Assistive technology, sometimes known as adaptive technology, includes devices or equipment that are used to maintain, increase, or improve the abilities of people with disabilities. It is important to realize that assistive technology is NOT just computer programs or electronic devices. Since many people think of computers when they think of technology, this is a common misconception. Assistive technology doesn’t have to be high-tech, but it should serve the purpose of “assistive” and can include anything from a cane used to reach for something to a walker or wheelchair, or more complex items like environmental controls. or adapted vehicles.
This means that assistive technology has been around since the first homo sapiens reached for a branch to help himself over rough terrain. Sophisticated forms of assistive technology also date back centuries, with an image of a wheelchair carved in stone on a Chinese sarcophagus in the 6th century. Today, assistive technology is available to support many common disabilities. For example, assistive technology can:
o Provide assistance with communication, such as speech, writing, and typing aids.
o Help people who have difficulty accessing a computer with a standard keyboard and mouse. They include software programs, such as a screen reader or keyboard, and on-screen hardware, such as a head-operated mouse.
o Provide exercises that stimulate, train and assess cognitive functioning.
o Help with daily living such as cooking, dressing, toileting, bathing, eating
o Provide assistance with hearing or visual limitations, such as a flashing light system for the doorbell, hearing aids, and closed captioning decoders for TV.
o Provide mobility assistance such as wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.
o Help with missing or disabled limbs, such as artificial limbs, braces, braces
o Allow the participation of people with disabilities in sports or leisure activities.
o Supporting musculoskeletal systems and maintaining positions necessary to perform desired activities, such as molded seats, lumbar supports, and wheelchair modifications would fall into this category.
o Improve access to print materials such as Braille translators and devices and big button phones.
If you are a person with a disability or know a person with a disability, you may have some ideas about assistive technology. Maybe you know of an interesting disability product or have some ideas about what you’d like to see.
A new website has been created at http://www.NewDisability.com, which is intended to be a communication platform between the disability community and the assistive technology industry. There is a forum where you can express your feedback on all kinds of innovative assistive technology. What are your experiences? What disability products are you using that you like? What handicap equipment or handicap aids would you like to see on the market? Don’t limit yourself to what you already know. Tell us what you would like to see.