Assistive technology
Self-care and improved mobility
More users needed: Lessons from Alberta’s coronavirus contact tracing app. Alberta released its contact tracing app, ABTraceTogether, last week. But early uptake figures and a key design quirk show how challenging it will be for
… READ MOREAs companies re-open, employees may don wearable tech to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Blackline Safety. By Emily Waltz, IEEE Spectrum 1 May 2020 As shuttered businesses make plans to resume on-site operations, many plan to outfit
… READ MOREUniversal Design is better for all humans, not just the disabled. When I became paralyzed at the age of 15, I learned to live by hacking. Can’t walk anymore? Hack ambulation with a wheelchair. Illustration by Raquel Kalil Tyler
… READ MOREHelp accessing personal protective equipment is on the way, says Alberta Health Services. ‘We feel forgotten’: Disability community overlooked during COVID-19, families say. Government of Alberta says its working with
… READ MORESchools need a closer connection to children with special needs during closures. The Richmond family, left to right: Hayley, Jake, Phil and Harry. Jake and Harry have a rare genetic condition with a variety of complex special needs.
… READ MOREA new electromyography biofeedback device that is wearable and connects to novel smartphone games may offer people with incomplete paraplegia a more affordable, self-controllable therapy to enhance their recovery, according to a new
… READ MOREI can’t tell you how thrilled I was to independently send my wife a text for the first time. Meet Todd Stabelfeldt. He’s been using Tecla since February 2014. We asked Todd to share with us his thoughts since introducing Tecla
… READ MOREThe new devices, developed by a collaborative team based in the US, Canada, and Kenya, are easy to use and allow people in different cultural contexts to quickly enhance their ability to communicate. Figure 1. The first prototype (top
… READ MOREAn open-access study, published in Rehabilitation Research and Practice, investigated the wear time of commonly used AFOs in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Shoes for Orthotics, AFOs, DAFOs. CHASA support groups The O&P EDGE
… READ MOREBabylon mobile app allows you to check symptoms, consult with doctors. Using Babylon, an app developed by Telus Health, patients can have one-to-one video consultations with doctors, with the cost of those virtual visits covered by
… READ MOREVariations call for adjustable devices. We can hopefully create devices in the future that adapt, learn, and grow with each individual. – Katherine Steele PhD Cascade DAFO By Greg Gargiulo, Lower Extremity Review November 2016
… READ MORESurestep birthday party. Physiopedia UK November 6, 2019 An orthosis by definition, is “an externally applied device used to modify the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal system.”
… READ MORE‘You’re perceived completely differently. You’re standing up. You’re at eye level.’ Ceilidh Corcoran has had her new Dutch-designed bike for two weeks now. Ceilidh Corcoran, Instagram Wallis Snowdon, CBC
… READ MORERecent report calls wait list ‘deeply disturbing.’ LeeAnn Poisson, left, sitting beside her daughters Abbey, centre, and Emily, right. Jason Viau CBC Jason Viau, CBC News Windsor August 12, 2019 Parents of adults with
… READ MOREEvent is FREE and open to all families. The purpose of the Recreation and Leisure Resource Fair is to provide information, resources, and education for families who are raising and supporting children and youth with special needs.
… READ MORE‘Everybody should get a chance to go upstairs.’ Students at St. Stephen’s lined the hallways, cheering for 11-year-old Logan Gouchie as he exited the school’s new elevator and saw the second-floor for the first
… READ MOREWinSport has designed a fully inclusive, multi-sport program for ALL regardless of physical ability to discover adapted wheelchair sport opportunities currently being offered throughout multiple communities. Disability Pride Alberta,
… READ MOREMuscle composition and structure is altered in children with cerebral palsy — with greater amounts of collagen in the muscles’ network of proteins and sugars — making these patients more prone to stiffness and contractures that
… READ MORENeighbourhood income and education level is associated with risk of disability progression in patients with multiple sclerosis, suggests new research from the University of British Columbia. North Vancouver resident Marilyn Lenzen,
… READ MORE‘She had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her.’ Thanks to the success of an online fundraiser, Dee Dee House’s family will be purchasing her the all-terrain stroller she needs to venture outside of her house
… READ MORENearly 2 million Ontarians live with some form of disability that affects their mobility, vision, or hearing — and the country is aging at a faster rate than ever before. That’s why experts are saying we need to embrace universal
… READ MORETeen blog leads to website and in-person meetings for better understanding. Katy Fetters, who has cerebral palsy, is launching a campaign through her blog and website to help others with similar challenges. She walks on the Huntington
… READ MOREA review found limited evidence that botox outperforms other forms of treatment in improving walking, joint motion, or muscle spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The study was published in the Cochrane Database of
… READ MOREChildren with cerebral palsy (CP) typically encounter a host of gait- and balance-related issues associated with spasticity, dyskinesia, and weakness. How severe these are depends on CP type and the individual case. As a result,
… READ MOREA new electronic system that will eventually be used across all Alberta Health Services facilities is scheduled to launch at some Edmonton locations at 4 a.m. Sunday. WATCH: Some Edmonton health facilities are bracing for potential
… READ MOREA structured home-based exercise program can improve walking ability in children with cerebral palsy (CP), a new study has found. Results of the research were published in Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. How can
… READ MOREI recently read an article in the Virginia Journal of Education that made me think about my feelings toward my mobility aids. The author, Kelly Hickok, is a wheelchair user, and she described how mobility aids give her a sense of
… READ MOREStreets need to be designed to consider people with disabilities, says Emerging Design Medal winner Ross Atkin. Dezeen spoke to him about four of his best tech-led works for people whose environments are “letting them
… READ MOREJacob Wassermann seriously injured in bus crash that killed 16 people. Humboldt Broncos hockey player Jacob Wassermann, left, and teammate Ryan Straschnitzki compare sticks during a sled hockey scrimmage at the Edge Ice Arena in
… READ MOREThroughout her young life, Sylvia Colt-Lacayo has been told her disability didn’t need to hold her back. She graduated near the top of her high school class. She was co-captain of the mock trial team. In April, she learned she had
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