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December 3, 2009
Its World Disability Day Again!
Filed under: Assistive Technologies, Elderly, Hearing, Learning, Mobility, Techshare India, Uncategorized, Visual — Shilpi Kapoor @ 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
February 11, 2008
Techshare India 2008 – an amazing experience
Filed under: Assistive Technologies, Print Disability, Techshare India, Uncategorized — Shilpi Kapoor @ 5:36 pmHello all,
Techshare India 2008 was a great learning experience for me. It was pleasure seeing such a huge number of delegates from across the world.
I was really touched when visitors at the exhibition were so enthusiastic to see the different products. Especially everyone would shown interest in all products even that is not meant for them. For instance, the powered wheel chair displayed at one of the stalls, I guess, almost everyone tried including me:) I got a feeling that I am driving a vehicle:)
I felt very pleased when people coming and visiting our stall to see the exciting accessible games developed in Flash. I heard lots of people with disabilities saying, it is the first time they get to play a cross word which is a popular game.
One of the most amazing experiences I had during Techshare is that a group of three people came to visit our stall and they are hearing impaired accompanied by an interpreter. But even she is hard of hearing and I was confused for a while as I am a person with low vision and I wasn’t sure how I could interact with them. But the interpreter showed me the way actually how I can interact with all four of them and I managed to show them our products including accessible games and explained about our services.
In the display, there were lots of products that make lives of PWDs much more independent such as Color Identifier which not only identifies the color of clothes and objects but even skin, hair etc.
Also, the magnification devices displayed at few stalls were amazing and be a great help to people with low vision to read visiting cards, books, news paper etc.
I must mention that virtual barber shop at experience zone is fantastic. It’s good to see people waiting to see this experience. This has been showcased to show the visitors the effectiveness of the audio when visual functionality does not exist.
Overall, I believe Techshare India was an unique opportunity to see the various gadgets available for people with disabilities and to learn how to create an inclusive society.
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