Toronto (December 1, 2014) - Dr. Tom Chau, Director of the Bloorview Research Institute, was featured by the University of Waterloo in their Fall 2014 Magazine.

Profiled for his groundbreaking research in communications access technologies, Dr. Chau gives a voice to children with disabilities through custom communications solutions that harness physical movements or brain activity.

One example of Dr. Chau's communications access technologies is the Hummer switch, a technology that picks up on humming in children who cannot speak, and translates the vibration of their vocal coards into typing letters on a computer.

When asked why he and his team in the Prism lab do this type of work, Dr. Chau says "We are enabling children to connect with their world...A 16-year old boy was our first user of [the Hummer] technology, and he has effectively used it for four years now. He has become so proficient that he is able to play video games with his friends and is currently writing his autobiography."

Learn more about Dr. Chau's work in the Prism lab.

About Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital dedicated to improving the lives of children with disability. As a fully affiliated hospital with the University of Toronto, we are home to the Bloorview Research Institute and the Teaching and Learning Institute, allowing us to conduct transformational research and train the next generation of experts in childhood disability.