Funding outcome

Children who have severe physical impairments face limitations in play. Play is not only a means for children to develop thinking and social skills, but it is a fundamental human right. Brain-control interfaces (BCI) may offer these children a way to access play. Non-invasive BCI technologies use sensors on the surface of the head to read brain wave signals. Our team has been working with children with disabilities to learn to control computers and robots for play using only their brain signals. However, this is new technology, and there is little research or instructions about how to use BCI, especially for children and youth. There are many potential activities we could try, technical innovations we can make, and strategies for implementation. We want the children and families who try the BCI systems to guide our research and service provision. We will observe the children using the BCI and evaluate how well the BCI enables them to play. Plus, we will interview children and parents to get a better understanding of how the BCI can best meet their expectations and needs regarding access to play. This will inform us about the best ways to use BCI in play, and help researchers learn what priorities children and parents value.