Summary of Assistive Technology Products



Summary of Assistive Technology Products

Used at Perkins School for the Blind

Assistive technology (AT) consists of hardware and software individuals with disabilities can use to access information or perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to accomplish do to their disability. The following is a brief description of some of the high tech assistive technology solutions currently being used here at Perkins

Screen Readers

Screen review software or screen readers is technology that allows the user to either hear (through synthetic speech) or read (via refreshable Braille) textual information presented on the computer monitor. Using screen readers, students can complete homework assignments, browse the web, send and receive e-mail and work with a variety of other applications. All of these tasks are performed with the keyboard as using a standard mouse is very difficult for someone with no usable vision. The most widely used screen review software application at Perkins is called JAWS for Windows or simply JAWS. ()

Screen Magnification Software

Screen magnification software enlarges and enhances text presented on a standard computer monitor. This permits an individual with some usable vision to view text and graphics more easily. This software has a wide variety of magnification options as their are a variety of eye conditions that can cause low vision. Zoomtext is one of the most popular screen magnification applications currently used at Perkins.

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Accessible Personal Digital Assistants

Accessible personal digital assistants (PDAs) are hand held devices that perform many of the same functions as a standard computer. However, just like mainstream PDAs, such as a Palm Pilot or Blackberry, these devices can instantly be switched on and contain many features geared for portability. Using an accessible PDA, students can take notes, read books, keep an appointment calendar and browse the web. The BrailleNote, Braille Sense and PAC Mate are three of the most commonly used accessible PDAs here at Perkins.

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Braille Embossers

A Braille embosser is a piece of hardware that prints or embosses Braille on to heavy paper. This is similar to the task of an ink printer, but the embossing process is much noisier and requires more time and paper. Braille embossers receive the information to be produced in Braille from either a computer or an accessible PDA. Some commonly used Braille embossers are the Braille Blazer, the Romeo and the Juliet.

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Electronic Video Magnifiers

Electronic Video Magnifiers, sometimes known as cctvs, allow the user to instantly view an enlarged image of items beneath the camera. These devices allow students with low vision to read text books or see a picture more clearly. Video magnifiers can either reside on a desktop or they can be hand held. The hand held models allow students to take them to useful locations, such as the grocery store. The desktop models have much larger screens, thus allowing more information to be read without scrolling the camera.

Optical Character Recognition

Optical character recognition (OCR) is technology that enables a person who is blind to scan a page of machine printed text and have the contents of the page read aloud. This is usually accomplished using a computer, a scanner and a piece of software known as an OCR application. OCR allows students to gain access to handouts, restaurant menus and many of the other printed materials so prevalent in a sighted world.

In addition to these items, Perkins students utilize a variety of other hardware and software applications geared for students with disabilities other than blindness. To learn more or to see a demonstration of this technology, please contact Jim Denham, Perkins Director of Assistive Technology at jim.denham@

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