Technology Aids Independent Living

When Margaret Doumitt learned she was a recipient of the local Jefferson Awards, she was honored. When Doumitt learned she was going to the nation’s capital to represent her hometown, she was surprised. Doumitt is the founder of the STAR Center, a local assistve technology center in Jackson, TN.

A free, open-source online screen-reading program that gives visually impaired students the ability to surf the web from any internet-connected device, and a system that enables students with severe physical handicaps to control computers or wheelchairs with only their tongues, are among the latest developments in assistive technology (AT) that aim to lessen--if not completely obliterate--the gap between the able and the disabled.

With a few keystrokes to a device that looks like a touch-screen computer, Doug Goering, 16, of Indian Hill, “described” one of the things he likes to do.

U.S. engineers said they’ve developed a tongue-assisted technology to help individuals with severe disabilities lead more independent lives. The system allows individuals with disabilities to operate a computer, control a powered wheelchair and interact with their environments simply by moving their tongues.

AT: LAST Inc., the Maryland Assistive Technology Cooperative in Columbia, held a grand opening for the center, showcasing devices including adapted telephones, dressing and grooming aids, and altered recreational games like pinball machines.

Every baby is unique and all infants and toddlers grow and change at different rates. Sometimes children experience delays in their development that may be perfectly normal; but other times delays are cause for concern.

The traffic accident that sidelined Cheryl Salyer didn’t slow down her dream of becoming a teacher. Compassionate classmates, a determined University of South Florida professor and technology saw to that.

People from across the state came to Talladega to participate in a technology symposium hosted by the Alabama School for the Blind.

The humble keyboard is facing competition from touch and voice-recognition technology.

Fine words without actions are meaningless but actions usually only come about after fine words have been written - Victoria Brignell celebrates a new UN convention