OTS for AT

OT Student learning the ropes of Assistive Technology and the wonders it can bring to peoples lives!

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This was a simple statement from a brilliant man. Even though it may not be specifically about AT, it speaks to the truth that technology should be for everyone. Technology connects the world and the advances we make should keep everyone in mind while they are being created. Technology is important and is a way for those with disabilities to express themselves, connect with others, and to engage. As technology improves so should the ways in which we can impact those who use it and to enhance these areas. 

[kaylabayne17-blog]

As we wrap up another semester, we are one step closer to graduation and deciding where we go from there. While some may stay in Missouri, others might go to other states and with a large amount of us from Illinois I thought knowing what the state could offer for funding is important. IATP (Illinois Assistive Technology Program) has an easy to use site that helps to discus funding and the many options out there. They even have funding based on the diagnosis to help narrow your search to best fit your needs. Knowing what the states we live in have to offer is important and helpful as we get closer to practicing. 

[alappe1]

This is a great website I found on Pinterest. It is a website made up of all sorts of homemade assistive technology tools. These generally are low tech types of assistive technology that is easy to make for a very inexpensive cost. This website would be a great one to refer to while in need of a quick tool to make while on fieldwork or on the job. You never know when you need a type of assistive technology to adapt an activity. With websites like these, the ideas that they have may easily be modified to fit the activity for your client. 

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This was a really cool website to look at because it had such a variety of things that you could make at home to use as AT. Making AT is a cheaper way to make AT accessible in a creative way. Making AT inexpensive is helpful for those who may need it, but may not be able to afford it all. Amanda this was a great website to post!

[rachelkoby-blog]

Interactive Whiteboards - Assistive Technology for the Blind

A brief look at how interactive whiteboards, such as the Mimio and SMART Board, are being used for the blind and visually impaired students at the Florida Sc...

Unit 3

This is an interesting idea for teachers of people who are visually impaired. One problem people with low vision may have in the classroom is being able to see the board.  In this video, it shows how an interactive whiteboard such as the Mimio Interactive White Board System, can be used to help classroom performance.  This can be used with any white board to capture what is written on the white board and then transmit it to a computer.  In this fashion, individuals with visual impairments would be able to see what is written on the board close up, on their computer screen.  The material may also be saved and kept to look at again or for students who missed the lecture.  This could be very helpful for someone with low vision, while allowing the teacher to continue teaching in a typical manner.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This is a wonderful thing helping to make learning accesiable for all. Just because of low vision does not mean you should have to work harder to obtain the information so easily seen by your peers. This is a great device that can help to increase engagment in the education process for students. Rachel this was a great post and shows the advances and technology out there to aid in occupationa performance!

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This is an interesting TED talk of a man who was born deaf, but loves music. Two things that might not seem like they go together. Even though music is something we think can only be heard, he instead explains it as something that is meant to be felt. He talks about his experience from a young age and how he was always drawn to music. Music is something that connects the world, so why shouldn't it be available for everyone? Well those were his thoughts exactly. He started a non-profit called D-PAN which makes music videas and music experiences accessible to the deaf community. It is wonderful to see that not only is accessibility applied to ADL's and function, but not to hobbies and passions. Music is all around us and should be felt by everyone, no matter the disability.

[justineeckhoff-deactivated20171]

I was so ecstatic to come across this website! The American Foundation for the Blind crafted a user-friendly website that is a great resource for individuals who have low vision. Not only is this website useful to access information, tips, and ways to get involved, but it also provides recommendations for assistive technology. A comprehensive list. Divided by tasks.

This webpage provides a list and comparison of technology recommendations that covers everything from cooking to producing graphics. You simply select what task you want to accomplish, and information galore is at your fingertips. No personal reviews are available on this page, but all products have a link to the company’s website that produces the product. Occupational therapists can use this website to identify ways to engage in current tasks or create new avenues for participation in a variety of occupations!

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This is really neat to navigate through. It outlines types of technology that is out there for those who are blind. Finding the right technology is important because it can increase an individual’s performance with an activity and increase their opportunities. Tools like this website are important as occupational therapists because thn we can help to recommend the best things for our clients. Great link Justine!

[medievalpoc]

A visitor touches a textured version of Velázquez’s “The Triumph of Bacchus” (1628–29) at the Prado (All images courtesy of Museo del Prado)

Museo del Prado Leads the Charge Toward Better Accessibility for the Blind

Many of us have felt the flash of embarrassment that comes when a stern museum guard scolds us for getting too close to the artwork. Paintings are for looking, not touching. It’s an understandable rule that fends off grubby fingers, but unfortunately, it also sidelines the blind.

Museo del Prado has begun tackling this problem by doing away with those conventions entirely. Touching the Prado, an exhibition put on in collaboration with the ONCE and AXA foundations, invites visually impaired people to touch relief replicas of six collection masterpieces.

Visitors can run their fingers past the stiff, ruffled collar of Velasquez’s prim “Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest” (1580), over the billowing, silky skirt folds of the woman in Goya’s “The Parasol“ (1777), or across the enigmatic smile of the sitter in “La Giaconda” (1503 – 1519), a da Vinci workshop copy of the famous painting. They can also touch three-dimensional versions of “Noli me Tangere” (1525) by Correggio,”Vulcan’s Forge” (1630) by Velasquez, and “Still Life with Artichokes, Flowers, and Glass Vessels (1627) by Juan van der Hamen. Braille wall text and an audio guide fully describing the works offer additional context.

Read More at HyperAllergic

This is relevant to my interests, and I hope yours as well!

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This is a great piece on making hobbies an expereine even for those with visual impairments. Art is a powerful and wonderful thing to see, now imagine never seeing classic pieces like the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Kiss, and many more pieces of art that have influenced many with thir technique and beauty. Art is an amazing thing because it cnamean many different things to many different people. This artist is making works of art accesiable to all. He is taking clssic works of art and making thme with textured mediums so that those who are blind can feel the art and imagine it in their mind better. This is wonderfully because it is helping ot make the world an accesiable place.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

The Mycestro mouse is an alternative mouse that is actually a ring worn by the user. It moves based on the users movements. This was an interesting blog to read because it was a product review of the alternative mouse. It was great t ohave someone (other than the manufactuer) telling me about the device. He really went into detail about the use of it, how to, and any problems that he saw with it. He also has many more posts about different keyboards, mice, and setups to optimiz the use of a computer. We as OT's should not just recommend an item because the manufactuer says it works, but instead we should research them on our own to form a better background of knowledge to pull from when recommending devices to our clients.

[disabilityhorizons]

Help for web browsing with colour blindness. 

Chrome has a new extension called Color Enhancer

It is fairly simple to use and can help you change the images on your screen to improve contrast or make them of colours that you can see more easily if you are partially colour blind.

“A customizable color filter applied to webpages to improve color perception, for people who are partially color-blind”

Link to the extension here

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This was cool to see how Google is enhancing its features to help those with color blindness. Color blindness may not seem that impactful to those who see all the colors, but imagine trying to use the web in black in white and not seeing the bright images that lead to more information and help us navigate a webpage. To see the internet in colors that aid in the perspective allows for optimal use!

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This is a powerful TEDxTalk about why technology matters for inclusion of others. This man discusses his role in a company that helps to provide technology for users an their families to help enable them to participate and fix needs that have not been met without technology. It is very moving ot hear his examples and imagery of putting ourselves in the shoes of the user. Though we may never know the true impact a disability has, we can imagien the loss of what we do and knowing that technology is out there to help us aid in those loses is a wonderful thing. So in that his point is correct that technology for those with disabilities does matter!

[eheise1]

BIGtrack trackball on Today Show

Infogrip's BIGtrack trackball being used by an individual with ALS with their feet. One of many ways the BIGtrack helps users maintain their independence.

This shows the Bigtrack trackball being used by a man with ALS. Instead of using it with his hand like we did in class, he uses his feet to control it. He also has been using a system called eye max that is similar to eye gaze to prepare for whenever he is unable to use his feet to control the trackball. It is a great way to show the different devices and the different ways to use them. 

[kaylabayne17-blog]

This was a great article and sotry about the different uses and ways to use devices. The way it highlights how this specific man uses it was awesome to show not only in which way others can access things but the way in which they do it can always be different. It was great to see this story on such a large coorporation and to think of how many have seen it.

[emmasotthings-blog]

A London school has banned all technology

Pupils aren't even allowed gadgets on holidays and parents have to commit to curtailing its use at home as well

Unit 2:

I found this article on zite and was immediately a little shocked. It is common for our generation to hear about how “technology is ruining our lives” and how we will never be successful if we are “stuck behind our cell phones”, but I was surprised that a school has taken this concern so far as to ban all technology from their curriculum, and require parents to enforce the bans at home. The chair of the board of directors at the private school says that the change is “about encouraging creativity so that the children are active creators rather than passive consumers”. While I do agree that it’s easy to waste the day away on Facebook or playing Words with Friends without realizing it, but we have learned in class and through this assignment that we are capable of so many things through the use of technology. If the kids are never allow to touch a computer before age 16, can they learn enough about the technology to be prepared to thrive in a digital world in college and beyond? If a student with a disability attends this school, will they force the student to struggle and fail at handwriting for 16 years before finally allowing him to be successful using a keyboard? I think this idea has a lot of flaws, but I hope that they continue to update this story to see how their plan unfolds.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

Emma I really loved this article and not for what the school is doing, but to point out all of the things that this school and their children may be missing out on. Technology can become consuming and be a distracting factor for our generation. Even so technology is such a valuable aspect in the world we live in, every year new technology is created and instilled into our lives, and the lack of exposure to technology may impact them into their careers.

[justineeckhoff-deactivated20171]

This blog is written by an OT student who sees the need for a new app to help students complete homework assignments. She develops SnapType, an app which allows parents and teachers to take pictures of printed worksheets and allows children to type directly onto an iPad/iPhone to complete their work! An app such as this can open a world of opportunity for students who have difficulty with handwriting, but yet allows them to still convey their subject knowledge without additional formatting work provided by the teacher.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

Justine I thought this was an awesome thing to post! She saw the need for a change and helped to fill the void for children to be able to succeed even if it may not be in the conventional way. It's taking the technology out there and optimizing it for students to succeed.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

Switches are a way of activation for a multitude of devices for all ages to help aid. Switches can be as simple as a button to be pushed, or more complex as an eye gaze system, but what they do is allow people to participate and show their abilities in a different form. This nonprofit organization helps to make children's toys accessible for all, no matter the limitation. The organization enlists the services of engineers and engineering students to remake the toys that are very popular easier for these children with disabilities to use. They see the importance in play and that no kid shouldn't be allowed to get the coolest toy because they cannot play with it how it was orignally designed.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

Keyboards are most commonly set up in the very traditional QWERTY wasy, but does this mean it is the most optimal keyboard for everyone. The Dvorak is another keyboard setup that might be an easy alternative for some clients to help optimize the placing of keys to limit movement needed for faster typing. Sometimes solutions can be as easy as rearranging the simple things.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

Assistive Technology That’s Built Into Mobile Devices

Did you know mobile devices come with accessibility features that can help with learning and attention issues? Here's an overview of these built-in features.

This site was a great way for those needing the services and those looking to learn more about AT to come to. This article in particular was a great learning tool that can be taken advantage of! It talks about the different smartphone systems and how they have characteristics built in already to help aid in helping the users have more function on their phone. A they give examples of each system feature that exists and how it can be used. One example is for children or adults with vision problems, on the iOS system is a feature called VoiceOver in which it will read out loud all that is occurring on the home screen and any screen you may open to view. 

[justineeckhoff-deactivated20171]

GreyMatters is a tablet application that aims to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers.

GreyMatters is an interactive app designed for people with dementia and for their caregivers. This FREE app contains a storybook feature, music, pictures, reminders, and more that can be useful for storytelling and to reminisce. I love how this app can bridge the gap between generations and is focused on “improving the quality of life” for all people involved. And the rating? 5 stars.

[kaylabayne17-blog]

I love how everyday there are more and more apps available to help others! apps have become a wonderful thing in the world of AT. They have been able to help any age range! This app really is a great way to interact and help those who have dementia and their caregivers. It is amazing to see an app that help to improve the quality of life of the individuals and not just set reminders. Justine this was a great thing to share and show the new innovative ways to helping those with dementia and their caregivers!