Deaf-led. Portland, Oregon.
Helpful Tech pairs accessible tools with hands-on teaching. Its goal is to help disabled people and underrepresented communities learn new skills, take part in public life, and benefit from everyday technology.
Disabled people should be able to take part in the same rooms as everyone else. A class, a performance, a public meeting, a job. Having a tool in the room is not the same as being able to use it. People need both usable tools and the chance to learn how to use them.
Inclusive music education leads our work, alongside accessibility technology. We are also exploring how useful technology could support animal shelters and older adults.
In schools and community settings, hands-on workshops use tools created by disabled engineers to turn sound into light, color and vibration so Deaf and disabled participants can make music visually.
Captions, ASL interpretation, audio description, access production and staff training, for organizations that want their whole audience to be able to take part.
Exploratory pilot: we want to ask shelters whether playable portraits of pets in their care, paired with shelter-approved adoption profiles and responsible pet care information, could help more people discover them.
Sparkle Classic game preview; shelter use is proposed.
Explore the shelter idea →
One-to-one and group support for older adults who want to stay up-to-date on technology to improve their quality of life.
Illustration, not a photograph. This program is a pilot.
Our model puts Deaf and disabled practitioners in paid design and teaching roles. Fiscal sponsorship is available through the Charitable Partnership Fund while Helpful Tech builds toward its own 501(c)(3); please contact us to confirm gift arrangements.
Founder: Myles de Bastion.
Helpful Tech is forming as an Oregon nonprofit.
Organizations in our founder's track record. This work was delivered through CymaSpace, de Bastion, Inc. and other collaborations while Helpful Tech forms.
For the full track record and credentials, see the vision brief →
Work delivered with our community partners, through CymaSpace and de Bastion, Inc.
A workshop series at Creston School, with Portland Public Schools, using SeeSound LED tubes and Audiolux Jam. The final delivery calendar is being reconciled.
A Jazz Road tour stop at Southern Oregon University, with haptic vests for the whole room and an invitation back.
Every act on the ADA Anniversary bill was Deaf, paid under signed agreements with access riders.