Assistive Technology

By: Kelly Nichols

Explanation of Assistive Technology

• Assistive Technology is anything that can be purchased or modified to assist in maintaining or improving the function of a person with a disability.

Law in regard to assistive technology

• The Technology-Related Assistance Act of 1988 was signed by the President Ronald Reagan and passed into Congress in 1988. This act is frequently called the Tech Act. It was reauthorized in 1994, 1998, and 2004.

Hearing impaired

Types of devices available

• Assistive listening devices (ALDs) help amplify the sounds so that a person can hear better.

• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices help people with disorders in communication to express themselves. (e.g., picture boards or computer programs that change text to speech.)

• Alerting devices connect to alarms, doorbells, or telephones. They make a sound or have a blinking light so that a person with hearing loss knows something is happening.

Seeing impaired

Types of devices available• Braille devices (e.g., books, watches, & printers)

• Screen readers for the blind

• Devices for reading and writing for individuals with low vision

• Computer screen magnifiers for individuals with low vision

Learning disabled

Types of devices available

• Audio

• Video

• Phone Apps

• Digital Books

Physically disabledTypes of devices available

• Alternative keyboards—features altered keyboards based on the disability (e,g., keyboards for use with one hand)

• Electronic pointing devices— controls the cursor on the screen without using hands. (e,g., infrared beams, eye movements, or nerve signals)

• Sip-and-puff systems—works by inhaling or exhaling.

• Joysticks—moved by hands, feet, chin, or another part of the body

• Trackballs—balls on top of a base that can be used to move the cursor on a screen.

References

Assistive technology act. (2009, December). Retrieved from http://nichy.org/laws/ata

The assistive technology reauthorization act of 2004. (2004). Retrieved fromhttp://www.cec.sped.org/~/media/Files/Policy/Archives/Assistive%20Technology/Summary%20of%20Assistive%20Technology%20Law.pdf

Durek, M., & Skejie, E. (2007). Innovations and advanced techniques in computer and information sciences and engineering. Assistive Technologies for Physically Handicapped Persons, 173-178. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4020-6268-1_32 Google images. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=651&q=hearing+aids&oq=hearing+&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.1361.3215.0.6964.8.6.0.2.2.0.128.646.0j6.6.0....0...1ac.1.30.img..0.8.666.eLgfi5n3Mn0

Making all things work for education (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gpat.org/Georgia-Project-for-Assistive-Technology/Pages/Assistive-Technology-Definition.aspx

National center for learning disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education

National institute on deafness and other communication disorders. (n.d.).Retrieved from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/assistive-devices.aspx

Raskind, M.H., & Stanberry, K. (n.d.). Reading rockets assistive technology for kids with learning disabilities: an overview. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/33074

Technology resources for people with vision loss. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=2&SectionID=4

Types of assistive technology products. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx