Assistive Technology Update
Products Mainstreamed; Wheelchairs Streamlined
by Norah Mason
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For More Information
These organizations offer information about assistive technology: • ABLEDATA. Website has extensive info about products such as wheelchairs. Click resources for info on grants. • The Alliance for Technology Access. The homepage links to centers and vendors, listed by state. • National Lekotek Center. Call or visit the website to find out about local toy lending libraries (click: Services, then Services to Families). The website also offers advice on choosing toys for kids with disabilities (click: Resources, then Info on Toys and Play). • Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology. The website offers info about device demonstrations (click: Programs, then Assistive Technology). • Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America. The website lists credentialed assistive technology service providers on the ATP/ATS/RET Directory page. |
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Recent improvements are making many mainstream products more adaptable to the specific needs of those with disabilities. And a lot of the new technology is rather cool.
Making Learning Fun
Walk into any toy store and you will find games and toys that were originally designed for children with disabilities and are now marketed for use by all children. This is great news for parents of children with special needs, because it means that many educational toys that can help their kids are cheaper and more available than they once were.
It is even great news for parents whose children do not have disabilities, as research shows many of these items improve learning. Joan Halbert of Lekotek of Southeastern Pennsylvania says, “More mainstream toy manufacturers are offering toys that are thoughtfully designed to be fun and interesting and at the same time help all children develop their fine motor, cognitive, and other important skills.”
Parents can work with teachers and service providers to brainstorm a list of skills their children need to work on and shop for fun ways to focus on those skills.
Many descriptions of toys, found on the product packaging or online, include information about which skills the toy helps build.
In addition, online toy stores such as Amazon.com are often organized into sub-categories such as “math skills” that make it easier to find toys that match kids’ needs.
Low-Tech Hardware
Parents looking for inexpensive hardware to help their children often need to look no further than the hardware or fabric store.
For example, Velcro can simplify getting dressed, newer memory foam padding can make chairs more comfortable, and adapting sinks as well as the space around them can make it easier for someone with limited mobility to reach faucets.
The latest products with ergonomic designs, such as kitchen gadgets, can help those who have difficulty with fine motor skills become more independent. If checklists aid your child’s memory and focus, at many office supply stores you can laminate a to-do list. Post the list and your child can use a dry-erase marker to check off accomplished items.
Even grocery stores and drugstores are carrying more products, often designed with the elderly or those with arthritis in mind, that can help children with disabilities.
For example, you can buy handles that can be slipped over soda or juice bottles to make them easier to hold. The newest plastic Baggies are simpler to open and close. Ketchup bottles are being designed to be more “squeezable.”
Technology for All
Innovations for people with disabilities have produced technology that allows us to dictate into a computer microphone and have our words “magically” appear as text on the screen. Our computers will read text aloud too.
If you tried this type of program a few years ago and were disappointed, it could be time to test-drive the latest software.
The newest speech-recognition programs, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, are less likely to mishear what is said. Text-reading programs now sound much more like a natural voice. Users can train NaturallySpeaking to better understand their voices by “reading” to the program before using it to capture their words. (For more info, see www.speechtechnology.com/dragon)
For people with physical disabilities, helpful new designs in keyboards, trackballs, joysticks, and touch screens are compatible with mainstream computer packages. Todd Plummer of the Alliance for Technology Access says new augmentative communication devices such as tango! appeal to kids with special needs and increase their interaction with those around them.
The tango! device is designed like the controls of video games and includes fun features such as a built-in camera and scanner so that kids who have difficulty speaking can upload information and communicate their experiences. (For more info on tango!, see www.blink-twice.com)
Students who have trouble organizing their thoughts can use one of many software programs that assist in creating an outline for research papers. One option is Inspiration, which provides the structure to create a visual outline. Electronic calendars can help kids keep track of their lives. (For more info, see www.inspiration.com)
Better Wheels
Many people with disabilities view their wheelchairs or mobility aids as an extension of their bodies. According to Rory A. Cooper, PhD, engineering director of the University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury, wheelchairs are becoming lighter (and therefore easier to maneuver and put in a car), better adapted to specific needs, and more comfortable to use.
Electric wheelchairs are using new battery technology that makes them lighter and more functional. Kath- erine Belknap of ABLEDATA adds that wheelchairs are being designed to grow as kids grow, so families don’t have to buy a new one as often; this is excellent news, considering how expensive wheelchairs can be.
By enhancing mobility, these advances increase the independence of wheelchair users.
Norah Mason is a freelance writer.