Friday, September 25, 2009

Intelli Keys, Assistive Tech : Indian resource

As I surf the web for more on Assistive Tech, I find so much out there that I end up not putting anything on my blog. I jump from one  site to other or just keep reading ..... Anyway, I am glad there is so much out there. Yes, some of them don't come cheap but the silver lining is that many Governments support / fund them.
Intelli Keys - is  a programmable alternative keyboard that enables users with physical, visual, or cognitive disabilities to easily type, enter numbers, navigate on-screen displays, and execute menu commands, A company called Intelli Tools makes them .. http://www.intellitools.com/resources/parents.aspx  They also have many other softwares and switches catering to a wide spectrum of needy people. As I searched their site, I find they have an Indian partner 
http://www.assistivetechnology.co.in/  . Its based in Mumbai. I shall try and call them up and see how we could try out something. 
  I looked at the demo of Intelli Keys and I think it is a very handy tool for children struggling with the keyboard. Sometimes our key boards are very cluttered for our kids. My son however has learnt to type, though with difficulty and single finger. He however finds it difficult to use the arrow keys to play a game. We had stuck words UP - DOWN etc on the Arrow keys, but he is yet to hold his attention on them. Maybe by using the Intelli keys he could do things better with the right overlays. At least he could learn the concept, then maybe we could fade away the Special Keyboard. 
 A keyboard is critical to any use of the computer and so its mastery is a must for our kids to communicate. 
 Intelli keys looks like a neat device with flexibility of customizing it to the special child. It has a settings overlay that can be used to decrease response times, prevent repeated press of same letter etc. So with the right tweak and setting any child with difficulty could use them effectively. 
 Incidentally IntelliTools' has tools and curriculum products, which are correlated to national and selected state standards, include extensive Teacher's Guides, lesson plans, and other support materials that  assist in the homeschooling environment. One would like to explore them down the road. 

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