PDAs for a Disabled Man?

Ed-Wars asks: "I work for a man who suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is mostly paralyzed, including a very limited ability to speak. He is looking for a portable device with a keyboard which will allow him to communicate with others while he is away from home. Wish-list: cheap, good sized screen with highly visible lettering, large and widely spaced buttons, ability to store/retrieve commonly used statements. It doesn't need to be high-powered or have any fancy graphics, again cheap is important. Text-to-speech could be useful, but is not necessary. Any suggestions you could give would be very helpful. Thanks!"

Re:Obvious?

[schon]

He is looking for a portable device with a keyboard

A spiral bound notebook meets your criteria

Where can you buy one that comes with a keyboard?

I don't know his exact requirements, but...

[dasunt]

Has he considered a large binder full of tabbed pages with common phrases in it? At the front or back could be a notepad and a marker to write with.

If he was planning to use a keyboard and small PDA, he probably has the dexterity left to flip tabs, and enough control to write LARGE letters that are readable.

Its also pretty cheap and its unlikely that anyone would steal it.

Plus, the battery life of paper rocks. :)

Re:I don't know his exact requirements, but...

[sakusha]

Has he considered a large binder full of tabbed pages with common phrases in it? At the front or back could be a notepad and a marker to write with.
The local ALS clinic showed my Mom a similar device. The booklet is about 18in by 2in, with a few dozen pages, each page has 5 or 6 squares with different phrases in big type. It clips on the top of a board with the alphabet printed on it, so you can point to letters to spell out words. The little booklet has tabs for common subjects, like food, medicines, how you feel, etc. and has a blank pages in each tabbed section so you can add your own phrases. It's simple to use, you just flip open the tab you want and point, then spell out extra words on the letter board for stuff that isn't in the booklet. The booklet's pages are all laminated plastic so you can write on it with a marker you can rub off and rewrite. You could easily make such a booklet on your own, just design some pages on the computer, take em to Kinkos to laminate and bind them in a plastic spiral binder. But a lot of professionals who specialize in assistive devices put a lot of thought into what kind of phrases are needed, so you'd probably be better off using one of the booklets that already exist. I mean, how expensive could it be? And Medicare would probably pay for it anyway.

Fortunately my Mom isn't so disabled that she needs this booklet gadget.. yet. But she's such a luddite, it's perfect for a technophobe like her. I'm sure she'll use this device eventually.

It seems like what you want...

[gartogg]

is a older tablet pc, or better, a pentium 1 laptop or so, if it's practical.

It's silly to try and get a cheap PDA with a good, decent sized screen, when a laptop with those criteria is going to be dirt cheap.

Then again, using a notebook does make alot of sense...

difficult tradeoff

[passthecrackpipe]

I am somewhat involved in product development for portable machines for law-enforcement, so have a bit of an idea about what is what in portable land these days. First of all, "cheap" is a relative term - with these things, much like all else, you get what you pay for. If this would be your employers only reliable bridge with the outside world, I would have a good think about system criticality, and the relative worth of such.

Secondly, I assume from your question that you are looking for an off-the shelf solution in terms of software. There are plenty of off-the shelf systems that do TTS, but you may need to look at custom stuff, depending on the physical state and limitations of your employer.You may want to consider getting something done in-house, so to speak.

Hardware wise, in terms of form-factor, functionality and ruggedness, you may want to look at any of the current crop of handtops [handtops.com] out there. However, they may be a bit expensive in terms of value for money. Tablet PC's are a bit expensive, and can be a bit fragile. They are also unwieldy. On the other hand, they give you a very good price/performance ratio, so could equate well in terms of value for money. Battery life may also be an issue. Finally, you can look at using wearable systems [xybernaut.com] - they have come a long way, and with the right kind of setup, they can really be what you are looking for. From that link, you may want to look at the MA-TC system or the Xyberkids system. both have pro's and con's. However - they are really, really expensive - but I would probably go with the MA-TC platform, with a good HMD system.

Software wise, I would go with Linux as the core OS - can't beat value for money, stability, and software availability. I would combine that with Dasher [cam.ac.uk] for the input system, linked perhaps with Festival [ed.ac.uk].

Also, to your employer: don't underestimate the value of working with professionals that know what they are talking about.

One of those old toshiba notebooks

[rasteri]

Remember those old toshiba notebooks that were about the size of a VHS tape? They made them in late 486/early pentium flavours. Something like that, running a minimal linux or win95, with some kind of freeware/open source text-to-speech program (there's lots about). You could probably pick one up on ebay very cheaply, and of course linux would be free. It might be interesting finding a valid win95 license though...

Re:One of those old toshiba notebooks

[gartogg]

If you wanted win95 licences, I have some. I'm not allowed to sell them, since the're for new machines only, but I should be able to give them away....

Re:One of those old toshiba notebooks

[Raptor CK]

No.

The Libretto is a nice piece of gear, but it's old, end-of-lifed, and fragile. It's prone to heating-related failures, the display doesn't last very long, and the pointing device isn't something I'd give to anyone with ALS.

I used one, and I liked it, but it's not ideal for this application.

Re:One of those old toshiba notebooks

[tverbeek]

That sounds like it'd flunk the "widely spaced buttons" criterion. I have a Poqet PC that's VHS-sized and great for me as a portable text processor, but any keyboard stuffed into that area will require some pretty fine motor skills.

Muscular Dystrophy Association

[jetsfandb]

My mother-in-law's friend is also going through ALS currently and has the same issue. Apparently MDA provides a PDA with the features you mentioned to people with ALS. IANAD but I was told that ALS is a form of Muscular Dystrophy. I sorry that I cannot provide specs on hardware, but I recently threw out the paper it was on. If I locate the information I will reply to this post.

Re:Muscular Dystrophy Association

[jetsfandb]

Links [mdausa.org] for some devices

Do you want a project?

[panker]

I have an old Agenda Vr3 PDA that runs a flavor of Linux. It has large buttons on the side, and comes with a Microphone/earbud. I don't know if the processor would handle voice to speech, but with a little work, most linux programs could be compiled for it. Sounds like a fun hack.

You can get a new one here for $100.00 US but probably much cheaper elsewhere.
http://www.softfield.com/vr3.html

Palm Alternatives

[ear1grey]

I was about to ask exactly this question having been investigating a PDA for somebody I know with Multiple Sclerosis who finds the de-facto Palm/PocketPC form-factor of stylus + graffiti too awkward and therefore too slow.

The best combination of size and usability that we have found so far is an old Psion Series 7, often found on auction sites for a few hundred dollars or available in more modern form as the PsionTeklogix Netbook Pro [psionteklogix.com] . During a trial lasting several hours (to ensure there was no pressure to perform or make decisions), we found the keyboard was comfortably sized and usable (even a for very tall man with large hands and restricted mobility).

The newer Netbook Pro is Windows CE based and this may be preferable if the user is already with the Windows user interface, it certainly is in our case.

There are probably several other PDA's of similar size and form and we'd be interested to hear any suggestions.

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

[Anonymous Coward]

This company:

http://www.dynavoxtech.com/

Provides ruggedized hardware with exactly the software you need, and their partner company:

http://www.enkidu.net/

provides software on standard hardware.

As far as price, there are organizations that can help out with funding, since these devices are medically necessary for their users.

Look into it. These can't be the only products in this space.

Requested software

[Anonymous Coward]

Knowing you will get a lot of responses I'll try to keep this short.

Since 1999 I've been part of a team that has been creating completely free software for people suffering from Aphasia, MS, ALS as well as Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities.

You can find our completely FREE software on: http://globability.org

The current version of what we like to refer to as our concept demo "T-Board the Virtual Keyboard", has been tried under DOS / WIN95 / WIN98 / WIN XP and under DOS emu in LINUX and has been found to run albeit with some tinkering needed at times.

All functions are available via 0/1 switch technology. (a joystick button / a keyboard tap or similar)

The software can run on machines as old as 80386 - new versions of this DOS based program will become available during this year as we are migrating towards full open source and dual Linux/Windows native support.

We would welcome collaboration with others in making the software available on any interesting devices.

You are most welcome to contact me for further information or for any other reason.

Best Regards

Einar Petersen, Project Manager

The Global Ability Initiative - http://globability.org

Re:Requested software

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want to sound rude or trollish but the fact that, to a lot of people, your homepage shows up as a black screen with dark red text telling them to alter their browser settings basically destroys your credibility. WWW accessibility is important - especially for people with disabilities.

Sorry, but my parent post is absolutely right.

[Anonymous Coward]

You are absolutely right. Someone who is color blind or even the slightest bit visually impared couldn't even read that message. I have 20-15 vision and had to highlight the text os I could read it.

The page was textbook "What not to do" as far as usability is concerned. And for a site supposedly promoting accessibility to boot!

Look for Grants

[HowIsMyDriving?]

Medicaid and many other government programs will PAY IN FULL for a top of the line communication system for someone who is diagnosed with that condition. I work in the medical field, and have helped people get a machine like this. I would contact your local disability actvist center and ask them about grants and or programs to recive a computer. It might take 4-6 months, but it is free, and designed especially for them. Often times they will send someone out to help fit it and train the person when they get it. I am not really sure if a home made device is the way to go. Seeing how expensive and complex the devices are now days, and how well they work, try to help this person by weeding through the paper work to get a brand new one for them.

This should work rather well!

[`Sean]

Right up your alley... [99er.net]

Some links for you

[dstone]

The Dasher Project [cam.ac.uk] is an interesting approach to gesture-based input for written communication that works on PDAs or workstations. There's a demo you can download.

The Tetra Society is a society of volunteer engineers & technical people who build and customize devices to assist people with disabilities. Take a look on their projects [tetrasociety.org] page for some ideas.

WorkshopSolutions [workshopsolutions.com] has similar ideas.

Original Poster

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey guys. Thanks for the responses so far. I realized in my attempt to keep it short and sweet I left out some useful info. First is that by "cheap" I mean $100 or less, hopefully. Second, typing is basically the only function needed, plus minor storage and retrieval functions if possible. As soon as you start talking aout OSes, you're probably already too far ahead of what we're looking for :). Third is size and weight; think paperback novel or dvd case, as his ability to hold and lift things is ver

Alphasmart!

[OECD]

It sounds like you want an Alphasmart keyboard [alphasmart.com]. It's a PDA stuck on a laptop-size keyboard, essentially. Much like the Mac eMate, if you remember those. Check out the text-display on the Neo--it can be quite large.

There was an earlier version that was more keyboard and less PDA (essentially a buffered keyboard with a tiny display.) You might be able to find a used one of those on eBay. I think they were $100 brand new, so it would fall within your budget (if these don't--they're cagey about the price.)

Contact the MDA

[sakusha]

I'm going through the same thing, my mom is slowly wasting away from ALS. Unfortunately, my mom hates anything mechanical and won't use assistive devices. The most technologically advanced gadget she'll use is a Magnedoodle tablet to write on (she's lost her voice completely).

I suggest you contact the local branch of the Muscular Dystropy Association, they also cover ALS patients. They will hook you up with experts in assistive devices, it's their profession so they know everything that's available. Devices that are suggested by doctors or professional health care aides are generally paid for by Medicare, the MDA even says they'll help pay for assistive devices is you can't afford them. Some of the dedicated text-to-speech devices are pretty amazing, they're designed for people with limited function, so they're very simple to operate, without superfluous bells and whistles.

Take a look at Mayer-Johnson

[thomkt]

Mayer-Johnson makes several great products for disabled folk. We have a ChatPC [mayer-johnson.com] for our severally autistic daughter.
http://www.mayer-johnson.com/ [mayer-johnson.com]

Maybe a product from Prentke Romich ?

[snowsam]

While not necessarily on the cheap (~$7,995.00 for their top of the line model) one of the "Augmentative Communication Products" from Prentke Romich might be a good fit. My brother has cerebral palsy (but impact to his intellect) and used one of their light talker products (now out of production) when he was in elementary school. He interacted with that unit via a single toggle switch. His is in his 20s now and no longer has any communication device that he can control.

Their web site is http://www.prentr [prentrom.com]

Also based on HP iPaq

[beetle496]

Still not cheap, but at least it's half the cost of the a PRC device. Say-It! SAM [words-plus.com] -- A Full-Featured Hand-Held Communication Device That Weighs just 10 Ounces.