Turning thoughts into actions, this computer is helping children with disabilities let their imaginations run wild

Ahead of the recent Super Bowl weekend, eight-year-old Clifford Lester grew excited about making one of the game’s most popular snacks: popcorn. Except in this case, Clifford made those kernels pop using only the power of his brain.Clifford, who is better known as “Cliffy,” is non-verbal and requires assistance with most aspects of his life. Earlier this month, surrounded by his mom and staff at the John McGivney Children’s Centre School Authority in Windsor, Ont., Cliffy used a special technology that translates brain activity into commands. The software ties an action to an active thought, which means Cliffy could set the machine in motion by imagining a big smile.