Disabilities, Challenges, and Assistive Technologies Flashcards
Models of Disability, Categories of Disabilities and Associated Barriers, Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies, Disability Demographics and Statistics, and Disability Etiquette
What are the 9 major categories of disability?
- Visual
- Auditory
- Deaf-Blindness
- Speech & Language
- Mobility, Flexibility, & Body Structure
- Cognitive
- Seizure
- Psychological
- Multiple & Complex
What is the difference between assitive technologies and adaptive strategies?
- Assistive technologies are products, devices, systems used by disabled people.
- Adaptive strategies enhance or change ways of interacting with environment or tech.
Accessibility Definition
Designing products, services, and environments to ensure equal access for everybody, including people with disabilities.
Provider, producer, or owner of product, service, or environment is responsible for accessibility measures.
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Blindness?
- Screen readers
- Refreshable braille devices
- Audio Descriptions
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Low Vision?
- Screen magnifiers
- Screen readers
- Color customization (not really AT)
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Color Deficiencies (Color Blindness)?
- Color enhancement overlays or glasses
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Deafness?
- Captions
- Transcripts
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Auditory Disabilities?
- Hearing aids (lip reading)
- Cochlear implants
- Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC), like sign language or communication boards
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Deafblindness?
- Refreshable braille display in combination with a screen reader
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Speech Disabilities?
- Producing speech: Text-to-speech or Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) devices
- Processing language: Screen readers
- Keyboards with speech generating functionalities
- Electronic comm boards w/ symbols or images
- Voice carryover
- Programs w/ writing templates, organization tools, word prediction, and spell checkers
- Speech-to-text programs
- Speech apps to allow practice with sounds, sentences, and phrases
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Motor/Mobility Disabilities in the Physical Environment?
- Walkers, canes, crutches
- wheelchairs, motorized scooters
- stair lifts, elevators
- exoskeletons
- stepladders
- grab / rail / handlebars
- reachers
- touch/voice-operated light fixtures
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Motor/Mobility Disabilities in ICT?
- Head wand
- Mouth stick
- Alternative keyboards
- Eye tracking
- Voice activation
What Assistive Technologies (AT) are used for Cognitive Disabilities?
- Screen readers
- Screen overlays
- Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) Aids
What is a screen reader?
Converts text and structural information of UIs and content to speech.
What are Visual Disabilities?
Sensory disabilities that include:
* some amount of vision loss
* loss of visual acuity (sharpness)
* increased or decreased sensitivity to specific or bright colors
* complete or uncorrectable loss of vision in either or both eyes
What are screen magnifiers?
Software that zooms in on a section of the screen at high resolution
Features optimize visual appearance:
* Enhanced font smoothing (higher than OS).
* Enhanced screen colors (invert brightness, yellow/black, black/white, high contrast).
* Enhanced mouse pointer, keyboard cursor, and focus while navigating.
What are the 3 types of Visual Disabilities
- Blindness
- Low Vision
- Color Vision Deficiency (colorblindness)
What is blindness?
A sensory disability involving some vision loss, nearly complete vision loss, and complete vision loss.
What is the U.S. definition of being “Legally Blind”?
- Visual acuity of 20/200 with corrective lenses.
- Field of vision of 20 degrees in best-seeing eye.
This definition determines eligibility/participation in various programs like school, disability benefits, AD programs, etc.
What are 6 causes of blindness?
- Diabetes
- Macular Degeneration
- Glaucoma
- Accident / traumatic eye injury
- Stroke
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
What are the leading causes of vision impairments?
Uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts
What is Color Vision Deficiency?
A sensory disability where a person may not be able to distinguish certain color combinations. (Colorblindness)
What is Low Vision?
Permanently reduced vision that cannot be corrected with regular glasses, contact lenses, meds, or surgery.
Low Vision Characteristics
- Typically need magnification to read or discern details.
- Some experience low contrast, so benefit from high-contrast text and graphics
- Some experience color deficiencies; may not be able to distinguish some colors from others
What are challenges Blind People face with ICT?
- Can’t see digital or electronic interfaces
- Can’t use screen readers on digital content & interfaces not designed accessibly
What are solutions to being unable to see digital/electronic interfaces?
- Screen Readers
- Self-Voicing Interfaces
- Refreshable braille output devices
What are solutions to being unable to use screen readers on inaccessible digital content & interfaces?
Interface designers and content authors edit/design markup to make it compatible with AT.
What are challenges blind people face with Architecture and Built Environment (physical environment)?
- Cannot see when walking
- Cannot see signs or text on buildings or other areas in Built Environment
What are solutions to being unable to see when walking?
- Canes
- Service animals
- GPS-based w/ audio interface
- Raised tiles/bumps on platforms, sidewalks, and stairs
- Eliminate low-hanging architecture
- Clear obstructions
What are solutions for being unable to see signs or text on buildings?
- Map/geolocation apps to announce location and description
- Braille labels
- Tactile models
What are challenges blind people face with consumer & industrial products?
- Can’t see/feel controls on flat surfaces
- Can’t read containers/packaging for consumer items
- Can’t read money to determine value
- Can’t read printed materials like books, mags, posters, mail
What are solutions to being unable to see or feel controls on flat interfaces (e.g., microwave)?
- Use alternative interfaces w/ knobs and tactile controls
- Audio interfaces
- Remote control through mobile apps
What are solutions to being unable to read consumer items’ containers and packaging?
- Braille (embossed or stickers)
- Mobile apps to scan and announce
What are solutions to being unable to read money?
- Mobile apps to photo money and read value
- Manufacture paper bills and coins in different sizes, shapes, or textures
- Non-cash systems using voice output or compatible with screen readers
What are solutions to being unable to read printed materials?
- Optical character recognition (OCR) software to convert print into digital text
- Make information digitally available
What are some types of low vision?
- Blur with low contrast
- Cataracts
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Glaucoma
- Hemianopia
- Macular Degeneration
- Retinal Detachment
What are challenges people with low vision face in general?
- Small text can be hard to read
- Low contrast can be hard to read
What are solutions to difficulty reading small text?
- Screen magnfiers
- Enhance contrast, change colors, or alter visual appearance
- Screen readers
- Self-voicing interfaces
- Alternative large print versions
- Alternative digital versions
What are challenges people with low vision face with ICT?
- Text, images, and page layouts cannot be resized or lose info when resized
- Websites, web browsers, and authoring tools don’t enable users to customize color combinations.
What are solutions to difficulty reading low-contrast text?
- Software or hardware can enhance contrast by changing colors
- Designers and creators can choose colors with high contrast
What are solutions to being unable to resize text, images, and page layouts?
- Ensure graphical interfaces allow magnification
What are solutions to being unable to set up custom color combinations for websites, web browsers, and authoring tools?
- Allow color combinations
What is Color Vision Deficiency
(Color-blindness) Inability to distinguish certain color combinations, esp. those of equal brightness or luminosity.
Most common: red-green.
What is color customization?
Software to customize color contrast, color filters, and color themes
Ex: Bright green on black can increase webpage readability for low vision users.
What are challenges people with color vision deficiency (color blindness) face in general?
- Certain color combinations - red/green in particular - can be difficult to distinguish.
What are solutions to having difficulty distinguishing color combinations?
- Materials don’t depend on color to convey information
What are challenges people with color vision deficiency (color blindness) face with ICT?
- Websites, web browsers, and authoring tools don’t enable users to customize color combinations.
What is deaf-blindness?
Sensory disability that includes both deafness and blindness. Most deaf-blind are not completely deaf nor completely blind.
What are challenges for deaf-blind people face with ICT?
- Digital text cannot be seen
- Audio cannot be heard
- Cannot see or hear visual or auditory alerts / feedback
What are solutions to being unable to see a digital text as a deaf-blind person?
- Screen reader can convert text to refreshable braille / printed braille
What are solutions to being unable to hear audio as a deaf-blind person?
- Screen reader can convert transcript to refreshable braille / printed braille
What are solutions to being unable to see or hear visual or auditory alerts or feedback as a deaf-blind person?
- Haptic (vibration) alerts / feedback
What are challenges deaf-blind people face in general?
- Cannot see/hear speakers
What are solutions to being unable to see or hear speakers as a deaf-blind person?
- Tactile sign language interpretation
What are 3 types of auditory disabilities?
- Deafness
- Hard of hearing
- Central auditory processing disorder (APD)
What are auditory disabilities?
Sensory disabilities that range from partial to total hearing loss; may have difficulty understanding speech & distinguishing foreground and background noise.
What is hard of hearing?
Mild to severe hearing loss in one or both ears. Most use hearing aids or cochlear implants. May use sign language and/or spoken language with or without amplification.
What is Central Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)?
Inability to interpret, organize, or analyze what’s heard even if no measurable hearing loss exists.
What are challenges people with auditory disabilities face with ICT?
- Audio portion of videos can’t be heard
- Audio content can’t be heard
What are solutions to being unable to hear the audio portion of videos?
- Synchronized captions
- Sign language interpretation
- Transcript
What are challenges people with auditory disabilities face in general?
- Cannot hear speeches and talks
What are solutions to being unable to hear talks, presentations, and performances?
- Sign language interpretation
- CART or STTR live captions on monitor
- Assistive listening systems in meetings and auditoriums
CART = real-time translation
STTR = speech-to-text reporter
What are challenges people with auditory disabilities face in architecture and the built environment?
- Unable to hear doorbells, alarms, and other alerts
What are solutions to being unable to hear doorbells, alarms, and other alerts?
- Provide alternative visual alerts, like lights that flash, pulse, dim, and turn on and off.
- Provide haptic (vibration) alerts / feedback.
deaf vs. Deaf
deaf = condition of deafness
Deaf = Deaf culture/community (beliefs, cultural norms, values, experiences shared between deaf people. References member of the community.
What is a speech disability?
The inability to produce or organize speech sounds and syllables correctly or with fluency.
What are speech sound disorders?
Umbrella term for sounds being difficult to produce, esp. consonants. Range from mild slurred speech to complete inability to move mouth.
May be able to read, write, and understand language without speaking.
What are organic speech sound disorders?
Disorders resulting from motor/neurological disorders
What is motor speech disorder?
When a person has trouble moving the muscles required for speech.
What are 4 types of organic speech sound disorders?
- Apraxia of speech
- Dysarthria
- Structural deficiencies (cleft lip)
- Sensory/perceptual disorders (hearing loss/directional)
What is Apraxia of speech?
Person knows what they want to say but the brain has difficulty planning the movements to speak.
What is Dysarthria?
Difficulty controlling muscles for speech from brain damage (slurred or slow speech, mumbling, or hoarse/breathy voice)
What are some characteristics of organic speech sound disorders?
- slurred or slow speech
- inconsistent speech errors
- distorting sounds
- errors in tone, stress, or rhythm
What are 2 categories of functional speech sound disorders?
- Articulation (clear & distinct sounds)
- Phonology (sound patterns)
Not acquired or developmental disorders; no known cause.
What are articulation disorders?
Difficulties producing specific speech sounds. Sounds may be substituted, omitted, distorted, or added.
(SODA!)
What are phonemic disorders?
Difficulty distinguishing speech sounds in languages. Few sounds can be used. “Call” and “tall” both pronounced as “tall.”