June 20, 2013

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Make Home Life Better For the Deaf and Hearing Impaired

A majority of people do not know the increase of products made for the hearing impaired. New technological advances have produced items that can benefit a person’s daily routine. Accommodations designed to benefit the deaf or those with hearing difficulties can improve the efficiency of living independently.

Vibrating Products

Most products for the deaf or hard of hearing use flashing lights or rings to gain the person’s attention, but some companies are using vibrations as an alert system. Vibration is less noticeable than other products. Below is a brief description of vibration goods.

Bed Shaker

Bed Shakers are gadgets placed underneath a pillow or cushion to alert someone depending on the merchandise. These soft vibrations are available to alert if someone is knocking on a door, a smoke alarm is activated or an alarm clock. Many items are now including vibration as an option to alert the hearing impaired. Special hand watches now include both audible tones and vibration as alarm systems.

Door Knock Sensors

Door Knock Sensors alert a deaf or person with low hearing abilities that someone is knocking on the door – a visual or tactile doorbell. These door alarms can have flashing lights, vibrate or do both. Most systems are easy to connect and can be used with ordinary doorbells.

Some companies have started manufacturing door sensors that can be easily transferred to other areas. These knock sensors are good for home, the office or vacation residence. Many machines have adjustable settings and use alkaline batteries or a wall plug in.

Portable Phone Amplifiers

Phone amplifiers assist the hard of hearing increasing the normal volume for clarity. Portable units are advantageous because they can be used on home and cellular phones. Switch frequency settings to limit background noise and boost speech levels.

Summary

Items are becoming increasingly available to help persons with hearing impairments. Adjustments made at home can make life less stressful and increase a feeling of independence .

Filed Under: Disabilities, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Assisted Technology for Disabilities

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Assisted technology is something that sort of evens out the playing field for people with disabilities. There are many aids which fall into the category of assisted technology. These can be as simple as a walking cane or as complex as a bionic arm or leg. A person’s handicap may make him immobile and the wheelchair, either manual or motorized, is what assists him with walking. People sometimes need assisted technology to do their jobs. One such instance of this would be providing a magnified screen for a copywriter that is sight-impaired.

Another assisted technology for supporting people with disabilities is the telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD). Until the invention of this technology is was not possible for deaf persons to use the telephone to communicate the way that it was originally intended to be used. A deaf person can type what he wants to say. It is then relayed to an operator who reads it to the person on the receiving end. Hearing aids are considered assisted technology, too.

Assisted technology comes into play in the education arena to help those with learning disabilities. Software that generates graphic organizers assist those students that are visual learners and who benefit from that particular learning style.  One may be able to get assisted technology by using a file sharing program like FileZilla.  Some file transfer software is free, like File Zilla, and allows you to download and transfer information like graphic organizers for educational or personal purposes.  The assisted technology that is used in the classroom can either be low tech or high tech. Low tech basically encompasses anything that doesn’t require a battery or electricity, like a dry erase board. High tech uses items like computers, video camcorders and anything that would typically require more training and support to use.

Durable medical equipment also falls under the assisted technology category. This includes things that help people to walk, like crutches and walkers. Items that help to increase a person’s independence with daily activities, such as showering and bathing can also be considered as assisted technology. This would include a shower seat and rails in the bathtub.

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Assistive Technology Supporting People With Disabilities

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Traditionally people with disabilities have had to lean on others for assistance with housing, meal preparation, bathing and other activities of daily living. Today, many people with disabilities are living independently and performing these activities all by themselves. This trend is due to the creation of assistive technology for those that they are disabled. Assistive technology can be defined as the tools that are used by people with disabilities that enable them to complete their tasks of daily living in a functional and easy way.

A few examples of assistive technological devices are telephones with the telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), computer programs with text-to-speech software for reading and spelling and sip and puff device for an electric wheelchair.

The TDD telephone converts typed characters into certain tones that may be sent over telephone lines. Another type of this service involves an operator reading what a deaf person types and hearing person says, and then converts the text/verbal words accordingly. TDD communications is also used on televisions for many regular sitcoms, game shows and sporting events.

Text-to-speech software programs are great for those with visual impairments, dyslexia or dysphagia. These programs can take words that the computer user speaks and convert it into typed text on the screen. The program can also take written text and read it aloud to the computer user. These types of devices make it possible for many disabled people to attend college, trade school or find gainful employment.

A sit and puff device for an electric wheelchair can allow a catastrophically disabled person to successfully navigate their own wheelchair. The device uses the inhalations and exhalations of the wheelchair user to go forward, backward, turn and go faster or slower. This makes it much easier for both the disabled person and their caregiver to leave the home and enter the community for medical appointments, recreation and special outings.

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Filed Under: Disabilities, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Assistive Technology for Disabilities

Behind-the-ear aid
Image via Wikipedia

Assistive technology is something that sort of evens out the playing field for people with disabilities. There are many aids which fall into the category of assistive technology. These can be something as simple as a walking cane or as complex as a bionic arm or leg. A person’s handicap may make him immobile and the wheelchair, either manual or motorized, is what assists him with walking. People sometimes need assistive technology to do their jobs. One such instance of this would be providing a magnified screen for a copywriter that is sight-impaired.

Another assistive technology for supporting people with disabilities is the telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD). Until the invention of this technology is was not possible for deaf persons to use the telephone to communicate the way that it was originally intended to be used. A deaf person can type what he wants to say. It is then relayed to an operator who reads it to the person on the receiving end. Hearing aids are considered assistive technology, too.

Assistive technology comes into play in the education arena to help those with learning disabilities. Software that generates graphic organizers assist those students that are visual learners and who benefit from that particular learning style. The assistive technology that is used in the classroom can either be low tech or high tech. Low tech basically encompasses anything that doesn’t require a battery or electricity, like a dry erase board. High tech uses items like computers, video camcorders and anything that would typically require more training and support to use.

Durable medical equipment also falls under the assistive technology category. This includes things that help people to walk, like crutches and walkers. Items that help to increase a person’s independence with daily activities, such as showering and bathing can also be considered as assistive technology. This would include a shower seat and rails in the bathtub.

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Filed Under: Disabilities, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Assistive technology available to disabled persons

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Assistive technology includes a wide range of products that aid a disabled person. Also known as adaptive technology, the phrase includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative equipment and devices. The phrase assistive technology also broadly encompasses the process to selecting those devices.
Assistive technology allows a disabled person to perform tasks that they previously could not, or helps them complete the task easier and quicker.
Many technological advancements can’t be used by some people. Assistive technology devices help people with a range of disabilities handle a variety of issues.
For example, a blind person can’t use a typical computer and word processing software. An assistive technology product allows a seeing impaired person to use word processing software by using voice commands.
The invention of the telephone changed the way people communicate, but the traditional telephone as is leaves out hearing impaired persons unless assistive technology is used to allow deaf people to read what the person on the other end is saying using a device.
Persons suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome or someone just dealing with sore wrists benefit from using a keyboard designed ergonomically that lessens the strain placed on wrists while typing.
Persons with learning difficulties also can benefit from assistive technology. Diagnostic software diagnosis some learning disabilities.
Some disabilities are temporary and assistive devices are needed only for a short time period. A broken leg might require the use of crutches or even a wheelchair to get around.
At the same time, others might use those devices permanently, a person without use of their legs might have a wheelchair designed to make them mobile.
Assistive technology used by a family member often requires the rest of the family to adapt and learn to how the device works so they can help the disabled person.
A wide variety of assistive technology exists today allowing many people to function in society better and faster.

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