Tutorial 7: Assistive Technology

In this tutorial an Occupational Therapist called Dave came to share his knowledge about assistive technology. Dave is an OT at Kimiora school in Wellington which is a specialised school for disabled children. Dave uses assistive technology all the time in his practice to maximise the functional ability his children can have in their day to day lives.

According to Cook and Hussey (1995) assistive technology is "an item piece of equipment or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities".

A piece of equipment that Dave showed us was an alarm clock with bed vibrator. The alarm clock is a standard alarm clock attached to a bed vibrator. The vibrator and alarm clock are attached together by a cord approximately a metre long. The vibrator is circle shaped with a radius of an approximate 50mm radius and 20mm depth. When the alarm clock and vibrator are in use the alarm clock is positioned on a bedside cabinet and the vibrator (connected to the alarm clock via a cord) is placed under the users pillow or mattress. When the alarm clock alarm goes off the vibrator can produce steady or pulsating vibration pattern for maximum effectiveness. The cost of this device is approximately $90. This assistive device is designed for people who are deaf or have impaired hearing. The normal way of waking up in the morning is by using an alarm clock which makes loud noises to wake up the sleeper, but this is not an effective measure for people who have impaired hearing or a deaf. The assistive technology of an alarm clock with a vibrater allows these people to wake up in the morning at the designated time of their alarm via the vibrations of vibrator. The vibrations wake up the sleeper allowing them to get up and carry out their normal routines at set times.