Dad combines devices to help disabled child use computers

Nico Iemma, a 9 year old child with cerebral palsy, has never been able to use a computer alone because he cannot bring his hands together. "I had to ask someone to write for me, which was a bit difficult," Nico said.

That said, and due to the frustration felt that there are no computers that his son would be able to use, Patrick Iemma, Nico's father, decided to get down to business and create it himself.

Nico has better control in his right hand, and that's all he needs to use technology created by his father, which combines computer software, a wireless detector and a video game remote with a joystick that controls the mouse. "I just tried to keep it simple and looked at the technology that already existed and started thinking about how I could make it work for Nico," said Patrick Iemma, who is an engineering graduate.

Now, for the first time in his life, Nico is able to do everything on the computer, including playing and drawing, all thanks to his father's invention.

After months of testing, Durham's school board has adopted this technology in the hope that it will help all of their physically challenged students.

Story adapted from https://www.toronto.com/news-story/8611744-device-designed-by-durham-dad...
https://globalnews.ca/news/4216067/durham-school-board-adopts-accessible...