Like Dickinson, ALS has taken Martin's ability to speak, so a talking computer speaks for him. He always jokes with audiences that they shouldn't ask him which finger that is. I am still mastering it. Eyegaze and the other assistive technology products that Martin and Dicksinson use empower both men so they can be useful even while coping with a horrible disease. While some disabling diseases may rob people of their physical abilities, in many cases they don't rob them of their mental abilities.
Assistive technology can compensate for their lost phyiscal abilities.
Amputees and people with cerebral palsy, speech impediments, carpel-tunnel syndrome, and other disabilities can also benefit from the Eyegaze system. Prices can be reduced further if the system is mass produced, which is the goal of Joe Lahoud, LC Technologies' president. Remember, you must keep your head still and your eye focused. But the versatile Eyegaze System has a spell-checker and a program for correcting grammar, as well as a voice synthesizer that can read anything that is typed. Williams writes about assistive technology every week for BW Online.