Publication Date
2011
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Kevin Bennett (Committee Member), John Flach (Advisor), John Gallagher (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Case study BK is a teenage male who suffers from severe cerebral palsy, making communication very difficult using his current assistive technology. His performance with a manual switch was compared to a hands-free system for computer interaction (Cyberlink Brainfingers/ NIA). BK uses a switch scanning menu, which steps through predetermined options till he chooses the current option being read aloud by pressing a button. A yes/no menu was used for the switch scanning interface for both manual and hands free conditions, as well as the point and click condition. In both hands-free conditions, BK was as fast and accurate as he was with his manual assistive solution that he has been using for almost 10 years now. Results indicate that a hands-free system is a valid assistive technology direction for BK. As in Marler (2004)- perhaps the greatest benefit from a point and click hands-free system could be increased engagement.
Page Count
51
Department or Program
Department of Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2011
Copyright
Copyright 2011, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may be modified only if the modified version is distributed with these same permissions. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
