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ACCESS
AIDS
PAGE
INDEX
AIDS
AND DISABILITY
PERSONAL
COMPUTERS AND RELATED AIDS
Before the
advent of personal computers it was not possible to adapt
'intelligent terminals'. They were not able to accept specific
changes such as showing information in a different format,
for example, or define different ways of imputting information.
As long as they have been around,
PCs were small but versatile, able to accept personalised
changes and show information using particulars fonts, or formats.
Ever since PCs are defined as
'standard' tools, the world has changed: we cannot specifically
look at changes on a general level now, therefore we will
limit ourselves to examining what this has meant for people
with disabilities.
Often people with disabilities
only need a specific aid to compensate for their disability.
For example it is not a problem for a blind person to use
the keyboard. However it is a problem for them to know what
the response of the computer is. At the same level, a person
with a hand impairment might have input difficulties (the
use of the keyboard or mouse) while being perfectly able to
see the computer response to that input.
If these people are provided
with the right access aid they will be able to compensate
for their disability in that specific context and suddenly
find that using the computer is easy: barriers are disolved.
The advent
of PCs has benefited many people by giving them the opportunty
to join in school and education activities, in finding work
and leisure options, by facilitating access to information
and culture.
Technology Information related
access aids have now been around for more than fifteen years,
and every year there are new products, software or hardware
that provide help in rehabilitation and in accessing a computer.
In the beginning access aids were rudimental and simple 'creations'
that could not completely resolve an access problem. Nowadays
access aids can be incredibly sophisticated and able to resolve
access issues for people with severe disabilities.
For example, there are access
aids able to control a home: lights, television, doors, windows,
enabling people with severe mobility impairment to live an
independent life. Some that enable partially sighted or blind
people with ways to control their PCs and related software
programmes.
AIDS
FOR ACCESS AND REHABILITATION
One important distinction
needs to be made between the use of Personal Computers for
persons with physical / sensory disabilties and those for
the use of people with learning disabilities.
THE CHOICE OF ACCESS
AIDS
As
far as computer hardware and electronic tools go, it is not
always the case that the more expensive equipment will be
better: whilst more advanced tools may offer greater potential
for the user, they can also be more complicated and demand
much more time to learn how to use them effectively.
It is important
to emphasise that, almost always, any technical or electronic
solution is not provided simply by the specific functions
of the technical aid, but rather it's "aid system."
In other words.....the task of an access aid is to increase
the efficiency of multiple actions through an 'intelligent'
system of 'translation' of these actions into functional and
expressive codes. For this reason it is actually more correct
to talk about 'access systems' rather than a simple access
aid, a tool which is more or less complex receiving order
'signals' by the disabled user and trasmitting them in a more
suitable form to the surrounding environment.
ACCESS AIDS AND DISABILITY
The choice of "aid system"
is closely connected to the type of disability of the person
who must use it.
CONCLUSIONS
As we have
seen, the right choice of aids can enable disabled users to
use a PC in complete autonomy, and reduce, if not cancel completely,
their disability in relation to computers.
The effect
of this can lead to an increase on the number of disabled
people who can chose to lead a "normal life" in
both education or employment settings. Often it is only a
matter of understanding what would be the best role to assign
to an employee in the context of the working environment.
If often we get scared at the idea of working with someone
with a disability, ultimately it is down to how we relate
to them, not a matter of work functionality. The disabled
colleague would be able to do the same job as anyone else
even if by different means, and if this is not the case, it
is often down to their personality, not their disability.
This is why
it is especially important to understand the role assigned
to them in the workplace, with maximum specificity as possible.
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