Son’s Autism Leads to Innovation
By Adams-Spink, Geoff; BBC News,Publication Date: April 23, 2010
Article describes two innovative assistive technologies exhibited at the Naidex 2010 annual disability exhibition in Birmingham, England: (1) Speaks4Me, a communication device invented by a father for his 11-year-old autistic son who is non verbal. The system uses the concept of dragging and dropping images from one area of the screen to another to form sentences. The user then presses a speech button to play the sentence. Speaks4Me runs on any device that has the Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating system. According to the inventor, it takes half an hour or less to be able to understand and use the system, which might also prove useful to stroke survivors who have lost their ability to speak. (2) The Minifone, described as the world’s smallest digital cordless phone. Designed with older and disabled people in mind, the Minfione is worn like a wrist watch and uses a built-in speaker and microphone. It can be used to summon help from three pre-programmed numbers and has the additional option of being connected to a call center. As it resembles a wristwatch, wearing it does not have the stigma sometimes attached to alarm pendants.
Published by: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (Website:http://www.bbc.co.uk)
Link to text: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8634607.stm
