assistive technology devices
Assistive Technology Devices
Assistive technology products or devices are meant to provide comfort and ease of access to individuals who have physical or cognitive impairments, difficulties, or disabilities. The following article provides information about the various devices that help people with certain disabilities.
- Joysticks: The joystick works in the same way as a computer mouse, which is used to control the cursor on the screen. It can be used by hand, feet, chin, etc.
- Touch Screens: Touch screens allow direct interaction with the computer by touching the screen. One can select and activate choices using the hand, rather than through a mouse or a keyboard.
- Easy-to-use Keyboards: A keyboard with features such as larger or smaller key configurations, keyboards for use with one hand, or keyboards with a large-sized font on its keys for the partially-visually-impaired, helps to access the keyboard easily.
- Reading Machines: Reading machine software's read aloud the content or the text that appears on the screen. This is useful for visually impaired people. Information from the page or the computer screen can be easily read using these reading programs.
- Screen and Keyboard Enlargers: Screen enlargers not only help to magnify the computer monitor, but also reduce glare, and block the UV rays. Keyboard enlargers are glued on letters of the keys which are larger than the standard font size.
- Braille Technology: Braille software programs convert the content or the text into embossed Braille output. Using the standard word processing programs the text is generated in Braille, which is then printed on the embosser. The embosser also allows one to access e-mail, internet, audio-streaming, etc.
- Electronic Pointing Devices and Trackers: Pointing devices use infrared beams, ultrasound, eye movements, brain waves, etc. to control the cursor on the screen without the use of hands.