By Elizabeth Eli

Assistive or Adaptive Technology commonly refers to "...products, devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities...", The Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (US)

Assistive Technology products can enable people with disabilities to accomplish daily living tasks, assist them in communication, education, work or recreation activities, in essence, help them achieve greater independence and enhance their quality of life.

Assistive Technology devices can help improve physical or mental functioning, overcome a disorder or impairment, help prevent the worsening of a condition, strengthen a physical or mental weakness, help improve a person's capacity to learn, or even replace a missing limb.

Low-Tech" Assistive Technology High-Tech" Assistive Technology Wheelchair Prosthetic limb Crutch Automatic door Flashing doorbell Closed Captioning Optical Magnifier Braille Books-on-Tape Computer-Assisted Captioning One-Handed keyboard Refreshable Braille Voice-recognition Screen Magnification Software Text-to-Speech

Braille books Audio books Digital Talking books Screen Reading Softwares Screen Magnification OCR – scan & read Assistive Technology for The Visually Impaired – Demo Screen Reading Software - JAWS for Windows

Video showing use of various assistive technologies by visually impaired Title: Accessibility 2.0 Duration: 8 min Source:

Access for Physical/Mobility Impairment where basic computer accessibility, speech to text software, switch access, “sip-n-puff’ mouth controlled joysticks, hands-free mice, eye-trackers, LOMAK keyboard, and head motion devices are utilized. Access for Blind/Visual Impairment where screen magnifiers, enlarged keyboards, large screen TVs, scanners with text optical recognition and screen readers are utilized. Access for Hearing/Speech Impairment where basic computer accessibility with beeps and on-screen visual notifications, headphones, voice input and laptop communication devices are used. Access for Cognitive Impairment where simple displays, word prediction software, augmentative communication, digital pens, and reading, writing and learning software are used.

Ongoing Education and Research efforts discover new ways to serve people with disabilities and educate communities—all with the intent of making progress for them to gain greater independence. Research is an ongoing process in the field of disability advocacy. As technologies continue to evolve, works to discover new approaches to providing quality information, resources and services to help people with disabilities reach their goals.

logy Source: s/jaws-product-page.asp Jaws for Windows s/jaws-product-page.asp