DTI Projects
A review of the Department of Trade and Industry awareness scheme
In 1983 a number of projects were devised (which the Department of Trade and Industry agreed to fund) that had the primary objective of making as many people as possible aware of the ways in which information technology could alleviate disability and assist in rehabilitation.
During the campaign a phrase seemed to emerge which encapsulated everything positive about the endeavour, it was “Concerned Technology”.
The projects may be subdivided into four main areas:
• Employment
• Education
• Health
• Community
Employment The Remote Work Units project was intended to demonstrate that, given the right conditions, disabled people can do useful day’s work (from home, or day centre). The right conditions may mean some form of adaptation to permit the operator to communicate with the computer. In RM’s case the Braid Speech Synthesiser replaces the screen, faithfully echoing each key depression and speaking the ICL PC’s responses.
To study his bar stock reports RM uses Versabraille which stores Braille on an audio cassette. As well as having a Braille keyboard the Versabraille has a perforated strip on which pins can be raised to simulate Braille in a dynamic way. Editing controls permit the reading of reports in discreet phrases, as well as indexing and searching. RM is one is one of five remote work units set up in Northern Ireland by the Department of Trade and Industry.
SM, a victim of polio, is an employee of Redford Computing and uses his Sirius micro to set up databases and help with the sales effort.
ED, a paraplegic, works from this purpose built flat as an employee of the Belfast Voluntary Welfare Society. He sets up and maintains directories of, for example, UK charities, and uses WordStar to produce letters and reports. His 16-bit ICL PC will shortly be linked to BVWS to permit documentation validation and online enquiries of the databases he maintains.
JW, who has Friedreich’s Ataxia, uses her BBC system to help the Disabled Drivers Association with their newsletters and correspondence.
The Balmoral Work Centre uses a Torch microcomputer to introduce members of the sheltered workshop to computing techniques. They will be able to offer a bookkeeping service to complement existing clerical and printing services.
Of course, competition for jobs is intense and this is not an appropriate medium to argue the morality of sharing the available work with the disabled. However, IT is a perfect tool for the disabled, it can challenge or guide and communication (between user and computer) is feasible, no matter what the physical handicap.
Education
As part of a pump-priming exercise, twenty Jessop Turtles were donated to Northern Ireland special schools. Users have found the Turtles to be a fun way of drawing out reserved or withdrawn children, encouraging teamwork and teaching spatial awareness. The programme which “drives” the Turtle, DART, developed by the Advisory Unit for Computer-based Education (ACUBE) is itself a wonderful learning aid assisting with concepts such as direction, distance, angles and even the rudiments of computer programming.
At Jordanstown School computer-aided learning techniques have been integrated with the normal curriculum. Blind and partially sighted pupils use the impressive array of equipment (including speech synthesiser and the Perkins Brailler keyboard) which makes up a Vincent Workstation. Some O-level students are able to answer questions in Braille and have their work transcribed to printed form for marking.
At Rosstulla Speech and Language Department, therapists use specially written computer programs in conjunction with picture cards to stimulate the grammatical comprehension skills of their pupils. The older children also get some practice at word processing to improve their keyboard skills. In the future, the teachers plan to explore the graphics capabilities of the computer to enhance the developing learning programme.
Hearing-impaired children at St Rose’s School Belfast have adapted quickly to their computer aids. They are encouraged to develop speech skills using voice operated programs written for “Micromike”. Thanks to a teletext receiver the pupils now have an opportunity to keep up-to-date with current affairs and they enthusiastically produce their own reports using an “Edword” word processor and a matrix printer.
The project the Castlereagh College of Further Education was designed to examine one way of advancing the cause of disabled people looking for work. The computer assisted design equipment installed there was supplied by British Thornton; it employs software designed and written in Ulster by Autographics Software. The equipment permits physically disabled persons to produce drawings of the highest standard and persons trained by the College will be of interest to practising architects, engineers and scientists.
Health
Occupational therapists have used computer games with head-injury patients to assess problems of perception and reinforce the learning of important concepts like distance, size and colour, which most of us take for granted.
Use of the micro speeded the recovery of many patients; occupational therapists have reported a very high degree of motivation in even the most severely disabled, especially children. Computer operating has proved to be a successful remedial tool. However, practice of keyboard skills not only improves hand /eye coordination and concentration but also has provided a realistic introduction to work possibilities to many spinal injury patients.
Many occupational therapists, in their own specialised field, are now creating programs to cater for the needs of patients but admit that they have not even scratched the surface of the full potential of the computer.
Ten Northern Ireland hospitals and day centres have benefited from the Department of Trade and Industry scheme. Each of the occupational therapists has been trained to use an authoring language (Microtext) so that he or she can develop teaching or remedial routines specific to their specialisation. A user group has been formed in Great Britain and one is planned here, the prime objectives being to share experiences and exchange Microtext modules.
The planned Communications Aids Centre at Musgrave Park Hospital will stock a wide range of microelectronic based aids. Health practitioners will have the opportunity to refer their patients to the centre where the patient and intended aid can be assessed. The Centre will certainly become an important focal point for education and promotion of the technology within the health service.
Visitors will also be able to assess the potential for employment of disabled using equipment similar to that utilised in the remote work units
The project at Musgrave Spinal Injury Unit drew on experience gained at Stoke Mandeville and Odstock Spinal Injuries Unit. The computing equipment installed (BBC micros) is used primarily for diversion, games and puzzle solving, which can have therapeutic benefits, both psychological and physical.
Some patients use the word processing facilities and occasionally a patient will discover an aptitude for programming and business applications. Already one enthusiast, after leaving the ward, has installed his own home computer. Recently a small ACT business computer, with spreadsheet, database and word processing, together with training packages, was installed to give those patients with a serious interest in computing a more realistic facility in which to further their career prospects. A recent innovation has been the installation of bedside units, special trolley mounted microcomputers, which may be used by supine patients during what must be interminable days of immobility.
Community
The Phab drop-in centre in Londonderry, under the energetic management of Pat McCool, uses a Department of Trade and Industry installed computer to maintain a database of information about holidays, hotels, restaurants and social security benefits, of interest to the disabled.
Before the Department of Trade and Industry projects were initiated much useful work was being done in Northern Ireland. Examples include: the dedication and enthusiasm the staff of Fleming Fulton and Mitchell House schools, Adrian Mencarelli who setup is own remote work unit after completing a Threshold course, the charitable contributions of organisation such as CEM Microcomputer Services, the innovativeness and helpfulness of Quest Youth Workshop, the ingenuity of the Rehabilitation Engineering Workshop at Musgrave Park Hospital and the unselfish contributions of many academics at our universities.
The Concerned Technology exhibition which visited Ireland in 1984 give the public and medical profession an opportunity to see and try a wide variety of aids for the disabled.
In Belfast, as well as studying the exhibits, visitors were able to talk to ED about his experience as a remote work unit operator. BC, the disabled artist, captivated his audience with his skilful demonstration of the Photonic Wand, an aid permitting the control of the computer by head movement alone. The exhibition will visit Dublin and Limerick as guests of the National Rehabilitation board.
Various aids have been made available by the Department of Trade and Industry for demonstration and loan, either to the public or medical professions. These aids include TOUCAN, LIGHTWRITER, and HELPMATE, communication aids for those with speech or physical disability; TWINKLE, an eye control switch for operation of a computer by immobilised persons; C– speech, an aid for speech therapy; and a Photonic wand – computer control using head movement.
However the Department of Trade and Industry scheme, as well as transforming the lives of some disabled people, has injected a fresh impetus to the work which will have influence long into the future, and make both the public and professions more aware of what is possible using the Concerned Technology.
DJ Brew
25 January 1985 |
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