ATU777 – Kinnebar Foot Swing with Jodi Whalen

This is Jodi Whalen and I am the mom who created the KINNEBAR Foot Swing. And this is your assistive technology update.

Hello and welcome to 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 individuals with disabilities and special needs. I’m your host, Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. Welcome to episode lucky number 777. It is scheduled to be released on April 17th, 2026. On today’s show, we are super excited to welcome Jodi Whalen, creator of the KINNEBAR Foot Swing. She’s going to talk all about it and how it can help individuals with focus. We are also joined by our friends from Bridging Apps with an app worth mentioning and have a story about ALS technology and someone’s frustration in using it. If you got a question, a comment, someone you’d like to hear on the show or maybe something you’d like to learn more about, please let us know. You can email the show at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org or call our listener line at 317-721-7124.

Some of our best guests come from your recommendations, so please do not hesitate to reach out, folks. We always do love to hear from you. If you’re looking for a transcript of today’s show, you can head over to our website at eastersealstech.com. Find the show and the transcript will be right there. Our transcripts are generously sponsored by INTRAC. You can find out more about INTRAC at relayindiana.com. As always, listeners, we thank you for listening. Let’s go ahead and get on with the show.

On April 22nd, 2026, Easterseals Crossroads is opening its doors and its Zoom room for a truly special celebration, Assistive Technology Awareness Day, and we want you to be a part of it. This Year in Data, Atlas and our clinical assistive technology department are joining forces to highlight the incredible impact of assistive technology and the dedicated professionals who help individuals with disabilities access life-changing tools every day. Whether you’re a longtime AT user, a professional in the field, a caregiver, or just someone curious about how technology can transform independence, this is an event you won’t want to miss. Assistive technology is so much more than devices and gadgets, it’s about possibility. It’s about giving people new ways to communicate, connect, learn, work, and participate in everyday life. It’s about opening doors that might otherwise stay closed. And on AT Awareness Day, you’ll get an inside look at the innovations and the people that make all of that happen.

During our celebration, you’ll have the opportunity to tour our programs, meet the teams behind the technology and get hands on with a wide range of AT tools and devices. You’ll see communication devices, smart home solutions, mobility supports, computer access tools, environmental controls, workplace accommodations, accessible gaming devices, and so much more. Each one designed to remove barriers and help individuals live more independent lives. And the best part, you can join us in the way that works best for you. Our in person event will be held Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Easterseals Crossroads in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can walk through our buildings, ask questions, explore devices firsthand, and meet the specialists who change lives every day. We’ll be guiding attendees through our programs and demonstrations so you get a complete, real world look at how AT is used, evaluated, and delivered.

If you’re not able to make it in person, no problem. We’re hosting a live Zoom tour you can join from anywhere. You’ll still get a behind the scenes look at our AT labs, demonstration areas and services, all guided by members of our AT team who will walk you through the tools, answer questions, and give you a front row seat to the work we do. Our virtual event will happen Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The Zoom link and more information is available at eastersealstech.com/atawarenessday2026. There’s also a link in the show notes.

Why do we celebrate AT Awareness Day? Well, National Assistive Technology Awareness Day is recognized across the country as a time to highlight the importance of assistive technology and the transformative role it plays for millions of people with disabilities in older adults. AT Awareness Day is more than a calendar observance, it’s a recognition of the fact that assistive technology is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. These tools support learning, communication, employment, safety, and community participation. They’re essential for independence, dignity, and access. But this day also honors the professionals in the field of assistive technology, the specialist, program coordinators, researchers, technicians, and advocates who work tirelessly to help people get the right tools for their needs. Their dedication ensures that individuals are never alone in navigating the world of assistive technology, that there’s always someone ready to help, teach, build, adjust, and support as needed. So please join us on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 to celebrate National AT Awareness Day here at Easterseals Crossroads or online. More information, including links to the remote session are available at eastersealstech.com/atawarenessday2026 or down in the show notes. Can’t wait to see you there.

Listeners, we want to make sure to invite you to our next INDATA full day training coming up on May 5th, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Eastern. And it will be over note-taking tools and apps, different accommodation to help us all with taking notes. So I don’t know about you, but I know I could definitely use some assistance taking notes. Actually, I say I probably take pretty darn good notes. The problem is I take them about four different systems counting the pieces of paper scattered across my desk, and I usually can’t find the right information when I need it. So we’re going to go over all kinds of different ones. We’ll be joined that day by some folks who will sound very familiar to listeners of our show. Josh Ferry Woodard from Jamworks as well as Lee Chambers from Genio and Chris Hamblin from Caption.Ed will all join us to talk about their different accommodations.

Then in the afternoon, our own Blake Ali, demo and load lead for the INDATA Project will be on talking about idea mapping and Granola AI. And then I will finish out the day talking about some different physical devices to assist with note-taking. Not just paper and pen, I promise to elaborate slightly more than that. If you never attended one of our full-day trainings, just know you log in via Zoom and you can get CEUs for the day. They’re completely free to attend, but you do have to register. I will put a registration link down in the show notes that you can easily find more information, but please do join us for our next INDATA full day training on May 5th, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I hope to see you there.

Our first story today comes to us from ALS News Today. It’s written by Kristen Neva, and I hope I pronounced that right. It’s N-E-V-A. And it’s titled Frustration Mounts When ALS Assistive Technology Isn’t So Helpful. So this is a personal story about Kristen’s husband, Todd, and his new power wheelchair, which was delivered with a tablet with an eye control kind of device. Now, just kind of from the story, what I get is that he’s never really used an eye tracking style system before, and basically the frustrations that kind of come from this. Said he’s been using a head mouse breeze, a puff clicker, so he’s been used to using technology, is pretty tech-savvy. It kind of goes through some of the things that he’s able to do, including helping his son building a gaming computer using these different tools and technologies. But I really won’t go through the whole story, but it brings up just a valid point, I guess, that I’ve seen a little more lately, or maybe even heard a little more from different users of assistive technology.

And usually it’s that maybe they get a device or they have a device maybe prescribed, I guess is maybe the right kind of word, maybe by a doctor of some kind, but there’s no real training involved. Or other times it seems to be that maybe it’s just the newest, best thing. I don’t know the best way to really put it, but it’s really that it causes almost more frustration than it does actually really meet a need. They would rather have what they’re used to, what they’re comfortable using, and what they like. And let’s not lie, really, assistive technology. As we look at it, as we look at all these tools and devices, all these great and really cool things, the folks we have on here, including our guest today, the amazing things that they’re able to make, but if someone doesn’t know how to use it or if it doesn’t really fit their need, then it’s maybe more of a hindrance than an actual help.

As you kind of read this story, if you do go click on it, it does talk about contacting customer support and then being able to remote in and change a few things, but still he’s not able to really use it the way he wants to. Now, again, tech-savvy, smart guy able to do some things, so he’s probably going to be able to figure out how to use it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to like it, and it may not be his preferred method. And I know at least on our team, especially our clinical folks that go out and really work one-on-one, that’s always the most important part is finding something someone actually wants to use, something they feel comfortable with, something that meets their needs.

And again, that they feel good about, that fits in with their learning style that really makes sure that we’re not putting our own kind of, I guess, thoughts, “Hey, this is the neatest, coolest thing. It’s what you really need,” is something that should never cross your mind really in assistive technology. It should always be, “Hey, here’s all the really great things. Here’s all these different options. What do you like? How do you like to access it? What’s your best way to be able to access it? How are you comfortable with that?” So many different considerations go in there for sure.

So if you look and think about those kind of things, do remember, especially if you’re here in the States, that you do have an AT Act somewhere in your state available. If you’re in Indiana, you lucked out because it’s us here at INDATA, but if you’re in another state, all states and territories here in the US do have an AT Act. And a part of all those AT acts is their loan library. So they’re going to have a loan library with different kinds of supports there that you can borrow, that you can try out, see what might work for you. Or if you’re an OT or a PT or an AT specialist or something, see what will work for the folks that you’re working with. Borrow some equipment, try it out, actually see what you’re comfortable using if something meets that need that you think it will. Because remember, AT is never really about the device, it’s about what it can do and how it can accommodate a barrier.

So anyway, I read this story and it’s, I don’t know, something I’ve been thinking about a little bit more, maybe lately, is just making sure that as AT specialists, as AT professionals especially, that we’re really keeping that person first, that their needs, what it is they’re trying to accomplish and then doing everything we can to put the right piece in place to be able to help them out. So if you want, again, to read this story, it’s right over down in the show notes. And if you want to find your local Assistive Technology Act, you can go to eastersealstech.com/states and find it there.

Listeners, next up on the show, we’re very excited to welcome back Ale Gonzalez from Bridging Apps with an app worth mentioning.

This is Ale Gonzalez with Bridging Apps, and this is an app worth mentioning. This week’s featured app is called Voiceitt. Voiceitt is a communication app that was designed to help people with speech disabilities, disorders or impairments or other speech difficulties that cause their speech to be not easily understood by listeners who are unfamiliar with them. Voiceitt learns how the individual speaks certain words through repeated training and then uses those words as commands for connected phrases. A favorite feature is the conversation feature, which could be used to make sure that the user always has a way to communicate their basic information in case of a medical emergency or in the case that they get separated from their companion or caregiver in public. Another is Smart Home Mode that works with smart home voice assistants to control smart home enabled devices such as lights, doorbells, cameras, and appliances and other devices that can be plugged into smart plugs.

Voiceitt is currently available for iOS devices and is free to download. For more information on this app and others like it, visit www.bridgingapps.org.

Listeners, today we’re going to sit down and try to maintain our focus as we chat with Jodi, the creator of KINNEBAR and learn how this tool can help with focus and other needs. Jodi, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Yeah, I’m excited to get into talking about the KINNEBAR, but before we do that, could you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

I sure can. I’m a mom of two very active young boys and also a perpetual problem solver. I started my marketing career real quick just in cable television many years ago. I have a marketing background and I got the entrepreneur bug and have run a couple of businesses. And my most recent project was creating a product to help children with sensory needs, which was actually born out of necessity to helping my own children. Both of my kids aren’t neurodivergent and they are super smart, but they have trouble focusing. One of my boys has ADHD, dyslexia and sensory needs, and he found it very hard to stay seated and on task for long periods of time.

I noticed several years ago when he was locked in and he was focused while he was doing his homework, he would swing his foot and hit the leg of our kitchen table. And I asked him if that helped him and he said, “Yeah, mom, it helps me focus.” So that was kind of like the aha moment for me. I’ve realized that movement really helped him. Fast-forward a little bit, I took him to an OT and I learned so much about what was going on in his little body, and it’s no wonder that he had a hard time sitting still. So I actually tried buying a few different products to keep him focused, but everything I bought either wobbled, it rocked, it bounced, and I thought, wow, this is kind of silly because I’m now putting my ADHD kid who’s hyperactive on something that is going to make him bounce while he’s supposed to be writing on a piece of paper. And I’m thinking, how crazy is this? So we put all these learnings together and I wanted to recreate that swing movement, and that’s how our product was born.

Awesome. And I love that you kind of tried what was out there, found that it didn’t quite match for him. So I guess what is the KINNEBAR and what kind of sets it aside from those other supports that you tried?

Yeah. So the KINNEBAR is a foot swing and it’s considered a very low tech device in the assistive technology world. So you don’t have to worry about charging it or plugging it in. And it’s got two features. It actually has a swing and a sensory band.

Nice. And yeah, we’ll never say anything bad about low-tech assistive technology. Anything that’s not going to disconnect from Bluetooth the one time you need it is always really good in our book. So tell me about how the kind of sensory band and the swing worked to help folks maintain focus.

Yeah, sure. So finding the right sensory tool, as I well know, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. You may have to try different options as I did for my son. I realized that for him, bouncing and wobbling caused him dysregulation rather than self-regulation. So you can actually cause more challenges for a child or an adult if you provide too much stimulation, like the bouncing and the wobbling that I saw. And I’ve spoken to many occupational therapists about this.

Nice. And as we kind of talk about bouncing and wobbling, how’s the KINNEBAR able to, I guess, stay stable?

Yeah. So you actually slide the foot swing right underneath your desk or table. We make two models since there are literally hundreds of different workstations. The K-100 is a smaller footprint and works great with a standard four-legged desk. This model comes with suction cups and straps, and it has to be attached to the desk itself. The second model we offer is called the K-200, and it is freestanding, and that fits under, let’s say, larger desks or tables. And that does not have to be attached since it’s freestanding, but you can if you want to. The K-200 is the one that adults would typically order and the one that I have under my desk right now, because I also have ADHD. So it’s not about the age or the height of a person when it comes to ordering which model. It’s more about what type of workstation they have.

I’m really glad you brought that up. My next question was going to be, can this help adults? Because we’re focusing on kids, we’re focusing on students, but I really feel like for adults, it can be just a really great help as well.

For sure. Yeah.

And then Jodi, I didn’t know if you wanted to talk a little bit just, and I kind of found this as I was looking everything up, but do you want to talk a little bit about kinesthetic learning? And I probably mispronounced that word because I swear I cannot say that word for the life of me, but would you mind talking about that a little bit?

Yeah. I mean, so that’s something that I realized very early on that my son was a kinesthetic learner. And that just basically is a fancy way of saying that they use gross motor skills and they like to incorporate movement when learning. It just makes the whole process easier. It kind of calms the brain down so they can work. When your body can’t self-regulate, the brain can literally just shut down. And some children might even present behavioral issues and start acting out if those needs are not met. The KINNEBAR provides a gentle and relaxing movement with the swing, and it also provides input with the sensory band. So you can actually switch back and forth and use the part that feels most comfortable and helpful. Plus we all get bored, so it’s nice to have the different options, and it’s the only flexible seating solution that offers two options.

So Jodi, as an entrepreneur and a creator, I guess, how did the KINNEBAR change from maybe how you very first thought it would come out to how it ended up in the model it’s in today?

That’s so funny. So the K-200 was actually our first model until we brought it into my son’s classroom, and I realized that it was sticking out too far. So it was a tripping hazard. And this was in the second grade, he had a four-legged standard desk. And so I went back to the engineer and I said, “Listen, we’ve got to shorten this thing.” And then he said, “Well, it kind of works like a swing set. If we shorten it’s going to start tipping.” So that’s how the straps came along and the suction cups. And as we progressed and went through the product development phase, which was two and a half years, it was very obvious that we needed the two models. So it actually kind of was a blessing in disguise because there are some, like I said, there’s so many different types of workstations.

So it has evolved, and I would say the other piece that did evolve was the sensory band itself. My husband used to make them by hand in our garage, and that was not sustainable. So we found a new and improved way of doing it with a machine and also it’s more durable. So that was really important to me as a parent.

Oh, most definitely. Now, does your husband have to work the machine in the garage to make it?

No.

I’m just kidding. Okay. Okay, Good, good, good.

No, I actually work with four different manufacturers on the different parts.

Oh, good. He got off the hook and everything. So that’s awesome. Jodi, you probably have tons of these and I know you have the personal story, but could you tell me a story about someone using the KINNEBAR and how it was able to help them?

Yes, actually, and this is kind of recent too. I became friends with a mom. Our boys go to school and they play sports together and she’s awesome. And she’s got three children. Her youngest is on the spectrum and he’s nonverbal. He would come to the sidelines and go to the games with us. And to get through dinner, she was telling me that he takes a bite of food and he runs around the room and he takes another bite of food and he runs around the room. And I’m thinking, “My gosh, aren’t you nervous he’s going to choke?” And she’s like, “Yeah, it’s very uneasy. It’s unsettling.” And I said, “Oh my gosh, I have four of these KINNEBAR in my garage. You should try our product.” And I said, “Maybe he just needs to move his feet a little bit.” So she tried it one night at dinner and she called me the next day and she said, “Jodi, that is the first time, and I can’t even remember how long, that all five of us sat through dinner and he was so calm. it was so enjoyable.”

And that just really made me so happy as a parent. So she got a second one for his classroom and the teacher actually wrote an email a week later saying how much it was helping him in school as well. So that was really rewarding to hear. And that’s one of my favorite parts of going to conferences and going out and meeting people is just hearing the stories and hearing how it helps.

Oh, most definitely. Yeah, that’s not even something you would think about because you’re thinking about learning or working and all that stuff. But yeah, even just the simple act of being able to all enjoy a meal together, it can even help with that. So super cool.

Yeah. So another great benefit of the KINNEBAR is not only does it help the child self-regulate, it can also help the teacher or the therapist. A lot of times they’re challenged with having multiple kids, obviously in a classroom and especially in a special needs classroom, there’s a lot going on. And so to stop and try and put that student, that particular student that needs help with staying on task, the nudge, the simple nudge and all the little tricks that they do, if the KINNEBAR can keep that child on task, it actually frees up a lot of time for the teacher or the therapist so they don’t have to keep redirecting that child.

Jodi, I guess what’s next for KINNEBAR?

I’ve got to travel. I found that it’s just me, myself, and I in the business. And so I recently just really started going to more and more conferences and trade shows, and I just enjoy showing it to people, introducing it to people. I mean, OTs and AT people come up to me all the time and their jaw kind of drops and they’re like, “What is this?” And, “I have a student that I’m just trying to figure out a solution,” and, oh my gosh, they’re just so excited to try it. So I’m just really trying to get out there more and more and meet with these people and introduce it as much as I can as awareness really.

Oh, most definitely. Yeah. You don’t know what tools are out there if you don’t know the tool exists. And there’s so many … I mean, there’s a lot of things out there, I guess, fidgets and stuff like that to help with focus, but most of them are taking away your hands or your attention. This can kind of be, I don’t want to say hidden under the desk, but it’s not right in your face. It’s not taking away use from your hands or anything like that. So you can still do tasks such as eating or school work or work or things of that sort.

Yeah. Kind of the beauty of it is that it immobilizes the upper body. So you really are, it is kind of discreet, it’s underneath the desk or table and it frees up your hands to do handwriting, math, iPad work, eating, arts and crafts. And that’s something different. And that was the issue I was seeing with trying some of these other devices of my son bouncing on a ball. It just, the equation didn’t work for seated tasks.

For sure, for sure. Yeah. Bouncing on a ball is just not really going to help your handwriting in any way, shape or form. For sure. Jodi, for listeners who want to find out more or see KINNEBAR for themselves, what’s a good way for them to do that?

Well, they can go to my website, which is www.kinnebar.com. I can spell it. It’s K-I-N-N-E-B-A-R.com. We’re pretty active on social media, so your listeners can follow us on social media. We’re probably most active on Instagram and Facebook, and we do all kinds of fun giveaways all the time for parents and teachers and therapists. So lots of opportunities there to win one. And on our website, just a side note, we also take HSA and FSA funds in order to purchase it if somebody needs to use that and want to use up that money.

Nice. Oh, very cool. Very cool. We’ll put links to that all down in the show notes so that folks can go and check it out for yourself. You did a great job describing it, but I do think it’s something that you choose to definitely try to see for yourself because it might be able to help out a loved one, a family member, or heck, even yourself with some of the needs that might be out there. Well, Jodi, thank you so much for coming on today for telling us about KINNEBAR and just all the great ways that it can help with focus.

Fantastic. Thank you so much, Josh. We really appreciate it.

Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on an Assistive Technology Update? If so, call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Send us an email at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org or shoot us a note on Twitter @INDATAproject. Our captions and transcripts for the show are sponsored by the Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation or INTRAC. You can find out more about INTRAC at relayindiana.com. A special thanks to Nikol Prieto for scheduling our amazing guests and making a mess of my schedule. Today’s show was produced, edited, hosted, and fraught over by yours truly. The opinions expressed by our guests are their own and may or may not reflect those of the INDATA Project, Easterseals Crossroads, our supporting partners or this host. This was your Assistive Technology Update, and I’m Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana.

We look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.