Goals:
• Reverse learned helpless
• Provide a means of independence
• Provide some privacy
• Provide the ability to have “unapproved” items
• Access to needed school supplies/computer

Focus:
The focus is currently on children with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. The tray items, form and function have been modified to target this population.

Occupational Therapists currently use pressure garments to apply deep pressure input to the bodies of children with sensory modulation or processing disorders. There are two main problems with the pressure vests currently available, consistency and repetitive manual application. The Smart Hug inflatable pressure vest aims to solve these problems by automating the process of applying and removing the vest making the amount of pressure a child receives consistent and repeatable day to day. An additional goal of the technology is to begin collecting data about how much pressure children need, and to analyze the benefits of pressure garments in therapeutic use.

The most powerful tools in therapy are some of the simplest and most open, a group of sandbags, a large exercise ball, a mirror. For children with physical impairments, these tools provide a path to learning functional movement. Their progress hinges upon motivation. Applying the technology of video tracking and carefully designed interactive environments, an open and adaptable layer of inspirational feedback can supplement these simple tools and provide a catalyst for learning and development.

This thesis presents an Assistive Technology gaming system that promotes new and augmented methods for occupational, physical and rehabilitative therapy. Using a combination of Software, Hardware and online-services, the system encourages a patient-centric approach to therapy, allowing a more cohesive treatment-process between the care-facility and the patient’s private residency. The thesis will evaluate the system in context of existing therapy methods and assistive-technology solutions. Special attention will be applied to the design-process of the system as an inclusive rather than segregated solution, mapping the correlation between its universal-usage and specific AT applications. In this context, the thesis comes to take a critical look at existing therapy methods and the role that technology plays in encouraging certain treatment-methodologies while stifling others.