![]() ![]() This might have contributed to my hatred of communication devices since I had to rely on others to move it, and take it on and off being ‘confined to a wheelchair’ had a whole new meaning. Due to my spasticity and lack of fine motor skills, I could never use these types of mounts myself. I guess they didn’t get much consumer input (if any) designing or improving it, and that mounting technology had not advanced at all since the 80’a with my first communication device I didn’t really use as a toddler. The mount ordered with my first Tobii was a regular 7 shaped arm mount. I did practice every morning for ten minutes at my home desk, where the table mount was set up and stayed, but then, I went about my day, which involved meeting people and attending events or appointments outside of my home. While the Tobii representative was gracious enough to let me borrow her table mount for an extended time, I could only practice talking to myself for so long. Unfortunately, due to a mix up with my new wheelchair arriving after my Tobii warranty expired, I was never able to mount my Tobii on my new wheelchair, or any wheelchair for that matter. The first time I got a Tobii was in 2013. I tried a few devices and found the Tobii worked for me and it was covered, for the most part, by insurance. It was getting harder for me to type, so I was looking for alternative computer input methods. When a friend told me about eye gaze technology, I was really excited. There wasn’t a communication device that matched my comprehensive vocabulary and my slow typing speed made the process too slow. Although it is difficult for many people to understand my speech, especially before getting to know me, I preferred repeating myself a few times over using a communication device because that was more efficient. My cerebral palsy affects my speech and mobility, but not my spirit. It’s no big secret that I have been opposed to using communication devices pretty much my whole life-that is, until now. Dianne Goodwin Retires, Company Purchased.Annual Assistive Technology Conference / Closing the Gap.Cleaning/Disinfecting Your Mount'n Mover.
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