Rafael is one of our most loyal users. On one occasion, he even asked us to go to the hospital to repair the Mouse4all box that had been damaged while he was in!
Rafael has Cerebral Palsy and is a user of Dato Center, where we met him. He uses Mouse4all with an Android phone mounted on his wheelchair, and a wobble switch. His father, who is a handyman, has created a support with metal tube that can be mounted and dismounted in a jiffy. Rafael uses apps of all kinds: WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, photos, music… “In short, I take advantage of all the services a mobile phone can offer.“
Working with Rafael has helped us to greatly improve the Mouse4all app but, above all, to learn from the concerns of persons with a severe physical disability. We had never thought that WhatsApp is not the same experience if your parents or your support person are the ones who write and read your messages. And that is what Rafael appreciates the most from Mouse4all: the autonomy, independence and privacy that he has been given now that he can write his own messages. He just needs someone to mount his phone on his wheelchair and, from then, he can do whatever he wants without depending on anyone: “Mouse4all has given me the freedom to express my thoughts with total privacy, and to participate freely in social networks.“
The change is also appreciated by Rafael’s parents: “Before, he did not want to come with us to our county house because he was bored. Now he is happy as long as we do not forget his phone and Mouse4all.“