Author: AccessAbility Smyles

The CALL Centre in Scotland have produced a word prediction guide explaining the power and use of Word Prediction download your 32 page guide at:-

Word prediction guide

www.podbean.com/ei/pb-6rhcc-c78718

This is the first of many weekly broadcasts about Assistive Technology and the disabilities or conditions encountered that AT can help overcome.

CVI is a condition whereby sensory integration is difficult – either sight or sound but difficulties with using both over time . In other words, the sufferer of this condition will struggle with lengthy and prolonged activity and therefore needs regular rest breaks

BATA are hosting a webinar on the 28th November at 3:45pm on the above topic. Looking at how to make successful interventions using assistive technology. Lee Chambers and Myles Pilling will be leading the seminar. Cost £6.00 . Details are below:-

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alternative-methods-of-recording-tickets-79308651311?aff=mcivte

This is my first attempt at doing a recording . I hope to do a weekly podcast on the above topic . Why not listen now ? First episode is an introduction and lasts 3 minutes

“Assistive Technology That Works!”

My colleague Martin Litten developed this out of experience and teaching practise in India. The construction of words needs a technical approach which requires understanding of the component parts of a word. Dyslexic students do struggle with strategies that are phonetically driven but actually have quite poor understanding of these elements. This free tool can be used on any browser and is really a tool for learning. I advise you read the guide on it’s use. Not every word you type in works but it concentrates on those commonly mis-spelt words that dyslexic learners have. The students can repeat the words and hear them over and over till you fully see understand that word’s construction

To access this click on the link below:-

https://www.clarospeakweb.com/phoneme/

For backgound information, user guide and an article on its development and use. click below:-https://www.clarosoftware.com/claro-phoneme-reader/

Quite a busy few days. Training parents and caters in Langham, Rutland. Then flying out to Cork, Ireland to attend a Dyslexia Symposium which was a good time with a wide range of speakers – ranging from access to work, to researchers to educationalists, university professors.

I never knew how big Cork is! I had to drive from Cork where my plane landed to attend the symposium in Limerick which took 1hr 45 mins. Actually over 2 hrs due to traffic through Cork. My Satnav took me that way which was long and slow. I learnt that the journey to Limerick took me through a couple of small towns typically one long street with few restaurants and many pubs!

The plane I am currently on is an ATR prop and is quite ecologically minded. Not uncomfortable with more leg room than my recent easyJet flight. Though the landing in Cork was a bit seat arm gripping! We came in fast and furious – I think the pilot was in a hurry to get somewhere!

It was great to attend the symposium and to make new friends in the University of Limerick. It is a huge campus with many, many students in comparison to Bath Spa University in size and number. I also learnt that with over 400 students requiring individual ICT support the task of provision was daunting in its logistics for examinations. Workable solutions such as scanning pens were needed. I also will take back to BATA the need to have one event in Ireland as the assistive technology needs to be driven as much there as here in the UK maybe some sort of exhibition event.

It was great to meet Nicola James (Lexxic) and Stephen Howell (Microsoft Ireland) . As both are involved in Ireland forming some sort of dialogue on how best to help showcase AT via the University of Limerick maybe an action point. It will need something big of the stature of Microsoft to make an impact at the decision making level of the University level to make a difference.

I was intrigued to know how I got invited to this event. Apparently, I was googled!!

Disability, ICT and Accessibility – an Assistive Technologist Perspective 

In reading Graham Pullin’s Manifesto it resonated with me as my early career options was to be a designer. But alas , that is not what I am now. I am  – for want of a better word- an Assistive Technologist. I find my role is to problem-solve from the disabled person and their circle of influencers with the disabled person in the middle.” 

“It’s good but it’s not Carling” 

This is the mantra of a recent Carlsberg advert but it is also a triusm for Assitive Technology where it just doesn’t quite meet the need.  Some speech recognition software  not designed for the blind especially does not read out websites. Siri does not read out websites or emails. Speaking Email does and on both iOS and Android. It doesn’t take a great deal of re-programming to make small adjustments to accommodate new disabled needs . When it comes to function it needs to do he complete job. Not half or three-quarters of the job! 

Design – form follows function – and is asethetically beautiful. 

In the education sector dyslexic pupil I have found do not want to stand out. They want to be like everyone else. That is why the iPad was so good. If everyone uses it  it becomes the norm. It’s not “special”. Remember VOCA’s ? Speech output devices. Generally speaking we need them but what if they were designed to be more discrete, more cool, even more lighter and portable.   

When I first started using eye gaze systems they were bulky and hard to configure. They were expensive, Only able to used in certain lighting conditions. This emergent phase led on to the bolt on solutions to existing kit that exist today, We can add them to our usual tools.  

New tools bring new uses 

Something totally new like the smart speakers and internet of things can open up the world to the blind and sensory impaired. They provide contact, intellectual interest , and control to their surroundings. Just by using your voice. For the dyslexic it can provide dictonary definitions. Short memory notes. Reminders and to do lists.  But there are more uses they could be put to we haven’t yet considered. The ability to write – author a book, write to an audience, make a podcast, develop a library of resources to share. What a powerful tool we have to employ/ 

And what about the users! 

Really important. The user /pupl/disabled person should be at the centre of design, implementation and research development. Or how else can we enable and empower the things that need to be enabled and empowered? We need to listen, empathise and modify our solutions to their not always PC wishes!!  Personal preference as well as personalised semantics should go hand in hand.  If someoene is familiar with a particular technology and someone wants to update – should they have to? ?  

At the time of writing I am sitting in a conservatory of a hotel I stopped for a latte at on my way to do some training for a PMLD pupil and his parents, carers and support professionals. After that I high tail myself to Birmingham Airport to catch a flight to Limerick where I am at the

1st International Disability Emancipatory Research on Personalisation Semantics for dyslexic users.
Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Limerick, Ireland.

I feel somewhat out of my comfort zone there as general I demonstrate how the technology works to support pupils with dyslexia but I will give it a go and show how simple interfaces win the day for dyslexic users. Giving too many options would confuse the cognitively challenged pupil. Not having the options would frustrate the high flier dyslexic so the message is “horses for courses.” Maybe in summing up I could point to avenues which research should go. Expert systems that tailor the package to the pupil’s ability and functioning almost seemlessly if that was possible. I applaud the way mainstream software producers have put in accessibility at the outset which I believe helps everyone not just the severe dyslexic. So let’s see how it goes! I will write a piece on it as well here.

RightHear is a free app for the visually impaired to navigate around there surroundings. It is often difficult for a visually impaired person to locate where they are in relation to their surroundings. This clever little app tells you what is nearby and what is further away. Similar to Microsoft Soundscape I think this app is better as it gives clearer locations. I have a blind client who needs this so I will test run this app with him and get him to tell me how useful it might be