Rep. Giffords' recovery includes the iPad
As reported by Reuters earlier today, the ongoing recovery and rehabilitation of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has progressed very well since the tragic and deadly assault at her event 12 days ago. Dr. Michael Lemole, the chief of neurology at Tucson's University Medical Center, noted that Giffords has demonstrated several key skills: "She is beginning to stand with assistance, she is scrolling through an iPad -- these are all fantastic advances for her. They do show higher cognitive function," he said.
While it's certainly possible to frame Dr. Lemole's reference to the iPad as merely an example of the sort of thing Giffords and other brain trauma patients are able to attempt in the days and weeks after their injuries, the other side of the story is that the iPad has quietly begun to turn the world of assistive/adaptive technology -- specialized software, hardware and medical devices aimed at improving function and quality of life for people with disabilities or challenges -- on its head.
The iPad's starting price of US$499, compared to traditional assistive systems that can cost orders of magnitude more, has enabled application developers like AssistiveWare to bring pictureboard technology to thousands of people -- and the next time you feel like giving the developer of a $4.99 game a piece of your mind for "overpricing," note that the happy purchasers who gave a 4.5-star rating to Proloquo2Go paid $190 for the privilege. Of course, the high costs of older assistive tech can be offset by health insurance, which generally will not pay for an iOS device/assistive app combo -- something that may have to be reevaluated in the near future.
Despite the highly visual iOS interface, the baked-in VoiceOver and accessibility features on both the iPad and the iPhone deliver a surprisingly compelling experience for visually impaired and blind users of the technology. Children at many places along the autism spectrum are already taking advantage of the iPad's immersive nature to communicate with family members.
All this with a device that has yet to celebrate its first birthday on the market. Here's hoping that Rep. Giffords' use of her iPad, along with all the incredible support and expertise of her medical team in Arizona and her upcoming rehab in Houston, helps her to recover quickly and as fully as possible.
Hat tip to Keven Guillory of KQED Radio.
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As reported by Reuters earlier today, the ongoing recovery and rehabilitation of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has...
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iPADs are not just for patients.. at Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers new iWALK Recovery Center they are using iPads and iPod touches as wireless controls for some high tech equipment for walk retraining, and using video from the devices to show people in real-time the issues with their Gait. It's coosl stuff. www.iwalkrecoverycenter.com
March 04 2011 at 10:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIsn't it a little insensitive to show the words 'double-tap' considering what happened to her?
Or perhaps it's slightly funny....I don't know...
The original image was one we had used on another post about assistive technology, and I had not even thought of the potential double meaning -- it's now been replaced.
January 21 2011 at 9:25 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyOminously, her last tweet was sent from "Twitter For iPad" on the day of the shooting
January 21 2011 at 12:43 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhat's ominous about tweeting from the iPad?
Did you mean ironically? Even that doesn't quite seem to fit.
In any event get well "Gabby"!
The world of assistive technology is quite small, yet Apple made quite a splash in the past five years. They have now successfully finished adding VoiceOver, the screen access technology mentioned in the article, on every single one of its currently shipping devices, besides the iPod Classic.
It is amazing to see a mainstream company care about its customers so much that it has created products that take into account the needs of the blind, visually impaired, deaf and other special needs.
I am writing this comment on a Mac Pro, Mid 2009, running Snow Leopard and VoiceOver. I also own a few other Apple devices.
I really enjoy the Mac. I also enjoy the iPod Touch and iPod Shuffles that I own. Sure the computer cost me a lot more than a PC and sure there are free and open-source screen readers for Windows, but having VoiceOver deeply integrated into the OS makes things quite enjoyable and easy to use. I'll use the rest of this comment to try and explain this.
The Canadian and American Apple Care staff I have worked with are amazing when it comes to VoiceOver support. When they don't know something, they always research it very quickly.
Being blind, it is a good feeling when you can buy the same equipment and use the same technical support options as your sighted counterparts.
It is clear that Apple's attention to detail is not lost on this aspect. They have designed the end user experience to be accessible from end to end. Not only can VoiceOver users activate their own IOS devices and register their own computers, but reinstalls of Operating Systems are also accessible. Apple has also made it easy for visually impaired and blind users to work right along side sighted users by including features such as the caption panel, featured in the picture above, that tells sighted users what VoiceOver is currently speaking, and non-intrusive keystrokes for VoiceOver on the Mac. The ability to configure the home button to toggle VoiceOver/Zoom/Black on White on and off at a triple click is also a treat when sharing an IOS device with a sighted user.
With the Apple TV II getting VoiceOver with the 4.x update that was released in November, Apple has now added VoiceOver to all of its shipping products, except for the iPod Classic, as I mentioned above.
You can read more about the Apple TV and other Apple accessibility maters at the following websites.
http://www.outofthedarkness.vipbc.org/ My blog
http://www.atmac.org/ A blog dedicated to Apple accessibility
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ Apple's accessibility page
Keep up the good work Apple.
Regards,
Alex,
the speed at which she is recovering is incredible. she is amazing, and i wish her all the best.
January 20 2011 at 11:23 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhy does the graphic say "double tap to open"?
January 20 2011 at 11:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBecause with VoiceOver, to open something you double tap. Tap once to hear what it says it it is.
January 20 2011 at 11:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThey say they think she's trying to speak, but can't really because of the tracheotomy.
Have they tried to see if she can type?
I'd think that would be obvious enough that they've tried it, and she was unable to.
Maybe they could try one of those apps for autistic kids, that helps them communicate by touching pictures.
You can talk with a tracheostomy tube in place, just not a straight tube. A fenestrated tube allows you to speak, and you can either use your finger or a 1 way valve to close off the trach to allow air to pass over the vocal cords.
January 21 2011 at 7:13 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyGo Gabby. Can't wait until you walk back into Congress.
Editor's Note: The author of this comment has not identified himself as an employee of Minspeak (the company he references), but his email address indicates that he is.
Actually, there is a major difference between these apps and what the more expensive AAC (alternative and augmentative communication) manufactorers make. In particular, the Prentke Romich software based on Minspeak%uFFFD (minspeak.com) is a highly specialized patented technology which none of the competitors come close to, expensive or not. The main difference is whether the user is actually communicating at the end of the day. Whether the device or software they're communicating with is truly language based or not. 9/10 of what's available for iOS as well as larger more expensive devices are not true communication devices and certainly not based on real language use/development whatsoever. I have read a lot of these blog posts appearing to state that there isn't much difference at all between these iOS apps for $190 and the more expensive ones. In truth, there is. A big difference. I could go into all the data and technical details of why, but that's probably overkill at this. And plenty of doctoral students have done that already for their thesis'. :)
Seems like you are just hyping your own company, at the expense of trying to put down what has become a wonderful device for thousands of patients already. We all should be pleased, be it your company, or Apple. Kudos to both.
January 21 2011 at 3:43 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMy only main point was to correct the assumption that relatively inexpensive AAC apps on iOS were in the same boat and accomplished the same thing as much more expensive devices/software from the traditional AAC manufacturers. I have come to this belief as a critic mostly, and just wanted people to at least not jump to the conclusion that there are no differences between these apps and traditional AAC devices besides the price point.
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