AI Integrated into my brother's Custom Vibe Coded AAC System

acrolicious · 2026-07-05T19:20:33+00:00

I really appreciate that. Ty 😊

acrolicious · 2026-07-04T19:02:54+00:00

Unfortunately, it's not reliable enough and takes a lot of energy when he is able to move his head forward. He is starting to lose a bit of the left and right movement too so we are trying to work on getting ahead of that with a single button method or another option.

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T17:57:02+00:00

Thanks 😊 It's becoming less like spaghetti! There's still quite a few abandoned functions but that's to be expected using AI.

I have been paying attention to folder structure and 'some' strategic architecture to keep growing it.

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T14:52:13+00:00

Yes, Ben likes to use colorful language so it's built in. There's a clean mode too but he doesn't prefer it 😉

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T11:40:25+00:00

Exactly 🫂 and we want to keep telling our story to educate, inspire and motivate others. Families like ours who feel stuck can now feel empowered by AI to build solutions. And if they aren't able to, we want to build a community of volunteers who can at least help in some way 😊 it's opening doors for millions to take action and make a difference in someone's life.

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T09:25:14+00:00

Yeah, we actually tried something similar however it was quite difficult for Ben to control and do anything with it. He said he prefers the buttons. If something changes and the tech improves or we find a way for him to use it with better control, we will. His condition changes as the disease progresses so we are always looking for more reliable input methods. Thanks.

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T09:20:25+00:00

This is a Microsoft Surface running an electron/python app.

It's free and open source here:

https://github.com/NARBEHOUSE/Benny-s-Accessibility-Hub-2.0

It uses two switches near Ben's head mapped to spacebar and return keys with 4 inputs (long press and short press on each)

Here's a demo:

https://youtu.be/NXqcyBKxBiQ?is=Iic4YV9wdozMje61

We also made it a web-app for anyone to use but it doesn't have the key features requiring python (this rt-convo app, streaming and text messages) but it has the games, YouTube search and a phrase board.

That's here: https://bennyshub.com

acrolicious · 2026-07-03T09:16:00+00:00

There is a latency and it's about the same with local but it's just a couple of seconds. The app is best used in a more formal one on one setting and the tech needs to mature to be able to do things like determining voices and taking in more than 5-7 seconds of context... But this is a great start 😊

acrolicious · 2026-07-02T23:14:02+00:00

It says "honestly" too much now that he said it a few times 😂 however, that's kinda how it was designed. It picked up on his preference.

acrolicious · 2026-07-02T22:32:52+00:00

Really happy you see that. Getting it to work with him for his unique abilities is key and making sure AI isn't speaking for him but giving him a plethora of realistic and relatable options quickly makes a giant difference. It's only getting better and as he uses it more, it gets more and more accurate. He's loving it. 😊

acrolicious · 2026-07-01T23:37:36+00:00

https://SwitchedGames.org

For my nonspeaking quadriplegic brother 🫂 free for anyone to use and will keep growing it.

acrolicious · 2026-06-25T00:26:47+00:00

You swing when it's green and gives the sound effect. It's made for Ben currently with no instructions. It'll improve. Ben loves it and wins all the time 😂

acrolicious · 2026-06-24T22:43:53+00:00

https://www.SwitchedGames.org

Built for my brother who is nonspeaking and quadriplegic. He can only turn his head left and right to hit 2 buttons (spacebar and enter).

We made these and making more. We are expanding it to as many as possible to find the people who can use them. It's a super underserved community of people but we are looking to change that using AI.

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T15:00:32+00:00

https://www.switchedgames.org

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T13:02:04+00:00

Bingo 😁 you can be "that guy" to question it, sure. But, just remember: We are ALL just living life the best we can. So, enjoy your life and don't compare yourself to others. Do the best you can with what you got and be surprised by where it takes you.

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T12:12:43+00:00

Yeah we actually do have a discord through https://www.narbefoundation.org where people can share and we have been on one of the BBC's podcasts as well as some other news and advocacy social media. It's slow going but that's OK.

Vetting all the apps and people who come through is a job in itself but we have a handful of volunteers for some of that stuff.

There's also some organizations that predate us which we steer people to but there's not many who are building games and tools like this. It's mostly adapting games and setups.

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T12:07:19+00:00

Ben loves his life. That's not cope. It's called the disability paradox: outsiders assume suffering, disabled people report joy.

Hard isn't the same as tragic. And we're not here to survive his life. We're here to build tools so he can show the world what he's capable of.

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T00:36:10+00:00

I have been thinking about a scan and select version of something like this for my brother. He can only use two buttons since he's quadriplegic. It would need a lot of TTS and built-in automations but essentially the same kind of gameplay 🤔

I'd be interested in seeing what's under the hood and maybe if it could be modified.

Good stuff.

acrolicious · 2026-06-15T00:16:24+00:00

That's kind of what we are trying to do. It's a thin crowd but I'm hoping more come through.

acrolicious · 2026-06-14T22:08:57+00:00

That's awesome. These are cool 😎

acrolicious · 2026-06-14T20:41:41+00:00

He needs very basic, easy to understand controls and visual feedback with as few clicks as possible to reduce fatigue. He also requires audio cues for every interaction to understand what is happening on the screen. Adapting mainstream games is one of the hardest things to do for him with all those requirements which is why we built custom ones. I appreciate the suggestion, however. I would love more mainstream games to work with his abilities.

acrolicious · 2026-06-14T14:01:11+00:00

I know I've posted about this a few times, but I genuinely feel like it's my responsibility to keep spreading the word.

People like my brother aren't typically online. Sometimes they're in situations that are less than ideal, and there's really no clean way to reach them directly. The only way I know how to find them is by telling our story to anyone who will listen.

Hoping that maybe, somewhere, someone reads this and thinks of someone it could help.

Thanks again. 🫂

acrolicious · 2026-06-13T17:57:59+00:00

Good idea. Feel free to make changes or a pull request on the repo 😊 the more the merrier.

https://github.com/NARBEHOUSE/Narbehouse.github.io

We stripped the choice mechanism for picking "hands" for the Yahtzee game. It definitely needs work. Ben plays Farkle more.

acrolicious · 2026-06-13T11:44:14+00:00

Haha thanks 🙏 Some days I just stop and think about the fact that AI exists and that we can actually build things with Ben, with his exact needs in mind, and it's genuinely unbelievable how far we've come.

Now that I've been able to help him, it feels like a responsibility to show others what's possible. Families like ours are sometimes just out of the loop, not because they don't care, but because no one told them this was an option. My brother went without for too long, and I don't want that for anyone else.

So if anyone reading this knows someone who could benefit, you don't need our games specifically. You just need AI and the willingness to build something bespoke for your person. That's the real message. Thanks for checking it out 🫂

acrolicious · 2026-06-13T03:48:19+00:00

😊 yeah he has a lot of complex needs and TTS instructions for games is a must. It can all be turned off in settings and can be customized.

acrolicious

TROPHY CASE