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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> May
> May 8, 1998:
Hour Two: Disability Series Part Six: Assistive Technologies
To many people with disabilities, technology is offering ways to interact with the world that were impossible just a few years ago. In part six of Talk of the Nation's disability series, we'll be talking about some of the different technological solutions that can assist people with disabilities.
| Advanced wheelchairs, global positioning units and radar-equipped canes can help people navigate through physical space. And computer products such as advanced voice recognition systems, braille computer displays, and text-to-speech programs can help some people experience the cyberspace world that has become such an integral part of life in America. Phone, fax, and electronic mail have all helped simplify life for people with disabilities as well. | 
Braille for "Listen to SciFri." The red
grid, understood by people who read
Braille, has been included to illustrate
the six-position coding system. | Unfortunately, changing technologies can also make the world more difficult for people with disabilities. As the World Wide Web becomes more graphically oriented and outfitted with javascripts and applets, for example, people using "screen reader" programs are finding it harder to surf the web. Even the most appealing looking site can be completely worthless to people with vision impairments unless certain design and coding considerations are made.
On this hour of Science Friday - assistive technologies. What exists now - and what needs to be done to make things better in the future?
Guests:
Judy Brewer
Director, Web Accessibility Initiative International Program Office
World Wide Web Consortium
Cambridge, MA
Paul Schroeder
Director, National Technology Program
American Foundation for the Blind
Chicago, IL
Fred Fay
Chair, Telecommunications Network, Justice for All
Chair, Disability Advisory Committee, Democratic National Committee
1997 Recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award
Concord, MA
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Resources
from "Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project
WAI Web Accessibility
Guidelines
Massachusetts Assistive Technology
Partnership
Check your web page for accessibility
on-line with CAST's "Bobby."
World Institute on Disability
handbook on Internet accessibility in classrooms
American Association for People with Disabilities
Conference
Proceedings on Assitive Technologies (Association for Computing)
On-line readings of magazine
articles from Assistive Media
Equal Access for Software and
Information
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive
Technology Society of North America
TNET Services
National Center for Accessible
Media
ABLEDATA
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