Innovative Solutions

“Many paths, one destination”

On the DREAMS team, we do whatever we can to ensure the health, safety, and happiness of our clients. This means that occasionally we must think outside of the box in order to overcome obstacles. This is often a group effort resulting in the formation of some great new ideas to not only use for our team, but also to share with other programs.

Here are some of the innovative solutions used by the DREAMS team:

CanAssist provides two of our clients with opportunities to communicate in ways many would think not possible.

CanConnect makes it simple for anyone to connect to a webcam and do live video chat from anywhere by paring down complicated icons and buttons and including input methods like eyetracking or an EMG headband.

The Dynamic keyboard utilized by one of our clients uses big, easy to read buttons and can accept several types of input methods. It is perfect for people with low vision or who lack the fine motor skills to manipulate smaller keyboards. It even learns our clients’ typing patterns and vocabulary, making it much quicker to type out an email or document by predicting what they want to say!

Eye Tracking software can open doors for someone with very limited fine motor control like one of our clients who lives with Rett’s syndrome. She simply focuses her gaze for approximately one second on a picture of popcorn, black licorice or music and is rewarded with that item. Increasing independence is the final aim of this project, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!

Focusing on Celebrations
On the DREAMS team, we take celebrations seriously! Whenever a birthday or holiday rolls around, we do whatever we can to make the day special. This relatively simple act makes our team members feel included and important, thereby contributing to their self-esteem and making their time at the Garth Homer Society that much more rewarding.

Partnering with Professionals
When one of our clients was ready to make the transition from wheelchair to walker, we wanted to ensure that her safety and comfort were paramount. That is why we enlisted the help of an occupational therapist (OT) to help all of us understand how exactly this transition would work. The OT went through the process step by step, recommending equipment and educating staff on how best to support this individual with her new walker. The end result is a whole new level of freedom and pride for one DREAMS team member.