Being able to access computers, phones and smart devices can open so many opportunities for those recovering from brain or spinal cord injuries. In the Assistive Technology Lab at Craig Hospital, our patients can learn about and trial options for holding their devices so they can use them from their wheelchairs or beds.
Listed below are a few examples of computer carts and tables patients at Craig Hospital have used and enjoyed. Levo Floor Mount iPad: Six movements place your device in multiple positions while you sit in a chair or lie in bed. Multi-angle adjustment allows precise positioning, so all controls, buttons and connectors are accessible when iPad is clipped on. IKEA Brada Laptop Support: Inexpensive; a rubber strip on the underside keeps the unit firmly in place while you are working at a desk or countertop. The Wedge Stand: Designed to hold your cell phone or tablet securely at a natural reading angle no matter where you are. Trabasack Computer and Tablet Carrying Cases: Provides a portable, modern alternative to traditional bean bag lap trays. * The Tech Lab offers these resources for educational purposes and does not endorse any products, including those mentioned on this site.
The Best Cellphone for Quadriplegics
Before Tecla existed, as a person with limited upper-body mobility, your options for accessing a smartphone were slim. In 2007 when the iPhone came out, many people with limited mobility attempted to use it, but the only ways to access the screen were by using a mouth-stick with a stylus or by using a typing splint. For the first time, Tecla allowed people to use any switch or their wheelchair driving controls to fully access an Android smartphone or tablet. In addition to making phone calls, Tecla users could now text, email and read eBooks on-the-go for the first time. With the iPhone 3GS, Apple introduced VoiceOver, the screen navigation tool for users with visual impairments. Now, users had the ability to set up speed dials, access Amazon Alexa’s commands, trigger smart home devices, and more. So the iPhone and a headset paired with Tecla gets you a pretty private and easy-to-use system. Since many of our users do not physically hold their phone, but instead mount it, having a bigger screen makes the most sense. In an ideal world, the following setup would serve all your needs: a Samsung Galaxy Note or an iPhone X, a mount for your phone, a Bluetooth headset for privacy, and a tecla-e along with the switch that works for you (or your wheelchair driving controls). So if you call a company, for example, and you get stuck in their menu and you can’t physically press 0 to talk to an operator, then you’re out of luck. To sum, Tecla is a necessary component for your iPhone, in addition to Switch Control, to be able to use apps in your phone, to navigate different features of Facebook or even play movies – basically, functions that aren’t built into Siri. Also if you’re in a noisy environment and Siri has trouble recognizing your voice, with Tecla, you can still access your phone’s features and be able to hang up calls by using a switch.
App lets quadriplegics use phone without physical assistance
Instead of swiping with a finger, the technology lets users control the device with small head movements or voice commands. The technology can help people who are paralyzed or have limited mobility due to neurodegenerative diseases such as MS, ALS or spinal cord injuries. That conversation more than four years ago led to the creation of Open Sesame, an app that allows people to control a touch-screen smartphone or tablet hands-free.
Instead of swiping with a finger, the technology lets users control the device with small head movements or voice commands.
As a result of the relationship developed then, Ben Dov moved the headquarters of his technology company, Sesame Enable, from Israel to Bethesda last month. The state is now covering the cost of tablets with the Open Sesame technology installed for low-income people with certain disabilities, much like it does for text and braille telephones for the deaf and blind through its Maryland Accessible Telecommunications program. The Open Sesame app is one of the latest products in the growing field of technology targeting those living with paralysis and other disabled people. There are devices, for example, that translate sign language into text messages and alert people in wheelchairs that they need to move to avoid pressure sores.
“Making social connections is such a big problem for people with disabilities,” said Dr. Henry S. York, director of the spinal cord injury unit at the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute. By paying for the costs of tablets the state will help more people access products like Open Sesame, Gonzalez Fernandez said.
Giora Livne, the man who called Ben Dov more than four years ago and helped co-found the company, was involved in the testing of the technology and is now Sesame Enable’s vice president of accessibility.
The Best Wheelchair Tech Accessories
We’ve rounded up the top 8 tech accessories recommended for tech-savvy quadriplegics and wheelchair users that add functionality to a power chair and look pretty cool. The goals of the QuadStick are to “provide an inexpensive, self contained tool that allows the disabled gamer to play video games at a high level and participate as an equal in the social communities that form around them.”
JACO is an assistive robotic arm with a three-fingered hand that helps people with disabilities independently perform many activities of daily living through the use of the technology. The arm has been designed to accomplish many tasks of daily life such as drinking from a glass, eating a hot meal, opening doors, pushing buttons (e.g. elevators), picking up objects and more. The Fleximug provides hands-free drinking, designed for quadriplegics resulting from multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, and spinal injuries as well as wheelchair users seeking assistive solutions for daily activities. Fleximug’s patented air vent makes it easy to use and is suitable for individuals who can move their head freely to one side, and who have good lip control and suction.
Cell phones for quadriplegics and paraplegics
Our first video comes from a little known adapted technology company in Florida called Multimedia Designs. Not surprisingly, Bluetooth phones have become the standard for quads with no arm movement because they’re so versatile with hands-free technology.
In their official video for this product, watch an older gentleman with a C2 spinal cord injury demonstrate how the S4 Max Speakerphone works. For quads who still like using their Blackberries or maybe they have another kind of phone with buttons (and haven’t switched over to the touch screen yet), this video is for you.
Watch as Crystal, a sweet 30 something quad we’ve profiled before, show how she braces her thumb to type. And if you’ve always wanted a pimped out chair that could take care of your cell phone needs, you’ll love this video from a disabled Iraqi Freedom veteran.
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