Humanware Prodigy Connect 12 and the Loupe "aka Mrs. Fuzzy Hands"

Well we had a fun week with the kids having their holiday parties, school PJ/movie party and delivering all the gifts to their teachers, therapists, bus drivers and other people who support them.  We also had an appointment at ITG to have a demonstration of the Humanware Prodigy Connect 12 magnifier that was recommended by the Department of the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI).  ITG is a distributor who would also be responsible for repairing equipment if there are issues.  So this relationship is an important one.  It was a good appointment and there were many details to consider.  However, it looks as though we may have narrowed down our choice and will be moving forward with requesting this unit from the Assistive Technologies Department in Loudoun County.  We are hoping they recognize the importance of the multiple capabilities this unit provides.  And although the $3900 price tag makes it a big decision, the comparable options are not less expensive for what they provide.  This device is a mounted Samsung tablet with customized software.  First, it allows Cole to place a worksheet under the camera and magnify it so he can see well enough to complete the worksheet.

Second, it does OCR, or Optical Character Recognition.  So you can place a book under the camera and it will digitize the information and read it out loud.  Cole was very quick to learn how to "pinch" to make the image larger/smaller and quickly learned the settings to change from Heather to Ryan.  When the person from ITG asked which voice he liked to listen to better he said, "I like girls silly."  It was very funny.  Third, in addition to helping Cole complete worksheets and read content, he will also be able to see manipulatives more easily.  Hands-on work is a big part of kindergarten where they look at coins, as an example, and learn how to tell the difference between them.  He has a hard time seeing the difference between a quarter and a nickel.  So this will enable him to put them under the camera and view them larger to see the detail.  Fourth, there are no more "chalk boards" in Loudoun County since every classroom has a promethium board.  All content that the class views on the board will be able to be viewed from his Prodigy Connect.  The fifth benefit is that it has a long distance camera that he can clip onto his desk and the image immediately shows on the screen.  So if he needs to look at something on the wall of the classroom (Reagan had wall words) he can use the distance camera.  And sixth, this is a Samsung tablet which runs on an Android platform.  Historically, assistive technology for vision has required software installation.  If you want the updated features, you would have to send the equipment back to the distributor for the new software to be loaded (therefore your learning tool is unavailable).  Additionally, you have to pay for these upgrades and some hardware may not support the new software.  With this device, the software updates are done over the air as they are done with a new phone software. This is a huge benefit and cost/time saver.

We have had two appointments with low vision specialists, one phone conference, and three appointments with technology experts.  This has been a long process and a difficult one since there are so many factors that require consideration.  The school has to decide what he needs now.  The advocate in me knows it'll be harder to justify a change later if what he has is "functional" so I'm also thinking ahead.  Then there's mom in me who is deathly afraid of how he will feel being different.  Whether his desk will have to be isolated to fit this huge device.  My friends tell me he won't notice.  The questions we've gotten about Reagan's brace tell me otherwise.  Kids are not mean, just inquisitive.  Kids at 5 feel different if someone doesn't like their sandwich. It's a "normal" to feel different and I know kids need to deal with that....just doesn't mean I have to like it.  I'm hoping he will be the cool kid who gets to have a "laptop" at his desk.  I've already decided we need to start thinking about a name for it.  More to come on that...

The hard part is not the logistics and implementation of the technology, but the reality that his vision really is this bad.  At his class party he needed to write his name on the present he made for me.  I knew they purchased the magnifier for him but hadn't seen him using it since the low vision appointment.  The teacher clipped the Loupe magnifier on his glasses to help him see to write.  The good news is that he smiles and it helps him.  But if it weren't for the parents watching him and asking me what it was I probably would have broken down into tears.  We are so blessed he has sight.  We are so blessed he is smart enough to want to write.  We are so blessed that he is not having to fight for life right now.  But that doesn't ease the pain in knowing that the days ahead will be hard.  He will be teased.  And so help me God if I hear one child make fun of my little miracle...let me rephrase...God give me strength to raise my child to know that he is a walking testament of your Glory...

And as we take this in stride, I'm already working on a design to customize the sticker on the Loupe.  Last thing I want is my son having a phone number written on his face.  Apparently he calls it "Mrs. Fuzzy Hands" so we are trying to come up with something creative.  If anyone has ideas please send them my way!  And just like that, school is done for the year, work is wrapping up and we're looking forward to some much needed down time over the holidays to spend as a family.  God is good...