Assistive Technology

Overview

On this page, you will be introduced to a few ways that people with disabilities use technology to navigate the physical and digital worlds.

You have a choice as to how to engage with the material in this lesson. Remember, the key concepts are always addressed in the text. If you need more info or learn by watching, the videos and resources are great supplements.

Read:  Types of Assistive Tech

Why do I need to know about assistive technology?

Unless you've spent time around people with disabilities, you probably don't know how they use technology to navigate the world. It's important to have some knowledge of assistive technology so that you do not make assumptions about what someone with a disability can and cannot do. Assistive technology can be high tech or low tech. 

There are some forms of assistive technology that you are already familiar with: wheel chairs, glasses, canes, hearing aids, and your phone (most smart phones allow for enlarged text, voice to text, text to speech, voice dictation, etc.). 

As technology advances, so does assistive tech, allowing people with disabilities greater access to interacting and communicating. Many people with low vision or blindness rely on screen readers, a program that reads what's on the computer screen to them, allowing them to navigate with a keyboard. If someone reads Braille (not all people who are blind do), they can use a refreshable Braille display to read digital documents. Check out how Cyrus Habib uses assistive tech in this Seattle Times article Links to an external site. (requires NetID login) or open this accessible PDF Download this accessible PDF.

When VoiceOver is enabled on the iPhone a user can navigate without seeing the screen and can even tap the screen to input Braille in order to communicate via text (and yes, they can read/use emojis!). 

People who are deaf or hard of hearing may rely on captions, an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, or read lips. With the ability to attend meetings virtually, many folks can now use remote captioners to take notes or caption live meetings as opposed to finding someone to attend the event in person. YouTube and other video hosting platforms have also advanced to improve the ability to add captions to videos, making them more searchable for anyone. 

Folks with physical disabilities can use switch technologies to operate devices around the house or work environment. And with the increase in home automation, these tools are becoming more popular among mainstream audiences as we learn to control more and more of our life through our smartphones! 

The point being, when you're learning about disability, it's not worth your time to think about what's not possible. With the number of technological innovations, we're encountering a world where it's harder to define the impossibility than possibilities. That said, don't let your assumptions about disability keep you from creating a space where these possibilities become opportunities.

Watch: Assistive Technology in Action!

Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology (13 mins)

This video provides a nice overview of different types of assistive technology.

Screen Reader Demo (13 mins)

How do people who can't see a computer screen navigate a website? Colleen explains the basics of how she uses a screen reader and how to design for visually impaired users.

Web Accessibility 101: ZoomText Demo (3 mins)

SSB Client Services Director Cammie Truesdell demonstrates how ZoomText magnification software works, as well as common accessibility challenges faced by users with low vision when using screen magnification software.

Web Accessibility 101: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Demo (5 mins)

Thomas Logan, Senior Accessibility Consultant for SSB BART Group, demonstrates the use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software to perform basic tasks including completing a form online.

Playlist: Accessibility — Designed for Everyone

This is a great series of videos that spotlights the accessibility features on the iPhone. I'm not trying to push a product, but it's a great way to see how assistive technology is becoming integrated into the technologies many of us use.

You don't need to have a disability to use these features, I'm sure plenty of you are using some of them already! However, this series of videos gives you sense of the possibilities and hopefully shifts your perspective of disability to thinking about what is possible rather than what's not possible.

Accessibility — Designed for Everyone Links to an external site.

Explore: More Assistive Tech