Dedicated
to Assisting People with Disabilities to Achieve an Independent and
Fulfilling Life in the Community
Horizontal Clock
Challenge:
The client has a perception disability with
respect to the passage of time. She doesn't recognize the passage
of time when given the numbers for the current time versus the
time for an appointment.
This caused her to be dependent on her caregiver to set up a
schedule on a mechanical system that would warn her that a meeting
was imminent. The caregiver had to set up each week and then be
prepared to reprogram the device if there was a change to an
appointment.
Solution:
Her caregiver established that if time could be
represented graphically and the passage of time animated then
there would be a visual indication of the time approaching the
time for appointments, lunch, etc.
A cabinet was built with a horizontal display having the ends of
fibre optic strands positioned in five-minute increments along its
length. The display has one continuous line of light positions for
the main daytime and evening hours and a second line above the
first line for the sleep hours in order to reduce the length of
the display. The other ends of the fibre optic strands are
arranged in a circular pattern in the cabinet and a light is
directed at them preferentially by setting up a clock motor driven
disc between the strand ends and the light. The disc has a cutout
which permits the light to impinge upon selected fibre optic
strands representing the current time of day. Seven strands are
lighted at any one time with the leading strands coloured red and
the trailing strands coloured green in order to emphasize the
direction the time is flowing in.
The schedule for each day is indicated by magnetic white board
"cards" mounted on a metal schedule bar at the time
indicated on the bar. The subject of the meeting or appointment is
written on the "cards" using erasable markers. There are
seven schedule bars, one for each day of the week, mounted in its
day position below the display. The appropriate bar for the day is
mounted on the display and the mounting of the bar is set up so
that the time on the bar lines up with the time on the display.
