Name: EZWriter

Description:

My Extreme Redesign project was born purely out of necessity. My 14 year old son suffered a severe stroke in October 2008 and had a complete right side paralysis. He did quickly recover in a couple months. However his right hand hasn't changed much, he has some motion but does not have any feeling, so he is unable to hold a pen or write. He has been trying to learn to write left handed but has had little success.

I set out to find some kind of writing utensil to aid in his situation. I was only able to find things that were designed to be used with the index finger and thumb. When we were challenged with the Extreme Redesign Challenge I knew were my focus would lie. I feel my design is unique and very useful in aiding handicapped individuals who do not have complete use of their fingers. Although this design is sized for my son's hand and is for the right hand, other sizes and left handed models could be easily designed from this prototype. This unit basically allows the writer to us their elbow shoulder and forearm to guide the pen or pensile not their fingers.

How to use it: Place your index finger through the large hole and grasp the bulk of the utensil in the palm of your hand making a fist around it. Place a standard round pencil or a standard round bic® pen in the small hole and adjust the height as needed. Depending on ability you can rest your thumb on the side of the holder or let it glide along the paper. Using motion from your forearm, elbow and shoulder begin to write.