In the modern world, technology has entered almost each and every aspect of life. Most areas have been impacted greatly by technology, and the effects are just becoming more visible with passing time – in the form of enhanced productivity. Assistive technology is important for society and is mainly used for helping people in the community who suffer from various disabilities – whether psychological or physiological. This kind of technology involves the use of special types of equipment for helping disabled people function as normally as possible. Read on to know about some of the common forms of this type of technology.
Activities Of Daily Living (ADL’s)
These include equipment’s which assist in dressing, eating and toilet activities. There are electronic and robotic feeders, adaptive dressing equipment’s, grooming aids, specially designed toilet seats, modified restrooms, adapted drinking and eating devices and more. As the name suggests, such devices are needed for everyday activities and are items of daily use.
Mobility Aids
In people suffering from disabilities, such items can help move around in school and classroom environment. Grab rails, walkers, powered recreational vehicles, powered or manual wheelchairs etc are very useful in helping disabled people move about more easily. Those suffering from vision impairments can benefit from telescopic aids, electronic image sensors and white canes.
Physical Education
This type of assistive technology helps improve the participation and interaction of students in entertainment activities. The items include beeping balls, adapted games, puzzles, sporting equipment and toys, graphic design software, adapted computer games, battery interrupter-equipped switch activations, modified scissors and stampers, supportive arm for drawing etc.
Visual Aids
These help students suffering from impaired vision to get information from academic activities, such as audio books, enlarged images, better contrast, screen magnifier, eye glasses, auditory and tactile items, screen magnification software and low vision aids. Whether in low light, too bright light or in standard light conditions, these devices can be very useful.
Reading Aids
These help students to adapt to reading materials and access them much better. There are talking electronic equipments, book stands, electronic text books, audio books, brailled books, optical character reader, multimedia presentation formats, adapted page turning, concept development software, highlighted text and talking word processor-enabled scanner. These present readable information in such a way as to assist students comprehend everything more easily without placing too much stress on their impaired visual faculties.
Writing Aids
These help physically disabled students to write as close to normal as possible. Instruments like computer, talking word processors, word prediction software, adapted paper, portable word processor, slantboard, voice recognition software, braille printer, notetaker or braille keyboard, typewriter and pencil with adaptive grip are some of the most useful instances of assistive writing technology.
Assistive Listening Devices
Assistive technology of course also encompasses hearing, and helps students to get academic information presented to them in a more suitable way for auditory sensation. Signaling device, captioning instruments, personal FM system, classroom amplification devices and hearing aids are some of the most helpful listening devices developed for people with hearing disabilities.
