Assistive Technology

There are some ICT products and services that have not been designed by using the inclusive design approach. These products and services have been specifically designed for people who have been excluded - people with disabilities. These products are known as assistive technologies and are a lifeline to people with disabilities. Markets tend to be small and prices high as they give little or no advantage to people without disabilities.

FAST defines assistive technology as any product or service designed to enable independence for disabled and older people.

Adaptive technologies and accessibility aids are terms also used.

A lot of the IT adaptations that disabled people need are already available in off-the-peg hardware and software. Accessibility is often just a matter of ensuring that particular features have not been turned off and helping users to set them up. For example, a feature such as sticky keys, which enables a user to press the Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Windows keys one at a time rather than all at once (to create a capital letter, for example), is great for people who lack the dexterity to press these commonly used keys together.

Many of the assistive aids disabled people need are very simple. For example, oversized keyboards for those with an uncertain touch; key guards to guide fingers onto keys; big switches the size of yo-yos to control software.

At the other end of the scale, state-of-the art technology and higher-level assistive aids can make an equally big difference to the lives of severely disabled people. Blind people can use GPS location services to navigate around city streets with the aid of voice prompts, while deaf people can listen to speech with the help of on-screen characters called avatars that translate what is being said into sign language.

Vision impairments

People who have vision impairments may find the following assistive technologies helpful:

Braille displays

Braille displays create a tactile translation of information on a computer screen. Some displays have a reusable, refreshable surface.

Braille embossers

A braille embosser is a printer that renders text as braille.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems/Video magnifiers

A CCTV/video magnifier uses a stand-mounted or handheld video camera to project a magnified image onto a video monitor, a television screen or a computer monitor.

Keyboards

Large print keyboards featuring keys several times the size of normal ones. Also available are keytop stickers with larger fonts and a 'glove with enlarged key markings that stretches over a keyboard.'

Optical character recogntion (OCR) software

OCR software can be used with a PC and a scanner to copy printed text to a computer and store it electronically so it can be read by a screen reader or enlarged with magnification software.

Screen magnifier

Software that will magnify a part of the screen and display it in an enlarged version elsewhere.

Screen readers

Software that reads the contents of a computer screen, converting the text to speech.

Speech/voice recognition software

Software that allows users to give commands and enter data using their voices, rather than a keyboard or mouse.

Speech synthesisers

Speech synthesisers convert electronic text to speech.

Stand-alone reading machines

Stand-alone reading machines are an option for people who do not have a PC or do not want to use one. They combine a scanner, OCR and speech synthesis software so that printed text can be scanned and read by the same machine. The document is captured by the scanner, changed into text by the OCR software and then read out in synthetic speech.

Hearing impairments

People who have hearing impairments may find the following assistive technologies helpful:

Amplified telephones

Amplified telephones are available with a range of additional features including adjustable volume, visual ring alert, variable tone controls, enlarged number display and inductive couplers for hearing aid wearers.

Textphones

A textphone has a keyboard and a display screen. Instead of speaking into a telephone mouthpiece, the user types what they want to say using the keyboard.

Videophones

Videophones are telephones with a built-in camera and screen.

Visual or tactile alerting devices

Alarm clocks, baby monitors, doorbells and smoking alarm devices can feature very loud alarms, vibrating pads and visual indicators. These can be portable too. Multi-alerting systems are also available.

Physical impairments

People who have physical impairments may find the following assistive technologies helpful:

Alternative input devices

These include alternative keyboards, pointing devices, joysticks, sip-and-puff systems, sticks, trackballs and wands. They allow users to control their computers through means other than a standard keyboard.

Eyetracking software

Software that follows the movement of the eyes and allows the user to navigate on-screen with only eye movements.

Speech/voice recognition software

Software that allows users to give commands and enter data using their voices, rather than a keyboard or mouse.

Cognitive impairments

People who have cognitive impairments may find the following assistive technologies helpful:

Reading, Writing, and Comprehension Tools

These tools include software designed to make text-based materials more accessible for users who struggle with reading. This can be achieved through exercises, games or stories. Options can include scanning, reformatting, navigating or speaking text out loud.

Speech/voice recognition software

Software that allows users to give commands and enter data using their voices, rather than a keyboard or mouse.

Speech synthesisers

Speech synthesisers convert electronic text to speech.

Word prediction software

Software that predicts the user’s words based on the words recently typed and the how frequently the user types the same words.

Language impairments

People who have language impairments may find the following assistive technologies helpful:

Keyboard filters

These include typing aids such as add-on spelling checkers and word prediction utilities.

Speech/voice recognition software

Software that allows users to give commands and enter data using their voices, rather than a keyboard or mouse.

Speech synthesisers

Speech synthesisers convert electronic text to speech.

Further information

Adapt-IT (n.d.). [accessed 18/05/08].
Aidis Trust (n.d.). [accessed 18/05/08].
Disabled Living Foundation (n.d.). [accessed 18/05/08].
EmpTech (2008). [accessed 18/05/08].
Microsoft (2008). Guides by impairment. [accessed 18/05/08].
Microsoft (2008). Types of assistive technology products. [accessed 18/05/08].
Remap (n.d.). [accessed 18/05/08].

Acknowledgements

FAST (n.d.). [accessed 18/05/08].
Lamb, J. (2007). The Directors' Guide to Accessible IT. [accessed 14/05/08].
RNID (n.d.). it enables. [accessed 12/05/08].