Makers Making Change

01/20/2026

"We're actually starting to hear people talk about this idea of DIY technology or open-source assistive technology as being a really meaningful part of the [user] supply chain"

Justin Pezzin, Director of Makers Making Change, sits down with the LivingUN-broken podcast for a conversation about the impact of affordable AT on society.

Discover how Makers Making Change connects volunteers with disabilities to create affordable assistive tech. From gaming to daily living, 3D printing changes...

01/16/2026

Mark your calendars, the Gaming Accessibility Conference ( ) returns on January 29th at 10am PST. Our Accessible Gaming Lead, Tyler, will be taking the virtual stage to present the Best Assistive Technology award.

https://www.gaconf.com/gaconf-awards-2025/

01/15/2026

The Makers Making Change Research and Development team has recently published the OpenAT Design Guide!

This guide is a collection of best practices and dimensions for designing using common MMC components. It includes the best dimensions that we’ve found for working with the most common commercial components we use, as well as the best way to design the common design features we include in our devices.

The guide is a living document and is always evolving. We encourage the community to add to it as well, so if there’s something that you feel is missing, check out the How to Contribute section to learn how to add to the guide.

Read the OpenAT Design Guide: https://makersmakingchange.github.io/OpenAT_Design_Guide/

01/13/2026

Staff across all Neil Squire departments work together to provide personalized, practical support to all of our participants.

Read our latest article on the importance of collaboration across our programs: https://www.neilsquire.ca/departmental-and-staff-collaboration/

01/08/2026

“One of our core values is ‘nothing for us without us,’ that’s front and centre for our entire team. We work very hard to bring users and caregivers and clinicians into our design methods. Every step along the way, we’re considering the end user and having real people engaged in the process.”

Read our latest article on how we use one-off customization and fabrication to ensure we serve the needs of our community: https://www.neilsquire.ca/one-off-customization-and-fabrication/

12/31/2025

Thank you to Makers Making Change for your generous donation of adapted switch toys for ! This incredible organization rallied volunteers to modify toys, making play more accessible for everyone.

This year, 2,000 toys and switches were adapted and shared with families and clinicians across Canada. We are so grateful to receive some of these thoughtful gifts in support of the children and families who access services at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children.

To learn more about Makers Make Change, visit:: https://www.neilsquire.ca/hacking-for-the-holidays-2025/

12/30/2025

Happy Holidays! You’ve made our holiday season by helping us raise over $135,000 and deliver over 3,600 devices to kids with disabilities across Canada! However, there’s still time to donate to support our work well into the New Year.

We wanted to share with you a story of the direct impact made this holiday season:

Priscilla, who is five years old, received an adapted paint spinner from our Hacking for the Holidays campaign. The adapted paint spinner allowed Priscilla to press a switch to paint Christmas ornaments for her family.

“We had an amazing time playing with the adapted paint spinner,” shares Priscilla’s mother, Ashley.

“This was such an awesome activity for her. We did it as a family for over an hour. She got to choose all her colours and kept pressing the switch until she was done that ornament. We made ornaments for her to give out to family for Christmas. It is a really special and personal gift. She’s never really been able to do that before.”

While the holiday season may be coming to a close soon, our goal to provide children with disabilities accessible, affordable adapted toys continues. We need your help. Donations made before the end of the year are tax deductible on your 2025 taxes. With your donation, we can continue this program and serve more families into the New Year.

Donate now: https://hackingfortheholidays2025.causevox.com/

12/22/2025

We are in the final days of our campaign! We're delivering over 3,000 assistive switches and switch adapted toys made by volunteers all over Canada. There's still time to donate: https://hackingfortheholidays2025.causevox.com/

12/19/2025

We recently welcomed aboard our latest GAME Checkpoint, the Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program. Last week, we trained 15 clinicians at Alvin Buckwold in adaptive gaming, and we’re excited to bring in another GAME Checkpoint focused on pediatrics. The centre also hosted an open house last week, spreading the word to the families they serve and other clinicians.

12/18/2025

During November 30th to December 7th, we had our Gift of Access week of making, with 20 build events across Canada. Here's a few shots from our public build events that week. (Photos 1-4 from our Fredericton Build, photos 5-8 from our build at our Burnaby Office, and photos 9-10 from our Calgary Office Build).

12/18/2025

It’s that time of year again! Our team has been hard at work, delivering toys across Canada to families and clinicians like Giulia from the BC Centre for Ability (pictured), ensuring that kids with disabilities get the toys in time for the holidays.

It’s also crunch time for our fundraising campaign! Every dollar raised makes a difference for families across Canada as we work to get toys out, and helps support our work on an ongoing basis.

Donate today: https://hackingfortheholidays2025.causevox.com/

12/18/2025