balance and ability to stay upright and steady while trying to hit a target. When did therapy become target practice? Why not eye gaze?
the user. Rather, it enhances the evaluation upon review of the video feedback once the task is complete. So what did we learn? Have you ever heard of the least dangerous assumption (https:// youtu.be/1rIwA7C-vc8)? It was mentioned in a few sessions that I attended at CTG 2018, and that is exactly what we put into practice. Our least dangerous assumption is that despite different vision diffi- culties, limited cognition and non-volitional movements the user could engage with what was on the screen. This is exactly what happened. They not only engaged with the screen but we went from something as simple as blank screen engagement to a higher cogni- tive task such as shared reading and reading comprehension. Another least dangerous assumption was that when someone is unable to participate in following directions with a fine or gross motor task it may not solely be because of low vision or cognitive abilities. We we were able to show the users participating with their eyes on tasks they were previously unable to demonstrate physically. Allowing them to “grab”and“touch”with their eyes rather than motorically, showed us they cognitively understood and were following along with the task the entire time, just visually. It helped me think not only about their engagement and interaction, but also my own interactions with the eye tracking user as they interact with the screen. How so?
Infant and Child Research The Uppsala Child and Baby Lab in Uppsala Sweden conducts eye-gaze research with infants and toddlers. They measure eye move- ments in children because developmentally speaking, eye move- ments are one of the first behaviors that newborns can physically control. Implications? If eye gaze is one of the fundamental motor skills that children are born with, and researchers are using that information to learn more about their behaviors and how they perceive the world, then wouldn’t the same result be gained for someone who might be older but have the cognitive ability of a toddler or infant? Why not try eye gaze? After reading this research I began to question examining some- one’s gaze points. What can we learn about them that may affect or improve their speech therapy, occupational therapy or their educa- tion environment? When speaking with Barb about eye-gaze tech- nology, she commented, “There are so many beneficial and non traditional ways we can use eye-gaze technology. Think of our young learners who show delays in reading or who aren’t able to verbalize their understanding of topics. We can use this technology to assess verbal comprehension, visual tracking skills or visual recognition.”This made me think of those who are symbol communicators, but not yet readers, but are they? We do not really know. Eye-gaze technology can even be an avenue for assessments in reading, on children who were unable to be assessed before. Barb further comments,“Many of the electronic games our young students play have their eyes moving all over a screen. Down, up, right, left, diagonal. Then they come to school and their eyes need to be able to focus on a still object and track left to right. When a student demonstrates difficulty with this skill, it’s up to us to figure out if it’s a motoric skill they can learn or a disability that can impact their learning. Eye-gaze technology and software can help us do that.” We decided to launch an investigation of our own and to use eye-gaze technology with those who had never been exposed to eye tracking because they were not the“traditional candidate”for a communication device with eye gaze for access. We explored three areas: pre-communication skills, receptive language ability and visual tracking. We were able to record and review eye tracking tasks using Gaze Viewer, by Tobii Dynavox. This product allows the evaluator to record the screen and playback the video of what the client was looking at while it shows the gaze points and a heat map of exactly where they were looking. This means we could have the client do any task whether it was watching a video, playing an on-screen game with an eye tracker or completing a cognitive task. The recording is all happening behind the scene and goes unnoticed by the user. This method does not detract from the user’s task or your evaluation of
Video - The Least Dangerous Assumption https://youtu.be/1rIwA7C-vc8
One great thing about using the video feedback is that you have the option of recording what you say to the user as well. Often with eye tracking on a communication device, the clinician is helping the eye gaze user by speaking to them constantly. When a person who is physically engaging with a communication device makes a mistake or misselects an option on the screen, you help them correct it immedi- ately because you can visually see they are going towards the wrong word or message. However, the human eye is fast and when working with someone who is new to eye gaze or perhaps cognitively delayed, we truly have to be patient and give the user time to process the
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