Computers for disabled

Salhas all the necessary qualities for becoming a good telemarketer (someone who markets products by phone). He’s bright, outgoing and persistent. He is also blind. Phyllis wants to hire him, but she has some concerns. How will he be able to use company’s database if he can’t see the monitor? How will he read office correspondence? And more important, what will it cost the company to adapt the workplace to accommodate him?

Phyllis must accommodate him, since her company is in the US, and therefore subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA (this makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against people with disabilities). But she needn’t worry. The latest adaptive technology for personal computers provides a cost- effective way to allow Sal and workers with other disabilities to do their job with independence.

The first task in adding adaptive technology to a computer is to determine the specific needs of disabled worker in question. To work effectively, most blind users need to have their computers adapted with technologies such as speech synthesis, magnification, Braille and OCR.

One example of a speech-synthesis system is VertPro from TeleSensory. This product can read MS-DOS-based word processor, databases, spreadsheets, and other text-based applications.

For someone with limited but usable vision, a software magnification package may be appropriate. Magnification software can enlarge text appearing on the screen by up to 16 times.

For Braille output, the Juliet printer from Enabling Technologies interfaces to any standard serial or parallel port. This printer can emboss Braille on both sides of a page at a speed of 40 characters per second. The Reading Edge OCR from Xerox Imaging systems and the Arkenstone Open Book Unbound from Arkenstone can read printed material to blind people and send the text to a PC.

To adapt equipment for motor-impaired workers unable to type on a standard keyboard, you can employ adapted keyboards, head pointers and Morse code systems.

The user can also have an external adaptive switch to select menu choices or virtual keys from an on-screen keyboard. Adaptive switches come in a variety of forms that can be activated by eye movements, breath control or any other reliable muscle movement.

Another way of controlling computers is via a Morse code system. Such a system consists of adaptive switches and software for people who can’t type on a full keyboard but have the ability to physically push at least one key.

Voice- recognition systems permit people to issue verbal commands to a computer to perform data entry.

B Match the terms in the box with the explanations below.

1 a system of writing and reading (using raised dots) for blind people, to enable them to read by touch ……………………………………….

2 a socket to connect I/O devices ……………………………………….

3 incapacity ……………………………………….

4 a system of dots and dashes, or short and long sounds, representing letters of the alphabet and numbers ……………………………………….

5 a hardware device used in conjunction with a screen reader program to convert screen contents into spoken words ………………………………

6 channels and control circuits which allow different parts of computer to communicate with one another. It also refers to the system that allows a user to interact with programs. ………………………………………

C How can a person with mobility limitations communicate with a computer? Think of other possible tools and solutions.