THE ADAPTABLE SCANNING SELECTION AID

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP, FABRICATE AND FIELD TEST AN ADAPTABLE SCANNING SELECION AID (ASSA) AND APPLICATION ACCESSORIES. THIS SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE PERSONS WITH LIMITED MOTOR FUNCTION AND/OR MINIMAL VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND MEANS OF MAKING CHOICES IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT USING SIMPLE SWITCHES. THE ASSA CONSISTS OF A TRANSMITTER UNIT, A RECEIVER/CONTROL UNIT AND AN ARRAY OF LIGHTED INDICATORS WHICH ARE SCANNED IN A SEQUENTIAL FASHION. THE ASSA WILL BE DESIGNED TO INCORPORATE A WIDE VARIETY OF FEATURES INCLUDING SUPPORT FOR REMOTE OF DIRECT SWITCH CONTROL, CHOICE OF THREE MODES OF SCANNING (AUTOMATIC, MANUAL AND INVERSE), CHOICE OF THE NUMBER, COLOR, SIZE AND PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF LIGHTED INDICATORS, THE SCAN RATE, AND ABILITY TO OPERATE WITH MANY TYPES OF SINGLE SWITCHES. THE ASSA WILL MEET TWO ESSENTIAL NEEDS: (1) A SIMPLE, YET ADAPTABLE, SWITCH- OPERATED SCANNING COMMUNICATION AID WHICH CAN BE USED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS FOR MAKING SIMPLE CHOICES, AND, (2) AN ASSESMENT AND TRAINING DEVICE FOR USE WITH PERSONS IN TRANSITION FROM SIMPLE SWITCH APPLICATIONS TO MORE SOPHISTICATED, SCANNING COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.