We had an interesting tutorial, in which we were introduced to 'Assistive Technology'. We had a lot of fun testing out buttons which were all different sizes and colors, recording devices and talking alarm clocks. We even made delicious cheese scones with the help of various buttons and talking devices.
What is Assistive technology? Cook and Hussey 1995 refer to assistive technology as a set of 'devices, services, strategies and practices that are conceived and applied to ameliorate the problems faced by individuals with disabilities'. These include all commercial, modified and customized devices.
One of the many assistive devices available would be: Big Step-by-step Communicator
- This is a large surface area switch(5 inches)
- It comes with colored interchangeable tops e.g. yellow, green, red and blue
- Digital sound with 2 minuets of recording time.
- Enable Mart cost: US$ 159.00 (http://www.enablemart.com/Catalog/Basic-Communicators/Big-Step-by-Step-Communicator)
This assistive device can help the user communicate, gain more understanding of the cause and effect relationship, have some control over their environment and the task. The device could enable the user to do activities that would normally require fine motor co-ordination by attaching the device to equipment like a food processor.
