winning entries in the johns hopkins national
Contents
1. the child can demonstrate mastery of the skill by moving to another area of the program and answering specific questions George Kerscher Missoula Mont The research and development department of Record ings for the Blind RFB has established a protocol for the production of computerized books from publishers source files Print disabled people would thus have access to information on a PC readable through synthetized speech enlarged print or electronic braille Mathematics and science books are particularly targeted for this type of production Zan Merrill Bill Sanderson and Bryan Snow Logan Utah The purpose of SHARE Ski Hi Acquisition and RE trieval is to give efficient access to information on a variety of topics associated with persons with disabilities It provides professionals care givers and families with the necessary information for interactions with persons with disabilities ranging from daily activities to design ing a state of the art curriculum or lesson Briefly the system works by acquiring information through standard library and publication resources the information is then read categorized by topic and entered into the system Marlo E Schuldt Orem Utah A small easy to use portable inexpensive electro myograph EMG was developed to measure minimal muscle recruitment of multiply handicapped persons with the purpose of allowing them to interact using a single switch or a personal compu2. B Loughborough Goldendale Wash This economical interactive system for reading com puter screens and files provides entry level computer ac cess to blind or visually impaired persons It is useful in early reading training of developmentally disabled and all print handicapped persons Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search William Ludlum Diana Eastburn Ludlum Mark Houston Ludlum and Genevieve Houston Ludlum Hillsboro Oreg The Opti Mum System is an easy to use software pro gram designed to aid persons with a variety of visual deficiencies that affect the reading and learning abilities of children for example brain damaged and low vision legally blind people The Opti Mum System consists of ten programs that have proved effective in developing and improving the visual skills and abilities of children and persons who have a loss of visual perception a lack of visual memory or the inability to process information The Opti Mum System is used to tutor the basic visual functions essential to the progress of reading and learn ing It helps to develop hand eye coordination eye move ment and tracking focusing and two eyed coordination James B Olsen Portland Oreg Using this computer program a student can enjoyably review any language The teacher enters the language a quick and easy process that can be done minutes before the student u
3. Because students can operate ORRP with a minimum of supervision this software system allows teachers to serve more students needing basic instruction in reading Marc D Simkovitz Brighton Mass Visually impaired computer users need a simple solu tion to allow seeing and using the vast range of text and graphics programs on a personal computer Large print DOS LP DOS is a software package that can run on any personal computer or laptop it can be used anywhere on the job at home or at school Once loaded LP DOS mag 458 nifies text spreadsheets educational software and video games It is also the first product to support the Microsoft Windows environment opening the world of Windows to people with low vision Mary Sweig Wilson and Bernard J Fox Hinesburg Vt The Early Vocabulary Development Series consists of three receptive vocabulary training programs and three expressive communication programs using the same words After students learn the nouns and verbs in First Words First Words II and First Verbs they are introduced to Talking Nouns I Talking Nouns II and Talking Verbs where they can actively use Early Vocabulary Develop ment words to communicate The programs combine high quality speech output colorful graphics animation acces sibility and teacher control to meet the needs of children and adults with mental retardation language learning dis abilities physical handicaps and autism Barbara Co
4. displays the volume and frequency of sounds In addition it has a continuous noise detector for smoke alarms burglar alarms alarm clocks and other devices Because it is the size of a beeper the user can take it along wherever he or she goes to see sounds Vera H Saliba Pruznick Mountain View Calif The Braille Tutor BT program teaches braille to both blind and sighted people It runs on IBM PC s and uses six of the home row keys as braille dots 1 through 6 With BT a person can learn to write in three braille codes and practice reading any braille material Michael J Socha Tecumseh Mo This versatile and inexpensive computer keyboard has a simple reliable interface and a modular design that allows ergonomically correct one hand left or right touch typing Or it is possible for a person to design a configuration with simple off the shelf do it yourself construction Jeffrey Szmanda and William Szmanda Milwaukee Wis The Health Care Keyboard is divided into three sec tions that adjust independently into an infinite number of Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search positions Thus the keyboard accommodates people with particular requirements for each hand those requiring the use of a head wand or mouth stick and those who have suffered cumulative trauma disorders Gerald Wasserman Brian Berndt and Bruce Bresnahan W La
5. game format play ing either alone or with a companion OTHER TOP REGIONAL AWARDS John W Barrus Michael Cassidy and Krisztina Hally Cambridge Mass This pen shaped bar code reading wand connects to a telephone Using the wand one can quickly place an order for groceries out of a bar code filled catalog and then have the groceries delivered The wand is easy to use and can be leased for 3 per month People who have difficulty leaving their homes or who have speech impair ments can use the wand to interact with supermarkets banks and other organizations thus increasing self reliance David J Griffiths So Sutton N H Schoolcraft is a collection of large character programs grouped by common themes Math 1 is representative of the series The quadruple sized screen and print charac 457 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search ters allow children and special needs students to focus their attention and may provide a significant cognitive advantage Math provides several modules from in teractive to hard copy each limited to the elementary operations X and on positive integers up to 32 768 levels of difficulty vary Matthew L Israel Lisa Ruthel Michael Bates and Nancianne Smith Newton Centre Mass Little or no software has been designed for use with severely developmentally disabled people and even less that can be used in a truly self teaching mode In addition because such st
6. quantitative analysis and three dimensional graphical displays of human mus culoskeletal motion Its purpose is to aid in the under standing of a variety of human motion disorders thus leading to recommendations and improvements in clin ical interventions Currently rheumatoid arthritis and post polio syndrome are the primary patient populations for which the software is used Gary J Kiliany Allison Park Pa The DynaVox gives persons who are unable to speak the ability to communicate It incorporates a 10 in LCD graphic display a touch panel high quality speech output nine different voices and custom dynamic display soft ware tailored to the nonspeaking population Users can access the device through its touch panel by external switches or with a joystick The DynaVox then speaks the message selected by the user in a high quality syn thesized voice Bernard C Pobiak Washington D C The Reader Project developed an electronic system of book publishing and reading for print disabled users The single volume book files have the full function and ac cessibility of the corresponding printed book The user can read the book files in his or her preferred medium to jump instantly to the original printed page numbers and sections to leave personal bookmarks and notes and to jump to and from the original table of contents and index The software can be fully adjusted to any adaptive device Each user has a unique key de
7. Cambridge Mass SwitchEnsemble is a music performance program writ ten for the Apple IIGS It provides several musical activ ities for students who have a broad range of physical and cognitive abilities SwitchEnsemble makes full use of the graphics and sound capabilities of the IIGS and supports a variety of input devices THIRD PLACE Frank McKiel Jr Trophy Club Tex This audible feedback scheme allows a blind person using a computer to comprehend and use a windowed graphical user interface in the same manner as a sighted user The user controls a pointer on the display by using a mouse or similar input device As the pointer passes over windows controls and other graphical features stereo sounds are generated by special software to convey the 454 identity of the features The sounds which may combine musical tones filtered noise recorded sound effects and synthesized speech serve as replacements for visual sen sations Eric Bohlman Wilmette Ill Tinytalk is a memory resident screen reader program for blind users of MS DOS compatible computers with speech synthesizers in place of the screen display Tiny talk has advanced features for translating modern soft ware display methods such as pop up windows into speech and requires little computer memory Carrie Brown Al Cavalier Maggie Sauer and Catherine Wyatt Dallas Tex The sound to speech translation system using graphic symbols is a computer based
8. Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search set volume it says high when the user is within 10 ml of the set point it says okay The pitch of the voice drops as the user approaches the set volume to indicate how much more must be poured The cup is accurate to 4 Douglas L Chute and Scott A Quillen Devon Pa Speech Ware 2 0 is a speech prosthesis for people with communications and motor disabilities It runs on a Macintosh computer and provides user empowerment over synthesized and digitized speech telephone and print communications and household environmental control A variety of input devices including single click operations are supported and SpeechWare can be cus tomized to the user s cognitive and physical abilities Mark Friedman and Richard Lombardi Pittsburgh Pa This microprocessor based guidance system can auto matically give a verbal reminder about prescheduled ac tivities monitor the user s progress to appropriate desti nations in a building give directions to the destination that are appropriate to the user s current location verbally prompt the user through activity sequences at the site and automatically call for human assistance if the user fails to reach the site Using internal clock and transponder subsystems this aid which is worn on a belt or a pen dant can offer verbal assistance either automatically
9. Mass The Caption Center CC working closely with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Tripod proposes to use the multisensory properties of captioned television in an innovative and highly motivating manner The project called CC School employs deaf children s linguistic competence in American Sign Language ASL to improve their competence in English Instead of watch ing captioning students write captions to translate ASL stories The design of the project requires students to 455 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search consult in an active way English language resources such as dictionaries as well as their own growing knowl edge of the English language Throughout the captioning process an instructor or media aide provides ongoing dialogue and feedback Di Han Cary NG This computerized voice activated electrical stimula tion system can help to restore limited hand functions and enhance mental and motor capabilities of quadriplegics persons with brain injury or mentally retarded persons The battery powered system consists of a laptop personal computer a Medtronic neuromuscular stimulator and an interface device The Medtronic stimulates paralyzed hand muscles through electrodes placed on the person s forearm The interface device contains a Covex voice recognizer and a simple switch circuit The computer system recognizes a user s verbal commands and then turns either on or of
10. WINNING ENTRIES IN THE JOHNS HOPKINS NATIONAL SEARCH FOR COMPUTING APPLICATIONS TO ASSIST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES The purpose of the Johns Hopkins National Search a national competition is to identify and reward the best examples of computer based applications to assist persons with disabilities Ten simultaneous regional contests and fairs were held one in each federal region of the United States Thirty one winning entries were invited to compete at the national fair in Washington D C The winning entries are described briefly in order of award National awards for first second and third place as well as eight additional national awards are followed by the national merit awards and other top regional awards NATIONAL AWARDS FIRST PLACE Arjan S Khalsa Richmond Calif The IntelliKeys smart keyboard is a flexible affordable alternative to standard computer keyboards It is a mem brane keyboard comprising 576 small keys that can be grouped to form larger custom keys The IntelliKeys works with MS DOSs compatible Apple Macintosh and Apple II computers It comes with six preprogrammed overlays and custom overlays can be developed When the user places an overlay on the keyboard the keyboard automatically recognizes the overlay and interacts appro priately with the computer The original design of this product provides computer access to many people with disabilities in a variety of settings SECOND PLACE Jonathan D Adams
11. a and testing will soon begin in Europe with lan guages other than English Judith G Hochberg Francis Laroche Simon Levy George Papcun and Timothy R Thomas Los Alamos N M This computer based device uses a speaker s acoustics to infer tongue and lip motions during speech which 456 are then displayed on a computer monitor It can be used as a lipreading aid that supplies supplementary informa tion to normal lipreading by allowing the listener to perceive gestures that cannot be seen such as velar clo sures that occur in the back of the mouth for example g and k sounds Another important application is as a therapeutic tool for speech disorders The device works on the basis of a neural network that maps the relationships between speech sounds and articulatory movements Sandra E Hutchins San Diego Calif Say amp See is a software program designed to improve articulation for the hearing impaired and persons with speech deficiencies In response to speech input the software displays an animated midsagittal picture of the user s vocal tract on a Macintosh II in real time The computer screen can be split so that the animated display produced by the user can be compared alongside a pho neme snapshot of the idealized vocal tract position Robin J Japins Overland Park Kans Tri Page is an example of emerging communication technologies now available to the deaf community that address their
12. at weekly staff meetings to monitor the progress of each participant with respect to his or her Individualized Habilitation Plan and to schedule pre ferred valued activities for the upcoming week John A Bailo Seattle Wash The purpose of this device is to enable hearing im paired users of Microsoft software to receive software support The result will be the integration of the hear ing impaired caller into the general call distribution and tracking systems Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Gary J Carnemolla Portland Oreg The Braille Emulator is a braille word processor that is divided into two main parts the menu and the envi ronment The menu is where many basic document de faults may be preset it gives access to built in Dos util ities and allows altering the translator through the easily modifiable typical and problem word list The braille environment has more than thirty utilities and three pri mary modes of input six key direct ASCII braille equiv alents and auto translation A document can be viewed either as simulated dots or as ASCII characters Jim A Hood Mercer Island Wash Shareware software teaches basic computer skills in areas such as computer history DOS keyboard buying a new PC viruses word processing spreadsheets computer reading list and more It can be mouse driven for disabled users Shareware is useful for job training of disabled persons William
13. ce can be a joy stick single double or triple switches an expanded keyboard or the controllers used with the Nintendo video game DARCI TOO can be controlled by joystick code Morse code scanning or expanded keyboard Timing is adjustable so that this device can match the abilities of people with virtually any type of physical disability Carol J Sanford Jupiter Fla Tonetalker is a low cost portable hand held battery powered device Used with a telephone it enables a hearing impaired person to see messages sent from any Touchtone phone Tonetalker has a display and a micro phone on a suction cup that attaches to the telephone receiver The hearing impaired person needs only the keys on a push button phone to spell words to the Tone talker device which is connected to the hearing impaired Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 person s telephone receiver The user reads the words on the Tonetalker display No other computer device or special telephone is required and Tonetalker works with any telephone Voice communication is not affected Joaquin Vila and Kathleen M Ahlers Normal Il The purpose of this project called Read My Lips was to develop a system to enhance the speech reading abil ities of the hearing impaired The system helps instructors teach the fine nuances of lipreading through an interactive multimedia approach The system consists of three mul timedia instructional m
14. eigh N C The Access Power Pointer is a chin controlled input device designed to make personal computers accessible to people with spinal cord injuries but who have full use of their head and neck The device is positioned directly in front of the monitor and extends over the front edge of a work surface A platform tilted at a 60 degree angle supports the keyboard in an optimum position for data entry by a wheelchair bound user To operate this prod uct the user wheels up to the workstation takes a position in front of the computer and rests his or her chin in the chin rest To select and input data the user simply pivots his or her head and the pointer will follow When the tip is in position over the desired key the user has only to puff lightly to activate the powered tip and depress the keys Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Richard G Long Lilburn Ga This orientation device can aid blind or visually im paired persons to achieve independent mobility By inte grating existing technology in global positioning and computerized mapping databases it describes to the user via voice output the user s current location and the route to a specific destination Ann R McNeal and Dennis McLain Raleigh N C The Reservation Readiness Training Project RRTP was created to give persons with disabilities a competitive edge when applying for jobs in the travel industry Based on the Projects With Ind
15. ensory mastery oriented and cost ef fective It is appropriate for students from the preprimary through ninth grade levels LitTech uses one on site com puter to generate individualized lessons for many stu dents each day Each lesson is a set of worksheets with an accompanying audio cassette The computer program handles placement prescription of remedial lessons based on weekly mastery testing and report generation so that the teacher is largely free to encourage and assist students David E Altman Lincoln Neb Use of the Mechanically Actuated Rotary Linear Ad justable Arm MARLA will allow a physically disabled person to adjust the height and angle of his or her com puter monitor by means of a switch The switch mech anism can range from a sip and puff switch to any kind of microswitch Robert D Gunn Beatrice Neb A single action switch with the necessary BASIC sub routine was developed so that physically limited mental ly retarded adults would have access to the computer and computer programs designed specifically for each per son This was possible through the modification of com puter joysticks for use with the Commodore 64 computer system Glenn Nielsen and Gregory G Harvey Columbia Mo Braille and audio recorded materials cannot meet the information needs of the blind population The goal of Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Interactive Talking Books is to provide refe
16. es with the physical requirements of occupations of interest If a discrepancy is found between an occupation s re quirements and a person s physical capacities the system enables the user to search for assistive devices that might eliminate the problem Robin Shaw and Everett E Crisman Tampa Fla The Eye Wink Control Interface EWCI is an input device based on the timed closings of either one or both eyelids and is intended for use by persons with severe motor impairments Integral to the unit is a dedicated Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search computer that greatly enhances the capabilities of two otherwise simple input switches left and right eyelids open or closed to a more complex scheme of sequenced switch pulses The prototype EWCI was designed to con trol a powered wheelchair Jacqueline L Berg Evanston Ill The purpose of Express Yourself Artistically EYA is to provide profoundly retarded persons with a vehicle for learning and for enjoying artistic exploration in real time media Biofeedback provides the tool for creative control Three activities are included in EYA Design Your Image uses live video effects Directing Music plays instruments and sounds and Spiral Animations rotates two sine waves into spirals Via the editor exercises can be custom de signed and in the file folders changes in the editor are permanently s
17. f the channels of stimulation accord ingly to control different hand functions Christopher Hannemann Peapack N J Many of the students at the Matheny School use elec tronic communication devices These students need to access their communication devices with the same switches they use for operating their wheelchairs They also want to be able to access their televisions VCR s lights and Nintendo entertainment systems with these same switches Multi Controller is a wheelchair based environmental control unit that provides these capabili ties in a central location A custom lap tray will house the display and a programmable infrared controller The displays are interchangeable and the function of the con troller can be adjusted by changing an EPROM Thus if the needs of the student change the system can be easily modified Vicki L Hanson and Carol A Padden Yorktown Heights N Y HandsOn is an educational application designed to improve the literacy skills of deaf students Using stu dents existing competence in American Sign Language ASL HandsOn seeks to promote the acquisition of lit eracy via the cooperative use of ASL and English Through the use of interactive video technology students can switch between English and ASL versions of the same story while engaged in reading and writing tasks Hands On has been tested for usability and effectiveness with elementary school age children in the United States and Canad
18. fayette Ind Loss of auditory receptor cells in the cochlea causes deafness Surgical treatment with artificial ears cochlear implants recreates certain properties of normal hearing The essential concept behind the Purdue Artificial Recep tor PAR is that it recreates the normal signal processing of auditory receptors Controlled experiments have dem onstrated that PAR processing improved speech percep tion in every nerve deaf patient studied It is currently implemented in hardware as a single channel battery powered portable real time digital signal processor based computer that simulates natural receptor cell func tion Future multichannel PAR s will add spectral infor mation to improve pitch perception Mary Sweig Wilson Bernard J Fox Daryl White Brent Magnant Timothy Welch Scott Simon and Steve Peery Hinesburg Vt The Words amp Concepts Series consists of six related programs for training and entertainment Words amp Con cepts I II and III provide training Concentrate On Words amp Concepts I II and III provide reinforcement and use of the same words in a game format Each of the three Words amp Concepts training programs uses a core vocabulary of forty words in six related language instruc tion activities vocabulary categorization word identifi cation by function word association and the concepts of same and different The Concentrate programs allow users to practice their new skills in a
19. h readers especially hearing impaired and learning disabled students is the concept of main idea The Readable Stories Series com prises three programs designed to help early grades 1 2 through intermediate grade 4 readers derive a main idea from a story as well as increase their comprehension of subordinate details Each story employs graphics text speech and animation to engage the reader in a high interest action oriented multisensory experience Sto ries can be presented at three levels of linguistic complex ity Reinforcement or corrective feedback follows the responses and error responses are analyzed to facilitate subsequent instruction Cindy L George Lexington Ky The Posture Monitor PM is a computer based device designed to support persons who because of neuromus cular difficulites have limited physical control for main taining appropriate posture The PM addresses the prob lem of maintaining proper trunk alignment by persons seated in wheelchairs thus providing a seated position that offers greater functionality and enhances physiolog ical processes such as respiration circulation and diges tion The PM consists of a microprocessor controlled monitoring device a sensor an earphone a remote sig nalling device and support software Potentially it could be used as an automated means of monitoring and train ing proper alignment behavior in a variety of settings and populations Vincent L Haley Ral
20. he system especially useful and both English and computer braille are provided for users who are blind or engaged in English to braille transcription Mark I Bresler Oklahoma City Okla The Tamara System was developed for people who are unable to move speak or control their surroundings without human or technical assistance The Tamara Sys tem is a wheelchair mounted control unit that uses a microprocessor which is configured for each user It directs control signals to the power wheelchair speech Output communicator environmental control computer and telephone One switch is used to move among the controls for mobility communication environment and telephone Depending on the user s level of ability a proportional input or a single switch is used to control the operation of the selected device Programming within the microprocessor assists the user by prompts and pro grams to speed and simplify operation James K Kennedy Round Rock Tex This ratiometric blowpipe has an LCD display for data entry A pressure transducer is used to characterize the force and frequency of the input pressure and a micro controller reads the pressure transducer and then drives a two line LCD display and interface to the pc The user advances the characters slowly by applying low pressure and rapidly with high pressure The top line displays the characters to be selected and the bottom line shows the mode of operation that is numeric up
21. hrough a fixed window on the computer screen In this way complete thoughts and ideas can be communi cated to persons with limited vision slow comprehen sion or limited movement it can also be used by deaf persons The user controls all aspects of the information displayed content size speed and direction of travel through the keyboard mouse or joystick hardware Individual control allows the user to receive the electronic information at the speed and size best suited to his or her needs and ability Kelli C Foster Orem Utah Daisy Quest is an interactive software program de signed to evaluate and train phonological awareness which is defined as awareness of the phonological struc ture of the words in one s language Studies have shown a strong relationship between phoneme awareness and success in the beginning stages of reading and that train ing in this area will reduce the incidence of reading failure As children use Daisy Quest they master specific skills while searching for a dragon named Daisy who likes to play hide and seek Daisy Quest is a highly interactive program that presents material via high qual ity digitized speech as well as graphics without text and Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search accepts input from children via a mouse A tutorial for each skill is included as part of the program After com pleting the tutorial
22. ive years deaf students from several California community colleges have begun the series knowing an average of approximately 14 of the words in the series and have completed the series knowing approximately 98 of the words William A Gerrey and John Brabyn San Francisco Calif A large part of installing computer systems involves proper interfacing between the computer and its various peripheral devices both hardware adjustments and soft ware configurations are involved Various programs use speech and tone signals to provide the blind computer technician with information to configure peripheral soft ware drivers Devices for testing the hardware data and hand shaking lines are traditionally visual however of ten displaying their indications via colored lamps The Smith Kettlewell audible breakout box gives the blind 464 technician nearly instantaneous indications as to line levels and changes by quickly scanning them with au dible logic probes lines can be categorized by their com mitment and their functions can thus be inferred Cynthia A Keller Livermore Calif The purpose of the Readman is to help deaf persons to function more independently in public places for example tourist sites and museums The Readman con sists of a computer controlled digital disc wired to a pair of glasses The Readman is similar to a walkman with an audio tape and headphones except it projects words for the deaf to read The user wou
23. junction with a sewing machine motor to produce automatically rolled consis tently sized lengths of plastic stripping The potential for this proven counting device in the work setting is significant Timothy J Van Antwerp Benton Harbor Mich This hands free voice dialed cordless telephone is typically for use on a power wheelchair by a quadriplegic person It offers true handset quality communication and 461 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search voice programming is not required Phone activation is under the complete control of the user Karen L Wilt and Paul E Wilt Ann Arbor Mich The Cued Speech Teacher Tutor Translator computer program interacts with a speech synthesizer to display the hand shapes hand locations and mouth formations used in Cued Speech which uses fourteen hand positions and shapes to represent the forty one phonemes of the English language Anything keyed on the computer would be translated into Cued Speech equivalents with graphics David A Fisher and C Ward Bond Baton Rouge La This invention is a single handed chord system that is based on braille and compatible with the Bat chordic keyboard Use of this system provides speed accuracy and protection against developing carpal tunnel syn drome The chords are analogous to standard braille cells and the system has access to full 256 character ASCII Computer users who are blind or who have use of only one hand will find t
24. lander Dwayne Allain and Thomas Welch Rome N Y Hypercard applications for the Macintosh provide a powerful tool in assisting disabled persons This entry maximizes the use of Hypercard and the intuitive nature of Macintosh interface to provide a business information management system for learning disabled severely dyslexic and functionally illiterate persons Icons voice overlays and consumer involvement in development create a comprehensive functional business information management system The approach is readily transferra ble to assist persons with other types of disabilities in handling business and life management activities Devel opment was sponsored by New York State Office of Vo cational Education and Services for Individuals with Disabilities and the computer architecture and program ming were supplied by volunteers T V Raman and M S Krishnamoorthy Troy N Y The aim of this project is to demonstrate a software prototype that enables a person to identify figures and curves on a computer monitor using sound cues This can be contrasted with a screen reader that interprets only ASCII text Kurt S Thorn Wading River N Y A measuring cup for the visually impaired announces the volume of liquid it contains in metric or English units This cup contains an alarm that enables the user to pour a specified volume When the cup contains less than the set volume it says low when it contains more than the
25. ld look at the object of interest rather than at a person to lip read or to read sign language The Readman could also be used in movie theaters on airplanes and at theatrical performances Marshall Raskind and Neil Scott Woodland Hills Calif Sound Proof is a screen reading and speech synthesis system designed to provide persons with learning disabil ities with a multimodal means of reviewing text on a computer Sound Proof consists of two key elements a a high quality speech synthesizer available as a plug in PC half card a small external speech box or laptop module and b a screen review software program that enables the user to select text on a computer screen and to hear words spoken as they are simultaneously high lighted Sound Proof works with any MS DOS text based program Review functions are controlled by the comput er s keyboard or mouse William R Ard Jr Susanna B MacDonald James Stephen Newton and Shawn Michael Boles Eugene Oreg The Neighborhood Living Project Decision Support System is a menu driven interactive software program that helps providers of community based residential ser vices for persons with developmental disabilities to make decisions to improve the lifestyles of the program s par ticipants It allows staff to input lifestyle outcome data regarding participants valued activities into a computer and subsequently to produce reports based on those data The reports are used
26. n sensor is worn on both wrists of each signer The finger hand and wrist data from one signer are used to construct a dynam ic three dimensional image in second person perspective on the computer screen of the other signer On the screen the image moves in front of a drawing of a human head and torso to reflect the actual relative position of the signer s hands and arms Ronn J Cooper Dana Point Calif The CooperCar was designed for use by children with severe and profound disabilities It uses a Sears provided battery operated spin system BOSS six wheeled vehicle a conversion kit an adaptive seat like a Tumbleform and either a specially designed joystick or any of the numerous commercially available switches The type of switch is determined by the ability of the child Because of the variety of disabilities many supervisor selected features are included There are seven speeds two accel erations two supervisor overrides and a timed mode for children who are unable to maintain contact with their switch or joystick Norm Crozer Canoga Park Calif Vocabulary Enrichment computer software provides deaf adults with an opportunity to increase their vocab ulary by up to 900 words The learning process occurs without an instructor as the computer teaches the vocab ulary provides contextual practice with the new words and administers each test Furthermore each student can proceed at his or her own pace Over the last f
27. odules 1 Read amp See a series of stories and games that highlight new vocabulary 2 Babel which shows front and cross views of a human face synchronized with the outputting of sounds and 3 Fingerspelling which allows the student to request any word or number to be finger spelled NATIONAL MERIT AWARDS Guy Eddon Fairlawn N J Danny s Rooms is a multimedia game intended for autistic people that helps focus a user s attention through the use of graphics music and animation The program uses a touch screen to allow direct access to the computer It also incorporates digitized photographs and voice ca pabilities to allow the student to see and hear familiar people One of the special features of this program is that the student retains complete control of the program at all times and does not require any assistance in choosing or playing the games Dillip M Emmanuel Glenn Dale Md This device is a customized internal modem half card that brings state of the art telecommunication access to the deaf It consists of a package that includes software hardware and a user manual The entire work is the product of a deaf engineer who has dedicated several years to its research and design Although this modem addresses mainly the problems of the hearing impaired it also has some functions designed to assist the visually impaired and can be interfaced with several braille soft ware packages Larry R Goldberg Boston
28. or on demand Daniel M Goodman Brinklow Md The Arcade Access is a wheelchair accessible pinball machine system that offers a therapeutic and recreational environment for people with spinal cord injuries neuro muscular disorders brain injuries and other disabilities It provides a highly motivating nonthreatening and self esteem reinforcing platform for teaching motor and pro gressive task oriented skills it also helps to develop at tention spans The Arcade Access allows people with a wide variety of physical abilities to compete on an equal basis encouraging positive interactions and building re lationships by breaking down barriers The system can be operated either manually or by infrared remote control through joysticks touch pads sip and puff modules or virtually any controllable part of the body Carl J Jensema Silver Spring Md A computer board and attachments were developed to translate audio signals of a personal computer into visual or tactile cues The device works on any IBM compatible personal computer Its purpose is to offer deaf persons equal access to computers by use of an inexpensive plug in board to translate the PC s audio signals into a visual translation The display is via a ten segment frequency to light display 459 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search Thomas M Kepple Bethesda Md The Move3D software uses data obtained from motion measurement systems to provide
29. or speech perception testing and training of hearing impaired and learning disabled preschoolers Requiring only that the user un derstand the concept of object permanence and the ability to point it is suitable for children as young as three years Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 of age The child pursues an animated toy through a series of scenes using hearing or sensory aids to identify its hiding place Attention and compliance are encouraged by interesting events contingent on correct response and at the end of a run by the emergence of the screen character as a real toy that can be taken home Rosamond R Gianutsos and Aaron Beattie Sunnyside N Y The Elemental Driving Simulator EDS is a low cost simulation of the information processing demands of driving It is intended for use by persons with cognitive deficits including those with head injury and stroke sur vivors as well as by the elderly The system helps the user to identify driving problems and prepare for intervention Self judgments are contrasted with norm referenced measures of steering control reaction time adjustment to changes self control and consistency The EDS operates on MS DOSs compatible computers with a color graphics adapter and it features machine independent timing ac curate to hundredths of a second Its steering wheel turn signal and gas pedal are interfaced through the joystick or game port John D No
30. per case lower case function keys and so on The unit can be calibrated to the user s ability Martin G McCormick Stillwater Okla The development of the electronic calculator has rev olutionized simple arithmetic and higher mathematics for 462 the average person For blind people however the rev olution has been slow and expensive Although several brands of four function talking calculators have appeared during the last fifteen years a talking programmable scientific calculator was either unavailable or available only at a high cost about 500 00 for a specially built calculator This portable interface converts the infrared printer output of an off the shelf HP28 series scientific calculator to spoken English Brian P Melton Houston Tex The Speech Aid Device SAD was designed for use by vocally impaired persons who have the use of at least one hand to communicate freely The user spells the desired word or phrase to be spoken using a hand held keying device and then signals the SAD to process the input data for speech The only training required is to learn the positioning of the fingers for each letter of the alphabet In extreme cases the hand held keying device and finger positioning can be modified to fit the user s hand Wayne L Schmadeka and Gerry Woelfel Houston Tex LitTech combines software and audio cassette tapes for teaching reading and related skills The program is indi vidualized multis
31. problems of unemployment and underem ployment This software allows a Telecommunication Device for the Deaf TDD to access and leave messages on alphanumeric pagers The deaf person is alerted to the receipt of messages through a vibrator in the pager Tri Page can bridge the communication barrier of bauds and ASCII making traditionally incompatible devices accessi ble to each other Paul Jubinski Seattle Wash The goal of the Virtual Tactile computer display VIRTAC is to provide an affordable means for a blind person to run and interact with publicly released indus try standard software for MS DOS compatible computers The hardware provides a virtual tactile display window that allows the operator to explore text displays in a braille mode and graphics displays in a direct tactile mode This design requires no modifications to the com puter or to the software being run Arthur Kaufman and Lloyd H Woodward Bethesda Md This rugged wearable smart card PlusTag contains 64 K of data formatted to carry a patient s medical record With the aid of MAGIC Medical Applications Graphic Image Compression the PlusTag can be programmed to hold the patient s last X ray and electrocardiogram as well as nine full pages of text The tag can be embossed with the person s name and identification as a medical alert device This life saving tool can be worn around the neck like a dog tag or carried on a key chain PlusTag is intended
32. rence educa tional and leisure reading materials to the blind and visually impaired on CD ROM disks The program employs a simple to use and inexpensive consumer CD ROM plat form to provide indexed reading material spoken by a computer or recorded human voice The user would have a simple remote control that responds to spoken menus to select the material of interest Theodore W Cannon Golden Colo The inventor has developed special software to enable his 18 year old cerebral palsied son to communicate using a speech synthesizer monitor and printer Either codes or the words themselves are entered via a keyboard with a headstick The system is unique in that the encoded word information is read into the communication pro gram from a database file Individualized database files are easily generated edited listed and analyzed using the features of database software such as Appleworks data base or DBase Theodore W Cannon Golden Colo This personal computer system can be installed on a power wheeelchair to provide full time computer access by a wheelchair user with special needs The computer system which can be powered from the chair s battery includes a keyboard printer text to speech system and small monitor David A Detary Lakewood Colo The Pi Vu pie view Flash Reading Technology is an interface between a computer and its user that presents text information either one word or several words at a time t
33. ses the lesson if necessary Because the sentences can have any subject length and difficulty the lesson can be adjusted for any student or group A student sees a sentence erases it then reproduces it by typing a few characters the first letter of each word other char acters specified by the teacher and punctuation The time required for each lesson is recorded 465
34. sts the instruc tion accordingly Lane T Hauck San Diego Calif SAM is a display device that allows nonverbal users to communicate using Morse code by means of a single switch Originally designed for use by persons with cerebral palsy the device is compact portable it uses four AA batteries and inexpensive Messages entered via the switch appear in a twenty character scrolling display with large easy to read letters A special feature of the device is that the actual timing of dots and dashes of the Morse code can be extremely sloppy and yet still be recognized by the device Eric Lippke Kirkland Wash LessonMaker is a tool for creating talking interactive student lessons It was developed to augment communi cation and is easily modifiable to meet a student s chang ing needs LessonMaker enables a teacher to create cus tom graphical talking templates for use by students The SkillBuilders series is a collection of premade talking lessons that are created using LessonMaker Teachers can use the SkillBuilders as they are edit them extend them or create their own lessons James S Lynds Bountiful Utah The Dynamic Asynchronous Remote Computer Inter face DARCI TOO is a device that gives people with phys ical disabilities the ability to control personal computers By connecting DARCI TOO to a computer s keyboard and a user selected input device it can provide complete access to the computer The input devi
35. ter This system provides the handicapped with exciting new opportunities to improve learning capabilities enhance leisure time enrich life style and provide opportunities that existing technolo gies do not offer Steven B Smith Powell Wyo The designer s goal was to aid a friend who is blind and has a neurological problem that has caused him to lose all fine motor control The friend is unable to walk his speech is very difficult to understand and he has only limited use of his hands The device is a Macintosh based speaking word processor and musical instrument Be cause the user is unable to use a keyboard input is pro vided via two large joysticks The word processor is also used as a communication device Any musical instrument digital interface can be played via the joysticks and the range is four octaves W Chapin J Kramer Cathy Haas L Leifer and Elizabeth Macken Stanford Calif TeleSign is a natural language telecommunication system for deaf and other speakers of a sign language 463 Winning Entries in the Johns Hopkins National Search such as American Sign Language that enables real time telephone communication It operates on a 32 bit porta ble computer system with standard modem communica tion capabilities TeleSign consists of an instrumented glove worn on the dominant hand of each signer The glove measures the position and motion of the fingers In addition an absolute position and orientatio
36. to aid persons who because of their disabil Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 ities are unable to supply medical information about themselves in an emergency Chris McCanna and Rama Olrech Salem Oreg Medicine Manager is a software program designed for people who need to take prescribed medicine but have problems remembering to do so It will help people achieve the maximum benefit from their medication by sounding a computerized alarm when medicine is due The program allows a person to enter up to five different medicines and can handle the most commonly prescribed frequencies that is one two three and four times per day Andrew R Mitz Kensington Md Severely retarded children often fail to understand the fundamental concepts of language Having them touch photographs to obtain toys food or other objects is a valuable educational approach that can be augmented by a device that speaks the meaning of the photograph with a recorded voice For some children the voice feed back is essential for progress WeeTalk is an electronic device that records or plays back a voice expressly for this purpose It obviates the need for computer based and other expensive solutions by employing recently intro duced analog EEPROM technology Verbal feedback can now become an affordable tool for those who need it Dennis W Mountford Colorado Springs Colo This sound analyzer for the hearing impaired
37. tored The graphs function is a real time graphical display of signal movement for critical signal analysis Charles Merbitz Leora Cherney and Hanspeter Marqui Glen Ellyn Ill The Communication Analysis System CAS computer software assists the clinician in providing effective and efficient rehabilitation treatment for persons with aphasia or language impairments after stroke or brain injury It provides automated recording filing and graphing of functional behavioral data so that the clinician and patient have objective accurate timely data displays with which to organize and manage therapy thus treatment activities can be regulated to achieve maximum progress Communication to other professionals and to families is enhanced The model provides absolute measures of be havioral function like inches or meters the data are directly comparable across rehabilitation disciplines functions and disabilities Kurt F Smith and Victoria E King Columbus Ohio A key challenge to organizations assisting persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities in the workplace is the counting of pieces produced In response to a need to record 500 000 cosmetic packages as they were sorted a counting device was designed to count pieces automatically as they were dropped into cardboard boxes The device totally eliminated the need for hand counting and paid for itself on this project alone On a second project it was used in con
38. udents often lack communication skills many cannot speak normally they are often unable to take standard hearing or vision tests Behavior Research Institute has designed tested and implemented software for this population that teaches communicating by point ing to pictures the key skill in using a communication board beginning reading typing from dictation begin ning mathematics and skills to enable vision and hearing testing David J O Neill Dorchester Mass An electronic magnifier is frequently used by the par tially sighted to enlarge documents Because of the in compatibilities between the enlarging unit and video adapters two different monitors must be used one dis play to enlarge hard copy materials and the other to view computer video This problem can be overcome by inter facing the enlarging unit with multiple computer video adapters using a single monitor J Conrad Schwarz Carolina Herfkens Susan Beaumont and Richard Hefter Storrs Conn The Optimum Resource Reading Program ORRP is the first remedial reading program for the personal computer that employs both speech synthesis and voice recogni tion Designed specifically for learning disabled stu dents its special features help to compensate for the phonological deficits found in most reading disabled people The ORRP comprises nine lesson modules of voiced tutorials exercises and instructional games to teach word decoding and reading skills
39. use Adams Mary Sweig Wilson Bernard Fox Robert Winchester Steve Peery Cole Tierney and Chris Barrett Winooski Vt My House Language Activities of Daily Living is a software program designed to help children and adults with communications impairments understand and express the language they are likely to encounter in their daily routines Four different activities are designed to increase the under standing of the labels on various objects and the functions of the objects Each activity can be carried out within six scenes that represent typical rooms in a house bedroom bathroom dining room kitchen living room and utility room Selections can be made using the TouchWindow keyboard or single switch Marion Blank Mary Sweig Wilson Thomas Bradshaw Robert Winchester Bernard Fox Elaine Ducharme and Chris Barrett Tenafly NJ The Sentence Master addresses the critical problem of difficulty in learning to read or inability to learn to read By combining insights from linguistic research with the advantages of the computer it successfully reaches stu dents for whom traditional instructional methods have not worked It uses innovative motivating self paced mate rials to lead students to master language skills and en ables those students who have been devastated by their reading failure to succeed in a novel way Arthur Boothroyd Laurie Hanin Eddy Yeung and Oi Yu Chen New York N Y This video game was designed f
40. ustry concept RRTP offers spe cific vocational training and is guided by a business advisory council made up of employers in the travel industry Besides providing training on a simulated com puterized reservation system the RRTP provides four weeks of classroom instruction in communication and interpersonal skills computer use city and state code memorization stress management and job seeking skills Marco K Nielsen and Bent Givskov Tampa Fla MarComm is a computer program that was designed to help severely speech disabled or physically disabled persons to communicate it also makes writing easier for people with dyslexia or limited vision This word pro cessing software is flexible and easy to use and has ad justments for users with different disabilities The type is clear easy to see and large so that work can be done from a distance from the screen Use of the program has been made as easy as possible and only brief instruction is needed On screen help is also available while the program is running Sheryl S Ranson Tallahassee Fla The Isabel system is a software program designed to expand career opportunities for persons with physical or sensory limitations The system has two major files a physical demands file containing detailed information on 180 occupations and an assistive devices file containing information on a variety of assistive devices The system allows the user to compare his or her physical capaciti
41. vice and the books are uniquely encrypted for each key thus eliminating the economic ramifications of pirating Hamid R Arabnia Athens Ga A disabled person using this novel computer input device can give commands to a personal computer with out touching any physical device i e no keyboard or mouse The system receives input through a PC based charge coupled device CCD camera that is built on top of the DOS operating system The major components of the input device are a monitor an image capturing board a CCD camera and software These are interfaced with a standard IBM compatible Pc running under the DOS oper ating system Anthony Bailey Michael Bollinger Keith Christian Lynn Earnhardt and James Urquhart Orlando Fla The All Children s Playground is a place where chil dren can learn about abilities not disabilities The design is based on encouraging and promoting the interaction 460 and interplay of handicapped and able bodied children The playground was designed for children with physical disabilities by students of computer assisted design for the disabled at Valencia Community College Because the students are themselves physically disabled they were able to use their own experiences to determine what would constitute a functional playground Donna J Crowley Philip J Grise Mary Sweig Wilson Bernard Fox Elaine Ducharmy and Thomas Bradshaw Sopchoppy Fla One of the hardest skills to teac
42. voice recognition system designed to allow people with mental retardation or severe handicaps to communicate with others and also to control their environment Users may include people with quadriplegia spinal cord injury cerebral palsy aging problems arthritis and neurological disorders Operation of the system is through speech or vocalizations switch activation and keyboard input In response to user inputs the system controls operation of electrical appliances and provides digitized speech output The user may also select customized photographic quality icons displayed on the monitor via a mouse or track ball The system may also be used to assess handicaps and to provide feedback in educational applications Laura Goin Ted Hasselbring Victoria Risko and Charles Kinzer Nashville Tenn The Peabody Multimedia Adult Literacy Program capitalizes on the power of integrated media technology Based on several years of empirical research at Peabody Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest Volume 13 Number 4 1992 this program mediates instruction in word recognition and decoding as well as the comprehension of text pas sages on contemporary adult topics that are presented on videodisc The students interact with portions of the program through a voice recognition device An animat ed tutor guides the instruction and provides feedback to the students via a digitized human voice The program tracks individual student progress and adju
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