Computing and the Disabled
mike noble, luis maciel, jason katsampes

abstract 
assistive technology 
input devices
output devices
barriers to access 
what can you do 
links/bibliography 
about our group 
 
alternative output devices
screen magnifiers enlarge the information displayed on the computer screen in a range of magnifications and a variety of fonts. The magnifier my have the ability to create a large, scrolling virtual screen, or may only magnify the portion of the display near the mouse pointer. There are both hardware and software products on the market ranging in price from as little as zero to $600.
screen readers are intended primarily to assist individuals who are blind or otherwise visually impaired. These solutions include magnification software, screen reading programs, and braille translation devices. Screen readers, or screen review programs, are highly specialized applications that will read, sometimes with the help of a speech synthesizer, what is currently displayed on the screen. Other packages are specialized to read scanned documents, essentially turning the computer into a reading machine for printed documents.

In text environments, such as DOS, or in primarily text-based applications, such as a word processor, the screen reader is primarily a text-to-speech application. With a graphical user interface, the situation becomes much more comples, as there is a much larger variety of objects on the screen in addition to text. The package must somehow communicate to the user the identification of and interactions with the screen elements.

braille terminal There are also machines designed to provide a braille output interface. Such a device can be seen in the movie Sneakers. They are less complex than the screen readers described above in that they need to recognize ASCII characters and raise the corresponding pins on their outputs. However, in a graphical context, the device may become virtually useless. Finally, braille interfaces may cost upwards of several thousand dollars per unit. Show here is the Braille Window Refreshable Display available from HumanWare.

augmentative communication solutions assist a user who is unable to articulate to communicate with others. Voice synthesizers, either hardware or software, can produce a variety of voices which are clearly understandable. The coupling of these devices with an on-screen keyboard and head-mounted activating switch can enable a severly disabled person to speak using a single switch. In addition, the combination with word completion software makes the system very efficient.

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