Special Section on Eva Sweeney
by Catherine Edwards
Eva Sweeny has cerebral palsy.
When she was born, her brain was deprived of oxygen for an extended amount of time, causing brain damage. The area of her brain which was damaged is that which transmits information
from her brain to the rest of her body. As a result, she has very little
control over most of her muscles, especially her limbs. She is unable to
walk, talk, or use her hands well enough to write.
Despite her disability, Eva is a gifted student. In order for her
to be able to participate in a regular classroom setting, she uses a laptop
computer which sits on a desk attached to her wheelchair. Since she is
nonverbal, this is one of her only means of communication.
At home, Eva uses a computer for everything from researching
school assignments to communicating. On top of the monitor sits a small
box which is an infrared sensor. When Eva sits in front of the computer,
she wears a small metal chip in the middle of her forehead. It is sticky
but can be easily removed and re-affixed to her skin. The sensor atop the
computer tracks the movements of the chip on her forehead and transmits the
movements as if it were a mouse. When she moves her head, the arrow on the
screen moves as well. When selecting something from a list of
items, Eva moves her head over to that item and keeps her head still for
a little over two seconds. After two seconds, the computer automatically selects that item as if she had
double-clicked on it.
Eva also has a program on her computer which enables her to spell
out words and even verbalize them into sentences. The program starts out
with a visual keyboard on the screen. Using the method I mentioned above,
Eva moves the mouse to select the letter of the first word she wants to
spell. When she selects that letter, the program automatically lists the
30 (or so) most commonly used words that begin with that letter. At this
point, she has the option to select one of these words or keep spelling the
word on her own if it does not appear on the list. She continues this
process until she has the desired words and sentence. When she is done,
she can select an option to have the sentence read (in a variety of voices
including singing and whispering). The computer reads the sentence, and
Eva can successfully say what is on her mind. This software has given Eva
the freedom to communicate exactly what she is thinking which is an amazing
ability for a person who is nonverbal.
Eva uses the computer extensively to search the Internet for school
projects. She once talked to a girl in Spanish when she was doing a
project on Mexico. Technology has enabled Eva to access a world in which her disability is invisible. The benefits
of this phenomenon are incredible.