I currently find that assistive technology predominately focuses only on executing specific tasks and not providing a means for personal expression. In order to address this disconnect, I have been working on project called iN-BaGs, which focuses on the objects we carry and how they reflect of our personal expression.

The two current explorations revolve around organization and security of the backpack. One exploration is a series of pouches inserted into the existing backpack. The pouches are wireless connected and controlled by a master panel. The panel is a way for the student to indicate the pouch (desire) they want or to be notified if a pouch is not closed properly (secure).

The second exploration is the in combination of fashion and mobility through the constraint of weight distribution. The frame of an existing backpack is used and modular components are attached and detached as the user desires. This provides flexibility in weight distribution and aesthetics.

I came to ITP for the opportunity to become involved with assistive technology. My past career has centered on the health and research field.

When I was an undergraduate in East Carolina University’s Communication Arts program, my father discovered he had a brain tumor. The tumor was removed and resulted in a disconnect between his ability to speak his thoughts. We had to find alternate means of communication.

This personal experience changed the way I approach design and communications. I made a conscience decision to work in the academic and research fields where I could use my skills to facilitate causes for the greater good.

Prior to coming to ITP, I headed up a web team that developed online portals for the administration of clinical trials. I enjoyed working with people who could potentially change people’s lives.

I took the Assistive Technology class in the spring of 2006. Karen Roston an Occupational Therapist at PS 199 and I collaborated on the re-conception of the lap tray. It is called the LapPAC. It is a tray that holds a laptop, water bottle and a gulley for personal accessories. The tray is intended for students who use motorized wheel chairs and cannot access the backpack behind them.

The functionality of the tray aside, it is cool. The tray was designed with input from the students. The main criterion is that it be cool. The lapPAC has an organic shape and constructed of blue Plexiglas. The lapPAC is a successful first prototype.

My past experience with the students and the lapPAC lead to me to evaluate the current devices in the field of assistive technology. I found that most of assistive technology is friendly for children and toddlers. However, when a person begins to approach adolescent and adulthood the devices are either still childish or medical. There were not a lot of options that acknowledged a person growing up.

The lapPAC from Assistive Tech

Clinical Trials and Research on Backpacks and Mobility.

Working with Abilities School in Long Island, NY
Working with Cognitech Cafe in NY,NY
Working with Adaptive Design Association NY,NY

The Design of Everyday Things
by: Donald A. Norman

Female Forms: Experiencing and Understanding Disability (Disability, Human Rights, and Society)
by: Carol Thomas

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (2nd Edition)
by: Steve Krug

Strength: Broadsides from Disability on the Arts
by: Paddy Masefield

User-Centered Technology: A Rhetorical Theory for Computers and Other Mundane Artifacts (Suny Series in Studies in Scientific and Technical Communication)
by: Robert R. Johnson

Internships: CognitechCafe, Adapative Design Association

Two Audiences:
1. The students at the Abilities School in Long Island, NY. They use motorized wheelchairs.
2. An adolescent in High School who needs a better way to carry her stuff.