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| p.a.taylor | Advice please | Discussion Forum | 3 | Saturday, 1:51 PM EST by davebanes | ||||
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Thread started: Dec 7 2009, 3:36 PM EST
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Hi All
Our thirteen year old has a laptop with assistive technology software installed she uses this for home and school work and has done so for the past three years. Her typing is faster than her handwriting and she enjoys word processing, when using the AT her spelling is improved. She has been trained to use Dragon 10 earlier this year and has been getting on well with it. Our problem is that she seems reluctant to use the software which we find very frustrating. When we ask her why she hasn’t used the software she says she forgot. Can anyone offer any advice on what if any thing we could do to encourage her to use the AT fully.
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| invisiblebloke | Will Windows 7 work with existing AT and peripherals ? | Windows 7 | 1 | Saturday, 1:46 PM EST by davebanes | ||||
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Thread started: Dec 16 2009, 4:28 AM EST
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You might find this advice from Sukhdev Tatter, an independent consultant, quite useful:
A new computer this Christmas will most likely come with Windows 7, so it’s worth checking to see if Windows 7 will work with your existing printer, scanner and other peripheral/external devices. Or if considering an upgrade to Windows 7, check if your current system can handle it, i.e. if your computer has enough memory, the right processor, if your programs will work, etc. Do this by running Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor as described below (you must be running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista in order to use the advisor). Firstly make sure that all the devices you wish to use with Windows 7 are connected to your computer. Go to the Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor website by following the link below (hold down the Ctrl key and click on the link, or copy and paste it into the address bar of your web browser). http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1B544E90-7659-4BD9-9E51-2497C146AF15&displaylang=en <http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1B544E90-7659-4BD9-9E51-2497C146AF15&displaylang=en> Check the information on the website and if happy with everything then download the Advisor program. Save it to a location on your hard drive or the desktop and make a note of where it is being saved and what it is being saved as: by default this should be Windows7UpgradeAdvisorSetup. Now go to the saved file and install it by double clicking the file. Follow the on screen instruction to install. To run the Advisor click Start, All Programs, Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Once the Advisor has analysed your system it will give you a report on:: If your system can run Windows 7 and which edition will be most suitable,. Which devices will and will not work., Which software will and will not work., Recommendations on how to overcome any problem.
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Keyword tags:
accessibility
ease of access
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windows 7
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| invisiblebloke | Re the SimplcITy computer for the elderly | Aging | 0 | Dec 1 2009, 10:59 AM EST by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Dec 1 2009, 10:59 AM EST
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According to the makers of the SimplicITy, ELDY (as they call it), is designed to be bold and distinctive so the computer can be as easy to use by sighted and partially sighted users alike. The ELDY program uses a magnification feature so that users can zoom in on the screen. Although ELDY does not support voice recognition at this time, they do offer a choice of accessible keyboards to allow users clearly see the keys and type.
The ELDY program runs with Linux Mint, and the user can apparently simply minimise ELDY to gain access to the Linux desktop. Acknowledging that not everyone will know the finer points of managing a computer straight away, such as how to connect it to a wireless network, they offer a free 0800 number that users can ring so they can guide users through the process. |
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| johntlamb | Windows 7 | Discussion Forum | 0 | Nov 20 2009, 6:36 AM EST by johntlamb | ||||
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Thread started: Nov 20 2009, 6:36 AM EST
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Just getting the next issue of Ability magazine sorted out www.abilitymagazine.org.uk . We must do something on the launch of Windows 7 and there is plenty stuff about the new and improved accessibility features out there. But I wondered whether there is anyone with hands on experience of the operating system who might like to share their views with our readers or even write a piece. I have heard that there are still some problems with using some accessibility features with Microsoft applications. contact me off list if you like at john.lamb@abilitymagazine.org.uk
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| nabileid | ICT for Development Persons with Disabilities | Translate this wiki | 0 | Nov 20 2009, 4:32 AM EST by nabileid | ||||
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Thread started: Nov 20 2009, 4:32 AM EST
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ICTs have potential for making significant improvements in the lives of PWDs
New Social Network Community for promoting disabled people to improve the social and economic impact of Persons With Disabilities . http://ict4dpwd.ning.com
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translation
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| portagewestkent | interactive whiteboard software | Free and Low Cost Solutions | 4 | Nov 18 2009, 11:37 AM EST by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Feb 20 2009, 6:37 AM EST
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i spoke to someone on the phone at abilitynet yesterday, and they informed me of free software download that, along with a wii controller, enables any white background to be used as an interactive whiteboard.
Does anyone know where i can find this software at all??
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| douglas.silverstone | Electronic Magnifier via USB | CCTV and Video Magnifiers | 0 | Nov 12 2009, 6:22 AM EST by douglas.silverstone | ||||
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Thread started: Nov 12 2009, 6:22 AM EST
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Hi,
I am looking for an Electronic Magnifire for printed text which displays printed material on a PC via the USB socket. It neds to work on several different PC's. Does anyone have a recomendation? Cheers Douglas Silverstone
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visually impaired
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| timkraft | I-Phone applications for memory aid and "to do" lists | AAC Software | 7 | Oct 8 2009, 3:33 PM EDT by timkraft | ||||
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Thread started: Oct 6 2009, 6:26 PM EDT
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Has anyone found a really good I-phone app for use as a memory aid? We are working with an Iraq war vet with a TBI who is looking for something along the lines of a voice recorder, but with the ability to create audio reminders. At programmed times, the device would ring or vibrate, the user would look at the screen, touch an icon and hear an audio recording representing the reminder, like "Doctor Jones appointment at 3:00" and daily reminders like, "time for your 3 PM medications".
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| Janiy | Hello world | Discussion Forum | 0 | Oct 7 2009, 4:56 AM EDT by Janiy | ||||
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Thread started: Oct 7 2009, 4:56 AM EDT
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Forum results show how conflicted public thinking can be and suggest how much needs to be done.
The topic of healthcare is something should be thinking and talking about assistant Extension specialist, citizen engagement and public deliberation. When it comes to the public what will be done and what will the public be prepared to do? These are questions that need to be discussed and public forums are an excellent way for communities to come together and discuss their options and opinions. _____________ Stair lifts
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| SLPinOhio | Classic Intellikeys Keyboard: Need old software | Discussion Forum | 1 | Sep 28 2009, 6:03 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Sep 27 2009, 8:48 AM EDT
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I have a PowerBook with hardly any memory on it. Does anyone have a floppy with a tiny bit of software and an overlay that I can use? The alphabet overlay is pretty boring for my profoundly impaired kids. Please email me at: flahertycarol@hotmail.com
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| akmrail | Qualified to do AT Assessments or not? | Discussion Forum | 1 | Sep 28 2009, 5:50 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Sep 27 2009, 10:00 AM EDT
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I have been trying to find out for a few years now what qualifies someone to do an "AT Assessment/Eval" and keep getting mixed messages. I have a strong background in technology and accessibility but I am not an OT, PT, SLP, etc.. I have received my ATACP through CSUN and am currently working on my ATP through RESNA. I am certified through several of the major AT manufacturers and have been working for my state's AT program (funded by the Tech Act Grant) for the past 5 years. Recently an SLP spoke to a group of state leaders and announced that if someone wasn't a certified OT, PT, or SLP they are not qualified to do an AT Assessment nor make recommendations on appropriate AT. I rarely work with students, usually just as awareness or training for the district therapists. The majority of people that I work with are adults that are needing to get back to work or living independently. Our office does not deal with insurance, not even Medicaid or Medicare.
Now that I've given some background, I'm curious what other professionals backgrounds are and how qualifications are being addressed.
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| invisiblebloke | On screen keyboard review | On Screen Keyboards | 0 | Sep 2 2009, 4:01 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Sep 2 2009, 4:01 AM EDT
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Ablegamers.com have reviewed a number of On screen keyboards. Here's an introduction to the article:
" Millions of disabled individuals use on-screen keyboards every day. However, what is an on-screen keyboard? An on-screen keyboard is an application that resides on top of other windows, which allows keyboard input to be passed directly from the on-screen keyboard application to the window below. There are several brands of on-screen keyboards and each have their own specific features and functionality. " Read the full article at: http://ablegamers.com/hardware-news/630-on-screen-keyboard-review-we-break-them-down.html |
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| p.a.taylor | Laptops help dyslexic dyspraxic children to access the curriculum | Laptops / Notebooks | 0 | Sep 1 2009, 2:43 PM EDT by p.a.taylor | ||||
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Thread started: Sep 1 2009, 2:43 PM EDT
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As the parent of a dyslexic and dyspraxic child who uses a personal laptop and assistive software for all of her school/homework I thought it might help other parents to start a thread on this subject. The benefits we have found in using a laptop are: printed work can be easily read by the child, free software can be downloaded for proof reading, a child who has experienced repeated failure with handwriting often finds word processing motivational, word processing gives the child independence from a TA scribe, touch typing provides finger memories of spelling, using a keyboard improves fine motor control and the child gains self esteem and confidence as their computer skills develop. .
some dos and don’ts A child with fine motor control difficulties would be unlikely to be able to touch type at speed for quite some time. Do not accept slow touch typing speed as an excuse for the school to limit the amount that the laptop is used, stress the importance of your child being able to access the curriculum independently. Do work with the school on a joint touch typing programme, but remember that to develop a fluent word processing style opportunities must be made available and encouraged within subject lessons and be part of their normal day to day recording. Do arrange a meeting with the SENCo and have targets set for when and where the laptop will be used written into the IEP. Do try to get the LEA to commission an ICT audit of your childs needs . Use the ICT report to secure you the schools permission and support for its use. Do impress on the school how important it is that your child is given every opportunity to use their laptop at school even in the early days. School staff or the childs TA should provide ongoing support for its use |
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| invisiblebloke | Speed typing | Text Help and Word Prediction | 0 | Jul 27 2009, 5:24 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Jul 27 2009, 5:24 AM EDT
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A useful email recently received:
I recently came across Speed Typing. It replaces words as you type. It's freeware and I'm hooked. http://www.colorpilot.com/speed-typing.html It also caches the last 15 entries on the clipboard so that might save a lot of switching between applications for some users. I also stumbled upon phrase express. It's free for personal use and has a much nicer interface than speed typing - users can select phrases from a menu or by typing a 'trigger' or pressing shortcut keys. http://www.phraseexpress.com/. It doesn't work with lotus notes (which is why I'm using speed typing instead) Kind regards Chris |
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| invisiblebloke | Using the iPhone as an AAC device - the practicalities | AAC Hardware | 3 | Jun 5 2009, 11:26 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Apr 23 2009, 11:25 AM EDT
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I asked the makers of Porloquo2Go whether anybody has any experience of using this software on the iPhone to conduct a phone call. This is what they say:
"Let me answer that question. I know that some of our beta testers used Proloquo2Go for phone conversations. There are a few things to know: 1. It is not perfect, but seems to work reasonably well. 2. Make sure you have your speaker volume high 3. You need to first start the call, then turn on Speaker phone on the iPhone and then launch Proloquo2Go 4. You should hold your phone such that it bounces off the speaker sound of your body, a table, or whatever is around. How well your communication partner at the other end of the line understands you is affected by how you hold your phone. If you just hold it in mid-air the voice will not be heard that clearly, but if you bounce it off something (say your body by holding the phone in front of you at a slight angle) it works pretty well. some home experimentation is probably good to find the best way for you to hold your phone. 5. I do not expect it to work very well in noise environments at either end of the phone line, but maybe some people who have used it in practice can chime in here.
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| invisiblebloke | New iPhone App being launched 6 June - Colour Blindness Simulator | Vision | 0 | Jun 5 2009, 10:59 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Jun 5 2009, 10:59 AM EDT
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Huetility Colourblind Simulator for iPhone
This is the first product to be launched by Huetility.com. It's called Huetility Colourblind Simulator and apparently accurately models the different types of colourblindness, letting a person with normal colour vision see the world through the eyes of a person with colourblindness. It recolours images using the best models of colour vision defiency, which allows the user to compare the original picture with simulations of how different types of colourblind viewers would perceive the colours in the same image; there are different types of colourblindness (red-green, blue-yellow, complete colour-blindness) with varying degrees of severity. There are approximately 300M colourblind people worldwide. Some images and links to further info above. Watch this space for a review of this new App |
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| invisiblebloke | Turn your whole body into an X-Box controller | Accessible Games | 0 | Jun 4 2009, 10:12 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Jun 4 2009, 10:12 AM EDT
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An article on the BBC's website talks about Microsoft's Project Natal which is working on technology which would allow a gamer to use their whole body as an X-Box controller. Read the full article at:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-06/02/project-natal-turns-your-whole-body-into-an-xbox-controller.aspx |
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| invisiblebloke | Mouse control via a contact lens ?!! | Eye Pointing | 0 | Jun 4 2009, 4:29 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: Jun 4 2009, 4:29 AM EDT
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Could this be the future for eye tracking technology?
This extract was taken from an article at: http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/01/16/contact-lens-kinda-makes-you-cyborgy/ "This one’s kinda hard to swallow so take a deep breath, open your minds, and pretend it’s 2100. I CONTACT is essentially a mouse fitted to your eyeball. The lens is inserted like any other normal contact lens except it’s laced with sensors to track eye movement, relaying that position to a receiver connected to your computer. Theoretically that should give you full control over a mouse cursor. I’d imagine holding a blink correlates to mouse clicks." Read the rest of the article and see the images at: http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/01/16/contact-lens-kinda-makes-you-cyborgy/ |
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| invisiblebloke | Satogo screenreader | Screenreaders and Text to Speech | 0 | May 22 2009, 7:17 AM EDT by invisiblebloke | ||||
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Thread started: May 22 2009, 7:17 AM EDT
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I tried Satogo on my XP based computer. The Satogo webpage has only one link on it called 'begin'. First of all it tells you that Satogo works best with IE6 or later. I clicked the link and a small download commenced. Once the download had finished, I selected 'run' and Satogo started. Although it seemed to work well as a screenreader, I found that I was unable to edit the AbilityNet wetpaint wiki, whilst it was running. The cursor was flashing but the enter key appeared to have been disabled. I tried to disable Satogo, but there doesn't seem to be any way of doing this, other than closing the browser and then reloading it, or ending a process in task manager named sa.exe. I have been unable to find any help files for the program. There's nothing on the Satogo web page to explain how to get the best out of it. Am I missing something?
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| invisiblebloke | Electromagnetic sensitivity | Physical Needs | 3 | May 13 2009, 8:41 AM EDT by BioElectricShield | ||||
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Thread started: Aug 7 2008, 6:45 AM EDT
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A computer user is affected by the electromagnetic fields generated by electrical equipment - especially computers. Their question was whether there is a solution available to overcome or minimise the effects of this sensitivity. From what I have read, it is a very contentious area of ‘disability’ and either not fully understood, or at worst not even recognised in the UK.
The bottom line is, that everyone appears to be affected in an individual way. Those who use computers will need to consider various methods of screening in an attempt to minimise those effects. It will be a case of trial and error, as there is no ‘off the shelf’ package available. There are so called ‘neutralisers’ on the market, which claim to minimise or stop these electromagnetic disturbances, but I am unable say if or how well they work. One of my more experienced and knowledgeable colleagues related a story of one individual we tried to help some time ago. We tried absolutely everything, including putting the computer behind a glass screen in one room while the user sat in another – and still without success. Here are some useful links to further reading on the subject: What is electromagnetic sensitivity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_sensitivity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrosensitivity http://www.electrosensitivity.org/ Is your home making you ill ? : http://style.uk.msn.com/wellbeing/mindbodysoul/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5580415 Life & Style blog: http://blogs.theage.com.au/lifestyle/renovationnation/archives/2007/04/does_the_wirele.html Neutralising electro magnetic fields at home/work: http://www.nontoxic.com/electromagnetic/neutralizingmagnetic.htm Bodyshield products: http://www.e-lifeshields.com/products.htm
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