The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the creation of Adaptoys to help enable those living with paralysis to play with their families.
Adaptoys are popular toys that are specially equipped with voice activation, motion sensors, or and sip-and-puff (SNP) assistive technology so that persons with physical disabilities can play with them.
For example, according to a media release from Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, a remote control car is powered by a headset equipped with a straw, into which users can exhale to cause the car to accelerate, or inhale to reverse. Motion sensors on the headset steer the car left or right based on the user’s head movement. And a voice-controlled pitching machine throws a ball on the user’s command, tossing pop-ups, groundballs, and strikes.
Advertising agency 360i and technology company Axiox created the initial Adaptoys prototypes.
The crowdfunding campaign, launched by Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation along with 360i, is to help raise funds to support the research, development, and production costs for at least 100 adapted remote control cars, which will then be given to qualified recipients via a random lottery selection.
The more money is raised via the campaign, the more cars that can be produced and presented to recipients, per the release.
“I have never let paralysis slow me down. However, I look at my nephews and it can be frustrating when they want to play ball and I can’t join the fun,” states former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down during a game in 2010. He shares his experiences living with paralysis and playing with his nephews, in a video produced for the Adaptoys campaign.
“With Adaptoys, I can fully participate with my family and create new memories with my nephews so that they never feel as though their ‘Uncle E’ is sidelined at playtime,” he adds.
[Source(s): Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, PR Newswire]
