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What adaptations can help someone with a spinal cord injury use a computer and phone? - Katie Powell, OT

What adaptations can help someone with a spinal cord injury use a computer and phone?

Katie Powell, OT

Occupational Therapist, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee

Read Bio More Videos by Katie Powell
Transcript
The first thing I’m looking at when a someone wants to be able to use a computer or a phone is what surface is that phone or computer sitting on? Do they need a lap tray on their wheelchair that their computer or phone can sit on? In terms of a pho... Show More

The first thing I’m looking at when a someone wants to be able to use a computer or a phone is what surface is that phone or computer sitting on? Do they need a lap tray on their wheelchair that their computer or phone can sit on? In terms of a phone, do they need some sort of phone holder that they can put on their hand and then the phone attaches to? And once we figure out how the device is held, how is that person going to access it? Can they use voice commands to be able to prompt everything in their phone? Do they need a stylus that has a special holder for them to be able to touch the screen? Is it just a matter of putting the computer or the phone in a spot that they can use the muscle function they have in order to touch the screen. We’re looking at all sorts of different things, fortunately in our vastly growing era of technology, there are hundreds and hundreds of options that we can look at for people. Another piece of equipment is “eye-gaze technology” where the computer tracks a person’s eye as they move around the screen to be able to select different things. I just saw that there’s a gyroscope mouse where a sensor is mounted on a person wherever they can move and they can move their shoulder, or their hand or their head, and the mouse moves along the screen. The world of technology is constantly advancing; there are new things that are always coming out for people.

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What adaptations can help someone with a spinal cord injury use a computer and phone?

Katie Powell, OT

Occupational Therapist, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee

More Videos by Katie Powell
Transcriptadd

The first thing I’m looking at when a someone wants to be able to use a computer or a phone is what surface is that phone or computer sitting on? Do they need a lap tray on their wheelchair that their computer or phone can sit on? In terms of a phone, do they need some sort of phone holder that they can put on their hand and then the phone attaches to? And once we figure out how the device is held, how is that person going to access it? Can they use voice commands to be able to prompt everything in their phone? Do they need a stylus that has a special holder for them to be able to touch the screen? Is it just a matter of putting the computer or the phone in a spot that they can use the muscle function they have in order to touch the screen. We’re looking at all sorts of different things, fortunately in our vastly growing era of technology, there are hundreds and hundreds of options that we can look at for people. Another piece of equipment is “eye-gaze technology” where the computer tracks a person’s eye as they move around the screen to be able to select different things. I just saw that there’s a gyroscope mouse where a sensor is mounted on a person wherever they can move and they can move their shoulder, or their hand or their head, and the mouse moves along the screen. The world of technology is constantly advancing; there are new things that are always coming out for people.

What adaptations can help someone with a spinal cord injury use a computer and phone?
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