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January 14, 2010
Accessibility Knowledge Series VII - Introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Filed under: Speech, Accessibility Knowledge Series, Elderly, Learning, Assistive Technologies — khyati @ 5:49 pmAugmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is any method that supplements or replaces speech and writing when these are temporarily or permanently impaired and inadequate to meet all or some of a person’s communication needs. AAC methods allows the user to perform that which is most human – thinking, dreaming, and planning and are effective ‘tools’ to communicate and access the environment. The users include persons with special needs and elderly.
AAC may be unaided, or aided, involving high and low technology. The array includes a simple non-tech alphabet board for spelling or display made with picture symbols and whole words, while the user just point to the symbols to frame a message. On the other hand there are software and hardware systems where the user gets support with the framing of the message (eg. word prediction), and a speech output for that message is generated.
AAC systems and voice output aids are common in the west but have been recently introduced in India. The National Resource Centre for AAC housed at Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP) and Vidyasagar, Chennai are working in the area of research and development of AAC aids in collaboration with premier technical institutes such as IIT Kharagpur and IIT Chennai. The India Chapter of International Society for AAC has also been formed recently to take forward the movement for AAC and AT for communication in the country. The concern is to develop AAC systems that are affordable and culturally appropriate for our country.
References:
- Alant, E. (1996) Alternative and augmentative communication in developing countries: Challenges for the future. Alternative and Augmentative Communication, 12.
- Kaul, S. (2002) Silent Voices: Proceedings from the International Conference on Augmentaive & Alternative Communication, Disability and Human Rights.IICP, Kolkata.
This Accessibility Knowledge Series has been provided by Swati Chakraborty
Co-ordinator, National Resource Centre for AAC, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics.
Contribute
Got an idea/product that would bring a change for persons with disabilities? Send it across to techshare@barrierbreak.com
December 24, 2009
Accessibility Knowledge Series VI - Solutions For People With Low Vision
Filed under: Accessibility Knowledge Series, Accessibility, Visual — Srinivasu @ 4:52 pmMuch often, we attend meetings and conferences; Today, mostly every speaker uses Power Point Slides to express what they will have to say. Although they speak most of the time, there would be some important content / pictures that convey information more than the talk.
Telescope or hand held magnifiers would be of immense help for people who are partially sighted to get access to these presentations.
Telescopes come in variety of ranges such as 2x, 4x etc. and they can either be hand held or can be mounted into spectacle frame and the distance can be adjusted as needed. These gadgets could also be of help to school going children who have difficulty to see the board.
Secondly, to read business cards and other printed material, portable magnifiers such as Optelec’s Portable Magnifiers could be helpful.
Using this, one can adjust size of the font, adjust the contrast as needed such as black on white, white on black, yellow on blue etc. Even one can take the snap of the material and read at a convenient distance.
Reference:
This Accessibility Knowledge Series has been provided by Srinivasu Chakravarthula, Accessibility Manager, Yahoo! India R&D
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics.
Contribute
Got an idea/product that would bring a change for persons with disabilities? Send it across to techshare@barrierbreak.com
December 17, 2009
Accessibility Knowledge Series V - ARIA
Filed under: ARIA, Accessibility Knowledge Series, Accessibility — Priti Rohra @ 6:57 pmInformation on the web has become intuitive and users are no longer required to submit the data for further processing on the server in order to access the same. The web today includes features of an application and at the same time provides a platform for instant exchange of data, such as photographs, instant messaging, videos, music etc. In technical terms, it happens with the use of Ajax, JavaScript, RIA, DHTML or even a combination of all of them.
Ever thought, how would people with disabilities interact with such dynamic web content?
For example, how would a person using a keyboard carry out a drag-n-drop function? Or how would someone using a screen reader read the dynamically updating information on a web page?
In order to make the dynamic web content accessible for people with disabilities, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has laid down specification for Accessible Rich Internet Application (ARIA).
ARIA specification includes techniques to define Roles, States and Properties for different web elements which will make the information available to platform Application Programming Interface (API). Assistive Technologies and Browsers render the information through APIs and convey it to the users.
Some of the benefits of implementing ARIA include:
- Assistive technologies can identify the dynamically updating web page content and inform users about the same;
- Helps Assistive Technology to identify the type of different widgets/controls, such as drop-down menus, tree views, toolbar etc and inform users about the same;
- Keyboard access to different sections of a web page, such as search, navigation, main content, application, footer etc as well as interactive widgets/controls
The WAI-ARIA specification is still at a working draft stage and already user agents, such as web browsers and Assistive Technologies have started implementing the same.
Reference:
This Accessibility Knowledge Series has been provided by Priti Rohra, Senior Accessibility Consultant, BarrierBreak Technologies
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics.
Contribute
Got an idea/product that would bring a change for persons with disabilities? Send it across to techshare@barrierbreak.com
December 10, 2009
Accessibility Knowledge Series IV - Audio Description
Filed under: Accessibility Knowledge Series, Visual — Mamta Tandel @ 5:29 pmAudio Description – Have you heard of it?
Often people get scared to ask a blind or low vision person to see a movie. It’s a simple myth that how he/she would enjoy a movie. Yes they can listen to the dialogues and the sounds and the music, but isn’t there more to a movie than just that.
So how can we give a person who is visually impaired the experience and enjoyment of the movie/television show?
We can add audio descriptions which is basically a narration of what is happening in a movie / television show. Audio Descriptions are delivered where there is a gap between the dialogues.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People, UK, conducted a research report – “Bollywood for all: an RNIB project on demand for audio described Bollywood films in cinema and on DVD”
http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/tvradiofilm/film/Pages/bollywood.aspx
Watch a great audio-visual which simulates the need for audio description http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu0GYkuCrRg
When will we be able to have this experience for the visually impaired people of India?
Reference:
http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/tvradiofilm/film/Pages/bollywood.aspx
http://ncam.wgbh.org/richmedia/strategies/AD.php
http://www.skillsforaccess.org.uk/howto.php?id=104
This Accessibility Knowledge Series has been provided by Mamta Tandel, Accessibility Project Lead, BarrierBreak Technologies
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics.
Contribute
Got an idea/product that would bring a change for persons with disabilities? Send it across to techshare@barrierbreak.com
No CommentsDecember 3, 2009
Its World Disability Day Again!
Filed under: Learning, Elderly, Techshare India, Mobility, Hearing, Assistive Technologies, Visual, Uncategorized — Pooja Nahata @ 2:41 pmWhere does education and the use of technology stand? A perspective on World Disability Day!
Its World Disability Day again, and where do we stand with regards to education and the use of technology? Though we have seen progress with the education of persons with disabled, we haven’t seen assistive technology play a role in their progress.
My perspective is that we have a long way to go.
I have met people with cerebral palsy who might benefit with a communication device or then struggles to use a mouse, but won’t adapt to a switch.
I have met people with low vision who can manage with magnification support but are forced into using a screen reader because no one would guide them and evaluate their needs.
I have met hearing impaired whose are so weak in their communication skills that they could use word prediction software to better their communication skills. So where does the gap lie?
Often the statements I hear are that I don’t want to use assistive technology or adaptive technology because:
- I don’t want to be different from “others”
- I didn’t know this product could help me
- I don’t know where to buy this from or it is too expensive
Let me break some of these myths today.
A person using spectacles and another wearing contact lenses are different from each other. The question I ask is so what if you are different?As long as you can be effective as any other person why should you worry about “so called tags”. If using an assistive technology gives you speed and efficiency, use it!
Educationist, government, assistive technology companies, need to come together to create awareness about assistive technology products and independent living aids.We need to not only have this information available, but we need to work on evaluation methodologies to choose the best assistive aid for the person.
We need to work with government and assistive technology companies to understand the needs of the Indian disabled population and the price points that will make things affordable and thereby accessible to all.
We need to work with the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and to evaluate the ADIP scheme. In addition, we need to work with the Ministry of Human Resource Development to ensure that there are evaluation and implementation processes in place to assist the persons with disability to move forward!Visit the Exhibition at Techshare India 2010 on February 15-16th, 2010 to see a lot of assistive technology that can empower the disabled people!This article has been provided by Shilpi Kapoor, Managing Director, BarrierBreak TechnologiesDisclaimer:The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics. No Comments
December 2, 2009
Register Today - Techshare India 2010 Announces Early Bird Registrations
Filed under: Accessibility, Techshare India — Pooja Nahata @ 6:08 pmTechshare India 2010 - Registrations Now Open!
On the eve of World Disability Day, Techshare India opens registrations for its latest event Techshare India 2010 to be held in New Delhi on 15th and 16th February 2010.
- Register Today - Early bird discount available upto 25th December 2009
- Special offers for NGO’s and Persons with Disabilities
- Get your entire team for Techshare India 2010 and avail group discounts
Techshare India 2010 Conference Early Bird Registration Fees
- Corporate / Government / Education Institutes -
Rs. 5460* - NGO’s / Persons with Disabilities -Rs. 2730*
* Fees inclusive of service tax.
For registrations visit: http://techshare.barrierbreak.com/confreg.php
The 2-day conference will consist of a number of accessibility presentations and workshops, under the tracks:
- Strategies for inclusive growth
- Empowerment for all
- Unlocking the potential of technology
We received a record of large number of abstract submissions covering a variety of disabilities. Examples of presentations that will be delivered are:
- Shravan – Array of solutions for Hearing Impaired
- Looking beyond screen readers
- National Policy on Electronic Accessibility and case study on implementing accessibility on Indian Government
- Multimedia Accessibility: captioning, audio description and more
- Introduction to DAISY and DAISY book libraries in India
Who Should Attend?
- Usability / Accessibility Experts
- Government Officials
- CEOs / CIOs
- NGOs / Disability Organizations
- CSR Heads
- People with Disabilities
- HR Heads / HR Managers
- Special Education Providers
Techshare India 2010 will also host a range of exhibits featuring the best in cutting-edge developments in assistive technology across India and beyond.We want to bring together a bouquet of products from switches, track balls, adaptive keyboards, sip-n-puff, screen readers, DAISY players, AAC devices, software for learning disabled to independent living products.
Exhibitors will include our main sponsors and Dolphin Computer Access, Optelec, AbleNet and PRI Liberator.
To exhibit at Techshare India 2010 write to us at exhibitor_techshare@barrierbreak.com
Look forward to see you at Techshare India 2010!!!
No CommentsNovember 26, 2009
Accessibility Knowledge Series III - Mobile Accessibility
Filed under: Accessibility, Accessibility Knowledge Series, Techshare India, Hearing, Developing Technologies, Visual, Assistive Technologies — Pooja Nahata @ 7:01 pm
Mobile Accessibility
With the advent of technology Mobile Phones are becoming more and more powerful and feature rich devices and are great temptation to have one with us. The visually impaired users are no exception to this.
Apart from making and receiving call and to sending SMS a phone is a gadget full of features including variety of communication options, navigation aid, reading appliance, internet device and yes, great asset of entertainment with the option to play and record multimedia content.
Thus the mobile technology is growing at a rate out of imagination but for Person with disability, it is not that easy to opt for high tech solutions that are made available to their non disabled counterpart.
Hold on, you will be happy to know that there are companies like Code Factory working to Make Mobile Phone Accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired.
The Screen Reader and Magnifier are available for High-tech Phones running Either Windows Mobile or Symbian Series 60 or Blackberry (Orator). The software is capable of rendering Text in Audio or in Braille on a Braille Display. Thus making most of the things accessible out of the box such as personal information management, browsing internet, etc.
There are few interesting advantages of using a high-tech Mobile Phones with accessibility products.
- For instance using Mobile Geo can give the sense of independence in navigation and is very helpful in determining Point of Interest while navigating on a unfamiliar vicinity.
- The tools like color recognizer can help you to identify colors of different objects giving sense of independence over color choices.
- On account of learning, Daisy Books can also be played on a mobile Device thus evading the need to carry a separate device to read books. The Daisy player provides all the option available on any other hardware / software Daisy player.
Thus technology is changing lives of every one with no exception of Disabled people.
Reference:
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/codefactory and on our blog at http://codefactoryblog.wordpress.com/
Website: http://www.codefactory.es
This Accessibility Knowledge Series has been provided by Caroline Ragot, Marketing Director, Code Factory, S.L
Disclaimer:The views expressed herein are solely those of the author as an individual with interest in accessibility and assistive technology and do not claim to represent those of Techshare India, BarrierBreak Technologies or Net Systems Informatics.
Contribute
Got an idea/product that would bring a change for persons with disabilities? Send it across to techshare@barrierbreak.com
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