Group items tagged

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.

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.

Extensions that can help users with special needs enjoy the web. These tools convert text to speech, enhance colors, and enlarge text and other parts of pages.

This website, Disability Statistics, is an online resource for US Disability Statistics. It is created and maintained by Employment and Disability Institute & Cornell U. The URL is an .org, or non-profit organization. The data sources used on this site, include the American Community Survey, Census 2000, & Current population survey. The web page's purpose is to provide public service information related to US Disability Statistics, current disability status reports, statistics, sources, FAQ's, glossary of terms, additional links, & support. The website provides balance, factual information.

The Hadley School for the Blind, http://hadley.edu/ Hadley offers seminars that cover topics of interest to professionals working with people who are blind or visually impaired including the use of assistive technology. The seminars are archived and can be accessed later via the web or podcasts.

Teens Succeeding with Technology: The TeST program is a collection of four video trainings; each training incorporates innovative, web-based technologies and resources to help high school students with disabilities transition successfully to post-secondary education and careers.

The Joy Zabala SETT Framework website provides information and materials related to the SETT Framework and links to other web-based resources regarding assistive technology. I applied the DISCERN Instrument to Zabala's website and came up with a score of 4. I feel that the SETT Framework that Joy Zabala has developed is an excellent structure within which to consider assistive technology. It puts the focus on the Student, Environment, and Tasks before considering which Tools may be appropriate. It also relies on shared collaboration between professionals.

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.

Access to, Use of, and Attitudes Toward Telecommunication Among Rural VR Clients. This article is interesting in that it addresses consumer's access to, and use of telecommunication with their rehabilitation counselor (primarily email access).

User Interface Preferences in the Design of a Camera-Based Navigation and Wayfinding Aid. This article describes a survey of users with vision impairments and their preferences in an electronic way-finding (GPS-type) system.

List of free assistive technology software, developed by Ohio State University.