Charity’s annual conference discusses the benefits of assistive tech for children in hospices
Children’s hospice staff from across the country have been given invaluable tips and training by assistive technology charity Lifelites at its biggest ever annual conference.
The fully booked conference, which is now in its 11th year, was an opportunity for over 50 children’s hospice staff to learn how to use technology, which Lifelites donates, to its full potential for the disabled children they care for.
The technology the charity donates includes Magic Carpet, software that projects games onto the floor for children with limited mobility to play with, and Eyegaze, which enables them to control computers with just their eyes. Equipment like this enables children to play, be creative, control something for themselves and communicate for as long as it is possible.
Delegates were shown how to use iMovie on the Lifelites iPads to record precious memories for children and their families, and were also given a session on using the Lifelites technology in their work in the community.
They were also treated to talks from guest speakers Hector Minto, Sarah Ezekiel and Butterwick Nurse Vicky Garrity. Hector Minto is the technical evangelist for Microsoft and showed delegates how to bring the joy of video gaming back to their young people with the help of the new Xbox Adaptive Controller, and Sarah Ezekiel spoke to delegates about her life with Motor Neurone Disease and how technology has given her back her life.
Marc Viera, from the Children’s Trust, said: “I can’t imagine doing my job without Lifelites equipment. Lifelites is amazing. Thank you so much.”
Aly Moore, from Rebecca House, added: “This is my third year attending and it’s always a fantastic day. It gives us new ideas and refreshes our memory about how we can get the best out of the equipment.”
A short video on the Lifelites 2019 conference can be seen below: