The first Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), is today, May 9 2012. “Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a community-driven effort whose goal is to dedicate one day to raising the profile of and introducing the topic of digital (web, software, mobile app/device etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities to the broadest audience possible.”
For more details visit: http://www.mysqltalk.com/gaad.html

Content from: http://blog.eastersealstech.com/new-at-
innovations-on-the-horizon/?

“The world of Assistive Technology is constantly changing and evolving to meet the needs of people living with disabilities. As technologies become more sleek and refined, so do their designs. The following is a list of prototypes that will hopefully be making their way onto the market soon and into your life as stylish and cool pieces of assistive technology. Be sure to check out this site for more cool products and innovations!”
Point Locus: This tactile way finding vest is essentially a wearable GPS that allows people who are blind or visually impaired to be more independent when they travel to new places or even when navigating familiar territory. The vest communicates to the user via vibrations that occur at the shoulders. A vibration on the right means turn right, a vibration on the left means turn left and when both shoulders vibrate at once, it means to continue forward. In addition to providing directions for travel, the vest also sends simultaneous vibrations every 30 seconds to assure the person they are going the right direction.
Robotic Arm Cuff Therapy: This creature like device attaches to the wrist and is designed to help people become more attuned to their emotions. By nuzzling, curling and twisting in response to changes in your pulse, the haptic creature could potentially calm down its users and encourage people to become “more aware of their emotional world.”
Beagle Scarf: The idea of integrating electronics and garments is one that is beginning to gain momentum in the world of AT and this smart hoodie is just the first of many prototypes to come. Co-created with autistic children and their parents, the Beagle Scarf is designed to reduce or stimulate senses based on the needs of the user and the environment. Beagle integrates sound, smell and texture, making it a wearable and portable medical assistive device that empowers the autistic children to sooth themselves in different environments. These discrete designs allow an autistic child to sooth themselves without the whole world knowing.
Rehabilitation Bracelet: This is more than just a bracelet that makes a statement, it comes with a built-in USB connector and memory card that allows doctors to keep track of the patient and their progress. This connection also means that doctors can make sure that patients are following their regimens as prescribed.

This article is worth checking into as many currently developed e-books are creating barriers due to their protection settings–which do not allow text to speach reading software to read the material.

eBooks are redefining the traditional textbook approach to Higher Education. MQAS eBooks allow us to supply learning material that:

■use universal design principles to ensure all students irrespective of the learning and sensory needs have access to the content.
■automatically repurposes to fit the scale and format of any users mobile device, whether a smart phone, computer tablet or laptop.
■delivers a rich learning experience, embedding audio and video within text to increase interactivity.
■enables students and teachers to personalise their learning experience by changing the fonts and font sizes to suit their needs.
■creates freedom for students who now only need to carry one mobile device instead of bundles of books.
■is both more sustainable and cheaper than hardcopy textbooks, offsetting the initial cost of a smart phone or computer tablet.
■allows students to download study texts, when and where they want, instead of waiting in long queues at the University bookshop.
■makes best use of the accessibility functions of many mobile devices, especially the iPhone and the iPad. Students can listen to content being read out to them, or to enlarge the text and magnify the screen.
Most importantly, eBook content can be accessed by the widest possible audience.

To read more visit: http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/mqas/ebooks_for_accessibility/

As of today the Assistive Technology Services office will have a new name. We will now be the Access Technology Center!
In order for our office to lead a paradigm shift on our campus and beyond, we must reflect the values we strive toward in our office name and in the language we use. We must first change the way we represent disability in our own work. “Assistive” Technology “Services” is a medical model term. It implies that students with disabilities need to be “Assisted” and provided “services”. This name keeps the focus on students with disabilities as the problem rather than placing the focus on environmental barriers and our goal for universal design. It has also been a concern that having “services” in the name of the office leads to others believing that our office has a sole primary responsibility to serve those with disabilities. We want to remove this assumption and continue to promote the idea that creating inclusive learning environments is a responsibility of everyone; not just our office.
As we go through this transition we will continue to use the assisstivetechnology@missouristate.edu address for the remainder of the semester. Our phone numbers and location will continue to stay the same.
I hope you will join me in celebrating this very exciting change!

This article provides a great overview of Assistive Tech options

http://www.chicagoparent.com/magazines/special-parent/2012-spring/gadgets

Windows Narrator, a screen-reading program

“The new and improved Narrator will read quicker and feature more languages and voices…The final product will increase the amount of content Narrator reads during web browsing.”

Magnifier

“The Magnifier  is also being revamped for Windows 8 on touch-screen devices. Accessing the feature will bring up a border that determines the direction the magnifier moves, while plus and minus buttons control the magnification level.”

http://www.myce.com/news/windows-8-to-feature-assistive-tech-improvements-for-disabled-users-58811/

http://www.todayonline.com/TechandDigital/Digital/EDC111212-0000002/Magic-at-their-fingertips

Need some holiday gift ideas? The Center for Excellence in Disabilities at West Virginia University has written a letter to Santa that I thought you would all enjoy.

http://wvats.cedwvu.org/dear-santa.php

This is a great resource for educators, parents, and individuals with disabilities. Take some time to look at all the great resources including product tutorials.

http://aim.cast.org/

JAWS 13 New Exciting Feature

Convenient OCR

Frequently, you will encounter images that contain textual information. These can include a PDF file, the setup screen of an application, or the menu of selections for a DVD movie. While these images contain text that is readable by a sighted person, JAWS is unable to read the text as it is part of the image.

The new Convenient OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature enables you to access any image on the screen that includes text. With just a few simple keystrokes, JAWS will recognize the image in a matter of seconds and activate the JAWS cursor so you can navigate the resulting text.

For more information visit: http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp