Here are some of the pieces of equipment we may be able to lend:
Eye Gaze ControlThe Tobii Dynavox PCEye is a peripheral eye tracker that enhances computer accessibility with speed, power and accuracy. The device replaces the standard mouse, allowing you to navigate and control a desktop or laptop PC using only your eyes. You can select and open an item, such as a program icon or letter in an on-screen keyboard, by either keeping your gaze on it for a pre-set time, or by blinking.
Mouse EmulatorMouse emulators, such as SmartNAV Pro 4 or Headmouse, are hands free mouse alternatives that allow complete control of a computer by naturally moving the head. The “camera” unit sits above your computer screen and tracks the movement of a reflective dot which can be attached to your glasses, the skip of a cap, or even your forehead. Your head moving with the reflective dot replaces your hand moving with the mouse. Quha Zono is also a mouse emulator, but works on slightly different principles.
The iPad is a tablet computer produced by Apple which runs using the same operating system as the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The iPads we lend come with communication applications (apps) already installed.
For a variety of reasons a small number of people are unable to use eye-gaze or mouse emulators. If this happens some of the software we supply can be set so that when a switch connected to their PC or iPad is clicked the program is highlighted a row at a time. When the row containing the thing the person wants is highlighted they can press the switch again and the scanning changes so that it scans across the row. When the scanning reaches the item the person wants another click on the switch selects that item. The switches can be mounted in a variety of ways so that they can be clicked by any part of the body that still has movement, e.g. a knee, their head, an elbow or a foot.
Find out more about how to access our communication aids.
