Grace Fisher is using her mouth to control her computer, using an adaptive mouse which she blows into and moves with her tongue. She’s composing music.
Grace is 23 years old. When she was 17, she was struck by a rare polio-like virus that paralyzed her from the neck down.
“I went from a typical teenager to completely paralyzed from the neck down,” she told KCLU.
At the time, she had been accepted into the prestigious Berklee School of Music, but instead found herself in hospital, where she says she learned to heal her soul though music therapy and adaptive art. It must be working, as she radiates happiness.
“Music is definitely a part of my life in a very different way to what i was expecting. I’m at UCSB now for music composition,” said Fisher.
Fisher uses a specially adapted wheelchair, which she also controls using a straw-like device and her mouth.
At an age where young people are normally finding their independence, Grace has been focused on helping other disabled young people make art and music.
“I breathe with a diaphragmatic pacer. They placed electrodes on my stomach, that’s why there are short little pauses with my breath. It’s very calculated for 14 breaths a minute.
“I’m definitely a bionic woman.
“It’s sip and puff technology. I write music with my mouth. I paint with my mouth.
“There’s so much adaptive technology out there now, that keeps me independent.”
