Sensory DisabilitiesAT BootcampATIA 2013

Behnke, Marotta & Wojcik

Statistics6.8 million people in the US have a

visual disability10.5 million people in the US have a

hearing impairment

Reference: 2011 reports from http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/

Sensory ImpairmentsSensory impairments refer to the reduced

ability or lack of ability in using one or more of three senses: vision, touch and hearing.

This includes tactile defensiveness or numbness of touch, visually impaired which includes blind, legally blind, deaf-blind, hard of hearing and deaf.

Assistive technology for personswith low visionScreen magnifiers have these features:◦Zoomtext demo◦Reverse polarity (Negative Contrast)◦Magnification◦Zooming feature◦Color enhancements◦Speech output (vary)◦Keyboard enhancements (e.g. keycaps)

Assistive technology tools for persons who are blind

Screen reading software◦Examples are JAWS, Window-Eyes, VoiceOver

Video Magnifiers (aka CCTV)

Tactile GraphicsBANA (Braille Authority of North

America)Guidelines & Standards for Tactile

Graphics

Braille technologyRefreshable braille displaysBraille EmbossersBraille writers and notetakers

Other examples…Talking GPSAudio description

Assistive technology for people with hearing impairments

Hearing aidsAssistive listening devicesCaptioningSpeech to textCochlear ImplantsVisual alert signalersTelecommunications: ◦Texting◦Bluetooth◦Point to Point Video (e.g., Skype)