Old tech new tech high tech low tech… Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book 🙂 In reality, it doesn’t matter what the tech is as long as it meets the individual’s needs and goals.
Today, I had three VERY different therapy sessions. But this is one of the reasons that I love my job. Every day is different. Please bare with me as I share these incredible sessions. They were incredible because each client left happy and able to do a task that they wanted to, but were not able to do before the session.
My first client had limited arm movement, no finger movement, and uses a power wheelchair for mobility. He brought in a Samsung S5. This phone may be an old phone, but it’s one of my favorite cell phones. Do you know why?? Comment on my instagram story or DM me with your guesses….. If no one guesses. I’ll tell you next week.
Anyway, he brought in this phone and wanted to be able to use voice activation on it. But it had not been updated in a very long time. So we went through the updates and I taught him how to use Google Assistant. We practiced using all of the Google Assistant commands and he sent his mother a text for the first time since his injury. I put the phone on an 18 in cell phone mount and clamped on his chair. I set him up with a stylus to activate the phone. (I’ll do another post on stylus options later). I taught him a few other tricks on his phone. (I’ll share those later too). He drove out of my lab with his cellphone mounted on his chair and the ability to complete any task on it that he wanted. When I saw him later that day he said he’s been sending texts, making calls, and checking social media.
My next client is locked in due to a still undiagnosed progressive disease. Being locked in means that she can only move her eyes. She received a Prentke Romich Company Accent 1400 with NuEye (AAC device) from a previous speech pathologist. She is one of the best eye gaze users I’ve ever seen. She can do EVERYTHING with her eyes. She is heading home for the first time in over a year (multiple hospitals) and her mother (primary caregiver) is scared of the device. I created some cheat sheets for the mom before the session. I went over the device and the cheat sheets and then we we spent an hour and a half practicing basic operations and positioning the device. We worked until the patient felt better about her mother’s abilities and the mother felt comfortable with the device. Just as I was about to walk out of the room, the mother mentioned that another therapist put a mount for the device on her wheelchair. The patient was in bed during this whole session, so I did not see her wheelchair. Boy, was this a mess. I’ll give kudos to the therapist who was trying to help, but I wish they would have called me first. There was tommy tape and dycem under the mounting bracket. Long story short, the mount that was put on the wheelchair is not the proper amount for that wheelchair. I will get into mounting AAC devices on wheelchairs in another post…… In the end its all fixed and now she can safely use the device on her wheelchair.
My third client was a very sweet older gentleman with tetrapelegia. His son was very thoughtful and purchased an iPhone and iPad for him for Christmas. His recreational therapist was trying to get him to use it also. I received several emails about how he needs to learn how to use the iPad and iPhone. I walked into his room with a plan to teach him about the devices, stylus options, mounting options, and accessibility features. I introduced myself, explained the purpose of my visit and asked him about the iPad. After a few minutes of informational interviewing, I find out that he wanted nothing to do with either of them. We talked for a bit more and I found out that his goals are to independently control his TV, make/receive phone calls using his landline, and have a way to get someone’s attention if they are in another room of the house. We ended up having a wonderful session where I showed him a big button remote control, a typing aid that he can use to press the buttons on the big button remote control, a cell phone mount that can hold the a remote control on his wheelchair or hospital bed, a landline speaker phone with big buttons and voice activation, and finally a switch enabled call system for his house. Oh and a laptray to put the remote on or use as a surface on his lap. You would have thought I gave him a million dollars……he was so happy! After the session, I emailed his rec therapist to update her. She said he he told her that he was”ecstatic” about the options I showed him.
Phew, that was a long post. Thank you for letting me share my day. One last thought….some my take aways from today are:
- Individual’s goals and needs come first
- Every individual requires unique solutions
- The solutions do not have to be the newest or highest tech options
Please follow Speech and Gadgets on Instagram or Twitter and check back for new blog posts. As always, contact me with any questions or ideas!
Disclaimer – Speech and Gadgets may receive a portion of sales from items linked on this page