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Your weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Show notes:
Rest By GAIT with Marilyn Brown and Harriet Phillips | WWW.RESTBYGAIT.COM
An Overview Survey of Home Appliance Accessibility – AccessWorld® – February 2016 http://buff.ly/1OqCxO3
W3C launches effort to replace passwords – Help Net Security http://buff.ly/1Qu4BkF
App: Peds Rap www.BridgingApps.org
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MARILYN BROWN: Hi, this is Marilyn Brown.
HARRIET PHILLIPS And Harriet Phillips.
MARILYN BROWN: We are cofounders of gait LLC, makers of rest.
HARRIET PHILLIPS The seat that replicates the gait of a slow walking horse.
[Unison]: And this is your Assistance Technology Update.WADE WINGLER: Hi, this is Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals crossroads in Indiana with your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Welcome to episode number 248 of assistive technology update. It’s scheduled to be released on February 26 of 2016 par Park today we are going to talk about courses, kind of. We are talking about rest which is the relaxing equine stimulator therapy and we are going to learn about how these mechanical horse like beings might be useful for folks in the therapy context. Also we talk a little bit about accessibility of home appliances; anything that the World Wide Web Consortium is doing about replacing passwords; and then we have an app that is covered by the folks over at BridgingApps called Peds Rap.
We hope you’ll check out our website at www.eastersealstech.com, shoot us a note over on Twitter at INDATA Project, or call our listener line, give us some feedback. We would love to hear from you at 317-721-7124.
Brian, come here and sit down for a second.
BRIAN NORTON: What do you want?
WADE WINGLER: Brian Norton is the host of our new show, or ATFAQ. Brian, think quick: what’s the best thing about ATFAQ.
BRIAN NORTON: If you’ve got questions that we’ve got answers. We have a group of really seasoned professionals who sit around and we just kind of talk about questions that you might have and come up with the answers that we might think could fit the problem.
WADE WINGLER: That was more than 10 seconds that was true. Thanks, Brian.
I found a great article in AFB access world magazine, the February edition, about home appliance X abilities. I mean washers and dryers and stoves and microwaves and all those kinds of things. I know that as those devices become more technologically advanced, sometimes they lose their accessibility. This piece is pretty expensive. It is written by Erin priest and Neva Fairchild. They review down into the categories you might think, washers and dryers, ovens and ranges or cooktops, they talk about dishwashers and microwaves as well. They go into manufacturer by manufacturer, so Samsung and Whirlpool and Frigidaire and LG and Sunbeam and all these different companies, and it talk about some of the most accessible and sometimes less accessible versions of these appliances. One of the common themes that I noticed in their review here was that the more high and an appliance tends to be, the more digital their controls are. So the old analog things like knobs that have a start and stop position or buttons that you physically push and work a little bit better for folks who are blind or visually impaired because there is a tactile representation of what that knob or button or thing he does. In some situations, there are knobs that just spin around and around and it is very hard to tell when they stop and start Casa you can’t even memorize the different positions on an up and figure out what setting you have on your washer or dryer. One of the trends that they have noticed by the way is that the midrange and lower and appliances tend to be a little more accessible because they are a little more analog and tend to have fewer of those smooth silky indistinguishable controls that you find on some of the higher and appliances. I was particularly fascinated with a section of the article when you have a series of tips for selecting and using glass cooktops. When I was younger, a stove either had a gas flame or an electric burner, and you could very easy touch and feel exactly where the burner was. On some of the newer glass, kept units, it’s not the case. The whole thing is just a sheet of glass or something very smooth and sometimes very hard to discern where the burner is and what is not a burner. So they had a whole discussion on how to deal with that, some ideas on how to make a little more accessible. Very well written article, very happy to find it. I will pop a link in the show notes over to this home appliance accessibility article at AFB Access world Magazine. You should check it out.
I’m looking at headline here that reads, “W3C lodges ever to replace passwords.” It’s from help net security magazine. It’s interesting. When we hear about the W3C in the world of assistive technology, oftentimes it’s in relation to their W AI, or their web access initiative. The W3C is the international consortium that kind of figures out and establishes how the web works. They are the reason we have “www” or “.com” or those things. They set the standards that make the web work. One of the things that’s annoying in the way the web works are passwords. I know that for folks with disabilities, the longer, more complicated passwords are more cumbersome when you have to memorize them or type them in, especially if you’re using assistive technology. Sometimes the long, fancy passwords are a problem. Well the folks over at the W3C are working on a new set of standards that might help with that. Doctor Jeff Jaffe who is the CEO of the W3C is working with the group to complement some prior work on a web cryptography API and also working on a web application security specification. The idea is that passwords probably will live forever, but there might be other ways to authenticate yourself when you come to a website or other computer-based system. Examples might be using a USB key or activating a smartphone that you have on your person. In some situations, that might mean that having to type in a long password or dealing with some of those more cumbersome and difficult things to do when you’re using assistive technology. I’m going to pop a link in the show notes over to this article. It is a little bit technical and is more about Internet security, but I think the implications of using something other than complex passwords for authentication are getting into those websites may have some real assistive technology and accessibility implications down the road. I hope this is sort of the first step in a long series of steps to move us to good, strong security that might work a little bit better with assistive technology. Check our show notes.
Each week, one of our partners tells us what’s happening in the ever-changing world of apps, so here’s an app worth mentioning.
AMY BARRY: This is Amy Barry with BridgingApps, and this is an app worth mentioning. Today I am sharing the Peds RAP app. Peds RAP, which stands for Reviews and Perspectives, is a physician hosted monthly podcast service that delivers funny, engaging, and interesting pediatric medical information from experts in the field of pediatric medicine. Designed as an audio-based continuing education program for physicians, CME’s, Peds RAP is a clever and entertaining way for physicians to conveniently meet their annual CME requirements. BridgingApps reviewed the app for Peds RAP and season even greater use of the up-to-date science-based source of information with topics ranging from managing children’s behaviors, to elbow injuries, to picky eaters, and even addressing topics such as vaccinations. Other healthcare professionals including RNs, PAs, PTs, OTRs, SLPs, RDs, and even students can benefit from listening to the podcast by staying current and fulfilling their professional continuing education requirements. But even parents themselves, especially those who are raising children with complex medical issues, and/or for special needs, they can really gain from the podcast content and from the physician perspective. Peds RAP has a yearly suppression option that includes access to all of the content and full CME’s each month, which average between three and four hours of credit. Or there is a free option that includes one full month’s episode, a chapter from each month’s episode, and that access to all of the free bonus shorts. BridgingApps is really excited about Peds RAP, and it’s apt as a sound and witty way to learn health and medical information related to children. As a reliable source with high quality content, it can really be an educational tool for parents and support interactive and thoughtful pediatrician parent dialogue. The Peds RAP app is available at the iTunes and Google Play stores and is compatible with iOS and Android devices. For more information on this app and others like it, visit BridgingApps.org
WADE WINGLER: I was raised on a farm in central Indiana. Riding horses as part of my background although I haven’t done it in a lot of years. It is pretty common that horses come up in my world when I think about assistive technology because I know people with disabilities who benefit from that, people who do some therapy or other kinds of things on horseback and it’s been a real important part of their life. So you can imagine how the farm kid from Indiana got super excited when he heard about a product called a relaxing equine stimulator therapy, or REST, that’s made here in Indiana, in fact, or at least I’m talking to some folks in Indiana here today. It does some of those things that I know are important. I am super excited today to have Marilyn Brown and Harriet Phillips who are the cofounders of this rest by gait product. We are going to learn a ton about it today. Ladies, thank you so much for being on the call.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Our pleasure.
WADE WINGLER: Before we start talking specifically about the product, tell me a little bit about your background and how you folks ended up where you are in terms of this kind of product and working with this horse -like device.
MARILYN BROWN: I had been a financial planner and had retired January 1 of 2012. It had been a wonderful experience for me. Prior to that, I had been a national chairman of an international charity. After approximately six months of being retired, I was with a dear friend of mine sitting on the beaches of Lake Michigan, and a wonderful story came about.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: I have a very close friend whose grandson is autistic, and it is a large family. As a special treat, the entire gang went out to Montana to a dude ranch. Everyone wondered how Alex, who was nine at the time, would respond to seeing horses and cowboys and what not. It turns out, after a little bit of trepidation, they put him on a horse and he burst into song. He was just as happy as could be. This is the story I was relating to Marilyn. I said isn’t it a shame that we can’t have a horse at home? A portable horse? A not eating horse? From there, almost 4 years ago this project came to pass.
MARILYN BROWN: The idea of horse therapy is over 2000 years old, and Wade, you as a Midwesterner who grew up on a farm knows what great wonders it is just to be on a horse. But there is something very special about a horse. It is not the bond between man and horse. Instead it is the gait of the horse most replicates the gait of a man. There have been some significant studies done by behavioral animal people showing how this interaction works and why it works. Of course, for those who use horse therapy, it’s that paid for, is not reimbursed by any insurance. It is very costly. We are talking at best an hour a week with two people aiding in the use of that horse. So it is an exceedingly expensive proposition.
WADE WINGLER: I’ve witnessed some horse therapy kind of sessions, and you are right. There is lot going on there to get the experience going on. Let’s back up just a little bit and tell me very specifically what is rest, what it stands for, what it looks like, how does it work.
MARILYN BROWN: Basically rest is an acronym that stands for relaxing equine stimulator therapy. The actual device somewhat resembles an ottoman. It’s like a footstool in a way. The top section makes the motion that, when you sit on it, it’s like sitting on a very slow walking horse. We’ve had a lot of people including the fella who is a cowboy out West for 10 years sit on it and say, yes, indeed, it feels like a horse. Now the idea is not to win the Derby. The idea is to calm down. That’s where the rest comes in. Because the common influence of that gentle motion of a slow walking horse is obvious. In our trials can we have seen that that has happened.
MARILYN BROWN: With some of the studies, we see that as a result of these gaits that are so similar, the man and the horse, that there is actually through the movement in printing of that gait on the person’s cortex. That can lead to a calming influence that is not just the time you’re on the device but, as a result of the imprinting, can be a permanent part of your life and therefore permit part of relaxation. Our top audience involves people with autism, people with ADHD which now is up to 15 million in this country, a wonderful examples of it working with veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder.
WADE WINGLER: So a lot of those diagnoses and categories of folks that we are talking about sound really familiar to me. Have you found that there are people who aren’t good candidates where it is just not the right kind of therapy or tool for them?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: The only time I would suggest that it isn’t right for someone who has neurological problems – and you may recall from many years ago that horse therapy was basically used with youngsters who had cerebral palsy to try to build up the strength in the core. But for people who, with neurological disorders – and I will use the example of Parkinson’s – they furtively have a severe balance problem. I would not recommend our device to someone who is afflicted with Parkinson’s. That’s the only neurological disorder we have found so far that we don’t approve.
WADE WINGLER: As I’m thinking about the mechanics of the device, it was funny – I talked to my wife about the interviews I’m going to do sometimes, and you might have heard this before, but she said it’s a mechanical bull for people with disabilities?
[Laughter]WADE WINGLER: So I need you to shoot me down and tell me why it’s not that.
MARILYN BROWN: Please ask her to listen to this interview.
WADE WINGLER: Right?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Sent her to our website, restbygait.com. There it tells of every what it does and doesn’t do.
WADE WINGLER: So there are some motors that are creating a very gentle gait movement. It is not mechanical bull like at all?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: No.
MARILYN BROWN: Not at all. Peter it will not when the Derby.
WADE WINGLER: There you go.
MARILYN BROWN: However, by the same token, you will never have to clean up after it.
WADE WINGLER: That was what I was thinking when you’re talking about at the intro of the interview, it doesn’t require a barn, does require food, doesn’t require somebody to look stalls after it.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Our objective is to have the closest thing to horse therapy available 24/7, either in your home, in your school. There are many places where this could be valuable. It does everything a horse does without the problems.
WADE WINGLER: Without the mess.
MARILYN BROWN: And it is totally portable. We have devised this machine so that it has wheels, runs on a battery, can take up to 225 pounds running on a battery eight hours a day. It is something that you can also lift. It’s totally usable, child or adult. It comes in two heights, 14 inches for a child so it will fit under a desk, or 18 inches which is the height of the chair in the United States. That’s the normal height of any chair.
WADE WINGLER: So it sounds like the kind of thing that will fit in a minivan or the trunk of a car pretty easily if you need to take it with you.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Absolutely.
WADE WINGLER: So who are your primary customers? Are these mostly going into schools or homes or clinics? What are you seeing?
MARILYN BROWN: We’ve just begun the production. We have been through three and a half years of finding the proper people to make it, robotics, going to robotics people, using the Internet which is certainly the answer to many of the advancements in devices. At this point, we are seeing a thrust towards school because of the Disabilities Act of 1975 which requires that every school has a special needs teacher, a special needs class, and resources must be according to the needs of those children even before the other children’s needs are met.
WADE WINGLER: To talk to me little bit about the cost of the device.
MARILYN BROWN: We are in preproduction, but you will have product available within the next probably six weeks. We are selling for $1,850 per unit, and we will pay the shipping. That’s sort of a bonus for the wait that we are living with. Engineering is not fast. When you’re making something that ends up being a physical item from an idea, as you go along you come up with improvements and changes. Like we have cord stored in the bottom so that you don’t have the cord loose here and there. We changed the handle so that it is easier. Now finally at long last we are where we want to be. $1,850 gets it to you. This device, of course, looks like it’s done, and that is because the graphic art is inside the plastic cut totally washable, so it can go anywhere, can be wiped down at any time as often as you need to — totally necessary in school.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Excuse me for interrupting. Interestingly enough, on research that we’ve done regarding autistic children and similar problems, we never realized that color was a big problem. These kids have certain colors they absolutely shy away from, and after a lot of trial and error, we finally settled on a universal thing which is blue denim. So far everybody loves it.
WADE WINGLER: There you go. That works well for everyone. Very casual, very Western. So talk to me a little bit about the rider experience. I’ve ridden a horse before so I get what that gait is like , so describe it to me little bit. Also, are the settings adjustable? Does it canter or go faster or slower? What does the adjustability look like with it? I’m not going back to the mechanical bull analogy, don’t worry.
MARILYN BROWN: Excuse me for laughing, but as Harriet said earlier, we will never win the Kentucky Derby. We have three speeds for this device. The speed are slow, slower, and slowest. We do want you to stay on the device even at the fastest which is called slow. You could study for your LSAT’s if you are thinking about going to law school and you even forget that you are on such a device. You can do whatever is necessary without paying any attention to the movement. The movement is rhythmic , very slow, and as I say it can imprint on the mind.
WADE WINGLER: I know you talk about research throughout the interview. Is there research that talks about the efficacy of this device versus a traditional horse?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: The problem with research , this is not something that can be measured. The responses are a visual thing. If you watch a child or an adult or whoever , sitting on rest, that is basically what you learn. A close friend of Marilyn has a grandson – it seems everyone has a grandson. We are seniors and our friends are equally seniors. Everyone laughs like , why are two old ladies inventing something? Are you kidding? Know, because it’s close to us all. There is a terrible need and we wanted to do something. Marilyn can tell you about Luke.
MARILYN BROWN: Yes. When you talk about research , comparing the actual horse with our device , there is no analytical test that has come yet that would in any way help us with that. But there is a lot of anecdotal evidence. I would tell you about my dear friend who as an eight-year-old grandson who lives in California. As you know, we live in Indiana. He was coming to visit his grandma one day, and he spent a week. Luke who speaks very rarely, is a very sweet young man , eight years old , came into the house. He had never seen the device before. Within five minutes, he just sat down on it. Maybe because he hadn’t seen it before, he thought it would be interesting. For all the period of time he was at that house, every time he walked into that room, he went only to that chair. His grandma who has been a teacher for 45 years said the moment he sat on the chair , she saw his shoulders relax. She had never seen him that relax. One day he came into the house into the room and wanted to write it, and one of the sisters – and he loves his sisters dearly – had the nerve to be on it. He went over to her and he touched her on the shoulder and he said, mine. And that was totally unlike Luke , totally shows you the worth of this device.
WADE WINGLER: That’s a great story. That’s a really good story. Ladies, what is in your crystal ball when you think about this device, when you think about rest? What is coming down the trail in the future?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: That’s good, coming down the trail.
WADE WINGLER: Did you like that pond I threw in there?
MARILYN BROWN: I like that.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: We are hopeful that a large number of rests will go out into the world and that they will make people calmer, more comfortable, make their lives better , and we would be very happy if that could happen. How about you, Marilyn?
MARILYN BROWN: Wade, some of the reasons we have actually withheld a production number for this device is that we went from relatively simple casings — the engineering of the device was always very sophisticated but we went from relatively simple casings to using injection mold which last, as you know, for as long as we will last and much longer. We are able to produce a number that would be in the tens of thousands in less than a year’s time.
WADE WINGLER: Excellent. Good. I know the people in the audience are going to be interested in learning more or even getting one of these devices. How do they do that? Is there a number they call? Is there a website they go to? How do they contact you?
HARRIET PHILLIPS: The easiest and most informative is our website, which is www.restbygait.com, and there you will find all of the information. There is a little video that’s interesting. I think it gives you a contact so if you have questions or would like to talk to us personally cut that can be done. The website is definitely your best bet.
WADE WINGLER: Great. I will put that link in the show notes so that people can get to it directly. Marilyn Brown and Harriet Phillips are the cofounders of Rest by Gait and have been the most delightful interview this afternoon. Ladies, thank you so much for spending some time with us.
MARILYN BROWN: Thank you, Wade.
HARRIET PHILLIPS: Much appreciated.
WADE WINGLER: Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? Call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Looking for show notes from today’s show? Head on over to EasterSealstech.com. Shoot us a note on Twitter @INDATAProject, or check us out on Facebook. That was your Assistance Technology Update. I’m Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana.
