Providing a means by which nearly any conventional special education children's book can become an electronic communication aid is the goal of this project. The Phase I project is a feasibility study involving the fabrication and functional assessment of an electronic 'talking' book where the pages form a pouch and are made of a clear material coated with a transparent, electrically conductive coating. Touching the pouches, with cutout pages of a book slipped in, causes an appropriate pre-recorded voice message to play. AdapTech contends this will foster inclusion of disabled children into mainstream educational settings by providing a highly intuitive means for both choice selection and for accessing children's educational books. This intuitive method of selecting and activating voice responses would enhance participation in group dialogue and foster learning by providing the addition of auditory feedback to educational books. The first aspect of Phase I in determining the device's feasibility involves fabricating a number of sample conductive pages then testing their response to exposure to the demanding conditions expected to occur in actual use. The second aspect involves building a number of sample communication aids and assessing their utility with appropriate special-needs students in a functional environment.Anticipated Results/Commercial Applications of the Research:AdapTecht's design and manufacturing experience in communication aids and other assistive devices will translate well into this project. The core technology to create the conductive pages exists, however, its adaptation to this product represents a substantial developmental risk. It is not yet certain if the existing technology will withstand the often harsh operating conditions associated with assistive devices. The other important uncertainty with the communication aid is its utility in promoting communication, language, and choice selection skills, and therefore inclusion in mainstream settings, in a functional environment. However, since input from special education teachers was the genesis of this product, we feel confident in the functionality and efficacy for children in special education. Rectifying these two principal uncertainties paves the way for Phase II, full prototype and product development of the proposed communication aid. The intuitive cause-effect relationship the product would provide and its contribution to mainstreaming represents a powerful capability. Special education teachers and speech therapist will purchase the product for use with their students with moderate to severe disabilities. The product could be offered to non-disabled beginner reader markets as well and marketed in similar to our other assistive devices.
