Alisa,

Which board is it that mimics the Dynavox lay-out, the one that most of Ron's pt's prefer?

Jen Coggiola, MA, CCC/SLP
Speech Pathologist
ALS Center at UCSF
400 Parnassus Ave., 8th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 353-2122 clinic phone
(415) 353-2524 clinic fax
(925) 323-0175 cell phone
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
________________________________________
From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Hankins, Ron [xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 8:19 AM
To: 'xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

Hi Alisa my address is:

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center
Rehabilitation Institute / Neuroscience Clinics
1012 E. Willetta St
Phoenix Az. 85006

Thanks

Ron Hankins

Ron Hankins, M.,A., CCC-SLP

Speech Language Pathologist

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

Neuroscience Clinics

(602) 839-4150

xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient, please (i) do not read, copy or use this communication, or disclose it to others, (ii) notify the sender immediately by replying to the message, and (iii) delete the e-mail from your system. Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alisa Brownlee
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 2:47 PM
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

Ron,
Can you give me your mailing address? Our assistant has the letterboards you wanted but we need a snail mail address please.
Thanks,
Alisa

Alisa Brownlee, ATP
Clinical Manager, Assistive Technology Services
ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) Association National Office
and Greater Philadelphia Chapter
Direct Phone: 215-631-1877

________________________________

From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Hankins, Ron
Sent: Tue 12/14/2010 12:25 PM
To: 'xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

Thanks Alisa. You are always helpful!

Ron Hankins

Ron Hankins, M.,A., CCC-SLP

Speech Language Pathologist

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

Neuroscience Clinics

(602) 839-4150

xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient, please (i) do not read, copy or use this communication, or disclose it to others, (ii) notify the sender immediately by replying to the message, and (iii) delete the e-mail from your system. Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alisa Brownlee
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 10:16 AM
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

I have them. I can send them on Friday.
Thanks

Alisa Brownlee, ATP
Clinical Manager, Assistive Technology Services
ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) Association National Office
and Greater Philadelphia Chapter
Direct Phone: 215-631-1877

________________________________

From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Hankins, Ron
Sent: Tue 12/14/2010 11:41 AM
To: 'xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

Hi Alisa, I was wondering how I can get some more communication boards. I received a packet some time ago which contained a variety of boards but the patients seemed to always chose the one which mimmicks the Dynavox layout (I believe). I would just like to re-order those.

Ron Hankins

Ron Hankins, M.,A., CCC-SLP

Speech Language Pathologist

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

Neuroscience Clinics

(602) 839-4150

xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient, please (i) do not read, copy or use this communication, or disclose it to others, (ii) notify the sender immediately by replying to the message, and (iii) delete the e-mail from your system. Thank you.

________________________________

From: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alisa Brownlee
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 1:31 PM
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At

I found the following story on the NPR
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/07/26/128776406/communication-technology-for-disable-is-nothing-to-sniff-at?sc=17&f=1128> http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/07/26/128776406/communication-technology-for-disable-is-nothing-to-sniff-at?sc=17&f=1128

Communication Technology For Disabled Is Nothing To Sniff At
by Meagen Voss

- July 26, 2010

There's a new way for severely disabled people to communicate with the outside world - sniffing. That's right. Sniffing.

Israeli scientists have created a nose-powered device that severely paralyzed can use to control a computer. A small tube carries the breath of a person to a tiny sensor that detects changes in pressure. A computer translates the puffs into letters, allowing the person to type.

"I have a locked-in patient who sends me e-mails," says Noam Sobel, a neuroscientist at Weizmann Institute in Israel who's developing the approach.

People with locked-in syndrome are almost completely paralyzed, but mentally normal. Three of the 15 disabled people included in the study by Sobel and his colleagues were locked-in. Typically, those patients rely on caretakers to interpret eye blinks for communication. That's a slow and laborious way to have a conversation.

Sobel says the sniffing device lets these patients "generate really meaningful self-initiated _expression_." The work is described in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An advantage of the sniff device, says Sobel, is it cannot only detect when a person starts or stops sniffing, but also sense how long the sniff lasts and how strong it is. All that information, Sobel says, makes it easier to create programs for performing complex tasks, like surfing the Web.

The device can also be used on people who have a breathing tube. As long as people can move their soft palate, the muscle that lets us switch between breathing with our nose or our mouth, the sniff device can pick up the pressure changes in the nose.

Still, the device isn't for everyone. "I have several patients who refuse to use technology because they want that human to human interaction," says Lisa Bruning, a speech therapist who works with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, saps people of control over their muscles. Virtually everyone who suffers from ALS will eventually become locked-in. But because the disease starts in different parts of the body in different people, some may lose control over their speech muscles first, including the soft palate. That wouldn't be able to use the new device.

Communicating through a caretaker doesn't prevent locked-in patients from living meaningful lives. One man dictated a book using eye blinks. But, says neuroscientist John Donghue, "Those methods are painfully slow."

Donoghue is a principal investigator for the BrainGate project. He and his team have created implants that read a disabled person's brainwaves and give them the ability to control a computer, a prosthetic limb, even a wheelchair. But these implants are still early in development.

In the meantime, he agrees that the sniff device could help. He says, "Anything that adds to the armamentarium of things that we have to help these people communicate is a good thing."

What Sobel likes about his sniff device is that it's simple, low-tech and cheap to produce. He said the prototypes cost around $300. Plus, the sniff device can be used to drive a wheelchair too. Two breaths in move you forward. Two breaths out, move you backward.

Whether the sniff device will catch on depends on a disabled person's preferences. Most likely the device will be used in combination with other systems. After all, there's one thing that will shut down the sniff device real fast - a cold. [Copyright 2010 National Public Radio]

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