Mobile Tech Tips for Weak Hands
Don't let hand weakness interfere with using a tablet, e-reader or smartphone
http://quest.mda.org/article/mobile-tech-tips-weak-hands
Alisa Brownlee, ATP, CAPS blog offers recent articles and web information on ALS, assistive technology--augmentative alternative communication (AAC), computer access, and other electronic devices that can impact and improve the quality of life for people with ALS. Email--abrownlee@alsa-national.org. Any views or opinions presented on this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the ALS Association.
Friday, October 7, 2011
First factory-built wheelchair-accessible vehicle hits the market
First factory-built wheelchair-accessible vehicle hits the market
From: Autoweek - 09/23/2011
By: Michelle Koueiter
Before Wednesday, the only wheelchair-accessible vehicles available to the
public were aftermarket conversions that generally came with structural
modifications and a price tag ranging from $50,000 to $80,000.
Now, a startup company called the Vehicle Production Group (VPG) has released
the first vehicle specifically assembled to accommodate people in
wheelchairs, with an MSRP of $39,950.
The vehicle is called the MV-1, which stands for Mobility Vehicle 1, and it
was built for the disabled community.
Read the entire article at:http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110923/CARNEWS/110929934#ixzz1ZArKb3bh
Links:
Vehicle Production Grouphttp://www.vpgautos.com/
MV-1 Launch Event (video 39:08)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxKk8zgj-EM
Groundbreaking MV-1 puts disabled in the driver's seathttp://detnews.com/article/20110922/OPINION03/109220355/Groundbreaking-MV-1-puts-disabled-in-the-driver%C2%92s-seat
New American Car Company Debuts Vehicle for the Disabledhttp://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/09/21/new-american-car-company-debuts-vehicle-for-disabled/
From: Autoweek - 09/23/2011
By: Michelle Koueiter
Before Wednesday, the only wheelchair-accessible vehicles available to the
public were aftermarket conversions that generally came with structural
modifications and a price tag ranging from $50,000 to $80,000.
Now, a startup company called the Vehicle Production Group (VPG) has released
the first vehicle specifically assembled to accommodate people in
wheelchairs, with an MSRP of $39,950.
The vehicle is called the MV-1, which stands for Mobility Vehicle 1, and it
was built for the disabled community.
Read the entire article at:http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110923/CARNEWS/110929934#ixzz1ZArKb3bh
Links:
Vehicle Production Grouphttp://www.vpgautos.com/
MV-1 Launch Event (video 39:08)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxKk8zgj-EM
Groundbreaking MV-1 puts disabled in the driver's seathttp://detnews.com/article/20110922/OPINION03/109220355/Groundbreaking-MV-1-puts-disabled-in-the-driver%C2%92s-seat
New American Car Company Debuts Vehicle for the Disabledhttp://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/09/21/new-american-car-company-debuts-vehicle-for-disabled/
Speech Recognition for People with Difficult to Understand Speech
Speech Recognition for people with difficult to understand speech
Supplemental Speech Recognition (SSR) integrates speech recognition and word
prediction into a single software program so that you don't have to type so
many letters when writing. What makes SSR unique is that it works with
difficult to understand speech (often called "dysarthric" speech). Dysarthric
speech is usually not consistent enough, nor does it have enough
differentiation among spoken words to perform speech recognition on large
vocabularies without help. The speech recognizer in SSR is specifically
designed to work with this type of speech. We have spent several years
developing SSR and received research funding from the National Institutes of
Health to make this technology "real". If your speech is hard to understand
but it would be helpful to use it for writing, SSR is for you!
Invotek website:http://www.invotek.org/products/speech-recognition/what-it-does-for-you/
Supplemental Speech Recognition (SSR) integrates speech recognition and word
prediction into a single software program so that you don't have to type so
many letters when writing. What makes SSR unique is that it works with
difficult to understand speech (often called "dysarthric" speech). Dysarthric
speech is usually not consistent enough, nor does it have enough
differentiation among spoken words to perform speech recognition on large
vocabularies without help. The speech recognizer in SSR is specifically
designed to work with this type of speech. We have spent several years
developing SSR and received research funding from the National Institutes of
Health to make this technology "real". If your speech is hard to understand
but it would be helpful to use it for writing, SSR is for you!
Invotek website:http://www.invotek.org/products/speech-recognition/what-it-does-for-you/
Social Media for Dementia/Cognitively Impaired Patients
Social Media for Dementia Patients
From: SINTEF - 09/15/2011
SINTEF researchers are developing a version of the popular Facebook social
media site that offers a simpler user interface designed for elderly people
and those with dementia. "Why should elderly people be excluded from the
social media, which are the communication platform of the future?" says
SINTEF researcher Tone Oderud. The researchers want to develop a Web-based
communications application that is simple and secure for elderly and senile
users, their relatives, and caregivers. They say that social media can become
an important tool for improving the quality of life of elderly people, while
easing the burden on therapists and caregivers. In testing, the application
has shown that simple contact between relatives and the support services
improved all users' security. "The tests have shown us that there is great
potential for all in the fields of caregiving and digital communication,"
Oderud says.
Read the entire article at:http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=112664&CultureCode=en
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915113627.htm
From: SINTEF - 09/15/2011
SINTEF researchers are developing a version of the popular Facebook social
media site that offers a simpler user interface designed for elderly people
and those with dementia. "Why should elderly people be excluded from the
social media, which are the communication platform of the future?" says
SINTEF researcher Tone Oderud. The researchers want to develop a Web-based
communications application that is simple and secure for elderly and senile
users, their relatives, and caregivers. They say that social media can become
an important tool for improving the quality of life of elderly people, while
easing the burden on therapists and caregivers. In testing, the application
has shown that simple contact between relatives and the support services
improved all users' security. "The tests have shown us that there is great
potential for all in the fields of caregiving and digital communication,"
Oderud says.
Read the entire article at:http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=112664&CultureCode=en
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915113627.htm
iPad, iPhone and iTouch Apps for Communication
Text to Speech Apps available at iTunes for the iPad, iTouch, and iPhone:
Speak It
iConverse
Locabulary
Small Talk
Talk Assist
Predictable
Tap to Talk
Type N Talk
Assistive Chat
Verbally
Proloquo2Go
Speak It
iConverse
Locabulary
Small Talk
Talk Assist
Predictable
Tap to Talk
Type N Talk
Assistive Chat
Verbally
Proloquo2Go
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)