According to Cook & Hussey (2000), "The dictionary provides the following definition of technology: (1) the science or study of the practical or industrial arts, (2) applied science, (3) a method, process, etc. for handling a specific technical problem"
During one of our tutorials, we had a guest speaker, Trev Wilson, from STAR (Specialist Technology and Resources) bring along many assistive technologies. It was interesting and fun to play around with these.
Trev's definition of an assistive device was that "it is the means to achieve an end". Assistive devices can provide learning and education which can lead to occupation and employment. They can improve activities of daily living, which improve general life skills. Or they can improve a person's inclusion in society, involvement in leisure activities and communication.
One device which captured my interest was the Go Talk 20+. It is primarily used to improve communication. It has a100 message capacity – 20 message keys each with five levels, enabling you to record 5 messages with a total of fifteen minutes per message. There are five “core message” keys which stay the same on each level so you don’t need to re-record essential messages for each level. Small pictures can be drawn or computer generated for the buttons to correspond to the recorded message.
The GoTalk 20+ was easy to use and record instructions to allow sequencing of tasks. This device is designed for non verbal clients or those having difficulty remembering or sequencing certain tasks. The types of instructions you could record could be a recipe for a blind person, instructions for bathing or dressing for a person with cognitive impairment or pre-recorded messages to allow someone to communicate with others.
The GoTalk 20+ is approximately 15cm x 40cm with an approximate cost of $500.
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