Hobbies

Descriptive Transcript

Assistive Technologies for Hobbies

Introduction

Speaker: Rachael

[On screen: The title slide for the webinar “Assistive Technology for Hobbies”. Across the top are three logos: The Wheel, with the words “Stronger Charities. Stronger Communities.”; Training Links, powered by The Wheel; and the DATTN logo, with the words “Digital and Assistive Technology Training Network”. Along the bottom is a row of five illustrated people: a woman in a powered wheelchair with a screen in front of her showing the word “Hello!”; a woman with sunglasses and a white cane, holding a phone; a man in a green t-shirt and grey shorts, holding a phone; a bearded man with glasses holding a phone and a newspaper; and a woman holding a baby.]

OK. Hi, everyone, and welcome to today’s webinar exploring assistive technology for hobbies. My name is Rachael. My pronouns are she, her, and I’m Design and Development Manager at Rehab Group. I’ll be facilitating today’s webinar along with my colleagues, who I’ll introduce in just a moment.

[On screen: A slide titled “Turning on live captions”. It shows a screenshot of the Microsoft Teams meeting toolbar. The toolbar buttons, from left to right, are Chat, Q&A, People, Raise, React, View, Controls, Notes, Rooms, More, Camera, Mic, Share, Start meeting and Leave. The More menu is open. Its options are: Get more apps and agents; Record and transcribe; Meeting info; Video effects and settings; Audio settings; Language and speech; Settings; Call me; and Help. “Language and speech” is highlighted with a dark outline, and a small sub-menu beside it shows the option “Show live captions”.]

Before I go any further, I’d like to explain how you can make use of captions for today’s webinar. To turn on live captions in Teams, you can click the More button on the meeting toolbar, then go to Language and speech. Select Show live captions and captions should appear on screen for you.

Then I’d also like to welcome our Irish Sign Language interpreter, Ella, who is joining us today. Ella will be on screen interpreting throughout the presentation. So thank you, Ella.

Today’s presentation is being shared using PowerPoint Live. The video I’m about to show you all will show how you can access PowerPoint Live accessibility features. So I’ll play that now and I will talk over the video explaining what you can see here.

[Video starts. The slide is titled “Magnification, Contrast and Language Settings”. The video is a screen recording of a Teams meeting. It shows a presentation slide titled “What is assistive technology?” in the centre of the screen. Below the slide are controls: a left arrow, the text “6 of 33”, a right arrow, a red “Live” button labelled “Sync to presenter”, a grid icon and a settings icon.]

So you can go down to the bottom of the screen and click the change view button and that gives you the option to magnify the slides. If you’d like, you can zoom in and see the text more clearly. You can also set the slides to high contrast if you prefer. And if English isn’t your first language, you can change the language on the slides to a range of different languages offered in the menu. The example on screen now is just showing how you can change to Spanish as an example. If you do change any of these settings, it will just change for you. Nobody else will see the change has been made.

[Video ends.]

[On screen: A slide titled “Webinar series”. It shows a numbered list: 1. Assistive Technology for Daily Living; 2. Assistive Technology for Communication; 3. Assistive Technology for Education; 4. Assistive Technology for Hobbies; 5. Assistive Technology for Work. To the right is an illustration of a man in a green t-shirt holding a phone. Along the bottom are the DATTN, The Wheel and Training Links logos.]

So this webinar is the fourth in a series covering five areas of assistive technology. We’ve covered assistive technology for daily living, communication, education, hobbies and work. Each webinar is recorded and hosted on Enable Ireland’s AT and Me platform. We’ll share a link to the platform by email after the session today so you can access any of the recordings. And our final webinar on assistive technology for work will take place on Thursday the 29th of October, and we’ll be sharing more details about that event after today.

[On screen: A slide titled “Members of the Digital Assistive Technology Training Network”. It shows the logos of the 12 member organisations in four rows of three. Row one: Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Corlann, Enable Ireland. Row two: Independent Living Movement Ireland, MS Ireland, Muiríosa Foundation. Row three: Parkinson’s Ireland, Rehab Group, Saint John of God Community Services. Row four: St Michael’s House, Sunbeam House Services, Vision Ireland.]

These webinars have been delivered by the Digital Assistive Technology Training Network. The aim of this training network is to provide easily accessible micro training on assistive technology and it has been funded by The Wheel, through their Training Links programme. So a big thank you to The Wheel for making this event and all of the previous events possible. The Digital Assistive Technology Training Network is made up of 12 organisations in total: Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Corlann, Enable Ireland, Independent Living Movement Ireland, MS Ireland, Muiríosa Foundation, Parkinson’s Ireland, Rehab Group, Saint John of God Community Services, Saint Michael’s House, Sunbeam House Services and Vision Ireland. Today’s webinar is a collaboration between Rehab Group, Enable Ireland and Corlann.

[On screen: A slide titled “Webinar Topics and Speakers”. It lists: 1. Assistive Technology and Gaming, Ronan Fox, Rehab Group. 2. Assistive Technology and Music, Karl O’Keeffe, Enable Ireland. 3. Assistive Technology and Art/3D Printing, Orla Whelan and Rachel McMullan, Corlann. On the right is an illustration of a man in a powered wheelchair with a screen in front of him showing the word “Hi”.]

So now I’d like to introduce today’s speakers. I’m delighted to be joined by Ronan Fox from Rehab Group who will be first up and will speak about assistive technology and gaming. Ronan will talk to us about some ways technology can support people to enjoy and participate in gaming. Ronan will be followed by Karl O’Keeffe who is joining us from Enable Ireland. Karl will talk about assistive technology and music and how technology can help support people to engage with music in different ways. Finishing up, we’ll have Orla Whelan and Rachel McMullan from Corlann who will talk to us about assistive technology and art. They’ll talk about 3D printing and the creative possibilities it can offer. So a very warm welcome to all of our speakers and thank you so much for joining us today.

[On screen: A slide titled “What is assistive technology?” with three bullet points: “A product or system that helps improve a person’s functioning and independence”; “Assistive technology should be person-centred”; and “The right solution depends on the person’s preferences, strengths and lifestyle”. To the right is an illustration of a bearded man with glasses holding a phone and a newspaper.]

Before I hand over to our speakers, I’m going to cover some of the basics. First, let’s explore what is meant by the term assistive technology. A nice, simple definition comes from the World Health Organization. It describes assistive technology as any product or system that helps a person improve their functioning and independence. That might mean helping someone move around, communicate, hear, see, or manage their health. It can be something simple like a walking stick or a pair of glasses, or it can be more specialised like a wheelchair, a hearing aid or a communication board. An important point about assistive technology is that it is not one-size-fits-all. To be truly helpful, assistive technology needs to be person-centred. That means it should be chosen based on the person’s goals, their strengths and their environment.

[On screen: A slide titled “What is digital assistive technology?” with four bullet points: “Digital Assistive Technology (DAT) uses digital devices or software improve a person’s functioning and independence”; “It can run on devices that people already use every day, such as phones, tablets, computers and smart devices”; “DAT needs to be easy to use and reliable – training and support should be offered”; and “Should be person-centred – DAT should fit with the person and their everyday life”. To the right is an illustration of a woman with sunglasses and a white cane, holding a phone.]

Digital assistive technology, or DAT for short, uses specifically digital devices or software. It can run on devices that people already use every day, like their phones, tablets and computers, as well as smart devices. So, for example, someone who finds reading difficult might use the text-to-speech function on their phone so that their phone can read a text or a web page to them, instead of them having to read the words on the screen themselves. Another example might be somebody who has difficulty communicating verbally. They might use a communication app on a tablet where they can select pictures or words on screen, and then the tablet would read those words out loud for them. And digital tools like these can be really powerful, but they also need to be easy to use and reliable. So to work well, people often need training to learn how to use the digital assistive technology, as well as support from family, carers or other professionals, and time to try different options and see what works best for them. So again, digital assistive technology needs to be person-centred. The aim isn’t to simply introduce a piece of technology for the sake of it, but to find something that genuinely works for that person and fits into their everyday life.

[On screen: A slide titled “Built-In Accessibility Features in Windows and Mac”. It shows two logos: the Microsoft Windows logo, made of four coloured squares (red, green, blue and yellow), and the black Apple logo.]

Today our speakers are going to talk about some really nice examples of assistive technology in relation to gaming, music and art. But if you’re new to assistive technology, I’d really recommend checking out the built-in accessibility features in Windows and Mac as a starting point. These features are pre-installed on both Windows and Mac devices, so they don’t come at any additional cost, and they can be very powerful in terms of making technology more inclusive in all areas of our lives, from work to education and more. I don’t have time to talk through all of these features today, but I will show you how to find them whether you’re using a Windows or Mac device, and you can explore them in your own time. We’ll also share some additional resources explaining a bit more about these features.

[Video starts. The slide is titled “Navigating to Windows accessibility features”. The video is a screen recording of a Windows 11 desktop with a dark blue background and the word “Rehab” in white at the top centre. Desktop icons run down the left side, including Recycle Bin, OneDrive, Microsoft Edge, This PC and Microsoft Teams. A taskbar along the bottom has the Start button, a search box and app icons.]

So in this first video, you’ll see how to access the accessibility features in Windows. I’m going to play a video here showing you how you can navigate to them, and I’ll talk over the video explaining what’s happening on screen. So here you can see the cursor moving to the Windows Start button, then selecting Settings, and from the Settings menu the cursor will move to Accessibility. Within this section, you can see a range of different accessibility options grouped under titles like Vision, Hearing and Interaction.

[Video ends.]

[Video starts. The slide is titled “Mac accessibility features”. The video is a screen recording of a Mac desktop. The wallpaper is a photograph of a clear turquoise lake with grey boulders and snow-capped mountains. A calendar and weather widget are at the top left and a folder named “Rehab Group” is at the top right. The Dock along the bottom shows app icons, including Finder, Safari, Messages, Mail, Photos, Music, the App Store, System Settings and an Accessibility icon.]

So that’s Windows, and now we have Mac. And again, the video here is going to show you how to navigate to these. So you can go to System Settings, that’s in the menu bar, go to Accessibility, and again, different accessibility features are grouped into different categories such as vision, hearing, motor, speech, and general. So these are just some great areas where you can start to understand different accessibility features.

[Video ends.]

Now I’m going to hand over to my colleague Ronan, who will talk to us about assistive technology and gaming.

Gaming

Speaker: Ronan

[On screen: A title slide, “Assistive Technology and Gaming”, with the name “Ronan Fox, Rehab Group” below it and a purple game controller icon to the right. The five illustrated people from the first slide are along the bottom, with the DATTN, The Wheel and Training Links logos at the top.]

Thanks very much, Rachael. So as Rachael has mentioned already with that fantastic introduction, my name is Ronan Fox. My pronouns are he, him, and I work as a senior development officer for the National Learning Network, which is part of Rehab Group.

[On screen: A slide titled “Gaming as a Hobby and Learning Space”. On the left are three cards. “Social”: “Play, connect and share with others”. “Creative”: “Explore, problem-solve and have fun”. “Inclusive”: “Accessibility helps more people take part”. On the right is a colourful illustration of four young people laughing together on a sofa in a purple-lit room, with game controllers. One of them is in a wheelchair and is using a large white adaptive controller with big buttons. Another wears purple headphones. A banner along the bottom reads “Gaming can support confidence, communication and belonging.”]

I’m going to start by looking at gaming as more than just entertainment. For many people, including myself, gaming is a hobby. It can also be a social space, a creative activity, and a way to build confidence through play. In NLN, we have seen how games like Minecraft Education can support learning and engagement. Learners can build, explore, problem-solve and work together in a shared space. This is why gaming fits well into a conversation about assistive technology and hobbies. It gives us a practical example of how access can look different for different people. Some individuals may need more time, others may need clear instructions, tech support, captions, different controls, or a more structured activity. The main point in that is that gaming can support confidence, communication and enjoyment, but we need to think about accessibility from the start. The image on this slide shows a small group gaming together, including accessibility gaming equipment, and I’m using it to show gaming as a shared hobby, not just as an individual activity.

[On screen: A slide titled “What makes gaming more accessible?” with the subtitle “Accessibility can be built into the game and the setup.” Three cards run across the top. “Game design”: “Clear text, captions, lower pressure.” “Game choice”: “Casual, social or story-driven options.” “Player control”: “Change controls, pace and visuals.” Below is an illustration of a young person wearing headphones, playing a game on a monitor. The game shows a cartoon explorer in a green landscape with the caption “Let’s explore together!” A settings menu on the screen lists Subtitles (switched on), Sound, Controls, Visual settings and Difficulty. Callout labels read “Captions”, “Clear text”, “Adjustable difficulty” and “Customisable settings”. A box at the bottom right reads “Remove avoidable barriers so the player can focus on the experience.”]

So a useful question to ask is: what options does the player have? Some accessibility supports are built into the game itself. These might include captions, readable text, adjustable difficulty, visual settings, or the option to change controls. Again, I’m going to use Minecraft Education as a fantastic example because it includes support such as Immersive Reader and text to speech for chat, which can help gamers who benefit from having information presented in different ways. Game choice also matters. Not every game will suit every person or every group. Some games work better because they allow creativity, teamwork, turn-taking or a slower pace. Player control is another important part. Can the person change the sound, the visuals, the controls, or the level of challenge? The more options we have, the easier it is to adapt the experience around the person, rather than expecting the person to fit the activity. And just to describe what’s on screen, the slide shows examples of game settings and options such as captions, clear text and adjustable difficulty. These are the kinds of built-in features that can reduce barriers, and we see many games today having these features, which is fantastic because it allows everyone to experience them.

[On screen: A slide titled “Tools that open gaming up” with the subtitle “Small changes can make a big difference.” A panel on the left lists: Customisable controls; Adaptive controllers; Alternative input; Captions and clear audio. On the right is an illustration of a gaming desk. A monitor shows a game scene, with a webcam on top. Headphones sit on a stand beside it. On the desk mat are a large adaptive controller and a white standard controller. A gaming chair stands to the right. Callout labels read “Alternative input”, “Customisable controls”, “Captions and clear audio”, “Adaptive controllers” and “Comfort matters too”.]

So once we know what the person needs, we can look at tools and adjustments that might help. Sometimes the solution is very simple. It might be changing the button layout, turning on captions, adjusting difficulty, increasing text size, or allowing more time. Sometimes the person may need a different way to control the game. Adaptive controllers, larger buttons, switches, joysticks, keyboard and mouse, or different control layouts can all make a difference. One piece of equipment that we’re going to look at today is called the Xbox Adaptive Controller. This is a useful example because it shows how gaming can open up when the controller is designed around the player. Alternative input can also be important. Some players may use switches, touch, eye gaze, voice control, or a combination of different tools. We should also remember comfort: seating, screen height, controller position, lighting, volume, and, also very important, breaks can also affect whether someone can stay involved. Access is not always one big piece of technology. Often it is a few small changes working together. And just to give you a description of what’s on screen, the image shows how different gaming access tools, including an adaptive controller, alternative input options and comfort supports, can help.

[On screen: A slide titled “X-Box Adaptive controller” showing the still frame of a video. It is a close-up photograph of a man’s hand pressing a large black button on a white, rectangular Xbox Adaptive Controller on a table. Other people sit beside him, holding standard controllers. The green Xbox logo is in the bottom left corner.]

So I’m going to show you a short video that gives a practical example of accessible gaming. As you watch this video, think about the difference between a standard setup and a setup that is built around the player. The important thing is not just the controller itself, it’s what the controller makes possible. It can give someone more control, more independence, and a better opportunity to enjoy the activity. After the video, I’ll bring it back to how we can apply this type of thinking in our own setting.

[Video starts. This is a Microsoft video about the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Several voices are heard, including Xbox staff, gamers, an occupational therapist and patients at a hospital. The captions do not say who is speaking. The Xbox Adaptive Controller is the large white rectangular controller with two big black buttons shown in the still image.]

At Xbox, we have a controller design that our fans love. However, for gamers with limited mobility, or gamers who don’t use both their hands, this controller design might not work best for them.

He pushed you out of the way. I’m sorry.

Doorknobs are the worst thing ever invented. Putting on shoes, the cell phones that I use, these are the sorts of things that we don’t think about until we have to, and I think about them every day. Yeah, I have cerebral palsy on my entire right side. This side of the controller is fine. This side doesn’t happen. As game platforms have gotten more sophisticated, the controllers have gotten more sophisticated, and it started to get really frustrating.

We designed the Xbox Adaptive Controller through feedback from the accessibility community. The Xbox Adaptive Controller is really easy. You just plug it in and then you can plug in various other devices. I can make it work for me the way it has to. With the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a gamer can game with one hand and one foot, or one hand and their shoulder, or even one foot and their chin, and I can change it from game to game.

[unclear: “Good ready forward squeeze tall.”] There it is.

Craig Hospital is a facility for patients who’ve either had a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury, and it’s a place for their rehab. Yes. We’re here for game night and we’re helping new patients get back into gaming again. Is that the D-pad? Yeah. OK. Our role as occupational therapists is to get people back to doing. When the Xbox Adaptive Controller came along, it acted like an Xbox controller and it just worked.

Uh oh. Over there on the standard Xbox controller, it’s just hard to press the buttons because I can’t really put pressure through my hands. But then with the adaptive controller, I can use larger joysticks, larger buttons that are easier to press and reach.

Corey and his brother Zachary are twins. Before Corey’s injury, Zachary had played games with him regularly, and that was the way that they related to each other as siblings. Who do you love playing Xbox with here at Craig Hospital? Zach. The Xbox Adaptive Controller and the Copilot feature allowed them again to play games together. So there’s a huge social component to it. You got that? Yes, yes, they can play any game if they want. I see the confidence just burst out of them.

[Video ends.]

So what I like about that example is that it focuses on the person first. As you’ve seen, the technology can be important, but only because it removes a barrier and creates an opportunity. This is the same approach that we use within NLN when we start to plan gaming activities.

[On screen: A slide titled “Inclusive gaming in practice”. On the left are four items, each with an icon: “Ask about access needs”; “Offer controller options”; “Choose flexible games”; and “Use captions and clear instructions”. On the right is an illustration of four young people gathered around a monitor, smiling. One is in a wheelchair, and one is using an adaptive controller on a table. A banner along the bottom reads “Inclusive gaming is planned, not accidental.”]

So when we bring it into practice, the starting point should always be the person. Before choosing the game or the equipment, it helps to ask a few simple questions. First of all, what does the person want to play, what would make it easier for them, and what might get in the way? From there, we can look at the options that we have. Some people may be comfortable with a standard controller or a mouse and keyboard, where others may need larger buttons, a joystick, a switch or a different layout. Game choice is just as important. For group activities, flexible games often work best. These might be games that are easy to pause, easy to explain, or allow people to take on different roles. This links with some of the work NLN has done around e-sports, including our engagement with Phoenix E-Sport, where we created an e-sports course that is available to all our students. It is also about teamwork, confidence, communication and giving people a space to be involved. Clear instructions make a big difference too. Captions, visual prompts, step-by-step guidance and time to practise can make the activity easier to access. And like I mentioned, Minecraft Education has Immersive Reader within the game, which can be accessed at any time if there is text on screen. Inclusive gaming does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be planned.

[On screen: A slide titled “Key takeaway”. Three panels run from left to right, joined by arrows. “Participation” shows three children laughing and playing with controllers. “Choice” shows a standard controller, an adaptive controller, a large purple switch button and a joystick. “Enjoyment” shows a smiling sun icon above a young person in headphones and a pink hoodie, cheering with both fists raised. Below the panels is the line “Small changes can make a big difference.” A banner along the bottom reads “Accessible gaming opens the experience up to more people.”]

So to finish, the main message is that accessible gaming opens the experience up to more people, which is really the important element here. Gaming can be fun, social and motivating, but only if people can access it in a way that works for them. Participation is the goal. This can be true in Minecraft Education, an e-sports activity, a games club, or simply a shared hobby with others. Choice is what helps make that possible. When people have options around the game, the controller, the settings, the pace and the support, they have more control over how they take part. Enjoyment matters too. The aim is not just to provide access, the aim is for the person to have a positive experience and feel included. So the takeaway here is very simple. Small changes can make a big difference. Accessible gaming is not about lowering the experience, it’s about opening the experience up. I just want to say thank you to everyone. And now I’m going to hand you over to Karl O’Keeffe from Enable Ireland, who will take us into the next section on assistive technology and music. Thank you.

Music

Speaker: Karl

[On screen: A title slide, “Assistive Technology and Music”, with the name “Karl O’Keeffe, Enable Ireland” below it and a purple acoustic guitar icon to the right. The five illustrated people are along the bottom, with the DATTN, The Wheel and Training Links logos at the top.]

Thanks, Ronan. When you listen to music, even sitting perfectly still, your brain is still very busy. It’s working on sound, emotion, memory, reward, and even areas involved in movement. Listening is never passive. You are actively participating in music. Over the next few slides, we’ll look at options for controlling music playback and alternative ways of experiencing music. Then we’ll introduce a range of accessible music activities and show you how to build your own. Finally, Cillian McSweeney will tell us about his experience as a musician who uses AT to compose and perform. He’ll show us a lovely free app for performing using alternative input devices like switches and eye gaze.

[On screen: A slide titled “Choose, Select & Control Music” with four bullet points on the left: “Smart Speakers can be useful to a wide range with the right support”; “What do you have already? Grid, Communicator etc. offer accessible players”; “Check post on AT&Me about building an accessible player with Optikey”; and “Users of Apple Accessibility tools will find Apple Music more accessible”. A small illustration of a woman in a powered wheelchair is at the bottom left. Down the middle are four large purple buttons from a music control screen: a house icon labelled “Spotify Home”, a music note icon labelled “My Playlists”, a speaker icon labelled “Vol Down”, and a play and pause symbol. On the right is a photograph of a smart speaker on a kitchen counter, beside a spiral-bound booklet. The booklet page is partly cut off. It shows a photograph of a person in a woolly hat sitting at a synthesiser, and the text “ARTIST: Kaelen Vane (Pronounced: KAY-len Vay…)”. Underneath are two songs with spelled-out pronunciations: “Song 1: Midnight on the Ring Road (MID-nite on the RING Road)” and “Song 2: Echoes in the Canyon (ECK-oz in the KAN-yun)”.]

Music can be social, but it can also be something enjoyed on its own, so being able to independently select and control your music is the logical place for us to start. If you use a smart speaker, you can simply ask for an artist or station. Also, people who use AAC, a communication device that speaks for them, find this a very effective way of selecting and controlling their music. But if your speech isn’t always understood, it can be frustrating. Some artists and some names are hard to remember or hard to say. A simple fix is a booklet. Fill it in with your favourite artists and songs, group them by mood or time of day, add pictures and write each name the way it sounds. If you support someone, make it together with them and then test it on the speaker with them. We have a picture of one of these on the slide here.

If you use AAC software, a switch or eye gaze, check what your software already offers. The Grid from Smartbox, for example, provides access to Spotify and YouTube. Communicator from Tobii Dynavox offers similar options. They both work with eye gaze, touch or switch. Check the details first because sometimes they might work with different account levels, or a browser or an app.

If you’re using a Windows computer and you don’t have access to expensive software like the Grid or Communicator, you can do the same using the fantastic open source and free software OptiKey. Most music players respond to keyboard shortcuts, so you can configure a dynamic OptiKey keyboard with the buttons needed to control your music. A tip if you’re doing this: use the media keys on the keyboard, because they’re the most reliable. Other shortcuts will work, but only when the app is in focus, or selected on the screen. I’ll be sharing a blog post on AT and Me in the coming days that will guide you through the process of setting this up with OptiKey.

If you use an Apple device, Apple Music is probably the best bet if you use alternative access. Along with extensive keyboard shortcuts, it offers better integration with accessibility tools like Switch Control, Voice Control and AssistiveTouch. Apple Music is also very well supported by the Apple Shortcuts app, which would allow you to make widgets or voice commands for your favourite artists, playlists or stations, no matter how obscure or unpronounceable they are.

If you use a screen reader, some music services work well, some have gaps. People have reported problems with Spotify, for example. As with alternative access users, Apple VoiceOver users, and that’s the screen reader within Apple devices, will probably find Apple Music a good option. And it also offers additional features like screen reader support for song lyrics.

[On screen: A slide titled “Simplified Players & Music Haptics”. On the left is a photograph of two small boxy music players. The front one is red, with a round speaker grille and a cream lid labelled “Lift to play music”, and a badge reading “Simple Music Player”. Behind it is a green one with its lid open. The inside of the lid says “Close to stop music”, and a black button on the player says “Press to change music”. In the middle are two iPhone screens. The first is a simplified home screen with large icons for Music (red), Phone (green) and Messages (green). The second is the simplified Music app, with a large red Pause button and three album covers: “Man I Need”, “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and “Bang Bang (Kill Bill)”. A Back button is at the bottom. On the right, under the heading, are two lists. “Simplified Players”: Start – Stop – Next; Jukebox Style visual interface; Assistive Access Music App on iOS. “Music Haptics”: Available on iOS; Works with Apple Music; Try with live lyrics; Vests tested at gigs.]

If complex menus and too many choices are a difficulty, a simple music player might be the answer. A nice off-the-shelf music player designed for people with cognitive difficulties or dementia is pictured on this slide. Lift the lid and the music starts. Close it and it stops. There’s one big button to change the song. The music is loaded and the volume is set by the carer. We have one of these available in our AT loan library if anyone would like to try it out. There are also apps for most platforms that offer a visual, jukebox-style interface, where music can be chosen by selecting the album cover or artist picture, which is quite easy for people. Apple users with devices running iOS 17 or above who have access to Assistive Access in their accessibility settings can use this simplified Apple Music app. And this is also pictured on the slide. So you can see on this app, there’s a picture for each song and there’s just a play and a pause button. The handy thing with AI, I suppose, is that it won’t just play that song, it will then play songs kind of like that song after it.

If you’re deaf or hard of hearing, music isn’t only about sound. On newer Apple mobile devices, a feature called Music Haptics turns the music into taps and vibrations so you can feel it. You can choose for just the lyrics to be represented, or for the entire piece of music. I haven’t got any feedback from the deaf or hard of hearing community about this feature, however it seems pretty good when experienced along with timed song lyrics. I think it could be quite engaging. A similar approach was tested in Dublin last year by Project Arts Centre and Music and Health Ireland, where they used haptic vests, which is the same idea, but they were probably more engaging, I suppose, because of the size.

[On screen: A slide titled “Music Room” with five bullet points on the left: “Music activities made for touch screens”; “Hosted online and available to down and run locally”; “Made for touch. Not many access supports but early days and Open Source”; “Great option for any old Surface Go/Pro that can’t update to Windows 11”; and “Built using Claude without code”. On the right, on a dark background, is a screenshot of the Music Room home screen. It shows small tiles in four groups. “Instruments”: Fluid Keys, Chord Strummer, Drum Pads, Sweep Chimes, Sampler Pads. “Songs & Games”: Song Grid, Big Switch Songs, Echo Bird, Music Bubbles, Sound Match. “Plug in an instrument”: MIDI Light, Big Chords, Loop Garden, Drift, Mirror. “Sensory & Calm”: Soundscape, Voice Visuals, Flock, Slime Mould, Game of Life. Below the screenshot are two QR codes. The first is labelled “Hosted at magnatronic.github.io/music-room/”. The second is labelled “Download at github.com/Magnatronic/music-room”.]

So far we’ve looked at controlling and experiencing music. Now let’s look at making music. We’ll start with a free set of music apps called Music Room. Chris McGuire, an AT technician from the UK, built them for sensory rooms and for music therapy. They are primarily for touch input, but they could be used with other access methods. They open in a web browser and they can run offline from a USB stick. There are instruments you play by touch, simple songs where you can’t fail, and calm sounds and visuals. A teacher or therapist can save a setup for each person and then lock the controls.

[Video starts. The slide is titled “Music Room Slime Mold”. A close-up video of a person’s hand touching a tablet screen. The screen is black and filled with tangled, glowing, curving lines in orange, yellow, green and cyan, spreading out from where the finger touches. A narrow menu of icons runs down the left edge of the screen.]

On this page we have a short video of one of the touch screen activities. This one is called Slime Mould. The video shows how the pitch is higher on the right-hand side of the screen, lower on the left. The visual is lots of coloured lines emitting from the touch point, like a slime mould. I have it installed on an old Microsoft Surface Go, which is a great device but with a limited future because it’s not capable of running Windows 11, so this is a good use for it. I’ve set it to run in the Edge browser in kiosk mode with the Music Room pages on the device.

[Video ends.]

[On screen: A slide titled “How to build a Digital Music Activity” with three bullet points on the left: “Build custom-made browser-based instrument”; “No coding necessary, add details to a prompt”; and “Paste into AI: ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini”. A small illustration of a woman in a powered wheelchair is at the bottom left. On the right are two screenshots from an app called “Ocean Song”. The first has a dark blue background with a cartoon whale icon, the title “Ocean Song” and the text “Move your finger gently in front of the camera — the whales will sing soft marimba notes for you.” Below are a “Choose a key” menu set to C, a “Sensitivity” slider and a large “Start” button. The second screenshot shows the instrument itself: a grid of ten dark blue tiles in two rows of five. Each tile has a small sea-creature icon and a note name. The top row is C5, D5, E5, G5 and A5, and the bottom row is C4, D4, E4, G4 and A4.]

Chris built this with an AI assistant. He didn’t write a line of code. On the next slide, we’ll show you how you can do something similar. Marc Scully, a teacher from Carlow who worked with us on the See Hear Play project, has made a short course that shows you how to build a bespoke music activity that runs in a web browser on any device. No coding is required. You describe the user, student, client, yourself, what their preferences are, colours, sounds, characters, animals, and what movement they have, their access abilities, and the input device that they’re going to use. You put this information into a prepared prompt, you upload it to your AI, and a few minutes later you have a working web page. In Marc’s example, a student who loves whales, that’s whales, can play a calm, ocean-themed marimba by moving one finger in front of the camera. It won’t be right first time. You test it, you ask for changes, and you build again. The video and supporting materials are all available as a free course on the Enable Ireland AT learning portal, and there’s a QR code on my last slide.

[On screen: A slide showing a still from Cillian’s video, titled “Cillian – Life in music – Eye Play Chords”. A young man with short light-brown hair is reclining against a grey sofa back, looking towards the camera.]

To finish, I’d like you to meet Cillian McSweeney. Cillian performs using assistive technology. In the first half of this video he tells his story while a montage of clips of him playing music live and on TV are shown. We see him using the Soundbeam, switches and eye gaze, and playing with various bands and musicians in different venues. The second half is a screen recording where he shows us a free program that he uses called Eye Play Chords. At the end of the video, there’s a QR code linking to My Breath My Music, where the software can be downloaded. The link will be in the handout.

[Video starts. Speaker in the video: Cillian McSweeney.]

My name is Cillian McSweeney and I love composing and playing music. I’ll always remember my first concert at school. My music teacher was so kind and supportive and she helped me make it possible for me to take part. Using switches, I was able to play “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera for the first time at a concert. It was a very special and proud moment for me and my family as well.

When I was making music, I used switches with my head and I played the Soundbeam with my leg. I also used eye gaze on the laptop to pick out the music notes. It was interesting being able to use different parts of my body to create and play music. People don’t realise how hard it is for me to control my movements so that I can access the switches with my head, and how I have to keep my arms and legs still to use the eye gaze. Sometimes people don’t realise the music is coming from my iPad or that I am making the sounds that they hear.

Playing in front of a live audience or on TV is a real thrill. The first big gig I was very nervous and afraid I would hit the wrong notes and I worried that my computer would stop working. I later found out the band I was with at the time from Cork Academy of Music were all nervous too. But we performed really well and we got great encouragement from everyone. I would encourage others like me to keep exploring technology to find what works for them to be able to access instruments. I would say to anyone starting out, don’t let your disability prevent you from having dreams of playing music. Do whatever you can and push yourself forward.

[The video now changes to a screen recording of the Eye Play Chords software.]

This is Eye Play Chords. It’s free music software and it works really well for me. This isn’t a detailed tutorial, I just want to briefly describe how I use the software. It works like a bridge between composing and performing. I can arrange the screen around the notes I need for a particular piece of music, so everything I need is right there when I need it. I usually use eye gaze or a switch to access it, often a combination of both. I set the chords to play on mouse over when I use eye gaze, so that if I just look at a chord box, it plays immediately. You can see the settings on the top and underneath that you see the piano roll. That’s where I enter the notes and create my chords. So if I add a chord then I can record the notes and then when I look at that box it plays the chord. If I go to File, Open, I can open a premade song to show you how it will be set up. As well as eye gaze and switch, you could use a MIDI pad controller, a game controller, an accessible game controller like the XAC keyboard, or even a webcam. It is very accessible software. Why don’t you find out what way works for you and start playing? Go to My Breath My Music for more information and download the software for free. You can use the QR code on the screen right now.

[Video ends. At the end of the video, a QR code is shown, linking to My Breath My Music.]

[On screen: A slide titled “Enable Ireland AT Learning Portal” with the web address “enableirelandAT.ie”. Under it are two bullet points: “How to build a digital music activity using AI” and “Listen, Create, Share 2026 course coming soon”. Below that is the email address kokeeffe@enableireland.ie. On the right is a large QR code, with an illustration of a woman in a powered wheelchair beneath it. The DATTN logo is at the top right.]

Thank you, Cillian. His advice is simple: keep exploring technology until you find out what works for you. OK, there was a lot there, but you don’t need to remember it all now. Everything is going to be in the resource guide that we will share alongside the recording. If you’d like to go deeper, we will be launching a free course about AT and music called Listen, Create, Share on our learning platform, enableirelandat.ie, in the coming weeks. And the QR code to that is on the screen with the URL. Now I’ll hand over to Orla Whelan and Rachel McMullan from Corlann, who are going to talk about assistive technology for art and 3D printing.

Art and 3D printing

Speakers: Orla and Rachel

[On screen: A title slide, “Assistive Technology and Art/3D Printing”, with the names “Orla Whelan and Rachel McMullan, Corlann” below it and a purple artist’s palette icon above. The five illustrated people are along the bottom, with the DATTN, The Wheel and Training Links logos at the top.]

Thank you, Karl, a really interesting presentation. Hello, everyone. I want to quickly introduce myself again. As Rachael had mentioned earlier, my name is Orla Whelan and I’m the digital and accessible technology facilitator with Corlann. My role involves supporting people to explore technology that can increase independence, participation and choice in everyday life.

Hi, my name is Rachel and I’m also a digital assistive technology facilitator with Corlann. And like Orla, I support people to access technology in ways that are meaningful to them. And we work closely with individuals, families and staff to find practical solutions to help people engage more fully in activities that they enjoy.

[On screen: A slide titled “Art & Design” with three cards, each with a purple line icon. “Creativity”: “Technology can support people to explore their creativity in ways that work for them.” The icon is a lightbulb containing a brain. “Self-Expression”: “Digital art provides opportunities to communicate ideas, interests and experiences.” The icon is an open book with a speech bubble. “Participation”: “Accessible technology can help remove barriers and enable people to engage in hobbies they enjoy.” The icon is a group of three people, one with a raised hand, and a tick.]

For our section on assistive technology and hobbies, we’re going to explore how technologies can support creativity through art, design and 3D printing. So when you think about hobbies, creativity is often one of the things that comes to mind. Art and design give people an opportunity to explore their interests, to learn new skills and create something that’s unique to them. Creative hobbies can take many forms, like drawing, painting, digital illustration, storytelling and graphic design. The important thing is that people find a way to express themselves that is meaningful and enjoyable to them. Whether it is using a stylus for digital drawing, accessible creative apps, or adaptive equipment that supports physical access, technology can help remove barriers and make creative activities more successful. What makes this particularly powerful is that assistive technology is about much more than completing a task. It can support self-expression, build confidence, and encourage participation in activities that people genuinely enjoy. By making creative hobbies more accessible, technology can help people share their ideas, tell their stories, and take part in art and design in a way that is meaningful to them.

[On screen: A slide titled “Creative Technology Tools” with five cards. “Nintendo Switch Colors live”: “Provides a fun and familiar platform for creative expression through drawing and design.” The photo shows a hand using a stylus on a Nintendo Switch screen with a colourful drawing app. “Procreate”: “Digital illustration and painting platform.” The photo shows an iPad with a colour wheel and a drawing of a purple crystal. “Guided Hands”: “Supports writing, drawing, painting and touchscreen access for individuals with limited hand mobility, enabling greater participation in creative activities and hobbies.” The photo shows a child’s hand attached to a guiding device on a tablet, drawing green trees. “Book Creator”: “An accessible platform for creating personalised books, picture stories, comic strips and creative projects through text, images, drawings and audio.” The app icon is a rainbow-coloured square with a dotted outline of a book and a pair of scissors. “Apple Pencil / Skriva Stylus”: “Supports drawing, sketching and creative work on iPads.” The photo shows a blue stylus above a white Apple Pencil.]

We’re now going to take a look at some examples of creative technology tools that can support your participation in art and design. On the slide we have five images showing photographs of the Nintendo Switch Colors Live, the Procreate app home screen, the Guided Hands device, the Book Creator app icon, and the Apple Pencil and the Skriva stylus. Many of the devices and apps shown here are available through our Digital and Accessible Technology library within Corlann, the West region. So we’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to use the majority of these pieces that you can see in front of you.

So starting with the Nintendo Switch and Colors Live. Many people are already familiar with gaming and, as Ronan gave us a lovely presentation there on gaming, they’re familiar with gaming consoles. So this can be a comfortable, enjoyable way to explore digital art. Also, Colors Live turns the Nintendo Switch into a drawing platform and provides a fun introduction to creativity, illustration and design.

Another popular option is Procreate on the iPad. Procreate is one of the most widely used digital art and illustration apps and is suitable for drawing, painting and animation. For anybody using iPadOS, Procreate and Procreate Dreams are particularly popular creative tools. They work well alongside Apple’s inbuilt accessibility features such as AssistiveTouch and include their own accessibility supports, helping people with different access needs to participate in digital art and animation. Just to note, Procreate is not available on Android devices. It’s exclusive to iOS devices.

So Guided Hands is an assistive device designed for people with limited hand and arm mobility. It works by supporting and stabilising the arm while guiding hand movements [unclear]. This reduces the effort needed to move the hand and can help people who experience weakness, tremors or reduced motor control. As a result, users can participate in activities like drawing, painting, writing and using touchscreen devices. Excuse me. We haven’t had the opportunity to try this device ourselves, but it’s one that we have come across frequently. It received recognition through the James Dyson Award in 2021 for its innovative design and was developed specifically to support people with limited hand mobility. Now, this is an expensive piece of equipment, but it’s a great example of how this technology continues to evolve and support creativity and participation.

Book Creator is another tool that has been extremely popular within our services. People use it to create personalised books, photo stories, social stories, presentations and creative projects. We’ve seen it become a valuable tool for self-expression and storytelling. And for many individuals, it has had a positive impact on personal outcomes by giving them a way to share their experiences and interests with others. Book Creator is available on both Android and iOS devices.

And the final tool on this slide is styluses. So we have the Apple Pencil and this Skriva stylus. And these can also make a significant difference to people. They provide greater precision and control when drawing or writing on an iPad and can support people who find using a finger on the touchscreen more difficult.

[On screen: A slide titled “Ian’s Story” with the subtitle “One Tool. New Opportunities.” Four bullet points: “Borrowed an Apple Pencil through the DAT Library”; “Explored digital drawing and creativity”; “Built confidence using technology”; “Developed new interests in digital content creation”. The line “Apple Pencil • Creativity • Confidence” sits near the bottom, beside an illustration of a man in a green t-shirt holding a phone. At the bottom right is a button labelled “Watch Ian’s story”.]

So technology becomes more meaningful when we can see the impact it has on real people. So we’re going to show you Ian’s story. Ian borrowed the Apple Pencil from the DAT library and began exploring drawing and creativity. What started as an interim piece of technology quickly became an opportunity to explore a new hobby and a creative outlet. Using the Apple Pencil, he developed confidence with technology, expanded his creative skills, and discovered new interests in digital content creation. His experience highlights an important message. Sometimes access to the right technology at the right time can open doors to hobbies and interests that a person may never have considered before. And we’ll now play a short video where Ian shares his experiences in his own words. The video shows Ian using an Apple Pencil on his iPad. He uses the Adobe Fresco app.

[Video starts. The title card reads “How an Apple Pencil supported a creative journey”, with the Corlann logo and its tagline “The Future is Ours to Shape” at the top right. An illustration shows two hands holding a tablet and drawing on it with a pencil. The tablet shows blue, magenta, orange and yellow paint splashes. In the video, Ian is interviewed. An interviewer asks questions and Ian answers.]

Ian, tell us about your hobby.

I share a YouTube channel with a mate. I have all my videos and random [unclear] I make. I just make random [unclear] on my YouTube channel, to be honest, until I start getting my animation stuff up and running, and that’s especially when I do.

How do you create your cartoon designs?

So basically go to [unclear], the app for this, and then you can just do that if you want, or you can just undo, and you can just pick which colour you want to do, just red or green, any, anything you can do, make up your own.

Can you show us one of your creations? One of Ian’s cartoon creations? What would you like to tell other people about the Apple Pencil?

The Apple Pencil has helped me make my dreams come true. I want to do animation as a hobby and that’s where this Apple Pencil comes in handy for me.

[Video ends.]

Thank you, Ian, for telling us your story today. Thanks, Ian. Ian’s experience demonstrates that assistive technology isn’t always about solving problems. Sometimes it’s about creating opportunities, building confidence and helping people discover something that they genuinely just enjoy.

[On screen: A slide titled “What is 3D Printing?” with the subheading “Turning Ideas Into Reality”. Text reads: “3D printing allows digital designs to become real objects. It can be used to create personalised tools, supports and adaptations based on an individual’s interests and needs.” Below the text is a video of the inside of a 3D printer. The printer’s head moves over a dark build plate. The label “3D printer in action” points to it with a curved arrow. The line “Design • Print • Create” is at the bottom. At the right is an illustration of a woman with sunglasses and a white cane, holding a phone.]

So moving on from digital creativity, now have a little look at 3D printing. Simply put, 3D printing is a process where a digital design is turned into a physical object. Just to note, the video playing on the screen is a time-lapse of a 3D print being created of Roscommon Castle. For people interested in hobbies, 3D printing creates exciting opportunities because items can be customised for an individual’s interests, preferences or access requirements. Rather than relying on products that already exist, people can design or adapt solutions specifically for themselves. This means hobbies become more accessible, more personalised, and often more enjoyable.

[On screen: A slide titled “3D Printing for Hobbies” with six cards in two rows of three. “Gaming”: “Custom controller grips and adaptive gaming accessories.” The photo shows a hand holding a grey 3D-printed grip with blue and red Nintendo Switch controllers attached. “Art”: “Paintbrush holders, pencil grips and stylus supports.” The photo shows a pink crayon holder, a paintbrush, a marker and a pen, each in a brightly coloured printed holder. “Reading”: “Book holders and page-turning aids.” The photo shows an open book held by a hand with a small blue printed thumb holder. “Photography”: “Camera grips and tripod adapters.” The photo shows a red compact camera on a green printed handle. “Technology”: “Tablet stands and device holders.” The photo shows a tablet resting on a red angled stand. “Crafting”: “Adaptations for knitting, crochet and other creative hobbies.” The photo shows a blue printed crochet support with yarn threaded through it. The words “Create • Adapt • Participate” are at the bottom.]

On this slide we have six images of 3D printed items. We have an adapted gaming controller, pen and paintbrush holders, page holders, camera grips, tablet stands and crochet support tools. 3D printing can be applied across a wide range of hobbies and interests. For gaming, people can create customised controller grips, adaptive gaming accessories and personalised supports that make gaming more comfortable and accessible. And we’re also seeing major companies embrace accessibility through 3D printing, like Ronan had mentioned previously. For example, Xbox Design Lab provides free downloadable 3D printable files for adaptive thumbstick toppers that can be customised to suit an individual’s needs, preferences and methods of access. And users can adjust the shape and size before printing, creating a more personalised gaming experience. And for reading, people can create book holders and page-turning aids. Photography enthusiasts might use camera grip stands and tripod adapters, and technology users can create personalised tablet stands or device holders. We’ve also seen creative adaptations developed for hobbies such as knitting, crocheting and other craft activities. 3D printing can be an affordable way to create practical solutions and everyday items. The key message is that it allows people to create solutions that suit their own needs, helping more people take part in activities they enjoy. All of the 3D printed designs from the slide have been taken from Maker World or Thingiverse sites.

[On screen: A slide titled “From Idea to Participation”. A row of four steps joined by arrows: “Idea” with a lightbulb icon; “Design” with a painter’s palette and brush; “3D print” with a 3D printer; and “Participation” with three raised hands. Below it: “Technology isn’t just about creating objects. It’s about enabling people to engage in the hobbies that matter to them.” At the bottom, in bold: “Removing Barriers. Creating Opportunities.” At the bottom right is an illustration of a woman in a powered wheelchair with a screen showing “Hello!”.]

This slide captures the journey we’ve been talking about throughout the presentation. It starts with an idea. The idea becomes a design. The design can then be brought to life through technology such as 3D printing. But the final step is the most important one, and it’s participation. Technology isn’t about making objects or using devices. It’s about helping people engage in hobbies, developing skills, expressing themselves, to take part in activities that are meaningful to them.

[On screen: A slide titled “Why not explore what’s available in your area?” Text reads: “Many libraries, MakerSpaces and educational settings now offer opportunities to learn about and use 3D printing. Speak to your local library, college or community group to discover how you can access 3D printing and creative technology.” At the bottom right is an illustration of a bearded man with glasses holding a phone and a newspaper.]

So one of the great things about 3D printing is that it has become more accessible in communities across Ireland. Many libraries, makerspaces, colleges and community groups now offer opportunities to learn about 3D printing technology. If today’s session sparked your interest, we’d encourage you to investigate what’s available in your local area. Whether through your local library, a community makerspace or an educational centre, there may already be opportunities to learn new skills, create your own designs and bring ideas to life using 3D technology. Thank you very much for listening to our section today. We hope today’s session has highlighted how assistive technology can support people to explore art, creativity and 3D printing as meaningful hobbies. We’ll now pass you back to Rachael.

Webinar Close

Speaker: Rachael

[On screen: A slide that reads “Thanks for listening! Any questions?” in large purple text. To the right is an illustration of a man in a green t-shirt holding a phone. Along the bottom are the logos of The Wheel and DATTN, and the logo of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, with a note that the Training Links programme is funded from the National Training Fund through that Department.]

Thank you, Orla and Rachel. Thank you all so much for your attendance and your engagement. And hopefully we’ll see you at our next webinar during the last week in October. We’ll send some more details about that soon. Thanks so much, everyone.