Launching Expose It

Lori Rosenberg has been an Occupational Therapist at Ilanot School in Jerusalem for 15 years. She has a “wish list” of applications, technology, and games that she’d love to have developed for her students, all of whom have physical disabilities and many of whom have Cerebral Palsy. When Carmel 6000 partnered with Ilanot, Lori described a problem that many of her students face.

There are not many recreational applications developed for students with disabilities. Of the few that exist, many are overly childish. Some require very long attention spans. Others necessitate complicated physical maneuvers. So, here’s where Carmel 6000 comes in: Shalva Eisenberg, Hila Rot, & Plia Trabelsy have been working together for the past five months to develop a fun, age-appropriate application for students with disabilities.

What they came up with is an app called “Expose It.” Students can move their hands across the screen to virtually scrub away messes on windows. The game has different settings, so users can adjust the standards to different user needs. The game has two main goals.

First, students can use the app for physical therapy. Either, they can play the game with their weaker hand in an effort to strengthen it, or students who struggle with mobility can increase their freedom of movement by performing the same movement over and over—as the game requires.

The second, and equally important, goal is simply fun. Students with physical disabilities often don’t have access to fun, recreational games and the social elements that come with them. Lori expressed the importance of and her desire for more games for students with disabilities.

For instance, on Lori’s wish list is a modified play station that allows students with disabilities to join in on games like these, so they can both further develop the skills required to succeed at video games and gain the social benefits of being able to play with their peers.

The Carmelistiyot just finished up their final touches on the app. They had to work to increase the sensitivity of the app, to make sure that there was enough positive feedback when the student succeeded, and to make sure the app moved fast enough for students with shorter attention spans. But after months of hard work, and many rounds of testing and edits, the team is excited to be launching their final product.

Hopefully, Expose It is just the beginning of a partnership with Ilanot—Carmel 6000 is excited to be contributing to Ilanot’s mission.