Akari Tanaka, 19, is unable to speak or move almost any part of her body due to a genetic neuromuscular disease, but she can still communicate thanks to assistive technology.

Living with spinal muscular atrophy means Tanaka spends most of her days lying in bed at home in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture. She can only move her eyes, fingers and toes.

But in early May, Tanaka was able to communicate via Skype with Fumihito Ito of Shimane University, who called her from the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Kodaira, western Tokyo, during a lecture for people working with special-needs children.