We are facing similar problems with 2 grandmothers, 1 76 and one 89
which both are starting to turn into children again.
Ah. Yes.
One of the problems in providing a commercial product into markets like this, it
seems to me, is that the problems are semi-custom. Each person's needs have
their unique aspects, which arranges the priorities in different order. I
suspect that the various needs probably break down into a few definable
categories, but I don't really know. I do know my daughter, though.
As part of addressing these problems, I have added "timers" in the AC
line for several things including the microwave oven. I originally went
with a keep it simple approach using a homebrew design and PLC chips.
Okay. I'm also thinking of a homebrew design, now.
I changed the wall plugs over to non-standard 30 amp style so nothing
would plug-in directly and you had to use the timer box as a "cable
adapter".
Ah. Now, that's an idea I can and should consider for some of the problems I'm
facing. Not all, but some.
Each timer box was controlled from a common black box using a basic
stamp controller. The front panel had buttons labeled microwave, toaster,
food processor, etc. as well as a simple 10 key keypad for a security code
entry.
One of the problems I'm facing that this does NOT solve for me, is that Athena
will observe the use of these devices. She will NOT be able to learn the secret
codes, I'm sure. So that's to the good. But she will KNOW that she doesn't and
cannot figure it out. And this will very much frustrate and anger her. The
result of that will probably be having these devices thrown around the room,
thrown outside the door into the yard, pestering us to help her and punch in the
code and plug it in, etc.
To make this point even clearer, in case others don't know, there was a time
many many years ago that others tried to tell us that we needed to get Athena
sleeping on a so-called "normal sleeping cycle." (They were just trying to be
helpful, because my wife and I were having a hard time dealing with our own
schedules in combination with Athena's bizarre system of sleep.) They said we
should lock her in her room until she settled down and went to sleep. Well, the
result was that she would rant and scream and cry and yell -- not just for two
or three hours at a time, but instead of 12-14 hours solid. She'd slam herself
in the door. In one case then, she literally sheered the nails into the studs
and knocked the entire frame out. (Not the first time, nor the last. We've
just started to replace the old door frames with the wrap-around-the-wall types
that are much stronger.) Even after nearly a year trying, no change except that
she was beating us down very well. Letting her find her own cycle has made our
life much easier in the long run and ... well, she still has a bizarre cycle at
20 years old. No change in that. Sometimes 14 or 16 hours is a day to her,
sometimes 36 hours is. Oh, well.
The point here is that she will focus on these and make our lives a real pain
over them. Whatever method we devise for a solution here needs to be one where
the technique for enabling the various systems can be hidden in such a way that
she will think it is entirely "MAGIC" that we use. No technical gizmo can
become the focus. For example, if we have a toaster oven that we just seem to
turn on and use normally without any obvious special means that she can observe,
she will struggle with it on her own for a bit and eventually decide to simply
hand us the food when she wants it cooked that way. And that's fine, the way we
want it. But if she sees us use some "special device" or "special means" and
she makes the connection that this is either now missing (hidden) or else needs
a special technique to make it work, she may get frustrated and angry. But not
so, when all the pieces she sees are always there.
One of her special talents as an autistic is the ability to walk into a room,
any room, and immediately spot each and every tiny difference in the room. If
I've brought something in and hidden it in a cupboard, she will notice the
slight shift in the cupboard door and immediately head over there and open it to
see what happened inside. She spots things where I've intentionally tried to
put everything back exactly. And she does so with uncanny skill.
What I need is something that looks innocuous (she will see it, of course, when
I install it and probably play with it a little) but for which she cannot
readily associate it with the device being activated. I can go over to the
sink, gently squeeze a bulb, and then walk over to the microwave about 30
seconds later and use it and she won't make the connection if I do it right.
But if I use something that is physically near the device and seems in any way
obvious to its operation, then all bets are off and she will dedicate herself to
discovering how to make it work or make my life miserable or both.
She really has no other purpose in life than to discover the world around her in
her own interesting ways. For some of these, I love being around her. She has
a wonderful sense of humor that is uniquely quirky and pays me back a lot for
other times. She's very happy, most of the time, laughing and giggling and
running to and fro about the house. But when faced with something she decides
to pursue, she will dedicate 100% of her thought and time to the project -- for
days and days at a time.
So you learn a kind of "autistic karate" that uses her interests and gets her to
put her time into that and to avoid presenting her with clear barriers that she
will decide she has to crash. One needs to find subtle ways so that she doesn't
make something the focus of her attention.
I have just completed bench testing my second generation and will
update the remote boxes with the following features:
Current sense and threshholding - this allows the microwave to keep
track of time and stay live but immediately shuts down all ac if energized
for cooking without having "authorization" from the control panel
Not terribly important in my case (time on the clock doesn't need to be right.)
But I like the idea, generally.
Local override - turn on without controller by cycling on/off a
predetermined pattern or number of times. Example - override for for
processor by pushing pulse control in (I am using ON in Morse but pick your
own)
Failure indicator led - did someone try to use an appliance without
enabling first
Not a priority for me, but see what you mean.
Programmable timeout - If I enable the microwave and walk away without
using it, it will default back to off condition after 5 minutes (again
software time tweakable).
Yes. This is something I'd like, of course. My own desire is to have this
programmable without having to remove or alter anything, physically. The
circuit remains where it is (hidden, or mounted in a difficult place, etc.) and
should be changeable by an appropriate alteration of the usual enabling
operation (in my case, I might simply hold the switch for two LONG held times
which will enter a programming mode where the SHORT pulses are read as minutes
until a LONG pause happens, when the programming is considered finished.
I don't want to have to unearth the unit to reprogram the time.
Using the PLC devices and simple switching makes the little black boxes
simple and the controller is running BASIC which is real easy to hack and
slash for your configuration. By using NEMA approved plugs of a less that
standard home format, the appliances can only be plug in via the slave
boxes.
Interesting post. Thanks!
Jon
Assuming no one can figger
