Assistive Technology

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/14218661

I just found Zipped Brands, a company that modifies other brand shoes to add zippers to them. If you have difficulties putting shoes on or lacing them, they seem great! They're not cheap though.

I am sorry to share a post which discusses politics, but it is not possible to advocate for accessible technology without also advocating for the users.

More of a medical device post, but I know some people like me interested in DIY AT went out to try making things during Covid.

[When Carter] decided to establish himself as a supporter of disability rights during the 1976 presidential election, he visited Warm Springs to make that promise. After he was elected president, however, Carter often struggled to implement key parts of his agenda, and disability rights was no exception. So disabled people had to step in to do the work that the non-disabled simply couldn't get done on their own.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to stop by Cheaha state park in Alabama, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a robust wheelchair-accessible experience.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/26729948

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/29463281

W3C, DAISY and NISO are co-hosting a webinar: Advancing Digital Accessibility for Scientific & Technical Publications

This possibly falls under "surgical" instead of AT, but it's still an encouraging development in technology to help people with mobility constraints.

You might recall last month that I posted about my 3D-printed spectacles.

Ben Heck makes a lot of *things*. One thing he's been making for years, is special ordered one-handed gaming controllers. Here he is making one for the Switch.

It's like a dental retainer with a touchpad to control devices with your tongue.

Their pitch expressly claims the device isn't AT... But it is to help more people access the outdoors, which I think counts to an extent.

I went to university with someone who had a cochlear implant, and he rarely used it because of the reasons listed in this article. Instead he'd just rely on his excellent context awareness and us other students' meager sign language attempts.

I visited the local planetarium recently, and this booklet caught my eye. Each page has the images embossed so they can be felt, and the text is all duplicated in braille.

I came across this and found it too interesting not to share.

cross-posted from: https://startrek.website/post/11926067

This controllable prosthetic, the Third Thumb, attaches to the right hand, granting wearers the ability to perform a slew of one-handed tasks such as grasping objects, opening bottles, sorting cards, and even peeling a banana.

This controllable prosthetic, the Third Thumb, attaches to the right hand, granting wearers the ability to perform a slew of one-handed tasks such as grasping objects, opening bottles, sorting cards, and even peeling a banana.

AT adjacent. The flip side of technical innovations is their abuse.

This makerspace came up with an adaptive design using 3D printing and resin. I love it.