Assistive Technology Industry Association Elects AT and IT Leaders From Diverse Market Segments to Its Board of Directors

The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) played host to a record setting number of attendees during its 9th annual conference held January 30 - February 2 in Orlando, Florida. During the conference, members of the association elected four new members and welcomed one returning member to the ATIA Board of Directors. The board is responsible for supporting ATIA in becoming a global leader known for raising awareness and providing education about assistive technology-related solutions to consumers, practioners, governments, private industry and educational institutions. Joining the ATIA board in 2008 is Jacquie Clark, Founder and President of News-2-You, a weekly online newspaper for beginning readers and individuals with special needs in the k-12 market. Jacquie worked as a speech pathologist for more than 20 years before launching News-2-You in 1997.

The ATIA board is excited to welcome Jason Curry, Co-Founder and CEO of sComm Inc., as the first board member to represent the deaf and hard of hearing community, an area of expansion and future support for ATIA. sComm was built around the development of the UbiDuo, a wireless device that allows the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate with anyone, anywhere.

ATIA is proud to announce the election of Hewlett-Packard's Michael Takemura to its board. Takemura is the director of HP's Accessibility Program Office, the company's worldwide accessibility initiative, which is making products, information and services easier to access and simpler to use for people with disabilities and age-related limitations.

The ATIA board also elected Paul Thompson, Sales Director for Dolphin Computer Access Inc., a global company dedicated to delivering software solutions for people with visual impairments. Paul brings a global presence to the board as he leads worldwide initiatives for Dolphin. Global expansion is a key growth area for the association and the entire industry.

The ATIA board also welcomed the return of Frances W. West by election. Frances is Director of Worldwide Accessibility for the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center, and will continue her efforts in connecting ATIA with research and technology groups, international accessibility initiatives as well as participating in strategic corporate accessibility events such as the ATIA Leadership Forum.

The newly elected board members join six other board members, making a well-balanced board across the diverse AT market segments including: Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC), Blindness, Cognitive Disabilities, Learning Disabilities (LD), Low Vision (LV), and Physical Disabilities. For a full list of ATIA Board Members, go to: http://www.atia.org.

"I look forward to working with our new board and ATIA's membership to pursue our strategic goals of building global awareness for assistive technology, running a financially sound association and pursuing advocacy that improves the lives of people with disabilities through the successful efforts of our growing number of member companies and agencies," said President of the Board of Directors, Jim Halliday, President Emeritus of HumanWare.

"The outstanding growth of our annual conference has lead to continued increase in visibility for our members, and important knowledge-sharing opportunities for our many conference attendees," said David Dikter, Executive Director of ATIA. "Blending new board members with current board members allows for expanded geographical representation, as well as expansion into new markets segments, like the deaf and hard of hearing community -- a community we are proud to be to supporting. I am already looking forward to our conference in 2009."

For more information about becoming a member of Assistive Technology Industry Association, visit www.atia.org.

Click here for a complete recap of the ATIA 2008 Conference.

Vista Accessibility Features

In 2003, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Research to measure the market for accessibility technology and present findings about computer users who could benefit from it. The results were surprising. One quarter had a visual impairment, nearly the same percentage had dexterity difficulties, and one fifth had hearing problems. All in all, Forrester found that nearly two thirds of the survey sample would be likely to benefit from accessibility technology in one way or another. The real eye-opener was that the survey sample consisted entirely of 18- to 64-year-olds. You don’t need to be a market analyst to realise that accessibility is even more important for young children and the elderly.

Windows has had accessibility features since version 95, and even before that there was a separate ‘Access pack’ available for Windows 3, so many of the utilities and features we’ll be looking at here are not new.

However, Vista sees several improvements, particularly in the way accessibility functions are organised, and one new killer feature.

For a start, there has been a change of emphasis. Although XP has a little-known option to turn on ‘Sticky Keys’ at the Welcome screen by pressing the Shift key five times, Vista is far less arcane, there’s a button on the Welcome screen giving access to all the main accessibility utilities. Once logged in, these utilities, formerly tucked away in a submenu of Accessories, have been combined with the Control Panel Accessibility options in the new ‘Ease of Access centre’. So let’s take a tour.

Ease of access The former wheelchair icon, which probably put off many people, has been subtly redesigned with input/output arrows. There’s also far more available here than in XP. many features and options were previously available in Windows but involved tortuous trips through the outposts of the Control Panel.

One new feature is that Vista will optionally read or scan the first section of the Ease of Access window, the focus will toggle around the controls to turn on the Narrator, the on-screen keyboard, the Magnifier or set up the high-contrast mode. All the user has to do is press the spacebar when the desired item is in focus.

The Magnifier is much the same as in XP, but with a few more docking options. By default, the magnified area sits at the top of the screen, and can be set to follow the keyboard and mouse focus. Apart from reading small print, it’s also very useful for performing delicate pixel-level tasks such as cropping screenshots or other images.

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Is small print a problem?

I haven't been able to read the paper since May, he said. My vision kept getting worse and worse. I love my sports page. I really miss keeping up with the Vols. February is Low Vision Awareness Month, and more than 80 million Americans have potentially blinding eye disease, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Wall, 77, has had vision problems for several years and wears glasses for reading and for everyday activities. He was at the Star Center's new Low Vision Clinic on Feb. 14 for a checkup.

After his appointment, Wall left with the hope that he can read newspapers, his favorite car magazines and even utility bills again.

"I'd like to be able to read my mail and check it and see for myself what the bill total is," Wall said.

His doctor, Nicole Mills, recommended a closed-circuit television and a magnifier that would make it possible for him to view things up close.

Mills visits the Star Center twice a month to meet with patients. A student at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Mills said the partnership between both organizations came together this year to help those suffering from low vision problems.

A low vision patient is someone whose vision cannot be corrected with ordinary glasses, contact lenses, medications or surgery, she said.

"Macular degeneration, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and trauma are some of the conditions that contribute to vision loss," she said.

Dr. Shilpa Register said diseases or traumatic injury can cause low vision disorders, or they may be present from birth. Register works at the Southern College of Optometry.

"Three to 14 million Americans are visually impaired, and that number will double by 2020 as baby boomers age," she said.

During a low vision examination, the doctor will establish an accurate level of vision by testing the ability to see details using specific low vision eye charts, Register said.

"The doctor will also evaluate the extent of visual fields and general eye health," she said. "The doctor will provide recommendations for home and work place modifications that maximize low vision management. Referrals are made to other professionals for training, counseling, assistance and school and job coordination if necessary."

Modern technology offers several items to help those with low vision, Register said.

Mills said patients can choose from magnifiers, telescopes, electronic magnification systems, high powered glasses, prisms, filters and non-optical devices such as talking microwaves.

Register said during examinations, low vision devices tailored to each patient's needs are demonstrated and prescribed

"Follow up examinations are also necessary for some patients to evaluate their ability to adjust to the new devices and their need for other devices," she said.

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Video Eyewear Could Help Macular Degeneration Patients See Again

Eyetonomy, the leading Video Eyewear manufacturer for medical applications, recently launches the portable video magnifier SightMate LV920. SightMate is wearable like glasses and helps people suffering from Macular Degeneration (MD) make the best of their remaining vision. Currently over 12 million people in North America are affected by MD. SightMate is the first portable video magnifier combining advanced signal processing and the functions of several low vision aids in one device. In the past, patients have used a range of optical and electronic magnifiers to read, watch TV, meet family or do simple household tasks – but there never has been an all-in-one system. “Unlike the bulky and heavy video magnifier solutions commonly used, SightMate allows people with MD to be mobile and better maintain their quality of life,” says Dr. Fishman, an MD PhD ophthalmologist who consulted on developing the glasses. “Standard magnifying systems make reading and face recognition slow and strenuous and are not conducive to regular daily activities or a relaxed time with your family.”

People with MD have a blind or blurry spot in the central part of their vision. This is the area of vision people use to read, watch television, view faces, and do most focused activities. However, most people with MD still have their side, or peripheral vision. To use peripheral vision more effectively, the SightMate magnifies objects up to 12 times their size and improves their contrast and brightness. The portable battery-powered device has a miniature 2 mega-pixel optical-zoom camera inside that projects enhanced images onto two high-definition color screens inside the SightMate. Users can even connect external video devices such as DVDs and TVs to watch on their personal large screen.

With baby boomers now entering their senior years, the number of Americans affected by Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is currently expected to double by 2020. "All these people need portable and multifunctional low vision aids in order to sustain an active, high-quality lifestyle," says Eyetonomy CEO Paul Travers.

Source : Photonics Online

Apple Update Braille Support in Leopard

Today, Apple released the Braille Display Update 1.0 for VoiceOver in Leopard. VoiceOver, part of the Universal Access family of accessibility tech, allows blind or visually impaired users to hear what is on the screen. Via the new update, when you connect a compatible Braille display, VoiceOver automatically detects it and sends it information about what is displayed on the screen. This update adds new support for certain Braille displays, including the HandyTech Braille Star 8, GW Micro BrailleSense, and more.

This update is available for users of Mac OS X Leopard by using Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from the Apple support downloads site.

Source: The Unoffical Apple Weblog

System access To Go Online Screen Reaeer Now Free

The Accessibility Is a Right (AIR) Foundation has made available System Access To Go online screen Reader free on their web site. SA to Go is a limited screen reader with only speech support and works on most latest Windows versions. In a press release the AIR foundations suggests that System access To Go also provides screen magnification and support for braille, but that is not true.

We can be happy that we can welcome a new free online screen reader on the Internet, but mentioning System access To Go an advanced accessibility tool is realy nonsense and a misleading of potential sponsors and decision makers. It does not support applications like Microsoft Outlook or Adobe acrobat and it is not suitable on the work place. System Access to Go is a nice tool when you want access to a computer in a hotel, but it is not a solution to get access to all digital information. The AIR foundation has a long road to go!

It is nice that there is an organization that want us give free tools to access digital information, because accessibility is a right. But may we also ask for professional tools? Tools that give us realy access to all digital information!

Visit Accessibility Is a Right, to try out a free online screen reader

Visit NVDA project to try out the most promising free screen reader for Windows.

Visit iZoom Web a free online screen magnifier with speech suppot.