Assistive Technology

The Cell-less Chronicles

Dear Blog Readers,

Last Friday, I suffered a very traumatic experience: my mobile phone broke. Immediately, my connection to the world was gone—no more calling on the go, no more e-mailing on the go, and absolutely no text messaging! I felt cut off from the world as never before.

Unfortunately, this utter darkness is not entirely unfamiliar to me. Up until last January, I had a phone with no mobile screen reader. I was able to make calls, but would often press the wrong buttons. I would try to send text messages, and the few that went through had so many typos they were unreadable anyway.

Despite this, I was reluctant to switch over to an accessible cell phone. The prospect of a talking phone, in my mind, always conjured unwelcome images of hideous, oversized cell phones with obnoxiously loud speech. I thought of an eccentric eye-catcher, which, if it did not look weird enough, would certainly be loud enough to embarrass me.

Finally though, I came to my senses. I was suffering, and was knowingly not taking part in a huge aspect of my friends' social lives. While my friends text-messaged to make plans, I still took the trouble to call, and annoy them all in the process. My friends replied to their Facebook messages on the go, and as infuriating as it was, I waited to get home and answer mine in a more untimely fashion.

I did a little research and quickly found that AT&T supports a program called MobileSpeak, which is a screen reader for windows-operated smartphones. I now have the Pantech Duo, a normal-looking, snazzy little thing with a QWERTY keyboard and camera. What's more, my new little robotic companion enables me to do everything all my friends are doing. Even things you wouldn't normally think of—like checking my call registry or going through my contacts—I was never able to do before.

Hopefully, my phone will be fixed soon, so I can go back to my normal social agenda. In the meantime though, if you are still struggling with a phone that just isn't designed for you, I strongly encourage you to find the right assistive technology—whether it be a screen magnifier or a screen reader—to help you keep up-to-date. Mine certainly helped me pretend I'm cool!

Michelle

Another Round of Applause for Assistive Technology!

Guest Blogger, Paul Schroeder, VP, Programs & Policy

Today I am blogging from the Assistive Technology Industry Association's (ATIA) annual conference in Orlando, Florida. This year's conference is especially exciting for me because I am participating in the presentation of ATIA Triumph Stories. These stories showcase the many ways that assistive technology enables those of us with disabilities to live independent, fulfilling lives pursuing our work, interests, and dreams.

Thanks to dedicated and creative technology developers, I can independently and successfully navigate the ocean of print information. Like other working professionals, I rely on a personal computer, but I use a screen reader to convert the text that normally appears on the screen into speech. I also use a PDA, except that mine has braille and speech output. My cellphone also has a text to speech converter so that I can use all of the features, like the address book, missed calls, text messaging, etc. And I also use a small portable reader/MP3 player for work and fun.

Being able to stay in touch with my family and download The Washington Post daily is just as important as staying current with job responsibilities. It is so important to spread the message that there is technology available to help people with vision loss, and other disabilities, maintain a productive and healthy lifestyle. After hearing the ATIA Triumph Stories, I hope the attendees feel more informed and confident, and maybe even a little inspired.

Good things coming out of Carnegie Mellon

Earlier this month a friend sent us an interesting article from the Carnegie Mellon newspaper about a new technology developed on campus to make it easier for people who are blind to go shopping. According to the school's paper, the technology works as follows:

"Imagine a blind man walks into Entropy [Carnegie Mellon's campus store] and wants to pick up a bottle of mustard. As he walks past one aisle to another, he uses a UPC-reading Baracoda pencil integrated with his phone to scan the barcodes on the shelves under the products he browses. The Baracoda pencil contacts the UPC database through the Internet-enabled phone and identifies the product. The information returned to the phone is then read out by TALKS, software developed by Nuance that was installed in the phone."

Assuming the technology would be affordable, this could be really useful for people with vision loss. The team worked closely with a man who is blind on the project, and he gave the assistive technology rave reviews. I was very moved when I read this article, because there's something very heartwarming about students working to improve the lives of people with disabilities. According to the article, the team's next mission is to make the school's shuttle service friendlier to people with vision loss by keeping them informed of arrival times through text messaging. Hats off to Carnegie Mellon! We'll be following the team's progress.

Courtroom 21

AFB has been consulting on an amazing project taking place out of William & Mary Law School called Courtroom 21. The project is an ongoing international demonstration and experimental effort that seeks to determine how technology can best improve all components of the legal system. Earlier in the month Courtroom 21 staff conducted a lab trial designed to provide equal courtroom access to people with disabilities. Before the lab trial, we worked with the judge and project coordinators to ensure they had all the best assistive technology available. Because so many aspects of trials are visual in nature, we used video magnifier technology, tactile graphics technology, and scanning/optical character recognition technology to make sure the trial was accessible to the trial participants with vision loss. During the lab, tactile graphics were used to present evidence in an accessible format. We also set up the courtroom with video magnifier technology that allowed the judge in the lab trial—who is visually impaired—to zoom in on parts of the courtroom or papers on his desk.

We just got an email saying the trial went really, really well, which is exciting. As boomers age, and more people experience vision loss, making courtrooms accessible will become very important. Here's an article from W&M news with more info on the project.

Tax Time! The IRS wants your help to make products more accessible.

With tax day quickly approaching, we're all thinking about the IRS... and the IRS is thinking about us!

We just got this memo from the IRS' Alternative Media Center about formatting tax publications as Digital Talking Books (DTBs). They have been testing this format for a couple of years, and now they want your help. So, if you'd like to influence the accessibility of future products from the IRS, sign up to participate. Here's how.

CNN Segment on GPS

CNN just did a great segment on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that featured two of AFB's very own—Board Trustee Brian Charlson and VP of Programs and Policy Paul Schroeder. Unfortunately the video clip has been archived on the CNN site, so there's no way to link to it. But if we figure out another way to get to it, we'll definitely post the link.

That said, the CNN piece got me thinking about GPS, which has always interested me because it has a lot of potential for people with vision loss. In fact, we were testing this stuff in 2004 when the Associated Press ran a story on the benefits of GPS. As we talked about in that story, GPS is a great way to explore your environment because it gives you information such as which streets intersect and the names of restaurants you are passing. However, there is a downside. GPS devices are extremely expensive and can be very distracting when trying to cross a street, or navigate a highly trafficked sidewalk. But I still think it's an interesting technology with a lot of potential for those of us with vision loss.

If you're interested in GPS, check out this review in AccessWorld. And for those of you who have used GPS, let me know what you think.

Braille Sheet

I'm always excited to hear about innovative technology, which is why I was intrigued by this story about a research team in Japan developing a special plastic sheet that displays braille dynamically by creating arrays of bumps on its rubbery surface. They are driven by braille input, such as from an e-book.

I'm a dedicated braille reader, but I have to admit that the sheer bulkiness of braille books makes lugging them around a challenge. Did you know that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix weighed in at 17 pounds when you put the 13 braille volumes together? Quite an arm workout, huh?

Though this new braille technology is several years away from being mainstream, it's nice to know that someday braille readers may be able to roll their dynamic braille sheet up and carry a whole book in their pockets!

ATIA Conference in Orlando

This week several AFB staff members are in sunny Orlando at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference. ATIA is a great place for the disability community to learn about new technology devices and software. AFB is doing a few presentations there on accessible blogging, CareerConnect®, notetaking and video magnifiers. It's a chance to share ideas and learn what's going on in the world of assistive technology. If you're interested in this topic, you should consider attending next year's event. And if you attended this year's conference, I'd love to hear your experience. My colleagues tell me they're really enjoying it.

Vision Loss Devices

In today's Wall Street Journal there's an article titled, "New Vision Devices Aid Vision-Impaired," that talks about how technology and other simple devices are helping people with vision loss live independently. This is a really important topic here at AFB.

We recently launched the AFB Center on Vision Loss in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to helping people who are blind or have low vision learn how to adapt their homes so they can continue living independently. The Center is raising awareness of simple practices that make it possible to live alone, continue favorite hobbies, travel, and maintain a career with vision loss. For example, many people don't realize that simple decorating techniques involving color contrast can make a house much easier to navigate, or that using Velcro dots on certain numbers on the microwave, washer, or dryer makes it easy to operate appliances through touch. Using computer software, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, enables people to surf the web, use word processing programs, and keep in touch with friends via e-mail.

As baby boomers age, more and more people are expected to experience vision loss. This is not a generation that will settle for less and there's no reason they or anyone else should. With the right technology and information, it's definitely possible to live an independent fulfilling life.

Broken Braille Lite

You realize how important technology is when it breaks...

On Thursday morning, just when I needed to check a phone number, my Braille Lite stopped working. A Braille Lite, for those of you who don't know, is basically a PDA with speech and braille output. Essentially, you can use it to organize calendars and address books and take notes. I take mine everywhere I go. It even houses a list of all the restaurants I've eaten in—some in California, some in Latin America, some in South Africa, many in New York and New Jersey. It's my backup memory.

It's Monday morning and I'm expecting the replacement to arrive today. I've now spent five days without access to my address book, calendar, speeches, favorite song lyrics, baseball stats and board reports. Let me tell you, that's five days too many.

Technology has revolutionized life for all of us, but it has had particularly dramatic effects for people with vision loss. Assistive or adaptive technology, as it is called, has eliminated many barriers to education and employment for visually impaired individuals.

For me, the Braille Lite is definitely an important piece of technology. Let's hope FedEx gets here soon...

Inside Screen Readers

In yesterday's post I referenced computer screen reader software, which enables a computer to read what's on a computer monitor. Since we want to make this blog relevant to all visitors, I thought we should explain what this technology is all about.

Screen readers give people with vision loss access to software like Microsoft Word, spreadsheets, e-mail and Internet browsers. In addition to reading the text on a computer monitor, screen readers can identify buttons on a toolbar or icons on the Desktop, and photos or images on web pages.

Unfortunately, not every web page is optimally designed for web surfing with screen readers. When web pages are built without regard to accessible web design, it becomes very difficult to navigate the page using assistive technology. Often times unlabeled graphics and vast navigation bars filled with indecipherable graphics, render sites unusable to people with vision loss. The funny thing is that the same good techniques that make web pages accessible to those of us who use assistive technology benefit users of other devices as well.

For example, people with slow Internet connections or those who surf the web on small devices or cell phones appreciate sites without heavy graphics or lots of "pop-ups" because they load faster.

If you're interested in learning more about screen reader software or web accessibility, feel free to check our web site. And if you have any questions, please send them our way.