Why Assistive Technology?
The technology that we live with today is powerful and influential in ways that developers and users may not have dreamt possible. We too may only be able to dream what today's technology will become tomorrow, and how that technology can be applied. As new technologies are created and old ones improved upon, opportunities for people with disabilities will grow exponentially.
In the past, people with hearing impairments modified old teletype machines to access the telephone. Smartphone technologies have all but replaced those once treasured teletypes with even greater functionality and flexibility. Over the last decade, new devices have been designed to assist with grooming, dressing and food preparation tasks. Magnification technologies, transfer devices, ramps, and bathroom adaptations have become common place and even expected in many American households.
The possibilities for personal independence, recreation, leisure and employment seem limitless given the capability that today's technology-rich world offers. Eyegaze technology allows people to control computers or communication devices with their eyes. Text-to-speech technologies allow a person with low vision or blindness to interact with the printed page. Speech enabled technologies permit those with traumatic brain injury or developmental disabilities to interact and participate with family, friends, and colleagues.
As people with disabilities, we need to stay current with the various devices available which might improve our daily lives. Just as vital though is the need to educate ourselves in the various ways to obtain these devices. They help us participate in the mainstream of life, they support our employment goals, and they help us act upon our own choices. Obtaining access to Assistive Technology provides opportunities to exercise our independence to the fullest extent possible.
