Communication Button Project

The Need

A four-year-old child at the For His Children Orphanage in Ecuador with autism is nonverbal and partially blind needs an effective way to communicate with his instructors. The goal was to develop a system to allow the child to express basic needs.

The Project

Designed a communication button modeled after the Staples Easy button. The device—allows him to effectively communicate with his caretakers. Instructors can record a word or phrase, and the child can get the device to replay it by pushing the button. The device can be used to say, for example, “Outside” or “I have to use the bathroom. This was an interdisciplinary collaboration between students in Engineering and students in Physical Therapy.

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Current Status

The project is complete! The communication button was delivered to the orphanage in Ecuador by Prof. Hayward and her Physical Therapy students.