Assistivetechnology Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Blind iPhone owners may get People Finder app

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 11th, 2013)

It's easy for two people to meet up at the mall. They just arrive at the appointed time and look for each other. This simple task is not so easy for blind people, who could be right around the corner from each other and not realize it. According to the BBC, this is a problem that Mike May from ...

New pererro device for iOS offers switch access to the disabled

by Dave Caolo (Feb 6th, 2013)

UK-based RSLSteeper makes assistive technology for use in the classroom and at home, for all age groups and a wide variety of needs. It has recently released the "pererro," which provides switch access to iOS devices for those with fine- and gross-motor control issues. At 30 × 28 ...

Backlit e-readers such as iPad help those with vision loss

by Steven Sande (Nov 13th, 2012)

A study presented on Sunday at the 116th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology says that tablets with backlit screens, such as the iPad and Kindle Paperwhite, help patients with vision problems due to eye diseases to read quickly and comfortably. In particular, the study ...

Research: iPod touch benefits workers with autism

by Kelly Hodgkins (Sep 6th, 2012)

We often hear about iOS devices being used in schools and in the workplace, but a recent study from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University shows how the device can be beneficial for those struggling with autism. The study was recently published in the the Journal of Vocational ...

Fleksy is an alternate text input tool for the visually impaired

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Aug 20th, 2012)

Fleksy is an interesting take on alternate text input for the iPhone. Designed for those whose eyesight is bad or nonexistent, Fleksy records the taps on the screen and makes a guess based on your patterns. It then says the word, enabling you to quickly construct sentences without even looking at ...

Omnifer adds Braille, makes iPad useful for the blind

by Dave Caolo (Aug 15th, 2011)

Here's an interesting concept for a case meant to make the iPad usable for blind and visually impaired customers. The Omnifer almost covers the iPad completely, save for a small portion of the screen, and adds raised Braille buttons. What's really cool is that the Omnifer is more than Braille ...

Apple enables 'Assistive Touch' features on iPad in latest iOS 5 beta

by Michael Grothaus (Jul 11th, 2011)

Apple has enabled a very cool feature for iPad users in the latest beta of iOS 5. "Assistive Touch" allows users to perform gestures and button actions on the iPad with one touch. Users can call up the Assistive Touch menu by tapping a designated corner of the iPad's screen. The menu itself is ...

Macworld 2011: Expressive helps the speech impaired learn and communicate

by David Winograd (Jan 28th, 2011)

Speech therapist Barbrara Fernandez founded Smarty-Ears apps last January and has since created over 15 apps for the field. I spoke to her about Expressive (US$29.95) an augmentative-alternative communication (AAC) app that at first seems similar to the much more expensive Proloquo2Go, but it serves ...

Rep. Giffords' recovery includes the iPad

by Michael Rose (Jan 20th, 2011)

As reported by Reuters earlier today, the ongoing recovery and rehabilitation of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has progressed very well since the tragic and deadly assault at her event 12 days ago. Dr. Michael Lemole, the chief of neurology at Tucson's University Medical Center, ...

iPads bring accessibility to the disabled at a far lower cost

by David Winograd (Nov 4th, 2010)

It's only been half a year since its introduction, but the iPad has already become a major player in the field of assistive technology, helping disabled people communicate. A number of studies are underway (and many more are in the planning stages) to offer much-needed data on the effectiveness of ...

Proloquo2Go gets a major update

by David Winograd (Sep 13th, 2010)

Proloquo2Go (US$189.99) is the most fully featured augmentative and alternative communication device (AAC) we've yet covered. It provides iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad owners who do not have the ability to speak well enough to be understood (and that number is estimated to be 2.5 million Americans ...

Helping autistic children with iOS devices

by David Winograd (Aug 18th, 2010)

Autism is a developmental brain disorder that, in some manner, plagues one out of every 110 children (according to the Centers for Disease Control). It's usually discovered by the time the child is three years old. Varying medical and scientific authorities characterize the condition in ...

Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank

by David Winograd (Jul 31st, 2010)

The Digit-Eyes Audio Scanner and Labeler (US$29.95) from Digital Miracles is a remarkable Assistive Technology (AT) app for the iPhone and iPod touch geared to the blind and visually impaired community. What it does is fairly straightforward once you get the big idea, but the implications of its ...

Video relay calling breakthrough uses FaceTime to help the deaf

by David Winograd (Jul 14th, 2010)

In the past, the only way for the hearing impaired to communicate was either in person or by way of the TTY (teletypewriter); the TTY is a device that's about as large as a laptop computer, and it allows the hard of hearing to type on a QWERTY keyboard and have the communication transferred. ...

The AutoVerbal Talking Soundboard speaks for those who can't

by David Winograd (Jun 16th, 2010)

The AutoVerbal Talking Soundboard (US$0.99 for the next few weeks) is the latest in the growing field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices available for the iPhone, iPod touch and (best of all) the iPad. An AAC device allows the autistic or vocally challenged to communicate ...