Patty accesses and controls a battery-adapted radio with a Linkswitch timer and a AbleNet string switch. This video demonstrates Patty’s ability to use the movement of her right leg and foot to control a string switch which is connected to a latch timer which is connected to a battery-adapted radio.

5/30/10

Today we introduced Patty to a string-switch (AbleNet) for the first time. For several months we have been exploring switch access with several different types of switches including microswitches, mercury switches, miniswitches, and any switch we could think of that might give Patty access to controlling some cause-and-effect activity. It seems like a simple enough task but with Patty there are so many varibles that can make a difference a sixteenth of an inch one way or another. These things take time.

Well, today was a very big day. We’ve been borrowing switches generously loaned from the Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center’s Family Resource Center and today we tried a string-switch for the first time. It’s so simple I’m now wondering why I didn’t think of it earlier but that’s how these things go. We simply hung the string loop over of Patty’s right foot and toes, mounted the switch an inch or two from her foot and Patty did the rest!

With Patty’s determination and our verbal direction and support, Patty was successfully able to turn on and off a couple battery-adapted devices: one, an insane toy from Chinatown; and the other a radio tuned to a local classical radio station. Take a look at the video to see and hear some wonderful music, literally and most definitely figuratively.

At the end of this video you will also have a chance to see how Patty communicates with an eye-gaze system that she has developed with Teresa. Enjoy!

— Marty

With Patty there’s always so much to say that it can often be a challenge just knowing where to start. And Patty’s story could never be told without including mention of Teresa—Patty’s good friend and extraordinary advocate.

As someone more comfortable in the background, Teresa’s commitment, care and dedication to Patty is all the more remarkable given some of the seemingly insurmountable barriers and resistance along the way. The separate roles of being a friend and being an advocate are related yet often not the same.

It was a very big week for Patty. It was a very big week for all of us. On Tuesday, Patty cast her vote at in the General Election at the end of a long day that proved