A Happy New Year 2026

Thank you for the collaboration and support we shared throughout 2025. Working with you taught me valuable lessons, which I’ll always carry forward.

One significant outcome was the acceptance of the paper on assistive handwriting and the ICT device Yomitol-kun, where I worked as a coauthor, which has been under review since 2024.  It was published in the Journal of the Japanese Association of Science for Human Services. Let me quote the English summary as follows:

"Development of a pressure-sensitive device that can visualize the writing moves
of an assistive handwriting technique for assistive communication"

Summary
This paper's primary objective focuses on enhancing the objectivity of assistive handwriting for individuals
with locked-in syndrome. To achieve this goal, a pressure-sensitive device was developed, which can
visualize writing movements by employing assistive handwriting principles. Additionally, PC software was
created to recognize changes in pressure sensed by the pressure sensor, which captures micro pressure
changes occurring on an individual's body when assistive handwriting is in use. The writing movements
using the developed device were examined on four individuals who use assistive handwriting for
communication. The evaluation of the device's functionality and analysis of the letters written by these
individuals suggested that its use is effective for assistive communication among those with locked-in
syndrome.

I express hearty thanks to the patients with locked-in syndrome for the experiments for the paper, who are actually conscious, though they have been diagnosed as persistent vegetative state.

Through the activities as a communicator 2025, I found that not only persons who become disabled in mid-life through diseases or accidents, but also those who have difficulties in communication since childhood because of their congenital diseases or birth injury actually have a rich knowledge, deep insight, and overwhelming love. They have all indeed, but they cannot communicate them just because of their nerve damage or something like that. Or they do communicate, but we who receive them are not capable enough to catch them.

People in locked-in syndrome who work with me often say, " With your assistive handwriting, I can write just as I talk. With your assistance, I never notice I am totally impaired in moving and speaking." They always encourage me to go forward with the higher skill of assistive handwriting.

Collaborating with the ICT support, Yomitol-kun Project, I will try hard for the communication support.