DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-SENSORY "SOUND LAB" FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION APPLICATIONS

CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION APPLICATIONS TENDS TO CONSIST OF EXPENSIVE COMPONENTS DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC TASKS IN ONE-ON-ONE THERAPY OR SMALL GROUP USE. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, BASED ON FIELD-PROVEN CONCEPTS, WILL MAKE USE OF INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS DESIGN AND PACKAGING TO PROVIDE A COST EFFECTIVE AND HIGHLY VERSATILE EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR LARGE GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL USE. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO TEST THE AL FEASIBILITY OF CREATING A MULTI-SENSORY EDUCATIONAL TOOL THAT PRESENTS SOUND IN A VARIETY OF SENSORY MODALITIES. WITH THE "SOUND LAB CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION APPLICATIONS TENDS TO CONSIST OF EXPENSIVE COMPONENTS DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC TASKS IN ONE-ON-ONE THERAPY OR SMALL GROUP USE. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, BASED ON FIELD-PROVEN CONCEPTS, WILL MAKE USE OF INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS DESIGN AND PACKAGING TO PROVIDE A COST EFFECTIVE AND HIGHLY VERSATILE EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR LARGE GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL USE. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO TEST THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF CREATING A MULTI-SENSORY EDUCATIONAL TOOL THAT PRESENTS SOUND IN A VARIETY OF SENSORYMODALITIES. WITH THE "SOUND LAB" SYSTEM, SOUND WILL BE PRESENTED BY MEANS OF SPECIAL PLATFORMS AS A WHOLE BODY VIBROTACTILE EXPERIENCE. IN ADDITION, SOUND WILL BE PRESENTED AUDITORILY THROUGH LOUDSPEAKERS, AND VISUALLY BY MEANS OF ONE OR MORE DISPLAYS THAT PROVIDE GRAPHIC AMPLITUDE, SPECTRAL, TEMPORAL AND WAVEFORM ANALYSIS. THE PROJECT'S WORK PLAN CONSISTS OF APPLIED RESEARCH, PROTOTYPE CONSTRUCTION AND FIELD TESTING. THE APPLICATIONS FOR THIS SYSTEM ARE MANY AND INCLUDE: AUDITORY AWARENESS AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES FOR THE HEARING AND/OR VISION IMPAIRED STUDENT, SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY, MUSIC THERAPY, SCIENCEAND OCCUPATIONAL AND PHYSICAL THERAPY. THE PRIMARY ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OF BOTH PHASE I AND PHASE II INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT, FIELD TESTING AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF A NEW EDUCATIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC TOOL FOR FACILITATING TRAINING OF CHILDREN WITH ONE OR MORE DISABILITIES. A SECONDARY OUTCOME INCLUDES THE CREATION OF A TEACHING TOOL THAT PROVIDES EQUAL ACCESS TO THE TRANSFER OF SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS TO STUDENTS IN A COMPELLING MULTI-SENSORY MANNER. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ARE STRONGLY INDICATED IN SO FAR AS STATISTICAL DATA SUPPORTS THE INCIDENCE OF PHYSICAL DISABILITIES IN SCHOOL-AGE INDIVIDUALS, AND THE AMOUNT AND DIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING MARKETED TO ADDRESS THIS SPECIAL POPULATION.