Written by Miriam Johnson, Inclusion & Accessibility Manager, ATS, United Cerebral Palsy of Eastern CT
Milton suffered a stroke that permanently affected his mobility. He was forced to sell his mobile home and move into an affordable apartment that provided accessibility, but was no longer near his friends and family, leaving him completely alone and isolated. He had not spoken to his brother or sister in over 6 years, and he missed seeing and talking to them.
After setting up the new tablet for Milton, we were able to add his email address and create a brand new Facebook account for him. We took his photo, uploaded it as his main image, and helped him create
his online profile to make it possible for friends and family to look him up online. We helped him locate his brother and sister, helped to connect them as friends, and then trained Milton how to message them. We then trained him how to use Facebook Messenger and he and his sister and brother held video calls together for the first time in over 6 years. He was thrilled to catch up with them!
Since Milton only has use of one arm and hand, we set up Google Assistant to give Milton the ability to use voice commands to operate most of the tablet’s functions. We also attached a shoulder strap to the device and set it up uniquely to hang around his neck and balance on his abdomen to make one-handed usage possible.
