Join me at the RESNA 2021 Conference
Don’t miss the RESNA 2021 Virtual Conference, July 7-9, 2021! Registration deadline is Friday, June 25, 2021. I’ll be part of three presentations (more on these below). Hope to see you there!
Category: AAC
ATIA 2021 – Day 1 highlights and how you can still register
The ATIA 2021 Conference is all virtual, but it’s still got an engaging and educational roster of presentations and exhibits. It’s going on now, January 25 – February 6, but there’s still time to register. This post shares some highlights from the first two presentations I attended along with info to help you register.
The ATIA Conference is always a highlight of the assistive technology calendar. This year’s version is all virtual, and the organizers have worked really hard to create an engaging and educational roster of presentations and exhibits. In this post, I’ll share some highlights from two presentations I attended on Monday Jan 25, and let you know how you can participate in the rest of the conference if you’d like.
Continue reading “ATIA 2021 – Day 1 highlights and how you can still register”
Access Assistant: a new KPR project funded by NIDILRR
Koester Performance Research is a partner in the newly-funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (the RERC on AAC). KPR’s projects focus on ensuring effective and efficient physical access to AAC for people with severe motor impairments.
How to do a remote assistive technology assessment
Because of Covid-19, there’s a greater need for assistive technology practitioners to conduct remote assessments. This post presents a method used by occupational therapist Charlie Danger to assess for eyegaze access remotely.
Assistive technology for Rett syndrome: a systematic review
Have you seen the 2019 systematic review covering assistive technology as an intervention for individuals with Rett syndrome? If not, read on for a summary of the research on assistive technology for Rett syndrome.
Highlights from the ATIA 2020 conference
The ATIA 2020 conference: 2+ days packed with learning, sharing, and networking in assistive technology. Here are some highlights from my trip to ATIA this year.
KPR highlights for 2019
Check out some KPR highlights for 2019, including our top 5 blog posts for the past year. Best wishes for 2020 to all!
A problem with two-switch scanning in iOS 13 and how to fix it
After upgrading my iPad to iOS 13, my setup for two-switch scanning in Switch Control stopped working. Here’s what happened, and how I fixed it.
Overview
I recently ran into an unexpected problem getting my external switches to work when using two-switch scanning with iPad Switch Control. After wrestling with the problem and eventually fixing it (or at least finding a workaround), I thought I’d share what I learned in case it can save somebody else some time.
Here’s a quick bottom-line synopsis: If you are using a Tapio interface for two-switch input with an iPad, set your Tapio to generate 1 and 2 for outputs, rather than the Space and Enter default outputs.
Read on for more details on the problem and exactly how to implement this solution.
Continue reading “A problem with two-switch scanning in iOS 13 and how to fix it”
How to measure performance when typing with Morse code
Morse code is an intriguing access option for people who use switches. Here’s how to measure performance when typing with Morse, to see how well it’s working for you and how it compares to other access methods.
Morse code can be an effective way to type using only one or two switches. For some people who need switch-based access due to physical impairments, Morse might work as well or better than methods such as switch scanning. Reports of typing speed with Morse in the literature are encouraging but sparse. And in the end, what matters most is how well it works for a given individual. To address that, we need to measure typing performance with Morse.
How do we do that, in a way that’s accurate, straightforward, and time-efficient? We’re going to use KPR’s Compass software for access assessment to measure our Morse typing speed and accuracy. This post describes how to do this and shows you how it went the first time I used Morse code.
Continue reading “How to measure performance when typing with Morse code”
Learn Morse code with the Morse Typing Trainer
The Morse Typing Trainer is a website that helps you learn Morse code. It helped me learn the letter codes in about 30 minutes. This post shows you how to use the Morse Typing Trainer and gives you an idea of what it does and does not do.
The introduction of Morse code text entry for iOS and Android has lowered the barrier for trying Morse code as an access method for people who use switches. In earlier posts, I’ve described how to set up Morse code on the iPad and reviewed the typing speeds that have been reported for experienced Morse users. But what’s a good way to learn Morse code in the first place? And how long does it take? The Morse Typing Trainer is a new resource to make this fairly easy and fun.
Continue reading “Learn Morse code with the Morse Typing Trainer”