Group items tagged

The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) works to improve the lives of children and adults who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). ISAAC's vision is that AAC will be recognized, valued and used throughout the world. ISAAC's mission is to promote the best possible communication for people with complex communication needs. The ISAAC website provides information regarding their conference, International AAC Awareness Month, the Leadership Project for People who use AAC and much more.

21st Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act, http://www.fcc.gov/guides/21st-century-communications-and-video-accessibility-act-2010 This law is of interest to people with sensory impairments. This is the law as posted on the FCC's website. The law offers some hope with respect to today's communication and media devices and services as they are accessed by people with disabilities.

PBS website provides information on Assistive Technology and Communicative Devices for children with Learning Disabilities. It defines and provides examples of general assistive technology devices, as well as those specifically aimed at helping with communication (AAC).

A community forum for carseat, automobile and child passenger safety. An opportunity to ask questions regarding many different driving concerns (car seats, car safety, etc.). "Community" members are parents, caregivers and advocates.

The Disability.gov website is the federal government web portal whose purpose is to provide comprehensive information on disability programs and services nationwide in order to connect people of all abilities to the resources they need to fully participate in their communities. It achieves this purpose by providing over 14,000 links to federal, state, and local government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The Disability.gov website is managed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) which reviews web content and links voluntarily. I found Disability.gov to be a valuable website full of reliable and unbiased information in the areas of benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, health, housing, technology, and transportation for individuals with disabilities, their families, Veterans, caregivers, employers, educators, and others. The Disability.gov website scored a strong "5" on the Discern Instrument and also performed well on the Hoss and Hansen (2008) website review.

MassMATCH stands for Maximize Assistive Technology (AT) in Consumer's Hands and is Massachusett's state-level AT initiative. Their mission is to promote the use of assistive technology and assistive technology services so that people with disabilities can live, work, study, play, and participate independently in all aspects of their communities. The MassMatch website provides resources regarding assistive technology which include a community blog, a newsletter, funding information, and much more.

The Easter Seals Project ACTION (Accessible Community Transportation In Our Nation) website's mission is to promote universal access to transportation for people with disabilities through the provision of training, technical assistance, applied research, outreach and communication. The website includes an extensive training section that includes distance and online learning.

Apple Vis: http://www.applevis.com/ Target audience: Blind and low vision users of Apple IOS devices. Quality of information: The Apple Vis site is community based and relies heavily on feedback and posts from end users of Apple products and related apps. The information is not peer reviewed and resembles a blog or user forum. However, there is a hall of fame of apps that have been voted to be useful and accessible. Apple Vis is a good resource where a consumer can look up an app to read feedback and comments from other users before committing to purchasing the app.

"A community-powered website for blind and low-vision users of Apple's range of Mac computers, the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch." Lots of information about Apple apps, products, guides, etc.

Webpage for Talk to Me Technologies, which specializes in AAC systems for individuals with communicative disorders.

Key Concepts for Using Augmentative Communication with Children Who Have Complex Communication Needs

The AbleNet Website offers free online educational opportunities for professionals in the area of Assistive Technology through AbleNet University. These live and recorded webinars can be accessed on the AbleNet Website under the Professional Development tab and include training in Communication, Switch Mounts, iDevices, Computer Access, Electronic Aids to Daily Living, Universal Design for Learning, and Curriculum.

This site explains the uses of the PODD (pragmatic organization of dynamic display) communication book. There is software that can also be purchased that has amazing boards that are already completed and some that can be used as templates.

Gillette's Assistive Technology Department (ATD) "designs and creates customized orthoses, powered wheelchair controls, artificial limbs, augmentative communication devices, protective headgear, custom seating and wheelchair modifications" in Minnesota.

NVDA software enables blind and vision impaired people to use a computer by communicating what is on the screen using a synthetic voice or braille. NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is the only screen reader for Microsoft Windows that is totally free, yet fully functional and portable. You can download it to your PC, or to portable media such as a USB stick which you can use with any computer at school, work - anywhere!

Description from the site: "'I Want to Say' is a 27-minute documentary short, produced by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and production company Bodega, that tells the story of Hacking Autism, a newly adopted Autism Speaks initiative devoted to unlocking the voices of children with autism through technology." Of particular note for our class, this video highlights the use of touch technology for communication.

The Maine CITE web site that is committed to "helping Maine citizens with disabilities increase access to and acquisition of Assistive Technology (AT) when needed to participate in Education, Community Living, Employment and Information Technology/Telecommunications". It achieves this goal by providing information and links regarding items ranging from AT Laws and Policies to Accessible Web Design to Training. The target audience of the Maine CITE includes people with disabilities, their families, and the general public. The information presented in regard to apps on their Apps as Assistive Technology page is basically the name of the app and the developer. Maine CITE recommends that the reader go to the appropriate "app store" to review ratings and comments regarding the app. The Maine Cite webpage regarding apps has a "Buyer Beware" notice that indicates that "consumers need to do their homework and examine the quality of each purchase/download carefully". The Apps as Assistive Technology page also has a set of links to articles reviewing apps.

Target Audience: Many people visit Disability.gov, including individuals with disabilities, their families, Veterans, caregivers, employers, educators and others. Their purpose is to connect people of all abilities to the resources they need to fully participate in their communities.

Disability Resources, inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to promote and improve awareness, availability and accessibility of information that can help people with disabilities live, learn, love, work and play independently. They serve thousands of individuals with disabilities through a multidisciplinary network of service providers and consumers. In order to reach as many people with disabilities as cost effectively as possible, they target our services and publications to libraries, disability organizations, independent living centers, rehabilitation facilities, educational institutions, and health and social service providers. They are a small group of volunteers (with and without disabilities) who work professionally in library, communications, and disability-related fields. They monitor hundreds of publications, audiovisual materials, on line services, and other information resources every month. They review and report on worthwhile materials in their newsletter, Disability Resources Monthly (DRM), and other publications. They also maintain an extensive database of disability-related resources in order to perform customized searches, and an on-line guide to disability resources on the World Wide Web. They are proud of the many awards and positive reviews they have received for this work.

The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program (SCATP) is a federally funded program that "is concerned with getting technology into the hands of people with disabilities so that they might live, work, learn and be a more independent part of the community". This website provides a link to an "Apps that Make Life Easier" page that lists app categories and identifies various apps within each category. While each app is listed, the icon displayed, the cost given and a paragraph description provided, the app is not reviewed. The SCATP Website presents quality information in regard to assistive technology, but does not provide a review of that information.