Seven Hills Foundation: Assistive Technology Intervention Process

We are the Worcester Polytechnic Institute team sponsored by Seven Hills Foundation. From October 27th, 2015 to March 3rd, 2016, we worked with Seven Hills Foundation to develop a process to introduce high tech assistive technology solutions to people with disabilities living in community homes. Essentially, we developed a pilot smart home for people with disabilities.

Student Researchers

The team consisted of Jahan Dadlani, Joe Fainer, Dave Goodrich, and Jacob Hackett.

Executive Summary

This project focused on increasing the independence and safety of disabled people in Seven Hills Foundation’s community homes through the use of assistive technology. The project focused on creating a process by which Seven Hills can introduce assistive technology in their homes. The project primarily worked with three local community homes with four residents each. The residents mainly had Acquired Brain Injuries and Traumatic Brain Injuries. The independence of the residents was assessed while performing daily tasks such as cooking, moving around, or managing home climate.

Using Apple and third party devices, residents were introduced to technology that could be controlled through the using of iPads and/or iPhones. The residents were assessed after acclimating to the new technology. The amount of independence gained or lost by introducing the technology was observed and used to improve the assistive technology solution. The process was refined and documented and presented to Seven Hills for them to use in future interventions within any community home.

Final Report

Assistive Technology Intervention Process at Seven Hills Foundation