An Introduction to Assistive Technology at Treloar's
Treloar's continues to meet the growing demand to provide Treloar's students with the right equipment for their individual needs.
Treloar's Assistive Technology Unit has eight full-time members working closely with Physiotherapy, Occupational and Speech & Language Therapy teams. The team makes it possible to assess, design, adjust, fine-tune and modify equipment, re-programme control systems and advise, train and support other staff and families in the use of the applications which are personalised to each student.
The assistive technology engineers at Treloar's are particularly responsive to the challenges presented by the wide range of disabilities and the more complex nature of them.
- 90% of Treloar's students now rely upon wheelchairs to get around
- 65% drive a powered wheelchair
- 11% have no independent mobility
- 28% have little, or no speech and use Alternative & Augmentative Comms (AAC) equipment in order to communicate
Being able to provide students with the right mobility equipment or communication aids is essential in order to fulfil the aim of preparing and allowing them to live their lives to the full and for the students to maximise their opportunities for living as independently as possible.
The range of devices, which are manufactured or adapted include:
- Communication equipment adaptations: electronic voices
- Wheelchair controls: special switches and joysticks
- Computer access equipment: joy sticks, keyboards and switches
- Feeding and drinking: special spoons, robotic feeder controls, and drinks' holders
- Personal care: adapted shower and toileting chairs
- Specialist sports equipment: ramps for Boccia - a form of wheelchair bowls
- Adaptations to musical instruments: "Jelly Bean" buttons used by students with little movement to make music through electronic Soundbeams
External connections: bringing the benefits of Treloar's Assistive Technology to the wider community
In conjunction with the Learning and Skills Council, the Treloar's Assistive Technology Department has participated in ‘The Best of Both Worlds', a specialist diagnostic and assessment service for students with complex learning difficulties and disabilities aiming to stay in mainstream colleges, in which our professional staff share their expertise to benefit learners and staff in mainstream education.
Working with colleges in this way, Treloar's have identified a need for a mobile assistive technology and therapy unit. The students resident at Treloar's are fortunate to have ready access to our specialists; others in the wider community are not so lucky and sometimes have to manage with ill-fitting, inappropriate or even faulty or broken equipment. Across the country there is evidence of an increase in the number of ‘technologically-dependent' individuals who require the highly specialised services that Treloar's offer.
A detailed feasibility study into the provision of a mobile service was undertaken. As a result, a new division, Treloars' Direct, has been set up. It is offers a mobile assessment and maintenance service to education & health authorities, children's trusts, schools, colleges and families across the south east of England. The service is conducted on a unique custom-built vehicle, the ‘Trailblazer'.
Examples of Treloar's exploitation of AAC for students
1. Eye Gaze Technology
Cailean is one of seventeen students at Treloar School who have trialled the My Tobii as a means of communicating this year. Sally Moseley, Head of Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) at School explains "Much of our work is about finding the right ‘access route' for children with little, or no speech. For some students, operating switches or a keyboard is not possible and the new Eye Gaze technology provides a potential alternative for them to get their message across. Other students using low-tech word books have exhausted the vocabulary these contain. There's so much more they want to say and the My Tobii enables them to spell out quite complex ideas and messages."
Learning to use the Eye Gaze computer and establishing whether this is the best method of communication is a process of trial and error and the SLT team have found the My Tobii to be an invaluable tool in their portfolio of possible communication solutions. Students have been able to practice using the My Tobii in a one-to-one situation in the SLT room, whilst being supported and monitored by a therapist. The next stage is to explore the possibilities of students using the My Tobii in their classroom and School House so that they can participate fully in lessons and after-school activities.
Eye Gaze Case Study
James is a Year 10 student with no verbal communication. Severely limited mobility means that he is also unable to access a computer. The SLT team have been working with James since he joined Treloar's, trying - and ruling out - all of the potential solutions to his communication challenges. James was therefore one of the first students to trial the recently acquired My Tobii during the past year and the SLT team have been thrilled with his progress. Finally, they have managed to find a way for James to communicate! James will continue to practice with the My Tobii when he returns to School and SLT are also keen for him to help them test the Eye Gaze technology in a classroom situation.
In the meantime, as a result of these in-school trials, three students now have their own Eye Gaze computers.
2. The Ro-Ro Assessment Wheelchair Driving Base
The ‘Ro-Ro' is an innovative roll on/roll off metal platform on small powered wheels, which is connected to electronic controls as used on a powered wheelchair. The base dismantles into smaller modules that can be readily transported in a car.
A student who relies on a carer to push their manual wheelchair can easily be placed on the platform and be assessed in the use of powered wheelchair controls such as joysticks and special switches. The engineers can readily experiment in creating the optimal driving system whilst the student practises using the correct seating and controls required for a powered chair.
All of this is possible without having to transfer the students from their own chair. This saves an enormous amount of time and, once the student has mastered the controls, evidence can be submitted to NHS agencies for the student to be prescribed their own power wheelchair. The Ro-Ro can also be used as a means of letting less able students, for whom powered mobility will never be an option, experience independent mobility, albeit in a limited way. There are currently 18 Treloar School students who have been on this programme since September.
3. Heavy Duty Computer Access Joystick
Computer Access Joysticks are available commercially, but tend to be too fragile for day-to-day use by our students. Engineers created a modular heavy-duty version, which can be customised to meet the needs of our more demanding students.
4. WiseDX Integrated Control Systems
Treloar's has been involved with another project involving several WiseDX units (a specialist electronic module capable of controlling a wheelchair, communication equipment, computers and environmental controls). They discovered that there was no one who could fit the units and offer advice. Various other colleges, wheelchair dealers and ex-Treloar students have also contacted the Assistive Technology Department enquiring after technical support and training.
5. Heavy-duty digital cameras
The team has also recently developed repackaging for digital cameras, which are much too fragile and complicated for many students to use. The new packaging is virtually indestructible and the simple large button is perfect for use by students who experience severe spasms or have weak fingers. It can also be attached to a wheelchair for use and has proven to be extremely popular with the students, leading to the Engineering team being overwhelmed with requests.
Treloar's Direct Line: 01420 526575