Winnipeg Smart Suite gives children with disabilities a new path to independence

A new Smart Suite at Winnipeg’s Rehabilitation Centre for Children is giving families a hands-on look at technology and adaptive tools designed to help children and youth with disabilities live more independently at home.

The new Smart Suite, created through the support of The Moffat Family Fund at the Winnipeg Foundation, offers practical solutions to improve independence and participation at home. 

"The Smart Suite is a wonderful example of how innovation can create greater independence and opportunity for children and youth with disabilities," said Megan Tate, Vice President, Community Impact, at Winnipeg Foundation.

A home built for independence

When the project was first developed, the hope was that it would simulate an apartment or small home set-up to help families identify solutions that can work within their own homes. 

"The multidisciplinary teams at Rehabilitation Centre for Children collaborated to review in-home barriers and determine which accessibility options could be best customized to meet a child's unique needs,” said Barb Borton, Interim Executive Director, Rehabilitation Centre for Children. "My gratitude to the team and to the donors who made this idea a reality for Manitoba families."

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The Smart Suite now displays a realistic home environment including a kitchen, living room, computer workspace and bathroom, all with adaptive features to support everyday living.

The space allows children, youth and their families to trial equipment and explore how technologies can support greater independence.

Some of the technologies and equipment available include voice-controlled or eye-tracking technology to use blinds, lighting and door controls, as well as adaptive kitchen appliances and cabinetry.

Technology making a difference

"The Smart Suite helped us learn how to give my daughter, Zoe, freedom and independence,” says Elsien Versteeg, mother of a Smart Suite home technologies recipient. "Zoe does not verbally communicate, but with this technology she can use her eye gaze technology to play her favourite music and change the colour of the lights in her room. It's the simple things that we take for granted that she is getting to experience and control for the first time."

Families who take part in Smart Suite visits with therapists may also qualify for a starter kit of equipment, helping offset some of the initial costs of adding accessibility and smart-home technology to their homes.

The $275,000 project is funded by the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation.