Second Life Incredibly Powerful Tool for the Disabled, Philadelphia Inquirer Story Suggests, But Needs Major Improvements For Benefits to Last

Here's a compelling Philadelphia Inquirer article on the power of Second Life to benefit the severely disabled (a thesis that won't surprise any regular reader of this blog) with marvelous passages like this one, reported on from Inglis House, a West Philadelphia clinic that uses SL to treat many of its clients. Here's what Stu Sanderson, a client with cerebral palsy, experienced on a visit to SL with a facility staffer:

His fondest memory may be when he and Waller both logged on to Second Life. He wanted to dance, so Waller and he teleported to a hall - and they began to waltz. "There were tears running down my face as I experienced a dance, something in my wildest dreams I never thought I would do. It was like teleporting out of my physical body and literally sliding and gliding," Sanderson, a poet, wrote about the experience.

Awesome. At the same time, the Inquirer reports how hard Second Life's learning curve is, most especially for the disabled, and how it's vastly limited SL's effectiveness in this regard:

All but two of 10 people in that pilot project have quit - too hard for too little return. Even one of the remaining participants, Inglis resident Stu Sanderson... plans to stop soon.

"It's too hard," he says, with Waller helping to translate the words he labors to say. Still, Sanderson demonstrates how he controls his Second Life avatar, Stu Mint. For him, the mouse button on the metal arm is attached to the back of his wheelchair and positioned behind his left ear.

It's hard to read a passage like that without wincing. I'm going to contact Junichi Ushiba, the scientist who lead the Keio University project that created a brain-to-Second Life user interface to 2007, to see if they've made any progress since then. It's likely that only a hardware system like that will make Second Life truly viable for the extremely disabled -- which also means a major grant from a government or non-profit foundation -- but imagine the benefits if one could be made, and mass produced at a relatively low cost for the disabled.

Much mahalo to Fenn Manawyddan for the link! Photo credit: Clem Murray for the Inquirer.

Comments

[Ann Otoole InSL]

Reported here yesterday: http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/47158-second-life-avatars-give-disabled.html#post983482

[Maggie Darwin (@MaggieL)]

This is our local paper. Money quote: "It's too hard. I like Facebook better."

[brinda allen]

It makes me cry...damn it...we should be able to do better.

[Nexus Burbclave]

I'm not really sure where to start, but it might be worth seeing if we can get the folks at Inglis House in touch with the folks at virtual ability if they aren't already in contact. If anyone has the scoop on better interfaces for accessibility, virtual ability probably does.

[James Corbett]

What about the eye gaze control options for Second Life control? Systems like COGAIN Snap Clutch (http://www.cogain.org/wiki/Snap_Clutch) and EyeWriter (http://www.eyewriter.org/).

[Arcadia Codesmith]

For about $80, you can buy a kid's toy (Mattel Mindflex) that allows you to guide a ball through a maze using only a lightweight headset and the power of your mind.

Slap a USB on that puppy and let's roll. We've got an affordable mind-mouse.

[Rowan Derryth]

One of the very first articles I had the privilege of writing for the Prim Perfect blog was on Kasimir Deimatov, a quadraplegic who uses a laser device mounted on his computer to move - and build. He in fact one the novice builder of the last Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum build-off, with the assistance of his friend Jadyn Firehawk (founder of the Pixel 2 Pixel foundation that gives Linden $ grants to SL users with disabilities), who only helped because the competition time limit was a challenge.

These two met through Virtual Ability (see my charity news article in the last Prim Perfect issue for more info). While SL has a long way to go, there are certainly great strides - and amazing feats - being made right now.

You can read about Kasimir's experiences here: https://primperfectblog.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=3772&action=edit

[FlipperPA Peregrine]

I'm sure Inglis House wouldn't mind people reaching out to them. Back when I was in junior high and high school, we'd volunteer over there one evening per month; the staff has always been forward thinking, as demonstrated by the article.

I'm also wonder if the work Mitch Kapor was doing could be adapted to work with some configuration; for example, just working off facial motions instead of full body motions. For those unfamiliar, see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t52gkAwJq8