Vincent: My name is Vincent Martin and I’m currently a PhD student
at Georgia Tech in human centered computing.
Assistive technology is really wide and varied, but it’s also everywhere.
It’s now ubiquitous.
It’s sitting right in front of you and you don’t know it.
95% of us in America that are adults have a smartphone or a tablet.
Every last one of those smartphones and tablets
have assistive technology built into them.
As it is with people with all types of disabilities,
people with these same disabilities also access information differently.
For example, I’m totally blind and I primarily utilize my computers...
and I say that because I have five or six different computers
with different operating systems...
And I utilize them different ways.
I access a lot using the variety of screen reading programs
with hardware and software-based synthesizers.
Other people with different disabilities may utilize their various types
of assistive technology differently.
Eric: I’m Eric and I have a visual impairment called Stargardt’s
and it’s a macular degeneration which affects the center of my vision
so it makes it really hard to read, read fine print and see details
so I use the sides of my eyes to see more in the periphery.
Screen reader: ZoomText enabled.
Eric: The main piece of assistive technology that I use on the computer
is ZoomText, which is a screen magnifier
that allows me to make everything on the computer screen as big
or as small as I need it, depending on what I’m reading.
There’s also a built-in screen reader on ZoomText
which I can also use to help read documents
because my eyes get tired really easily.
I use a closed caption TV monitor that I have on my desk
that allows me to see the board
and what is being projected on the board by the teacher.
Mike: Hi, I'm Mike.
My disability is that I am visually impaired.
I can see things up close but further away it gets blurry.
I use a whole bunch of different technologies in my daily life.
My smartphone works brilliantly for what I need it to.
It has a whole bunch of different apps on it
that will help me in my day-to-day life.
I have Voice Dream Reader which is an input app
so you can switch over to different types of media
and it will allow it to be read aloud to me.
iPad screen reader: Lyceum, Lyceum Tuesday July 19 2016. Five zero pm.
Mike: And that's what the sign says.
Scanning is very important for somebody with a visual impairment
because there are a lot of printed materials in the world in general
that are very, not visually impaired friendly,
not blind friendly.
Jessie: Hi.
My name is Jessie,
and I'm a fourth-year student at the University of Washington,
majoring in informatics with a minor in diversity.
And I identify myself as deaf.
So the assistive technology, I use a cochlear implant,
which is my own, personal device I need, to hear.
I often use an FM system, which I give to my professor
so that I can hear the professor more directly, through my cochlear implant.
It's like a microphone.
Another accommodation I use almost every day
is called CART, C-A-R-T,
which stands for Communication Access Real Time.
So what it is, is a captioning device that's real time captioning,
that I can read the transcript on the screen while the professor is talking in real time.
Cameron: Hello, my name is Cameron
and I have a disability called cerebral palsy.
It affects me because my legs aren't able to work as well as others'
and it's not as efficient.
In the course of my day as a student,
I use technology such as Dragon.
And Dragon is basically a speech input system
that will write for me as I speak into it
and that helps me become more efficient.
This is an example of how I use Dragon.
R-E-M sleep is when the body goes through multiple stages.
R-E-M sleep has four stages.
Blake: Hello, my name is Blake.
I graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma
with a bachelor of arts in urban studies.
I have cerebral palsy which means I cannot take notes very quickly.
For me, quality education includes access
to instructors’ presentations, notes or outlines of the lectures
so that I have high-quality notes from class lectures and discussions.
In college, I used this DynaVox to communicate with my peers and professors.
I used word predictive software called Co:Writer to speed up my typing on assignments and papers.
Co:Writer predicts words in a window as one is typing.
Teresa: My name is Teresa.
I'm a high school student and after high school
I plan on attending college and majoring in psychology
and I was born without arms.
I use a Bluetooth keyboard and a Bluetooth mouse
so that I have full accessibility and I'm able to write down notes
and catch everything that I need to catch in a more efficient way.
Without my arms I have the keyboard and mouse on the floor
and then the monitor is just sitting on my table in my classroom.
When I'm typing notes I can usually type pretty fast
just because of adrenaline
but I'm not as fast as someone with arms.
Jon: My name is Jon. I have cerebral palsy.
I use a computer that is calibrated to my eyes.
So whatever I look at, it will type.
Before I would have to tell somebody what to write down
and now I can do it all.
Kayla: Hi, my name is Kayla
and I am a sophomore here at the University of Washington
where I'm double majoring in Law, Society, and Justice
and Disability Studies.
And I want to take that and eventually become a disability rights lawyer.
And I was born a congenital amputee missing three of my limbs.
I use a Surface Pro 3 as one of my assistive technologies.
Most people wouldn't necessarily see that as an assistive technology
since it's something that many people in classes have
but for me it is an assistive technology because it's lightweight enough
that I can lift it myself, which is very nice.
And it has a keyboard that is smaller, which is also something that's nice for me
since I do all my typing
with a single hand rather than having two hands.
Matthew: Hello I'm Matthew,
I have ADD, I have mild ASD and I've been diagnosed with mild Asperger’s.
I use Co:Writer.
It's a word prediction program.
There are six words you can choose from by hitting the number key
that's the word you select out.
I would use it mostly in my classes for like very important papers
where I definitely would need to get the grammar correctly.
Or the words correctly as well depending, because I struggle with spelling at times.
Jada: I am Jada.
My disability is ADD and dyslexia.
So with ADD I have a hard time sitting still for a long period of time.
I use a document scanner.
The scanner helps me by actually reading the content
that is on a book instead of having, read it by yourself.
So with the scanner you set it up and then you launch the program
that is in the computer,
then you can highlight or have it read to you.
Even though I’ll study them and study them and study,
I tend to forget.
This will help me by making it easier
so that I can have the digital copy of it on the computer
and have it read to me and then I can start writing notes along with it
as it's reading it to me.
Just depending on your disability, it really depends on how you learn.
I'm still definitely trying to learn about my disability a little bit more, too.
Eric: The one thing I would say about assistive technology is that
don’t be afraid to try it, especially in high school and middle school
because there are so many different options out there
and there are so many new things that if you just stick with what you have,
you might not be doing it the most efficient way possible.
So that when you go to college, and your future careers,
you’ll know everything that you need and the best ways to get everything done.
Sheryl: My name is Sheryl Burgstahler
and I direct Accessible Technology Services at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Our services also reach out to our branch campuses in Bothell and Tacoma.
It’s essential that people with disabilities have access to assistive technology
but that’s not the end of the story.
In order for them to be effective users of technology,
the technology that other people develop
like websites and software and PDF files and so forth
must be designed in such a way that they can use it
with their assistive technology.