We have curated a collection of companies that create assistive technology products. During the research process, we invited each company to contribute a blog post. The purpose is to facilitate more connection between readers and these companies.

Get to know:

The Neil Squire Society is a national not-for-profit who’s mission statement is “We use technology, knowledge and passion to empower Canadians with disabilities.” Our work is focused on four distinct areas: Innovation, Digital Literacy, Employment, and Assistive Technology. Our website can provide more detailed information. The Makers Making Change initiative was created by the Research and Development department of Neil Squire. The program’s goals are to connect people with disabilities to volunteer makers to build assistive technologies. We host an online open source device library of assistive device designs and project files that are available for free to be downloaded, modified and printed anywhere that has a 3D printer. Lastly, we offer a community based “maker matching service” through our website where makers and people with disabilities can connect to work on projects collaboratively in their region.

The Assistive Devices library is an Open Source collection of Assistive Technology Solutions which you can build yourself, or request to have built by our network of Volunteer Makers. We currently have 108 devices in our library. These supports range from aids for daily living, to assistive switches, and lip syncs. Makers volunteer their time and skills to build the assistive device. As such, the AT Requester is expected to cover the cost of materials. 

Makers Making Change offers a platform for makers (engineers, hobbyists, students, corporations, etc.) to volunteer their time to make an access solution from our projects library. People with disabilities, their family members, or disability professionals can request a project that they feel will help address a person’s barriers. You may freely download the designs and skilled volunteers in your community can work with the recipient in ensuring the project meets their needs. Our platform enables everyone to publish and share open-source assistive technology designs, made both by our organization and other makers. We also host a forum where individuals can share design challenges, solutions and review existing projects.

We encourage you all to sign up for the website and reach out if you would like some more information on our program, want to learn more about becoming a community chapter leader or want to request a device. We also hold monthly introductory webinars that can be found in our events section of the website.

Thank you Makers Making Change for contributing a post to the NWACS blog! You can view our summary page for this organization here. View our full curated collection here.