I was first introduced to Eagle Eyes when I worked at Jordan Valley School in Midvale Utah. Jordan Valley is a center-based school for students age 5-22 with severe to profound disabilities. It is an amazing place with teachers and staff who are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to give our kids access to the world around them. Many of our students are locked in their bodies, are nonverbal, and have very limited methods of communication. I loved using music therapy techniques to help them grow and develop, and I loved seeing what others were doing to help them along.

Image obtained from The Opportunity Foundation

Eagle Eyes came into the school just a few years ago with the intent of working with a few students at a time to experiment with a new technology. It was developed at Boston College and basically allows children to use their eyes to control a computer mouse. A student is hooked up to various electrodes which measure their electro-oculographic potential (EOG). The EOG is a small electrical potential which indicates the position of the eye in relation to the head, and when the individual moves his or her eyes, the cursor moves. They can make a selection (or “click”) by simply looking at a small area of the screen for a short period of time (which can be adjusted from a millisecond to several seconds), and this causes a mouse click. It is truly amazing to watch this technology at work!

I love watching students discover and thrive with Eagle Eyes. It is an amazing way to discover what is really going on in their head and get a clearer picture of what they know. The program is expanding quickly with the hope that it will reach more and more kids as time goes on.

Learn more about Eagle Eyes at The Opportunity Foundation
website

You can also watch a 25 minute documentary on three families and their experience with Eagle Eyes here. (Password “eagleeyes”)