It’s estimated that anywhere from 75-90% of people with cerebral palsy (CP) have vision problems, and research aimed at better understanding vision in people with CP could help improve care and quality of life for these individuals. To wrap up our third season, Dr. Marie McNeely hosts this Research Roundup episode featuring three recent studies examining aspects of vision in people with CP. These studies highlight that cerebral (brain-level) visual impairment can change over time in people with ...
Dec 06, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Substantial and growing evidence supports the wide-ranging benefits of physical activity, but cerebral palsy (CP) and other disabilities can affect how a person engages in physical activity and what activities they should do to maximize their benefits. In this Research Roundup episode, Dr. Marie McNeely talks about three new studies that focused on physical activity in people with CP. The results from these studies give insights on physical activity and exercise in children with CP who can walk,...
Nov 22, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Adaptive sports are filled with thrilling moments and jaw-dropping athletic feats from amazing athletes. But these sports and the phenomenal athletes who are at the top of their game remain a relatively untapped source for game developers. Pascal Clarysse kicks off this episode by sharing more about Big Karma, one of the startup companies in the 2024 Remarkable US Accelerator Program. As a founder of Big Karma, Pascal is passionate about gaming and dedicated to improving representation of disabl...
Nov 15, 2024•56 min•Season 3Ep. 21
The separate parts of our body are connected, and problems in one area can affect other aspects of our physical and mental health. Researchers are working to better understand the relationships between different symptoms of cerebral palsy (CP) and the impacts these symptoms can have on the everyday lives of people with CP. In this Research Roundup, Dr. Marie McNeely discusses three new research papers that examined relationships between posture and other aspects of CP like pain, balance, and qua...
Nov 08, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 20
The majority of people living with cerebral palsy (CP) today are adults, and more research is finally being done to better understand the unique healthcare risks and needs of adults with CP. However, many gaps remain in both research and healthcare for adults with CP. Dr. Cristina Sarmiento is a clinician and researcher who focuses on the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare for adults with lifelong disabilities, particularly CP, with the ultimate goal of promoting overall health, well-...
Nov 01, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 19
About 18 million people worldwide have cerebral palsy (CP). CP’s impacts span a person’s whole lifetime and will likely change with age. Thankfully, more recent research has been aimed at better understanding important issues related to managing CP throughout adulthood. This Research Roundup with Dr. Marie McNeely features three new research papers in this area. They examine important factors for people with more involved CP to consider when transitioning from assisted to independent living, fun...
Oct 25, 2024•11 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Technology can make it easier for people with disabilities to access and engage with their communities, and We Hear You is dedicated to building a world with diversity and inclusion as the foundation of innovation. In this episode, you’ll hear from Pierre Paul and Ashley Schreck. Pierre is Founder and CEO of We Hear You, a startup company in our 2024 Remarkable US Accelerator Program. Pierre shares the story of how the company began, the sign-language interpreter that got them started in disabil...
Oct 18, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Tremendous progress has been made in the development of technology and other innovations to support people with disabilities and make the world more accessible, but we still have a long way to go. The Paralympic Games have been a key driver of innovation and are changing the way that people perceive disabilities and assistive technologies. In this episode, you’ll hear from Paralympic athlete Jeff Butler, a member of the USA Wheelchair Rugby Team and a three-time Paralympian. Jeff and his teammat...
Oct 11, 2024•15 min•Season 3Ep. 16
The vast majority of people with cerebral palsy (CP) experience chronic pain throughout their life. Even though this pain is incredibly common, it’s often not adequately treated or managed in regular clinical care. Pain treatment delays can lead to more severe pain or other health problems later on. To improve how clinicians treat pain, it’s essential for them to regularly screen patients for pain, classify what type(s) of pain someone has, and measure changes in pain over time. In this episode,...
Oct 04, 2024•47 min•Season 3Ep. 15
For years, surgeries and medications have been used to manage different symptoms that people with cerebral palsy (CP) experience. As new surgical approaches are developed, new medications become available, and new data are collected on the effects of these treatments, clinical care continues to evolve. Hosted by Dr. Marie McNeely, this Research Roundup covers three recently published papers that share updates on surgical interventions and medications for managing symptoms of CP. The papers exami...
Sep 27, 2024•10 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Finding accessible housing or making your current home more accessible can be difficult, and navigating the process of getting permits and renovating to improve accessibility can be complicated and expensive. Sudden needs for accessible housing are a particular problem for many people with spinal cord injury, progressive diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), or other conditions that impact mobility. In this episode, you’ll hear from Julie Lineberger, Co-Founder of WheelPad L3C, one of the start...
Sep 20, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Living an active lifestyle has wide-ranging benefits, including better mental and physical health. However, people with physical disabilities experience unique obstacles, and it can be difficult to decide which adaptive activities are right for you. The Kelly Brush Foundation is dedicated to inspiring and empowering people with spinal cord injuries to lead active and engaged lives. Through the Active Project, they provide relevant resources for people with many different disabilities, not just s...
Sep 13, 2024•11 min•Season 3Ep. 12
If you feel daunted by your never-ending task lists and have struggled trying to use a range of different solutions at work — from notebooks and spreadsheets to sophisticated project management tools — you’re not alone. Most work environments and project management tools aren’t designed to meet the needs of people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, autism, and other conditions. The founders of Leantime — one of the startup companies in Cerebral Palsy Alliance Researc...
Sep 06, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Telehealth and virtual reality (VR) approaches have the potential to transform healthcare for people with disabilities who often face barriers in receiving the care they need. In our latest Research Roundup episode, we highlight three recent papers that examine these two approaches. One study focused on the development and evaluation of a new exercise program for children with cerebral palsy (CP) that was delivered remotely via telehealth. We also discussed two review articles that summarize wha...
Aug 23, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Martyn Sibley is on a mission to create a more inclusive world, and his work as an entrepreneur has involved building communities, making it easier to find accessible accommodations, curating and sharing relevant disability-related information and stories, and increasing disabled representation in the content and media we see every day. With co-founder Srin Madipalli, Martyn launched a disability magazine called Disability Horizons, an online disability lifestyle publication that gave disabled p...
Aug 16, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Getting dressed is an everyday task that many people with disabilities dread because finding clothes and shoes that look good and meet your needs can be a major challenge. No one should have to sacrifice independence, comfort, or style to find fashion that works for you. This episode features three startup companies that are making waves to make apparel more fun and functional to meet the needs of people with a range of mobility limitations, pain conditions, and other disabilities. Johannes Saue...
Aug 09, 2024•8 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Imagine what you could accomplish if you could walk farther, go faster, and use less energy. For people with mobility-related disabilities, making this a reality with assistive technology would be transformative. In our first season (episode 5), we introduced you to Biomotum, a startup company dedicated to developing life-changing robotic orthotics to improve mobility for disabled people who walk. Their device has exciting features that make it promising for both assistance and building strength...
Aug 02, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Researchers and innovators are creating novel technologies that address unmet needs, improve function, and enhance quality of life for people with disabilities. This short Research Roundup episode features three recent studies that highlight the development and evaluation of new technology-based interventions for people with CP and other disabilities, including a customized 4-D printed hand orthosis, a cable-driven robotic platform that helps with head and neck movements, and a wearable full-bod...
Jul 26, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Millions of people around the world navigate their daily lives with low or no vision, and this can be particularly challenging when their environments aren’t accessible. Common tasks like doing laundry or buying something online could be made much easier if they could — even just for a moment — see what’s in front of them. Be My Eyes meets this need by connecting people with low or no vision to sighted volunteers through a video app. By showing volunteers real-time videos and talking to them, ap...
Jul 19, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Scientists around the world are continuing to make important advances in research that could improve the lives of people with cerebral palsy (CP) and other disabilities. In this short Research Roundup episode, host Dr. Marie McNeely talks about four recent studies focused on diagnosing CP and other conditions, as well as predicting outcomes. These papers examine new diagnostic approaches being developed that use brain activity, movement patterns, or characteristics of walking plus deep learning ...
Jul 12, 2024•10 min•Season 3Ep. 4
As the fields of robotics and engineering advance, the utility of robots is no longer limited to performing simple, repetitive tasks. However, for physical robotics to be useful in real-world situations, they must be able to perform in variable and unstructured environments, as well as take into account the needs and characteristics of each individual user. This is particularly important for assistive robots being created to meet the complex needs of caregiving. This episode features Dr. Tapomay...
Jun 28, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Whether you’re planning to go to an event or even just catch up with friends over a cup of coffee, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not there will be a bathroom available that meets your needs. Even if public bathrooms comply with all of the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, they can still be difficult or impossible to use for people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. In this episode, Becky Hansen, Chief Strategy Officer at Momentum Refresh, an...
Jun 21, 2024•7 min•Season 3Ep. 2
For many families, a child’s cerebral palsy (CP) diagnosis is made around two years of age or even later. But diagnosing cerebral palsy earlier allows clinicians to take advantage of critical developmental periods during the first two years of life. During this time, a baby’s brain rapidly develops, and brain activity and pathways are shaped by their experiences. Starting interventions during critical periods of development means clinicians can positively affect later outcomes related to movemen...
Jun 14, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Jocelyn Cohen, Vice President of Education at Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation (CPARF), and Molly Lazarus, Director of Remarkable US, are featured in this introductory episode for season three of Changing What’s Possible: The Disability Innovation Podcast. They share exciting updates from CPARF and Remarkable, and they explore the new types of episodes that we’ll feature in season three. Get ready to learn more about the latest in research and innovation for people with cerebral palsy...
Jun 07, 2024•7 min
Cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions can impact how information travels from your brain to other parts of your body. SpineX, a startup company in our 2023 Remarkable US Accelerator Program, develops noninvasive solutions that use painless electrical stimulation to change the nervous system’s activity to improve function and enhance quality of life. In this episode, you’ll hear more about the company and its innovative Spinal Cord Innovation in Pediatrics (SCiP™) ...
Oct 06, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Walking difficulties can lead to dangerous falls and limit mobility for people with many different conditions. While devices like ankle foot orthoses (AFOs), complex robotics, and walking aids like canes or walkers can help, they have their downsides. Usually, they’re not made with aesthetics in mind, often cost too much, and they can attract unwanted stares and questions from strangers. In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Tyler Susko, Founder and CTO of Cadense, Inc., a company that aims to r...
Sep 29, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Imagine being able to play a game, create an important presentation, or engage in a virtual class with just a series of simple words, gestures, and face expressions. This kind of freedom and flexibility to control technology can open doors and create opportunities for many people around the world who can’t easily use game consoles, computers, or other devices. With a free app from Cephable (formerly Enabled Play), speech, facial expressions, head positions, shaking, tilting, and virtual buttons ...
Sep 15, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Technology can accelerate learning at school, enhance productivity at work, and create fun ways to play and engage with friends and family. But if you’re someone who has difficulty using traditional technology controls like a keyboard, mouse, or game controller, you might feel like you’re being left behind. Cephable, formerly known as Enabled Play, is dedicated to leveling the playing field when it comes to accessing technology, and we’re excited to support Cephable through our 2023 Remarkable U...
Sep 01, 2023•19 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Planning each day around going to the bathroom can make it difficult to do everything you want in life, and reusing a typical intermittent catheter can put you at high risk for potentially deadly urinary tract infections. For stroke survivors, people with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions, intermittent catheterization is the most common way to empty their bladders. In the first part of this episode, you’ll meet Souvik Paul, CEO and Founder of Aurie, a...
Aug 18, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 8
From simple straps to complex robots, many products have been developed over the years to help people with hand disabilities. But most of them aren’t suitable for daily use because they’re too cumbersome, feel uncomfortable, require frequent charging, or are highly specialized to help with just one kind of task. In the second episode of our two-part interview, you’ll hear more about how Hominid X designs user-friendly assistive grasping tools that empower people with hand disabilities to achieve...
Aug 04, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 7
