Devin was diagnosed when he was three. “It was very traumatic,” Paron-Wildes recalled.

At the time of Devin’s diagnosis, Paron-Wildes was a very young interior designer, only recently graduated from the University of Minnesota. “I thought, ‘There’s got to be some great research'” about designing spaces for children with autism, but she was wrong. “There was nothing,” she recalled. “Everything was done in the ’70s, when kids were institutionalized.”

Thibault was inspired by his mother, father and sister who are all deaf. He could see first-hand how difficult it was for individuals who are hard-of-hearing to follow more than one speaking voice at a time.

“In my family, we call it ‘the Thanksgiving syndrome,’ where everyone is talking at once,” he said. “For a deaf person, losing the flow of the conversation makes you suddenly feel super alone because so many people are talking around you that it’s all a blur.”

Geoff and his brother, Mike, say that when designing and building machines they have to meet a simple criterion: they have to be for the common good.

Madilynn said, “It makes me feel comfortable, and it feels like I have someone else in the family who has diabetes too.”

Her mother Kellie saw on David’s facebook page that he had bought a 3D printer, so she asked if he could make an insulin pump for her daughter’s doll.

Kellie says she's asked American Girl to make diabetic supplies for a while.

For those suffering from Crohn's disease, a number of medications are needed on a daily basis in order to keep the conditions under control. These aren’t always easy to swallow - especially for young children - which can easily make an already stressful situation even more stressful.

“When my eleven year old son was diagnosed with a chronic disease, he needed to take a lot of medication. It was hard to swallow, by all means, so I was looking for ways to "sweeten the pill" for him.

Here are some of Peter’s solutions:

A system was develop in order for Peter’s bathroom door to open automatically for him when he approaches it and the lights turn on without him having to flick a switch.

“What I did was I used an ultra sound PIR. I design it and my nephew helps me build it”. Running on a simple electric motor, the sliding door would gently fall back when the sensors were activated. They are also programmed not to register anyone below a certain height, to prevent Peter’s dogs constantly triggering the system.

It all started in 2005 when Tiffany was working as a nanny with a little boy with Down’s syndrome, named Gibby. Of his many struggles, medicine time was one of the most difficult for him.

Shireen came up with the idea for this device at a wedding in 2012, when she realized she had forgotton her gluten-free snacks at home and the caterers for the event couldn’t tell her whether or not her meal contained gluten.

They founded (these)abilities, a design & technology startup that aims to "Disable Disabilities" by designing & building products that level the playing field for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) at work, at home and during play.

A keyguard is a plastic or metal plate placed on top of a keyboard, with holes aligned to the keyboard's keys.
It makes the keys recessed, making it easier for people with upper-limb mobility issues - such as those who have suffered strokes or have Parkinson's disease or muscular dystrophy - to use a keyboard.

As Shelly watched her daughter struggle with persistent, debilitating pain, she threw herself into a search for alternatives to high doses of pain medication. Shelly's tireless pursuit led first to low-level lasers, then to the revolutionary discovery of multi-modal technologies. The result not only helped her daughter — who's since completely healed and has given birth to her own child — but has proved to be a promising therapy for other pain sufferers as well.

So Shelly founded Neurolumen LLC in 2008.

Molly suffers from the most sever form of Spina Bifida, Myelomeningocele, which causes parts of the spinal cord and nerves to come through an open part of the spine, causing nerve damage.

Collecting urine samples from Molly was an imperative part of detecting any conditions that the little girl might have but it was nearly impossible to collect from the wiggling and impatient 3-year-old.

He was left without an upper jaw bone, cheekbones, his nose, and his palate, and in their place was a gaping hole. Without the ability to properly speak, eat or drink, doctors sought out a solution to make this brave man’s life as normal as possible.

Keith had tried numerous mask-like prostheses in the past, but none of them had proved to adequately function as he had hoped.

Layla, who was born blind, says that her hands act as her eye's so her father bought a Robo 3D printer to help her better understand things and learn.

She is currently in the eighth grade, and was facing tremendous difficulties due to her blindness. Education is completely geared towards sight and while plenty of braille alternatives have fortunately been made already, lots of basic concepts in math, for instance, are very difficult to grasp when blind.

The Frankenkindle is a modified Kindle which allows Glenn’s sister to easily use her Kindle without being affected by the difficulties caused by her cerebral palsy.

The tiny buttons in particular were extremely difficult to use but as the video at the bottom of the page from Glenn’s blog shows, it was an extremely technical process on his part to create the accessible eBook reader.

The app, London Access, details step-free access, ramps and usable toilet facilities at thousands of venues. Mr Biddle says he created it after finding that his wheelchair had made many venues become inaccessible. "What happened on 7/7 robbed me of the ability to just go anywhere," he said.

"We believe restaurant menus should be able to speak to guests: tell them what’s for dinner, what beverages are available, and what’s for dessert and speak in the guest’s preferred language! No more squinting in dim light or turning page after page of complex printed menus", says the company's website.

The device has a variety of buttons, each with braille markings, denote the different categories of food (starters, main course, appetizers, drinks, etc). Upon being pushed each button will list out loud the different dishes available as well as the cost.

Patricia was inspired by a police officer that made a casual remark about him not being able to find suitable waterproof clothing for his wife, who was a wheelchair user. She and her partner business, Harry Gillispie, started to think about that.

“We saw there was a problem and we responded to it” Patricia said. The two of them started doing some research which included visiting a spinal injuries ward in Glasgow as well as interviewing people with various disabilities and their carers.

Sheila was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Two weeks later, she had surgery to remove a lump and lymph nodes, leaving her with 2 wounds, close together, under the arm.
“As a result of this, it was painful and uncomfortable at all times, being unable to sleep, too painful to lie on the wounded side and also painful to lie on the opposite side due to the weight of the breast pulling against the wounds.

“The ShapeDad life started with 3D printing in mind. But after releasing the first product in mid 2010 (the iPad Love Stand), I soon discovered that this was either too expensive or the materials where too limited for day to day use as consumers products. So I went to the garage and started handcrafting and working with more traditional materials like wood, aluminum, copper and fabric.

The Squeeze Chair Project consists of a series of upholstered chairs with arms that inflate to hold the user in a firm hug.

The effects of Grandin’s autism led her, at age 18, to develop an apparatus, inspired from cattle handling chutes, which applied soothing, mechanical pressure to her body to calm her anxiety and environmental sensitivity.