Kids with Disabilities Benefit from New Technology

New Partnership Between Full Sail and CECO Helps Children with Disabilities

A collaboration between Full Sail University’s Project and Portfolio course and the Conductive Education Center of Orlando (CECO) has resulted in a technological development that has the potential to benefit children with disabilities worldwide.

The development: an interactive ladder that combines CECO’s regular equipment for children with disabilities with a screen, allowing students to play games while they develop their motor skills.

How the Interactive Ladder Will Improve Skills

CECO’s Executive Director Krisztina Weiszhaupt said that the interactive ladder helps students improve their fine motor skills, gross motor skills and cognitive skills. The ladder will also improve their social skills because some students will compete with one another to see who can complete the games faster.

“When they use the games, basically all of the development areas are included and involved and impacted so the ladder is a very important tool for our students,” Weiszhaupt says.

Students can choose from five or six interactive games, including spelling games, which help enhance the students’ daily activities by turning them into something fun. Weiszhaupt adds that the screen to the ladder has increased students’ overall engagement in the activity.

The Work Never Ends

“Before it was just used to practice climbing up and down on the equipment; they probably would end the activity in two minutes. Now with the [interactive] ladder, it’s really increased to hours, so it’s really cool,” Weiszhaupt says.

Weiszhaupt recently visited the lab at Full Sail and met a student who graduated but still comes back to help work on developing the next interactive ladder.

“Those students have an amazing passion to work with individuals with disabilities and to create something that will enhance their lives,” Weiszhaupt says.

CECO has a patent for the interactive ladder and its associated technology. They hope to make the ladder available to other education centers or families throughout Orlando and across the country.