Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Tutorial Eight: assistive Technology with Dave (the OT) Seddon

According to Dave, (during his lecture) Assistive technology helps clients go from being passive to active participant in their environments.

Assistive Technology can be used in both educational settings and also assist the client with their functional skills in any area of their life.

I looked at communication device supplied by Spectronics Advanced Multimedia Devices, named the Tech/talk.

It was a panel about the size of a key-board that had eight four cm square pads that had descriptive pictures on them. The client will press the pad that they identify with what they wish to communicate, i.e a smiley face will produce a voice message that says, "I am happy"

Th e device was capable if delivering 96 messages over a series of different bands.

The machine is capable of recording ether the clients voice or a caregiver they knew instead of the preprogrammed voice, blank pad covers were also supplied to further customize the machine to fit the personality of the client. (one client had customized his program to heckle at rugby matches.

The device has lightweight and portable with rugged construction. It was powered with batteries and had a low battery indicator.

Functional capacity will be increased for the client because the non-verbal client can communicate with their family and peers.

Because the messages can be personalized the client will want to use the product because they feel like they have mastery of the situation.

Because it is easy to use and straight forward in function only a small amount of training will be necessary for client and caregiver, teacher, peers and family.

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