>
>The following article was selected from the Internet Edition
>of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser
>to http://chicagotribune.com/.
>
>VISIONARY PROGRAMS
>
>By Sheri L. Ziemann
>
>  Try sitting at your computer to write a letter -- blindfolded.
>Bigger challenge: Still wearing the blindfold, try searching the
>Internet. Seems like it would be impossible for someone who is
>visually impaired to use a PC, right? Or suppose you can't hear and
>want to interact with someone far away. The simplest solution is to
>cyber chat -- but your correspondent doesn't have Internet access.
>Adaptive technology can solve these problems .
>
>For visual impairments, solutions range from magnification or screen
>enlargement and color adaptations for those with low vision (about
>$400) to screen readers and Braille translators for the totally blind.
>A screen reader actually is equal parts software and hardware. A
>screen-reading program such as IBM's Screen Reader/2
>(www.austin.ibm.com/sns/snssrd2.html), which works with Microsoft
>Windows when running on the OS/2 platform, and IBM's new Home Page
>Reader for the Web (www.austin.ibm.com/sns/hpr.html), will identify
>whatever the mouse points to. Then a device is needed to give
>synthetic speech output -- to tell you what the mouse is "seeing."
>
>    Two of the more popular screen readers for Windows are Jaws by
>Henter-Joyce (www.hj.com) and Window Eyes by GW Micro
>(www.gwmicro.com). Both of these use software text-to-speech
>synthesis, as does IBM Home Page Reader, so no additional hardware is
>needed for the speech output.
>
>The Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka teaches adults to use
>these systems, whether for their own use, or to support a child or
>other loved one, or even an employee who is visually impaired.
>
>According to George Abbott, access technology specialist at Hadley,
>"Now that Microsoft is building accessibility into their standard
>software, with Windows and a good sound card in your PC, you don't
>need a $400-$1,500 piece of hardware anymore."
>
>Abbott points out that people who have lost their sight later in life
>tend to prefer the speech output method over Braille. For the 20
>percent of blind people who read Braille, there is a Braille machine
>that attaches to a standard keyboard. When the user puts his or her
>hands on the device, Braille bumps form under their fingertips to
>spell what is on the computer screen. However, it doesn't provide
>information about graphics, such as click points on a Web site. The
>ideal scenario? A combination of the fingertip and screen-reading
>systems. The cost? $5,000 and up for the Braille display; about
>$600-800 for screen-reading software.
>
>To print documents in Braille, there are Braille embossers, which cost
>$1,600-$4,000. A page of print translates to three pages of Braille,
>so double-sided embossing might be a consideration if you output a lot
>of copies. HITEC Group International in Burr Ridge (800/288-8303;
>www.hitec.com) sells software and peripherals for the disabled (and
>those with mobility and speech limitations), from screen-reading
>software to technology for the hearing impaired.
>
>For the hearing impaired, PC's and the Internet are opening lines of
>communication like never before. Richard Uzuanis, vice president of
>HITEC, explains. "For those with a hearing loss, the primary problem
>is with using a telephone. TTY/TDD (Telecommunications Device for the
>Deaf) technology is 60 years old, and a very limiting, single purpose
>device. Now we've integrated the technology with the personal computer
>to make the computer function as TTY, which requires a special modem.
>
>"Ironically, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone by accident,
>as he was trying to develop a way to communicate with his deaf wife,"
>Uzuanis continues. "The very instrument he created locked out the
>deaf. "
>
>For most hearing impaired, visual communication is vital. The advent
>of full-motion video on the Internet will enable such people to
>communicate on-line with American Sign Language. HITEC offers
>WorldView TTY servers with a special modem and free Internet service
>for one year for $799 (PC not included). HITEC also offers an
>alternative for companies that use Integrated Voice Response (IVR)
>(push one for customer service, push two for, etc.), which creates a
>block for the hearing impaired. Their WorldView product can be
>expanded from PC-based to corporate-based. PC adaptives can have the
>biggest impact on those who are severely limited in movement and/or
>speech capabilities. Twelve years ago, Silvio Cianfrone and two fellow
>principals from Telex Corp. created the CINTEX to enable a
>brain-injured young man to communicate. "David" had not spoken in six
>years. Cianfrone set up a system that David could use by tapping a
>device with his head to type words into a computer.
>
>The dramatic impact of CINTEX on David's life -- and the lives of its
>creators -- spurred the birth of NanoPac (800/580-6086;
>www.nanopac.com), Cianfrone's Tulsa, Okla.-based company. From setting
>up a way for a man who is blind and deaf to "watch" TV and videos, to
>enabling a woman to communicate who is blind, paralyzed and unable to
>speak, the company evaluates the needs of a client and equips the
>person with whatever it takes to meet those needs.
>
>If no system exists to solve the problem, NanoPac creates one.
>
>Lucent Technologies' new HomeStar home wiring system
>(www.lucent.com/netsys/homestar/) ($700-$2,000 installed) enables
>control of environmental issues like heat, lighting, TV and stereo
>controls -- even opening drapes and raising the head of a bed -- from
>a PC. Sounds great, right? But how do the disabled afford these
>systems, which can empower them to live independently? Cianfrone says
>the majority of NanoPac's clients' funding comes from state
>vocational-rehabilitation agencies, the Veteran's Administration for
>military veterans, from employers of the disabled, or even community
>fundraisers like aluminum can collections or spaghetti dinners.
>Computer giants like IBM, Apple and Microsoft have philanthropic arms
>to help those in need of assistive technology.
>
>
>
>FUNDING SOURCES
>
>
>
>State of Illinois' State Treasurer offers a Ready Access Program,
>providing low-interest loans that start at $1,000 to support people
>with disabilities achieve the goal of independence. (312) 814-8964 or
>814-1793
>
>The Lyons Club (hearing and vision loss): www.lionsclubs.org
>
>Sertoma (hearing loss): www.sertoma.org
>
>Optimist International: www.optimist.org
>
>Rotary International: www.rotary.org
>
>Kiwanis: www.kiwanis.org
>
>Jaycees: www.usjaycees.org/links/chapter- links.shtml
>
>
>
>HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
>
>
>
>Computer software and hardware adaptation Web sites:
>
>Apple Disability Resources: www.apple.com/education/k12/disability/
>
>Microsoft Accessibility Homepage: www.microsoft.com/enable/
>
>Pulse Data Technology Solutions: www.pulsedata.co.nz/index.html
>
>Lucent Technologies HomeStar: www.lucent.com/netsys/homestar/
>
>IBM Special Needs Systems: www.austin.ibm.com/sns
>
>
>
>DISABILITY WEB SITE
>
>
>
>Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium:
>www.tiac.net/users/bingham/
>
>Northern Illinois Center for Adaptive Technology: (815) 229-2163
>
>Technical Aids & Assistance for the Disabled Center; 312/421-3373
>(Voice/TTY); 800/346-2939
>
>EKA Disability Resource, Products, Services and Communication Home
>Page: www.eka.com/
>
>Untangling the Web: West Virginia Rehabilitation Research & Training
>Center: www.icdi.wvu.edu/Others.htm
>
>Alliance for Technology Access Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>HEATH Resource Center, national clearinghouse for information about
>assistive technology; (800) 544-3284; www.heath-resource-center.org;
>e-mail: [log in to unmask];
>
>Trace R&D Center publishes a comprehensive resource book of
>accessibility products; (608) 262-6966 e-mail:
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>


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