From: patt@squid.tram.com (Patt Bromberger)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Computers That Make Life Possible
Date: 31 Aug 92 20:18:12 GMT
Reply-To: patt@squid.tram.com (Patt Bromberger)
X-Fidonet: Split

Index Number: 24080

"Computers that Make Life Possible," by Jani Farlow Spede

"/Update" Volume 20, Number 5/6, 1992, the newsletter of the Northeast
Regional Data Center, University of Florida.
Contact: JSPEDE@NERVM.NERDC.UF1.EDU

Though we couldn't imagine life without them, for most of us,
computers are a convenience--they make life easier.  For the
physically challenged, however, computers make life possible.

A wide variety of software and hardware is available today that can
help shrink and/or eliminate the communication handicaps that persons
with disabilities suffer.  Henry F. Meudt, President of Special Needs
Services, Boca Raton, Florida, is trying to spread the word about the
various "special needs" software and hardware products currently on
the market.

Meudt, who retired from IBM in 1988 (after 30 years of service) and
started his own company, says he wants to accomplish two things.  One,
he wants to make people aware that the products exist.  Secondly, he
wants to provide information on how to buy the products.  He notes
that "to many, these products are obscure.  Most are recent
developments that have only become available since 1988."  As the
products become more affordable (due to dropping prices of both the
products and personal computers), many companies find they can't
afford to market them, which keeps the products obscure.

Meudt and Dr. Steven Ray, who also operates an independent company,
Adaptive Consulting Services in Merritt Island, Florida, travel
around the country giving seminars and  demonstrating several special
needs products..

"We are especially concerned with the university community," says Ray.
"Universities, by law, should also be concerned--not only as an
institution that enrolls disabled students, but as an employer of
disabled faculty and staff, as well."

Here's a look at some of the products on the market:

*   VoiceType. With this 7000 word speech recognition system for PC
applications, you do the talking and the computer does the typing.
This is especially helpful for mobility impaired individuals who don't
have use of their hands.

*   Screen Reader.  This device allows the blind to use a computer as
it, through the use of a voice synthesizer, speaks the words which
appear on a computer screen.

*   PhoneCommunicator.  This PC attachment enables a person who is
deaf and/or speech impaired to communicate over the telephone with a
person who can hear.  The person who can hear sends replies by
spelling words on a touch-tone telephone.  The impaired person can
then read the replies on the computer screen.  PhoneCommunicator can
also serve as a TDD (telecommunication device for the deaf).

*   AccessDOS.  This is a free program that allows individuals to
operate a keyboard effectively with one finger.  For example,
individuals with muscular dystrophy may press extra keys on the way to
a desired key, or they may have difficulty pressing more than one key
at a time.  Additionally, they may hold a key down too long, causing
extra letters.  AccessDOS eliminates most of these problems.  For
example, with AccessDOS, only the key that is held down for several
seconds appears on the screen.  This program is available free of
charge by calling 1-800-426-7282.

*   SpeechViewer and THINKable are two clinical products.
SpeechViewer is designed for use by speech pathologists and THINKable
helps persons with head injuries regain cognitive skills.

*   DAC.  Digital-voice Augmentative Communicator is a device which
allows spoken phrases to be recorded and stored.  By touching a
specific combination of keys, a person who is unable to speak can use
this portable unit to communicate.

*   Aurora.  This computer entry enhancement program for the
physically impaired allows one to produce typed words in a number of
different ways (small head movements, blink of the eye, etc.).  It
uses word completion and word prediction techniques to increase word
processing speed.

*   FreeWheel.  With only small head movements, a paralyzed person can
operate a computer while wearing a small passive reflector device.

Meudt and Ray are very enthusiastic about these products.  They find
it very rewarding to see how the devises can change and improve lives.

Meudt recalls a particular experience.  He was once asked to bring the
FreeWheel to an elementary school.  A boy there had been paralyzed in
a skate boarding accident, and the school didn't know how they were
going to handle the situation.  Meudt explained that he installed the
program and then attached the small mirror-like device (used to
control the cursor) to a baseball cap.  "I put that cap on the boy,
showed him how he could select text by moving his head, and the first
thing the boy did was write a poem.  It was a very moving experience."

Providing a means for people to communicate is the motivation behind
the design of the products.  Meudt says, "Disabled people have brains;
unfortunately, for years society has been treating them as if they
don't.  To me, it's a human rights issue.  Take, for example, hospital
situations where a patient with tubes everywhere is not able to speak.
This person may be in intense pain, but has no means of telling a
nurse or doctor 'just move my leg a little to the left.' Care givers
are forced to guess."

According to Meudt and Ray, it's a wonder why the simple, relatively
inexpensive (prices range from free to $3600) computers that can fix
problems of this nature aren't used more.  However, they hope to see
computers playing a large part in the future everyday lives of
disabled people.  "Increasingly, we are attaching many devices right
onto the wheel chairs of disabled individuals, particularly those with
cerebral palsy," says Ray, as he shows the mounting devices that Meudt
and Ray support.

No one likes to think about it, but any non-disabled person can become
disabled.  A head injury occurs every 15 seconds, and it usually
results in some kind of disability.  But, computers can make life
continue for these individuals.  And computers can make life begin for
those who have been confined to their home for years, unable to be a
member of the workforce simply because the workforce had no place for
them.  Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, say Meudt and
Ray, things are changing.

IBM supplies video tapes and brochures which you can request by
calling (407) 982-4207.

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