Adaptive Tech You Control With Your Tongue

August , 2026 - View in browser

PRODUCTS Reviewing Augmental's MouthPad^ Wearable Controller John Mohler has been talking to his computer since the '90s. As a power wheelchair user with MS, a mouth stick and speech recognition were his preferred tools, which meant every work email, every private message was said out loud to whoever was in the room. Then he tried Augmental’s Mouthpad^, a touchpad you wear like a retainer that works with your tongue. Click the link for his review. RECREATION Two Accessible Ways to Make Getting In and Out of the Water Easier Getting into the water from a dock is the easy part. Getting back out has never had a good answer. Enter the SwimStep, a modular staircase with steps that start below the waterline, turning the dock exit into a series of small transfers. Plus: an Aquatic Access pool lift with no battery, no motor and no electronics. It runs on a garden hose COMIC Please Remain Seated: Hiking Chair DAY IN THE LIFE Nail Artist Nelssy Lazcano Nelssy Lazcano began doing nail art as a hobby during the pandemic to pass the time when she could no longer work at her previous job because of a spinal cord injury. She bought a nail kit, started practicing on her mom and sister and soon realized that she had a natural talent. See how she now spends her days doing custom nail art for clients in the accessible nail studio she built in her spare room. COMMUNITY SUPPORT A Place Between Rehab and Home Insurance decides when rehab ends. It doesn't decide when your home gets a ramp or a bathroom you can use. Many newly injured people fall into the gap between rehab and reality. In Portland, Oregon, there's a new option for that difficult in-between. It's a two-bedroom house with an unusual history, run by a local SCI nonprofit, and it’s about to accept its first resident. PRO TIP How Nerve Reconstruction is Giving Some Ventilator Users a New Option Ahmad Bilal was told he'd be on a ventilator for the rest of his life. Both of his phrenic nerves — the wiring that tells the diaphragm to breathe — were damaged. Weaning failed. Then he tried a little-publicized surgery that rebuilds the wiring, repairing the phrenic nerve with a transfer to give a diaphragm pacer a chance. After months of hard work, Bilal was able to wean off the ventilator entirely.