Haptic wearables as sensory replacement, sensory augmentation and trainer - a review

Sensory impairments decrease quality of life and can slow or hinder rehabilitation. Small, computationally powerful electronics have enabled the recent development of wearable systems aimed to improve function for individuals with sensory impairments. The purpose of this review is to synthesize current haptic wearable research for clinical applications involving sensory impairments. We define haptic wearables as untethered, ungrounded body worn devices that interact with skin directly or through clothing and can be used in natural environments outside a laboratory. Results of this review are categorized by degree of sensory impairment. Total impairment, such as in an amputee, blind, or deaf individual, involves haptics acting as sensory replacement; partial impairment, as is common in rehabilitation, involves haptics as sensory augmentation; and no impairment involves haptics as trainer. This review found that wearable haptic devices improved function for a variety of clinical applications including: rehabilitation, prosthetics, vestibular loss, osteoarthritis, vision loss and hearing loss. Future haptic wearables development should focus on clinical needs, intuitive and multimodal haptic displays, low energy demands, and biomechanical compliance for long-term usage

Development of Voice Pitch Control System Using Two Dimensional Tactile Display for the Deafblind or the Hearing Impaired Persons

Deafblind or the hearing impaired persons have great difficulty with controlling their voice pitch because they cannot perceive own voice. In particular, when singing it is very difficult for them to control their voice pitch because they need take effort to maintain a stable tone. In this research, a voice pitch control system was developed to assist their singing by means of a two dimensional tactile display. The two dimensional tactile display which presents musical notes has 64 piezoelectric vibrators arranged in four rows (16 x 4 rows). A user rests the last joint of an index finger on the tactile display to receive tactile stimuli. The user can then control voice pitch using tactile feedback. In this study, data on the voice pitch of two subjects were measured to calculate interval deviation that was different from voice pitch to a target musical interval

Integrating passive ubiquitous surfaces into human-computer interaction

Mobile technologies enable people to interact with computers ubiquitously. This dissertation investigates how ordinary, ubiquitous surfaces can be integrated into human-computer interaction to extend the interaction space beyond the edge of the display. It turns out that acoustic and tactile features generated during an interaction can be combined to identify input events, the user, and the surface. In addition, it is shown that a heterogeneous distribution of different surfaces is particularly suitable for realizing versatile interaction modalities. However, privacy concerns must be considered when selecting sensors, and context can be crucial in determining whether and what interaction to perform.Mobile Technologien ermöglichen den Menschen eine allgegenwärtige Interaktion mit Computern. Diese Dissertation untersucht, wie gewöhnliche, allgegenwärtige Oberflächen in die Mensch-Computer-Interaktion integriert werden können, um den Interaktionsraum über den Rand des Displays hinaus zu erweitern. Es stellt sich heraus, dass akustische und taktile Merkmale, die während einer Interaktion erzeugt werden, kombiniert werden können, um Eingabeereignisse, den Benutzer und die Oberfläche zu identifizieren. Darüber hinaus wird gezeigt, dass eine heterogene Verteilung verschiedener Oberflächen besonders geeignet ist, um vielfältige Interaktionsmodalitäten zu realisieren. Bei der Auswahl der Sensoren müssen jedoch Datenschutzaspekte berücksichtigt werden, und der Kontext kann entscheidend dafür sein, ob und welche Interaktion durchgeführt werden soll

Preparing to Teach, Committing to Learn: An Introduction to Educating Children Who Are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Preparing to Teach is an open-source eBook on deaf education for students and faculty in professional preparation programs, practitioners in deaf education, and families of children who are DHH. Although the focus is on deaf-education teachers who are providing services to students who are DHH, the text is useful to students and faculty in related fields including speech-language pathology, audiology, and special education. Because the text is introductory in nature it covers a broad range of topics and does not replace texts that go into more depth on a particular aspect of deaf education. The text includes references and additional recommended readings and resources for further study. The text addresses the range of communication options used by students in deaf education with an emphasis on listening and spoken language approaches and strategies that have often been only minimally addressed in introductory texts. References and resources for further study of approaches that are primarily visual are included.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/oer-books/1000/thumbnail.jp

Giving a voice to the hard to reach: Song as an effective medium for communicating with PMLD children who have low social tolerance

Common practice in special schools is to sing rather than speak to children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), in order to initiate and maintain interactions; however, there is little formal evidence to support this practice. This study explored the extent to which singing is effective with this ‘hard to reach’ cohort. Five pupils participated, who had PMLD and low social tolerance. These individuals do not like to be touched, talked to or to be in close proximity with other people. This research set out to explore the effectiveness of different sorts of interactive approaches, notably singing or speaking, as a starting point for building an evidence base to underpin practice. The study used a single subject research methodology, with an adult as a communication partner who initiated interactions, and responded to the behavioural cues of the child. Interactions were video recorded. A system to code participants’ responses to different interactions was developed, based on detailed descriptions of each individual’s behaviour on three major dimensions: Attention Focus, Social Proximity, and Facial Expression. Pupils’ vocalisations and coordinated actions were also recorded. Events were presented graphically; statistical analyses explored the effectiveness of different interaction approaches; sessions were described qualitatively. The research revealed consistent communicative behaviours (and a means to identify these) in individuals with PMLD and poor social tolerance. Participants were able to express their internal states through consistent patterns in their eye gaze, social proximity, facial expression, and vocal behaviours. The communication partner played a critical role in structuring and directing the interactions; interactions were shaped and influenced by both environment and context. Simple behavioural descriptors are insensitive to context. The research showed that, used on their own, they can lead to misinterpretations of events, and so must be complemented by qualitative descriptions. Nevertheless, the microanalysis of behaviours revealed ‘moments of wonder’ which overturned expectations about who was leading interactions; none of the participants was thought (by staff) to be capable of the secondary intersubjectivity and attention directing behaviours that were documented. There were individual differences in response to singing: however, overall, singing was associated with more positive facial expressions (smiles), higher levels of social tolerance (to touch and proximity), and improved communicative responses (eye contact, vocalisations, and coordinated actions). This provides evidence to support current practices of singing to children with PMLD. This thesis modelled a strategy for collating a profile of communicative behaviours. A practical outcome of the research was that details of the communicative behaviours of participants were circulated via a ‘communication passport’ for each participant, and shared with parents and carers. The use of song became a more explicit part of the daily routine and a planned element in lessons. Findings are related to research on mother-infant communication and infant development, and on the role of music in emotional regulation, and the psychology of music. Directions for future research are discussed

Investigating Developing Attachment Relationships: Infants with Hearing Loss and Complex Needs

A key part of any child’s development is forming a secure attachment relationship. Yet there is a scarcity in the research investigating attachment development in infants with hearing loss and complex needs (HL-CN). Such infants often receive varied services to support their learning and development. Parents of infants with HL-CN often experience higher amounts of stress, anxiety, depression, prolonged grief and trauma in comparison to parents of typically-developing infants. The current study proposed that an accumulation of risk factors may have an adverse impact on the attachment process, and that hearing loss alone was not a determinant for attachment insecurity. The study thus aimed to better understand how attachment develops in infants with HL-CN and their caregivers. It also asked whether the infant’s early childhood intervention service provider could facilitate the development of attachment relationships. The study took a mixed-methods approach to a multiple-case study embedded design to explore these questions. It utilised interviews, self-report psychometric questionnaires, documentation, videotaped mother-infant interactions and service provider-infant interactions, during early childhood intervention therapy sessions. The CARE-Index and an original video-coding scheme were used to analyse the videotaped observations. Findings from the study revealed that in infants with HL-CN, the attachment process takes much longer, with an accumulation of risk and protective factors, including the presence of the service provider, influencing the likelihood of secure attachments. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as future directions for attachment in infants with HL-CN

'They can because they think they can?' : the education of pupils at two secondary schools for the blind, 1920-58

Blind children were one of the first 'disabled' groups to be given an education by the State. However, for most children with a visual impairment, this schooling was only at an elementary level. This study looks at how pupils at Worcester College for the Blind and Chorleywood College for girls with little or no sight came to have the opportunity to receive the academic education which could provide them with access to the universities and professions. This is discussed in the context of the political and social environment of the period between 1920 and 1958, with an assessment of the continuities and changes. The purpose of the study is to examine the complexity of factors which influenced the education of visually impaired children. No one explanation, either based on social control or progressive humanitarianism, can determine the development of special education. Class and gender as well as perceptions of 'disability' did playa role. The aim is then to judge the level to which the resultant education was enabling in terms of providing educational opportunities which could lead students towards active Citizenship and fulfilling employment. The study triangulates sources written from above by Government, charities and the governing bodies with school records as well as interviews and written accounts to give a voice to the former students. In this thesis, variations in the experience of children with different impairments are examined alongside the level of influence possessed by blind people themselves. The nature of the education provided challenged the perceptions of society in some ways, while not attempting to confront the inequalities which existed in the mid-twentieth century. This resulted in a schooling which was enabling in its academic nature, but, while not disabling, left students unprepared for some of the skills required for adult life