Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology: Building Bridges
The beaten path—the typical way of doing things—takes you from A to B to C until you arrive at D. So what if your situation prevents that B-to-C connection? Quit? No way, you just need a different path. Maybe from A to B, out to S, and back around to J before winding your way back to D. You are still getting where you need to go. more
Why Smart Cities Are Good News for Disabled Citizens
Smart cities have turned science fiction into science fact and, when connectivity spells greater accessibility, it's solid progress for the disability community.
How Smart Home Technology Transforms the Lives of People with Disabilities
Technology continues to level the playing field for the disability community, especially on the homefront. Remove physical interaction from the equation, and there is room for far greater independence.
Digital Embrace: How Technology Can Comfort and Empower Our Aging Loved Ones
Do your parents' and grandparents' eyes glaze over when you try to explain the latest advancements? The key is to gently integrate these new technologies to improve independence and enhance their lives.
Communication Devices for People with Cerebral Palsy
Innovative assistive technology and low-tech solutions empower people with cerebral palsy who have difficulty speaking to "find their voice" and stay connected.
Does Advocacy Really Make a Difference?
Thanks to a Herculean effort led by NCART, advocacy can, and did, change the tide for Medicare cover for power seat elevation for complex power wheelchairs.
First Winnebago Accessibility Enhanced Roam Camper Van Hits the Open Road
Winnebago has launched the all-new accessible Roam and the first one has left the lot! The Roam enables travel with freedom and comfort whether on a road trip or an in-town excursion.
A Disabled Driver's Guide to Car Buying
When the open road beckons, and you find yourself in the market for an accessible vehicle, there are multiple routes you can take. Consider your accessibility needs, your budget and this handy guide in making this major purchase.
Donning AFOs with one hand? Not possible…until now!
Leveraging her OT training and life-long desire to create something that could change lives, polio survivor Diane Vitillo invented the Original AFO Assist for people determined to handle these daily tasks independently.
Abilities.com Partners with FACIL'iti to Boost Access on Web Platform
This unique digital solution provides an enhanced browsing experience for people with disabilities, actually allowing individuals to customize the user interface based on their particular condition.
Virtually the Latest and the Greatest!
Thanks to the coronavirus—that guest that just won't leave (take a hint, Rona!)—your holidays may look a bit different than in years past. But with technology, your creative mind and these suggestions, the season can be just as special!
Weigh In on Self-Driving Cars
Though it seems a no-brainer, accessibility has not been a major focus in the technological development of autonomous vehicles. If you reside in Houston or Austin, we'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thinking Differently About Power Assist Devices
Employing a power assist device proactively to aid in mobility goes a long way in facilitating activities of daily living, lending an extra push for caregivers and people who can't propel with two arms, and saving your shoulders!
What Should You Look for in an Accessible Vehicle?
Do you want a ramp or wheelchair lift? Rear entry or side entry? There are many features and options to consider before settling on the accessible van that is right for you. Read on for all the ins and outs.
Yelp-Style App Gives the 411 on Access
Accessibility is key, but so it advanced, detailed knowledge about the accessibility of your destination. The new iAccess Life app will set the stage for your next adventure.
Contribute to a Senior Capstone Project in Power Wheelchair Technology
If you are a power chair user, you can make innovation happen! Complete a survey that will help forward-thinking engineering students improve wheelchair functionality.
Explore Accessible Solutions for your Home
Perhaps you are aging in place or you've had a sudden change in circumstances…either way, you need home modifications that can accommodate you. Here are viable options to improve home accessibility.
Researchers Use Electricity for Pain in Amputated Limbs
A new study is looking for participants who have had an amputation and are experiencing chronic pain.
National Fall Prevention Awareness Week: How Tech Can Help Those with Disabilities
For seniors and the disabilities community, the risk of serious injury or worse from falling is very real, but sometimes preventable.
Danny's Game-Changing Makeathon
A team of brilliant minds collaborated to solve challenges related to the disabilities of Daniel Stickney…in one week.
Worse-Than-Expected Cuts to Complex Wheelchair Accessories Set for January 1st
What happens if you do nothing? 2016 will be the year that debilitating Medicare cuts reduce or eliminate access to CRT. Please act!
iDevices are iOpening for Blind and Visually Impaired
iDevices have become the go-to products for people with visual impairments. Check out free audio training on how to maximize their use.
Medicaid Cuts to CRT Threaten Access for Disability Community
Drastic Medicaid cuts spell disaster for people with involved disabilities who need hi-tech, specialized wheelchairs.
Bryan Anderson: Conquering Hollywood at iLevel
The heroism of Bryan Anderson didn't stop when he left Iraq. Aided by breakthrough iLevel technology, he continues to inspire other wounded vets to success and independence.
Calming the Tremors of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's Disease comes on gradually, insidiously claiming one neurological function after another. Learn how Deep Brain Stimulation helped one doctor reclaim his life.
Keeping Mobile with MS
Better living through technology! With no time for MS, this busy mom of 7 turned to less conventional ways to maintain independent mobility.
Restoring Vision for Retinitis Pigmentosa
Reversing blindness through high-tech retinal implants? Move over Steve Austin. Now real-life bionics are changing people's lives!
Deaf Baby Hears
Adorable 7-week-old Lachlan's expression is a touching mixture of wonder and joy when he hears his parents' voices for the first time.
Product Spotlight: Sonus Hearing Care Professionals
An estimated 37 million people in the United States suffer from hearing loss. Let’s reflect on the enormity of that number—it’s about one out of every eight people.
Tobii EyeMobile & I-Series
The EyeMobile puts individuals with physical and communication impairments at the forefront of consumer technology.
User-focused Assistive Technology Development
It was bad enough the car accident took away Charlie’s vocation as a personal trainer. Now it threatened to rob him of his dream of teaching Bible students.
FES Rowing Expands Exercise Possibilities for People with Disabilities
Indoor rowing was born in the early 1980s when brothers and former rowers Dick and Pete Dreissigacker developed the first rowing ergometer.
So it is with assistive technology. Inventive hi- and low-tech devices effectively act as bridges and allow people to span the divide between individual disability and ability.
Do your mobility issues restrict your access to your computer? There are a myriad of adaptive mice and keyboards devices to get you finishing those reports in no time. Is your condition severe enough where keyboards and mice won’t do the trick? How about lasers and eye-gaze technology to keep you emailing with friends?
Low vision or blindness holding you back from texting like a teenager? Well, there is an app for that. It’s called BrailleTouch and allows you to actually type on you iPhone.
The open road is no longer out of reach for wheelchair users thanks to the accessible vehicles from Braun Ability, VMI and Mobility SVM. For those loath to relinquish the driver’s seat, Kempf adapts vehicles with hand controls that keep you behind the wheel!
And until the greater population becomes fluent in ASL, there are ingenious devices that let those from the deaf/hard-of-hearing community to communicate face-to-face in real time using speech-to-text and text-to-voice technology.
Parents who had long agonized over their child’s learning disabilities rely on numerous software applications to help put their children on a path to success.
For those with communication disabilities, AT like Go Talk has literally opened up their worlds, allowing them to interact socially and convey their thoughts despite limitations.
Let’s face it. As the world gets more Star Treky, the AT gets better and better!
But before you read more about making the impossible possible, let’s tip our collective hats to the geniuses that came up with all of those impressive, life-changing, opportunity-making gadgets, gizmos and whatchamacallits. Really, really nice work, folks!
Product Spotlight: Sonus Hearing Care Professionals
Eye-control Empowers People with Disabilities
Assistive Technology Research: User-focused Assistive Technology Development