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Logan ProxTalker Wins BHTA Independent Living Design Award
Posted on:
December 16, 2010
On Dec. 2, the Logan ProxTalker won the Independent Living Design Award at the 2010 British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) Industry Awards, the first time a communication aid has won the award in its 15-year history.
The judges were looking for innovation, aesthetic appeal, ease of use, enhancement of quality of life, and clarity of user instructions.The inspiration and motivation for ProxTalker's designer, Glen Dobbs, came from his 11-year-old son, Logan, who is non-verbal and has autism. Logan had been using PECS (picture exchange communication system) successfully but Glen wanted a device that would progress him on to greater independence in his communication. Something robust enough for Logan to use wherever he was - home, school, or beach - and most importantly, something easy for him and everybody around him to use.
 Glen and his colleague Kevin set about designing the ProxTalker. From personal experience they knew the design must be robust, portable, versatile, reliable and simple to use. The ProxTalker emerged as a moveable picture communication device that actually talks, at the touch of a button.
Using RFID technology to access digitally recorded words and phrases, the user picks a sound tag identified by pictures, photos, words or symbols and places it on one of the five buttons on the device and presses. The device then speaks the stored message: a sound, a word, a sentence or even a music clip, whatever has been recorded.
Since its introduction into the UK in September 2009 the ProxTalker has had a positive response from speech-language therapists, teachers, parents and users. Originally designed for children with autism, the communication aid is now recommended for all age groups and across a wide spectrum of communication difficulties, on a one-on-one basis and in a classroom.
The device design is lightweight yet robust, it can be carried around in its backpack or mounted to a wheelchair and can easily be personalized for the individual user's requirements.
Logan Technologies offers demonstrations of the ProxTalker and makes the communication aid available for a free trial in return for user feedback. Constantly talking to users means the company has been able to respond to a wider range of needs, adding and improving features requested, where possible. Such innovations extend the versatility and suitability of the device for a wider range of users.
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