Re: [libreplanet-discuss] libreplanet-discuss Digest, Vol 34, Issue 11

[Patrick]

Hi Luke

Thanks for your suggestions on this.


Yep, this piece sums up the situation nicely:

"seeking to achieve this via a free software license is asking for 
trouble, not least because you are wandering off of the beaten track of 
"OSI-approved licenses", and are adding a considerably onerous task 
(writing a license) on top of what is already a considerable task 
(writing some software)."


Unfortunately, there isn't anything special code-wise about both the 
scientific instrument control program or the program to assist with 
special needs kids. I don't think I have the skills or time to out pace 
the people I don't want to cause trouble. Here is a little more details:

Parents with special needs kids end up talking to all sorts of people 
assuming they live in the first world and don't have access to the 
people they need if they are not. The application will be help a lot 
with the first case and will do it's best to help with the second.

So take for instance the communication between parent and speech 
therapist. They charge about $100-150 per hour and have to do lengthy 
intake assessments to figure out where the child is at developmentally. 
Later on if they are not working out, it's off to another one and more 
money for more assessments. Even in the first world, only the rich can 
pay for the therapy that is needed. Here in Canada there is some public 
support but 12 hours a year or so and a wait list for even this, doesn't 
even put a dent in the problem.

I am building a database from an English dictionary(and hope to add more 
languages later) categorizing words by age appropriateness and proving a 
phonetic breakdown of the word. I hope to include photos later for 
prompting the child but don't know if I will be able to get a whole 
picture dictionary with photos I am entitled to use(Joel's schoolforge 
suggestion might help here). I have a back up plan if I can't though.

So lets take the word "ship". It's not 4 sounds it's 3. SH is not a 
combination of the sounds of S and H, it's it's own. Parents will be 
able to gather data on which words and more specifically which parts of 
words the child is capable of producing. So ship will have 3 widgets to 
allow a parent to rank each syllable. This will all go into a database 
and then the speech therapist will see a graph that shows the child is 
weak in the trailing D sounds and is missing Z etc. There will be 
facilities for grammar as well and other topics like motor planning, 
self care, social communication, self injurious behaviours/aggression 
etc to talk with all the other professionals. Fast data passage between 
professionals and parents will mean more time to talk about solutions.

For the many left without any support, it will try to provide tips and I 
am hoping to set up a website to collect these wiki fashion as well.

At the end of the day, it's really a data collection tool. In effect, so 
is the scientific instrument control application. Send commands, collect 
data, crunch data.

I repair spectrometers for a living. I was outraged with how companies 
were treating my clients and 8 years ago I started to teach myself how 
to program. I had always planed on releasing the code as FLOSS software 
but a couple of years ago i started to see the subtle issues with free 
licences and now I am trying to kill the enemy without becoming the 
thing I hate.

have a good night