?

• Cost shouldn’t be the driver. The right

solution should be