Assistive Technology for the people with disability 4 of 7

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the Assistive Technology for the people with mental retardation or cognitive disability

At this session, I would like to talk about the Assistive Technology for the people with mental retardation or cognitive disability.
This topics will be included the Employment.

About 3 years ago, I visited in Stockholm where is a metropolis of Sweden.
I finished the works in the morning; my friend who is living in Stockholm took me a certain restaurant.

This restaurant is nearby a metro station and opened in the only lunchtime.
Of course, I couldn't speak Swedish, so I was anxious whether I order correctly a something to eat or not.

At a service counter desk, a woman was sitting in front of the personal computer.
I was looking at a communication between the former customer and the woman.
And I was sure I could order by myself.
There was a standing menu board on the service counter, which was drawing some menu with the pictures.
The customer pointed by one's finger at the menu board.

On the computer screen's lower area, the same pictures as the standing menu board was displaying.
A woman selected the same picture, which was pointing on the menu board by the customer on the computer screen.
Then, on the computer screen's upper area the selected same menu was appeared.
When the customer finished the order, the woman selected the picture of a cash register on the computer screen.

Then the content on the screen was changed, and a charge for a customer's order was displayed on the screen and the computer-synthesized voice was outputted.
For example, the charge is 50 Sweden kronas.
If the customer paid 100 kronas in notes.
The woman selected same picture on the screen as the money, which paid by customer.
And at last selected the picture of cash register.

Then the content of the screen was changed; the money for the change was appeared.
In this case, 2 pieces of 20 kronas in note and 1 piece of 10 kronas in coin.
The woman compared the content of the screen and the money in the drawer of the cash register, and the woman hand the changes and the ticket to the customer.
To tell you the truth, This woman had a mental retardation.
The key at this point is...
For the people with mental retardation or cognitive disability, it is relatively easy to select the same numbers of the same objects by using the pictures.

On the service counter desk, there was a certain black box with lamps.

This is a kind of a timer, which was called as "Time Aid".
On the surface of this time aid, there is 4 colored switch buttons.
Each of these buttons means, blue is 15 minutes, green is 30 minutes, yellow is 45 minutes, and red is 1 hour.
If the yellow button was pushed, a number of LED arrays be equal to 45 minutes turn on.
And as the passage of time a number of LED was reduced.
When the time is up, an electronic sound rings.
This time aid is useful for the person who is unable to read the ordinary watch.
In a work place, the question is how many minutes or hours should we work at here?
By using this aid, the people can easily understand the passage of time by oneself.

This is another time aid, which is called "Quarter Hour Watch".
The card with picture is placed in to the Quarter Hour Watch and the remaining time until the event starts is shown as lighting points.
Every point corresponds to a quarter of an hour.
If there are two hours or more remaining to a certain time, all points are lighted.
By using this time aid, the user may easily understand and manipulate time by oneself.
I bring this time aid at here, please try at the rest time.

And I visited the restaurant's kitchen too.
There was an aid of thermometer.
This aid is useful for the people who are unable to use an ordinary thermometer.
By using this special thermometer, you can read the value of temperature with 3 pictures.
That is, if the temperature of water is cold, the face mark such as cold appears.
If the temperature is too hot, the face mark such as hot appears.
If the temperature is good, the smile face appears.
As I mentioned above, these aids for the people with mental retardation or cognitive disability were developed in process of Mentek Project carried out from 1991 to 1994 in Sweden.

At present, we are localized the cashdesk program under the cooperation of the Japanese company and the Swedish company.
Video Tape

From now, I would like to show you some videos.
The contents of this video, the firs are an application of the cashdesk program at the bakery shop in Japan.
Next is an application at the second hand bookstore.
The third is an application of the Quarter Hour Watch for a certain young man in Japan.
The forth is a resent advanced application from Swedish project.
Please see it.

Three years ago, I visited in Oslo which is a metropolitan of Norway.
I met a certain researcher.
I was gave an interesting booklet from her.
I would like to introduce it.

This booklet has published 10 years ago in Norway.
There are many ideas of the daily living for the people with mental retardation or cognitive disability in this booklet.
I would like to show you some examples.

This idea is very useful for us.
We off mistake something for other thing.
By using an idea as this picture, the mistakes will be reduced.

In the same way, this idea is nice for everyone.

This clock has only hour hand.
There are symbols or pictures, which should carry out the event on the surface of clock.

This example is the restaurant menu.
The upper column idea is easy to understand the foods with picture.
The middle column idea is easy to understand the coin of money with real coin.
The lower idea is best to understand for everything.

This example is in case of a kitchen range.
We are often confused which knob is correct or not?

This sample shows a thermometer of outside with picture.
In Norway's winter season, there is a very big difference temperature between the inside and the outside.
So the people with mental retardation often goes out with the only lightly dressed.
This idea is nice to prevent such this troubles.

As I introduced at above, these ideas need not high technology.
I was greatly impressed by these wonderful ideas.

Someone said as following;
The handicap is not the fixed matter belongs in a person, and it decides by the relation between the environments.
Therefore, a person is able to get over the handicap by obtaining the suitable social support according to each need.
I agree at all.

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