New Idea to Communicate

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autumn

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Hi! I wanted to tell you about an idea that I came up with to help my mom communicate. It's very easy to make, is inexpensive and works really well. All you need is a plastic headband, sticky backed velcro, a creditcard lazer pointer, (Staple's is a good place to get this) and a letterboard. (we have one that's about 9"X 14")
This is how you make it: Cut a piece of the sticky backed velcro and put one piece on the top of the headband and the other on the bottom of the lazer pointer. The lazer pointer that I used didn't have an on/off switch so I took a hair elastic that can slide over the "on" button to keep it turned on. The person using this will need to be in a sitting position. (my mom uses it when in bed and from her wheelchair. She has a bed that can adjust to a sitting position) Put the letterboard on the wall (my mom's is about 6-8 feet from her) Put the headband/lazer pointer on their head. Turn the lazer pointer on and make sure that the light hits the middle of the board. (the light must never be pointed directly at someone's eye) This simple idea has been great because it allows my mom to keep communicating by spelling out words, and it's much faster than her hand was. I hope it can help other's who are looking for a way to communicate with their loved one. If anyone has any question's, or if I didn't explain it well, just ask!
 
Autumn...Kudos to you! What a great invention...it even sounds worthy of someone marketing it and figuring out how to mass produce! Thanks for sharing.
Beth
 
Hi Autumn--we did one of the boards and added the most common 'wants' to it. Like, water, lotion, newpaper, hungry, change shoes etc. LB's hands still work so he is able to press the button. I think he likes it because it's another gadget he can play with!

Thanks.
 
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