Vibrating Bracelet idea

marcyp06

marcyp06

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Posted this in the Deaf Products and Technologies forum, but havent gotten any responses and would like to hear from parents of Deaf children.

A typical scenario in the hearing world (be it at a playground, mall, school, etc) is a mom yelling her childs name to get their attention. Sometimes its "Time to go home!" Sometimes it's "Watch out, there is a car coming!" Parents of deaf children are not able to simply give an instruction this way. They must stay closer to their child, or rely on their child looking to them more often. Most Deaf children are more observant by nature, but ANY child, once they are distracted by something highly interesting, forgets their surroundings.
Working with Deaf kids of all different abilities, I have realized the need for an easier way to get their attention. I have searched around to find a vibrating pager system with a remote control. This is the only thing I have found so far: Vibrating/Chime Receiver with Push Button Transmitter Assistive and Hearing Aids Products - Deaf, Hearing Loss, Sign Language
As you can see, its not really kid-friendly. Since my searches have lead me mostly to dead ends, my next logical step (im not really a logical person!) was to try and invent something!
Here's where i'd like your input. I am around Deaf kids at work as well as at home. But I am only one person. I need to know if others would find this useful, and what they like or dont like.

Ideally what I would like is a vibrating bracelet. They make cute vibrating watches, so I know the size is possible. I would like a transmitter that is either a small pendant button, or a secondary bracelet for the parent. When the push the button, the childs bracelet vibrates, and the child is taught that the vibration means "come find mom" or whoever.

Ok.... am I on to something here, or way off base?
 
I am not sure how this help a deaf child if a car was coming , I would think bracelet might distract a child in the wrong situation .
 
Getting run over by a car is that one situation I think hearing people use most about Deaf kids, lol. In my world its more, my kiddo has decided he wants to take residence in a tree at the opposite side of the park where I am at and I am wrangling other kids and cant get over there to get his attention. Or my student at school who wanders off while I am pushing another child in a wheelchair and cannot run to grab her. I think there ARE practical uses, not only for Deaf children but also for other young kids and children and adults with other developmental or communication issues.
 
I think this is an awesome idea! My daughter has already been conditioned to find mommy or daddy when she feels vibrations from the floor----our house is elevated so I can stomp my foot on the floor and she can feel it from across the room very helpful when she decides to stick her fingers in the light sockets or she tries to pull all my DVDs out of my entertainment center or whatever! This is definitely something I would buy!

Some best case scenario, money is no object, I can have exactly what I'd like suggestions:

- an adjustable rubber bracelet that comes in pretty colors :) or maybe make it so the band is interchangeable with the receiver...you know...so I can match my daughter's bracelet to her outfits :)
- water proof (or at least resistant) it also would need to be sand/dust/dirt resistant since little kids get dirty :)
-rechargeable batteries
- radius of at least a couple hundred feet and make it so you don't have to have line of sight (like if she's in another room at home I can buzz her)
- each receiver should come with two transmitter bracelets- so mom and dad can each have one!

It'd also be cool if it doubled as a medical alert bracelet and was engraveable!
 
I was born profoundly Deaf. Its my opinion, relying on the technology isnt a great idea. Let the Deaf/HOH get familiar with brain and body, to be aware about something that comes to you. It is like having extra feeling which is the fifth sense replaces of hearing.

if i rely on vibrating for everything and one day vibration stopped, then i would feel lost without it.

Its OK for a temporary but how will they learn how to look around more caution and be aware?? Maybe that is just me. Hearing aids is the technology too.
 
I think that is a fantastic idea. You should try to pursue this...
 
What a GREAT idea! I would use that all the time! When my kid is on the playground, it's hard to climb up the slide to get to him and tell him something. Would LOVE to have something for him to look for me and I could communicate what I needed to say/sign.
 
If I had deaf child I would not them out of my sight when we where out.

I never let my child out sight when we outside as I would not had been able to hear her call for me. I feel this will give some parents a false sense of security and think it will be OK to let their deaf child wander off.
 
I'm not sure if this would be a good idea. It might vibrate to any loud sound. When there's a lot of vibration, then the child may become used to it and eventually ignore it.
 
VamPyroX said:
I'm not sure if this would be a good idea. It might vibrate to any loud sound. When there's a lot of vibration, then the child may become used to it and eventually ignore it.
Click to expand...

I did not go back and review the earlier posts but I was under the impression that it would be bluetooth or FM — something individual not a reaction to sound.
 
My opinion, though worth very little as a hearing person...
would be that a bracelet that vibrates wouldn't be very comfortable or reliable.
People now use vibrational collars on dogs (instead of shocks) to correct behaviour. I don't agree with this method, because it means that the dog must find it irritating to some degree. And if I wouldn't use it on my dog I certainly wouldn't use the technique on a child.
 
As a Deaf person living in the Deaf community, I have never seen any child get run over more than children in the hearing world do. In fact, it seems like it happens more with hearing children than with deaf children. I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s and those days, we played outside all day in our community and as deaf children, my brother and I learned how to use my visual field differently to alert me of any dangers. My mom let out go outside all day with the neighborhood kids all day as long as we are home by dark. No problems.
 
I have been away for a while, but as I posted in the other thread, these bracelets already exist! Bluetooth vibrating bracelets that you can buy super cheap from Chinese suppliers.
 
Eater of Worlds said:
I have been away for a while, but as I posted in the other thread, these bracelets already exist! Bluetooth vibrating bracelets that you can buy super cheap from Chinese suppliers.
Click to expand...

I would not put any jewelry on a child that same from China . I know of a girl that got fake earring that where magnetic and she got rash on her ears .
 
They have vibrating collars for deaf dogs. Is this where your idea came from?
 
shel90 said:
As a Deaf person living in the Deaf community, I have never seen any child get run over more than children in the hearing world do. In fact, it seems like it happens more with hearing children than with deaf children. I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s and those days, we played outside all day in our community and as deaf children, my brother and I learned how to use my visual field differently to alert me of any dangers. My mom let out go outside all day with the neighborhood kids all day as long as we are home by dark. No problems.
Click to expand...

:laugh2::laugh2:

Sorry, it's not funny but the way you just came out and were like, hearing kids are the ones that need this bracelet they're the ones getting plowed over the most! :laugh2: Oh, sorry.... anyway! Not your exact words I know, but that's the blunt sentence that went through my head when I read the bold part. :laugh2: Okay okay, I'm good. :D

I suppose some people could find this useful, but most kids these days have cell phones, especially deaf kids that at least get texts. I grew up deaf and in the deaf community, personally I never had an issue of almost being plowed over, I just knew to be more visually aware. :dunno:
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I would not put any jewelry on a child that same from China . I know of a girl that got fake earring that where magnetic and she got rash on her ears .
Click to expand...

A lot of them are silicone covered or plastic and aren't metals that have nickel in them (which is most likely what caused the rash you spoke of) Like these, if you don't want to buy in bulk:
vibrating bracelet - Free Shipping - DX or from alibaba: Bluetooth Bracelet-Bluetooth Bracelet Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on Alibaba.comBracelets & Bangles It's obvious that not everything from the alibaba site is identified as what you're looking for (some of the stuff is basic bead bracelets that have no vibrating or message accepting capabilities)

This even has the basics for building one yourself, for one that vibrates though I don't think it addresses having something like bluetooth in it to get specific signals components - How do I build a bracelet that vibrates once every n minutes? - Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

It's just that building her own from scratch without the knowledge of how to do the electronics is going to be tough. The same things are on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Koolertron-Bluetooth-Bracelet-Cellphone-Wristwatch/dp/B0058LOZMA

The thing to be figured out at this point is transmitting from one bracelet to another without bulky equipment, vs a phone call to the bracelet. Given the prevalence of cell phones, I think it would be easier and cheaper to see if you can do something like have the bracelet set up for your phone, and see if calling yourself makes the bracelet vibrate like it would if the line wasn't busy. If it does, you can buy the receiver portion of these bracelets in bulk from someplace like alibaba and make your own band if you want, or even cut it out of existing bracelets because alibaba has some really cheap prices.
 
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