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Profile: Using the Littlepc to
Improve Lives
Roy
Santos
From the May 2004 issue of PC World magazine
 Harold Blank has been trying to assist people
afflicted with cerebral palsy for many years. As
a board member for CHI Centers in Baltimore, an
organization that provides services to about a
thousand people with various disabilities, he
has led the development of specialized software
that is designed to help the disabled
communicate with others by using computers and
touch-screen monitors.
Blank has used different PCs in the past, but
currently he finds Stealth Computer's small
system, the Littlepc, to have the best
combination of light weight, small size, and
power. Before discovering the Littlepc, Blank
usually specified laptops for his clients.
Though they were compact, notebook PCs were
kludgy to use because Blank had to remove each
machine's LCD and connect the remainder to a
touch screen.
Now Blank mounts both the Littlepc and the touch
screen to a special bracket on a user's
wheelchair. The PC provides access to his
Assistive Technology software, which includes
over 4000 common words and phrases. Icons on the
touch screen represent everyday categories such
as food, clothing, and feelings. Through
prerecorded audio, the software verbalizes
user-selected categories and words, allowing the
user to communicate easily by depending on
common phrases or requests.
Considering that Blank started out with a
DOS-based system that relied on icons glued to a
keyboard, he believes the Littlepc is a vast
improvement. Because he doesn't have to
concentrate too much on tinkering with PC
hardware, the Littlepc has allowed him to focus
on improving the software to incorporate newer
features, such as customized text-to-speech and
different versions for other nonverbal people,
such as stroke victims.
To view the complete on line story
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,115050,pg,9,00.asp
Application Story - Stealth's LittlePC
Empowering verbally challenged people to communicate
 The
system is called 1-2-3 Speak and it provides a
significant way for non-verbal people to
communicate through the use of a computer and
interactive touch screen technology. Family
members or friends can record up to 4000 words
or phrases that are stored onto the hard drive
of Stealth’s littlePC system. Words and phrases
are announced by simply touching pre-configured
Icons on the LCD monitor. The Stealth LittlePC
system was deployed due to its small size,
versatile mounting, 12VDC operation and feature
rich capability. Since the system is mounted on
a wheelchair and is powered by the wheelchair
batteries it was extremely important that it
also be energy efficient.
Developers of the system are Dr. Harold Blank,
Nancy Cheng and Sonha Son of CHI centers in
Silver Springs, MD. This project has been funded
by the Joseph E. and Marjorie B. Jones
Foundation, A Washington, DC based philanthropic
organization that supports medical research and
education.
CHI Centers was founded in 1948 by a group of
dedicated, concerned parents who recognized the
need to join forces with other parents of
children with cerebral palsy to provide for the
special needs of these children through
training, education, and legislative advocacy.
http://www.chicenters.org/
Pictures
(i) Patricia Joyner Roberts of Rockville
is attending Montgomery College and the 1-2-3
Speak system is an integral part of her life
(ii) Rear shot of the LittlePC
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