The Wheeltop project: life-changing innovation

BT and disabled charity Scope are fast-approaching the second anniversary of a highly productive partnership that has resulted in a number of ground-breaking and innovative achievements.

Not least is the development of a prototype communications solution designed to help disabled people overcome some of the barriers they face when it comes to participating in society. The solution, known as Wheeltop, has already helped to change and enrich the lives of several young disabled people studying at Beaumont College, Scope’s further education establishment in Lancaster.

Wheeltop is a customised, wheelchair-mounted communication device for disabled people. It uses off-the-shelf hardware and software to provide a voice output communication system while Grid2 software from Scope’s technology partner Sensory Software enables the students to operate speech programmes using a variety of input methods. And because Grid2 runs on Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, users can also access standard Windows applications.

Essentially, Wheeltop means people like Beaumont graduate Natalie Sides not only get a ‘voice’ but can access everything from e-mails, SMS messaging, word processing, social networking and online music.

Twenty-three year old Natalie was the first to receive a Wheeltop communication device from BT. She now uses it to speak, surf the internet, including maintaining her Facebook profile page – e-mail, text friends and download her favourite music tracks.

Freedom of choice

“Natalie has been liberated thanks to the Wheeltop project and to the partnership between Scope and BT,” says Adam Oliver, head of corporate social responsibility and age & disability research programmes at BT. “She’s become a profound user of all manner of communications applications – this includes using Facebook to stay in touch with all her friends and downloading music – especially anything by Ronan Keating who is her favourite.”

“And that’s part of the beauty of what we’ve been able to achieve with Wheeltop,” he adds.  “It’s not only been able to show how we can bring communications to disabled people, it’s shown us how it can liberate them and give them the freedom to make choices.”

“This liberation aspect is really illuminating,” says Adam. “For example, one of the students, Steve Tyson, has always enjoyed listening to music. But it was music played to him– maybe on a CD - by someone else. Now Steve can get to choose what music he listens to whenever he wants. What’s more, the Wheeltop system has been adapted for him so that it reads out loud the names of the artists and song s his MP3 player to make it easier when he searches for particular tracks.”

Continues Adam: “Another great illustration of how refreshingly life-changing this system can be was highlighted when I was chatting to one of the parents of a Beaumont student who had been newly introduced to the device. She told me that the system was delivered on a Friday and there was an immediate transformation. After all these years her daughter could suddenly now communicate with her without having to point at alphabetical letters, and it was quite overwhelming. She said that over that weekend her daughter began asking for things using the Wheeltop. The mother ended up running all over the place for two or three days. The lady revealed that by the Monday she was exhausted and subsumed by the stark realisation that her daughter was basically a typically troublesome teenager like millions of others!”

Lobbying success

In addition to changing lives forever with the Wheeltop project, BT’s collaboration with Scope has also been extended to supporting the charity’s No Voice. No Choice campaign which lobbies the government to recognise the support needs of people with communication impairments. The campaign has recently influenced the government’s action plan on children’s speech, language and communications. This means that more than a million children with speech, language and communication needs will get the early intervention, equipment and ongoing support needed to communicate effectively.

Beth Courtier, head of BT’s charity programme believes that the depth and strength of BT’s partnership with Scope has resulted in the significantly successful outcomes so far. “Over the past two years, BT and Scope have enjoyed a truly innovative and creative partnership. Working closely with Scope, has allowed BT to demonstrate how our technology can help disabled people to use communications, to achieve a better quality of life and to contribute towards a more inclusive society,” she says.

“ Many people take using the internet or sending a text for granted as everyday ‘rights’ and we want to ensure that people in the disability community also have access to these communications channels.”

Adds Beth: “I expect the partnership to continue to flourish in the future. We will continue to work with Scope to not only provide Wheeltop systems to more people but to also provide the support that is needed to keep users communicating.”