Assistive technology devices are mechanical, electrical or computerized items that allow people with disabilities to perform activities they normally could not do. According to consultants at Disability World, various types of assistive technologies for the disabled provide adaptive and rehabilitative techniques for people who could not otherwise perform various tasks. Assistive technology (AT) comes in a wide variety of applications for many different disabilities.
Screen Readers
Screen readers are software programs that utilize the sound card in a computer to read the computer screen to a blind or physically disabled person. Synthesizers convert the text into speech. Screen readers also can be useful for people with learning disabilities as they locate information on the screen and transfer it to a text-to-speech program that then reads the content to the user.
Screen Magnifiers
Screen magnifiers are used by people with low vision to magnify the print on a computer screen. There are portable devices under which low vision users can place a document and have it projected in larger print on a separate screen. Closed circuit television sets often are used in conjunction with a stand-mounted or hand-held camera, which takes a picture of a document that can then be enlarged on the screen.
Adaptive Keyboards
Keyboards can be made smaller or larger, depending on the requirements of the physically challenged user. There are computer software programs that can project the keyboard on a computer screen and allow it to be accessed by a mouse or other adaptive device used for pointing. Users then point to the letters instead of typing them.
Displays
Computerized Braille displays project words onto a refreshable display with Braille dots. The dots change as the screen reader deciphers the words into Braille. Conversely, Braille keyboards can translate Braille into written words on a computer screen. People with physical disabilities utilize speech recognition software that translates and displays the spoken word into text.
Telephones
People with hearing impairments utilize assistive technology devices on telephones that are amplified or use visual displays that light up to show when a call is coming in. Community organizations offer services to translate calls and relay them to a readable display the person who is deaf can read. The deaf person then types a response which is relayed to the caller. Videophones use a camera and display for those who use American Sign Language to communicate.
