Enviromental Controls

It's 6:15pm, and you've just arrived home from work via a paratransit van. Your spouse has the kids at soccer practice, and your nighttime attendant doesn't arrive till 9:30pm, so no one's home -- not to open the door, nor to turn on the television, nor to answer the phone. But, you have no worries. As the paratransit driver stows the lift, you select the Mode feature on your powerchair's joystick, and toggle the joystick twice to the right, then once back, and like magic the front door opens. Once inside your living room, you toggle the joystick three more times, turning on the ceiling fan, then toggle it twice more to turn on the television, which automatically tunes to the evening news. And, with a few more toggles, your speaker phone dials your spouse's cell phone, so you can see how the kids are fairing at soccer practice. Your powerchair not only provides mobility, it also controls your environment, a full interface for independence.

If this sounds like wishful thinking or a science-fiction environment, it's not - the age of environmental controls has arrived for those with disabilities.

Environmental controls are available on several levels, ranging from a $90 off-the-shelf consumer X10 remote control system purchased at a do-it-yourself store to merely control lamps, to a $65,000 SRS system that literally interfaces one's powerchair with every aspect of a home, from opening windows to igniting a gas fireplace to operating security cameras. For most with involved disabilities, however, a system in-between is more realistic, operating essentials like doors, heating and air conditioning, the telephone, and television controls. For a fully powerchair integrated system, the base units cost approximately $2,600, with appliance add-ons that build up the system (from very inexpensive light switch receivers to more costly door actuators, depending on one's needs). Fortunately, in many countries, including the U.S., there are funding sources, ranging from the Veteran's Administration to third-party insurance, which will cover the cost of environmental controls for eligible users.

The first step in pursuing environmental controls involves a home assessment. For full systems, this means a home evaluation performed by a trained environmental controls technician (many high-end rehab providers now handle environmental controls). Firstly, the technician will assess your abilities, whether you can operate a push-button remote, through-the-joystick, sip-n-puff, voice, or switch controls - that is, determine the easiest way for you to interface with the system. Secondly, the technician will due a full profile of your needs, inventorying every switch, door, telephone, and appliance in your home. From there, it's important to prioritize your needs, as you may not want to invest in switches that you will never use (for example, you would undoubtedly wish to control the ceiling fan in your bedroom, but probably wouldn't need to control the one in the rarely-used guest room where, presumably, the guest could operate it - put simply, it's most economical to invest in the controls most vital to you). During the evaluation, the technician will also set up sample controls, allowing you to operate a few appliances to convey the system's practicality toward your needs.

Installation and maintenance of the environmental system is critical, and you certainly need on-going technical support as your needs and living environment change. Advance systems like Q-Controls and SRS use a computerized database to create each user's environmental controls system, expediting set-up, easing maintenance, and ensuring reliability. To start, every switch, appliance, and actuator is entered into a program via laptop computer. With infared technology running virtually all television-type remote controls these days, the program also captures infrared signals, thereby compiling all remote controls within your house into the system. With all switches, appliances, and remotes captured within the program, icons are added, and the system is organized into a very simple two-layer toggle scheme - toggle onto the TV icon, and the television controls come up for your selection. The entire environmental profile is then uploaded to the master remote of your powerchair (or a free-floating remote unit, if you wish). The beauty of the computer-based system is that your home is literally on file - and, in fact, archived by the environmental controls manufacturer, so additions, alterations, or replacements only take minutes rather than redoing the entire set-up process in the future. At this point, the heads-up display is mounted at a convenient spot on your powerchair, and your environment is as close as your joystick.

Using environmental controls is an eye-opening experience, demonstrating that independence isn't merely about physical ability; rather, independence is also about harnessing technology to your physical benefit, whether it's using a powerchair for mobility, or an environmental control system to operate your home's appliances. We are fortunate that in today's world, with some thought, funding, and technology, our environments are increasingly within our control, regardless of disability.

Do you use environmental controls? If so, we'd like to hear of your experience for a future article. Please drop us an E-mail.