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Your weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Show Notes:
– Amy Goldman, NJC: National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities
– A closer look at iOS 7.1’s accessibility changes | Macworld http://bit.ly/1hn3WQV
– FCC Accepting Nominations for Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility; Deadline Is April 15 http://fcc.us/1hn12M1
– Autism, Communication & Employment research: (814) 867-3375 or e-mail AutismEmploymentProject1@gmail.com
– DVDs and Blu-ray Discs With Audio Description http://bit.ly/1hmXE3S
– Freedom Scientific Announces New ONYX® Deskset HD Portable Video Magnifier http://bit.ly/1ljR1X5
– App: Eye Note www.AppleVis.com
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—–transcript follows—–
AMY GOLDMAN: Hi, this is Amy Goldman, I’m co-executive director of the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’m a speech language pathologist, and this is your Assistive Technology Update.
WADE WINGLER: Hi, this is Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana with your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of technology, designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs. Welcome to episode number 148 of assistive technology update. It’s scheduled to be released on March 28 of 2014. I’m excited to have my friend, Amy Goldman, here with us today, and she’s going to talk about the augmentative communication Bill of Rights and the NJC, which is the national joint committee for the communication needs of persons with severe disabilities. Amy has some great information to share about augmentative comedic edition users and some of their rights. Also, we have a story about a closer look at iOS 7.1 accessibility changes; some nomination availability for FCC awards; a research study about autism, communication and employment; something that I learned about described video and my kids when they are watching at home; and an app worth mentioning from Scott Davert. He talks about Eye Note, to tell if your dollar is a dollar or a five or a 10 or a 20. We hope you’ll call our listener line at 317-721-7124, ask questions, give us some feedback, or let us know what’s in your assistive technology toolbox. Visit our website at eastersealstech.com or drop us a note on Twitter @INDATAproject.
Just can’t wait to get that new assistive technology device? Need a low interest known to help with the funding of that device? Live in the state of Indiana? Visit www.assistivetechnologyfunding.com. We have some resources.
Right after the release of iOS 7.1, we spent some time talking about some of the new accessibility features. However there is even more information. Josh de Lioncourt is a blind developer who uses iOS devices and also creates audio-video games on the Mac, Windows and for iOS. He has an article in MacWorld that takes a closer look at iOS 7.1 accessibility changes. He gets into some more detail about some of the low vision features; he talks a little bit more about some of the changes to voice over; and that he also spent some time talking about how to use a camera as a trigger for switch control iOS 7.1. I’m going to pop a link in the show notes over to Josh’s article, and you can learn a little bit more about some of the accessibility features for Iowa 7.1.
Are you a regular listener of assistive technology update? Do you hear me every week telling you what’s new in the field of assistive technology? And are you coming to RESNA in Indianapolis this you? Well, are going to have an assistive technology update listener Meetup. Go to do it on June 13, that’s a Friday, early in the morning from 730 to 9 o’clock, just before things get rolling at the RESNA conference, outside of the Starbucks in the JW Marriott. That’s the hotel where the RESNA conference is going to be. If you’d like to sit down and talk assistive technology, meet me, I would love to meet you and learn more about what you think about assistive technology update. I might even bring a microphone and record some people telling me about what’s in their assistive technology toolbox. You could be on the show. Again if you like the show, if you’re going to be at RESNA this summer on June 15, we’re going to have a listener Meetup outside of Starbucks and the JW Marriott. There’s some nice cozy couches to sit on. We’ll be there on June 13 from 730 to 9. I’ve got a link in the show notes to an event bright so we can register and know who’s all going to be there to make sure we have a. Check our show notes and I hope to see you on June 13 at RESNA.
The FCC, or Federal Communications Commission, is accepting nominations for the Chairman’s award for advancement and accessibility, or the children’s AAA. They are accepting nominations through Tuesday, April 15, and these may be for mainstream or assistive technology, a develop standard or best practice, a free offering or commercial product produced by an individual, and organization, nonprofits, business or government. What they’re looking for are these products or services that really do raise the bar in terms of accessibility. The categories they are looking at our advanced communication services, employment opportunities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, mobile web browsers, social media, close captions, or video description. If you have created something in the last year or are aware of something that was created between August 2012 and December 2013, you need to make a nomination. I’m going to stick a link in the show notes over to a blog post on the FCC blog where you can learn more about past winners and how to nominate potential future winters. Make your nomination.
Just a couple of days ago in my email inbox is a message from Laura Richardson who is a PhD candidate at Penn State University, and she’s working with Doctor David McNaughton in the Department of counseling educational psychology and special education. They are doing a research project about the employment of people who have autism spectrum disorder or who are on the autism spectrum and who use a variety of methods to support communication. For example, for folks who have autism spectrum disorder and on the job are using speech, pictures, communication boards or books, science, sign language or gestures, computer-based systems, and or picture schedules, they want to hear from these folks. They are looking for individuals who have autism spectrum disorder and use those communication methods. Their employers, family members, or other support people and their lives to help conduct interviews and learn more information about what their job is like and how they got the job and how they are using communication in that environment. Some individuals in the study must be age 18 or older, and if you’re interested in helping with this research endeavor, please contact Laura. You can call her at 814-867-3375, or you can email her at autismemploymentproject1@gmail.com. Reach out to Laura, help her with her research project and help speak about the use of communication system by folks with autism in the workplace.
A few of you are aware that I have kids in the house. I have a 17-year-old daughter, a two-year-old son, and a one-year-old daughter. Recently I don’t seem to be able to go through my house without hearing or seeing the movie from Disney called frozen. It’s the story of an Arctic group of characters including a snowman that sings and dances and does all kinds of stuff. It’s interesting because the other day, my two-year-old was standing with the DVD or the Blu-ray clicker in his hand trying to figure out how to navigate the start of the movie. One of his options was descriptive video. I was a little surprised that my two-year-old was trying to figure out how to get descriptive video to work on the DVD. It led me to wonder, I wonder how many DVDs these days or Blu-ray discs are coming out with audio description tracks which are very helpful to folks who are blind or visually impaired and wants to know what’s going on the screen. A quick Google search led me to a subsection of the ACB website, where is there’s a listing of all kinds of videos that are out that have descriptive video or audio discussion tracks. Frozen is among them here in the 2014 listing. Also saving Mister banks, the book thief, the hunger games: catching fire, 12 years a slave, Nebraska, Thor: the dark world, Diana, the best man, holiday, Enders game, the counselor, and several others. The other thing that I found interesting was there are listings back to 2010 of DVDs and Blu-ray’s that have descriptive video, but then they also list some things about study is that I didn’t realize. I do the category of generally include description are Disney, Pixar, Buena vista, Touchstone, Fox, Paramount, Sony, and universal. Under a listing called never include description, anchor Bay entertainment, Weinstein Company, New Line Cinema, millennium entertainment, Miramax films, and Warner Brothers. Then there’s an occasional that list DreamWorks, focus features, Lions gate, MGM, screen gem, Summit entertainment, and E1. I was very pleasantly surprised to see descriptive video on frozen and even more so to learn that there’s plenty of information to find out where to find more of that. A little disappointed to find that some of these big studios never include description. I will pop a link in the show notes to the ACB website, and you can learn more about the audio description project and what DVDs and Blu-ray’s seem to be having descriptive videos these days.
If you are at CSON last week, he might have seen the new Onyx desk set HD from freedom scientific. It’s their new version of their popular onyx portable video magnifier. This one is in high definition. It’s a three in one device that does document reading, this is feeling, as well as self-dealing. Brett Davis, freedoms VP of hardware, says the new high-definition camera produces an exceptionally clear and crisp image even in lowlight conditions of many lecture halls. The system is designed for ease of use and the rolling case makes it easy to transport between classrooms, offices and home. As of the recording of this segment, I can find pricing on the device, but I will pop a link in the show notes over to freedom’s press release and you can find more information about the new Onyx desk set HD portable CCTV.
Each week, one of our partners tells us what’s happening in the ever-changing world of apps. Here’s an app worth mentioning.
SCOTT DAVERT: From Applevis.com, I’m Scott Davert with this week’s app worth mentioning. This week we’re talking about an iOS app called Eye Note. Eye Note was designed to allow individuals who are unable to recognize the US paper currency to do so. It’s a free app, and I bring it up now because they have recently updated this app. Prior to the current version of Eye Note, one had to try to line up the bill underneath the backward facing camera on the eye device and then double tap if you’re using voice over with single tap if you’re not, and try to get a scan or a picture of the bill and hope it will come out. The problem with this is even if you get the bill into focus correctly, when you double tap, that would shake the device a little bit and that might bring get enough out of focus but you wouldn’t be able to recognize the bill. With the latest version that was released a little while ago, it scans and continuous mode, so if you don’t get it right away, once you start the app, you can move the backward facing camera around and it will eventually pick up the bill. Some of you may remember I talked about look tell money reader in a while back, and look tell money reader is not free. It’s a $10 app. For your $10, you will get faster recognition and you also get other forms of currency such as the Canadian dollar, the Australian dollar, the English pound, the euro, and many others. However, again, it’s $10 and the Eye Note app is free. If you’d like to hear a demonstration of voice over working with Eye Note, feel free to head on over to AppleVis.com, where you’ll also find a lot of other information about apps and there accessibility and both the iOS and Mac platforms for individuals who are blind, have low vision, or who are deaf blind. From AppleVis.com, I’m Scott Davert with this week’s app worth mentioning.
Today on assistive technology update, I’m excited to talk to a friend of mine, Amy Goldman, who is the coexecutive director of the Institute on disabilities at Temple University. Amy and I have known each other for a wild to the work that we do with the Assistive Technology Act, but she has recently been appointed to the NJC at ASHA. We’re going to die to this alphabet soup here in a second and talk exactly about what that means. I guess I could also say AAC and have even more letters to throw in there.
Amy is joining me on Skype this morning. Amy, how are you?
AMY GOLDMAN: Great, thanks, Wade.
WADE WINGLER: Thank you so much for taking time out of your day. I know that we are all busy working in the field, and I appreciate it when you can take some time to talk to us. I got a newsletter that said you were recently added to the NJC at ASHA, and frankly, I knew more about Amy then I didn’t know about the NJC at that point. I thought it would be fun for us to talk about this. Can you tell me first a brief bit about your job there at Temple and then get into this new position with the NJC.
AMY GOLDMAN: Sure. And the coexecutive director as you mentioned, and the Institute is one of 67 UCED’s, University Centers of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, across the country. As such, the Institute is also the lead agency for the Assistive Technology Act program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I have the prior role as the program director for PIAT, Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology, but two years ago when I became the coexecutive director, I stepped back a little bit from the day to day management of PIAT, but Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology is one of the 50 6AT act programs across the United States.
WADE WINGLER: For folks who know our program, that’s the Pennsylvania version of the INDATA Project where we broadcast from. So talk about the NJC a little bit and what it means.
AMY GOLDMAN: So the NJC stands for the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities. Now you know why we say NJC for short. It’s actually not in the American Speech Language and Hearing Association, or ASHA, but the NJC website and its resources are hosted by ASHA, and that website is www.asha.org/njc. So I’ll give you a little bit of the history – and as we go to the interview, I’m sure it will become clear that this is a multi-organization entity. So it started in 1984 when the then counsel of language speech and hearing consultants and state education agencies initiated efforts to develop national guidelines to develop and implement educational programs to meet the needs of children with significant communication disabilities. Out of that, there came a symposium in 1985 that generated 33 consensus statements around assumptions and recommendations basic to the provision of adequate and appropriate services to meet the communication needs of those children. The symposium participants also recognized that these interorganizational efforts needed to continue, so one of the recommendations with that ASHA as well as TASH, which used to stand for The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, and is now just TASH, were charged with organizing an entity that would continue to address and enhance the provision of communication services to those individuals.
So in 1986, ASHA and TASH organized the National Joint Committee and issued invitations to other organizations. So the committee kindly consists of representatives from ASHA; AAIDD, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the American Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA; the American Physical Therapy Association, APTA; the Association of Assistive Technology Act programs, ATAP; the Council for Exceptional Children, CEC, their division for communicative disabilities and deafness; RESNA, Rehab Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America; TASH; and USAAC, United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
The interdisciplinary composition of the committee really reflects how pervasive the importance of education is in all areas of human functioning.
WADE WINGLER: Amy, it sounds like there’s a whole lot of organizations were really focused on communication and assistive technology. Pulling together, what do the activities look like? What is the NJC doing, and what are some of the main issues that you guys are facing right now or addressing?
AMY GOLDMAN: Okay, so some of the main issues include the lack of individuals who are prepared as providers to deliver the appropriate services for individuals with complex communication needs and those needs are usually accompanied by intellectual and development of disabilities. So we’re actually not talking about people who have acquired their communication disability, for example through ALS, but rather individuals with lifelong needs in the area of communication. Again, we’re talking about individuals who are essentially nonspeaking or do not have functional speech that will serve them across their day and across a variety of communication partners. So clearly that is one of the challenges, that almost 40 years after the formation of the NJC, we still see that services to these individuals, where they even exist, are poor. So that is one of the things that keeps us going if you will.
WADE WINGLER: Well, and as I was looking – I’m sorry, go ahead.
AMY GOLDMAN: I was going to talk about one of what I think is the most important documents that can be found at asha.org/njc, which is the Communication Bill of Rights.
WADE WINGLER: That’s so funny, Amy, because I was going to say “I was on the website, and I saw this Bill of Rights, and I was intrigued. So let’s talk about it.”
AMY GOLDMAN: Okay, so we know that in the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, the freedom of speech is one of our guarantees. Yet we know that individuals with complex communication needs who don’t have access to speech I certainly challenged in their everyday lives. So the Communication Bill of Rights emphasizes the fact that all individuals, regardless of the extent or severity of their disabilities, have a basic right to effect through communication the conditions of their own existence.
There’s a quote which I’m going to paraphrase from Daniel Webster. He said, “If all my possessions were taken from me, save one, I would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I could regain the rest.” I think that sort of sums up how communication can give us control, self-determination, so this is a very important documents, and there’s both a word version and a fancier version that I say to people print it out and post it on the walls. Paper the walls with that Communication Bill of Rights.
These include the Right to request desired objects, but not just objects, actions, events, and persons, and to express personal preferences; the Right to be offered choices and alternatives; the Right to reject or refuse; the Right to request and be given attention; the right to request feedback or information; the Right to active treatment and intervention in order to communicate and whatever modes work; the Right to have your communication acknowledged and responded to; the Right to have access at all times to any needed augmentative and alternative communication devices or other assistive devices – and by the way, to have those devices in good working order.
WADE WINGLER: with charged batteries.
AMY GOLDMAN: with charged batteries. And by the way, with support so that device can be kept up-to-date.
The Right to an environment that fosters and supports communication; the right to be informed about what’s going on in your environment; the Right to be communicated with in a respectful manner; and the Right to be communicated with in ways that are meaningful, understandable, and culturally and linguistically appropriate.
So I do encourage people to review those Bill of Rights and ask themselves, “When I am working with individuals with these communication challenges, and my acting in a way that supports the communication Bill of Rights.? Am my providing the kind of intervention, if I am providing intervention, that will give the individual full access to these communication rights?”
WADE WINGLER: Amy, I think that is great advice. I’m also going to stick a link in our show notes over to the website so that folks can get direct access to that. Amy, I know you’ve been involved with NJC for just a few months now. I’m interested in what you see as your role and your plan for involvement with the NJC. I know you bring a lot of experience to the field and obviously energy and passion. What is this going to look like?
AMY GOLDMAN: So I already say that I have a unique contribution, and that is I think I’m bringing a lifespan perspective to the NJC. Much of their work to date has been focused on children. I’d like to see the focus to be more inclusive across age span to include transition to post-secondary education, independent living and employment, and in particular employment. We know that effective communication is the key to so much, and I think the NJC can contribute very significant role to looking at how communication needs to be bolstered in order to result in more employment of persons with disabilities and particularly individuals who have significant communication challenges.
WADE WINGLER: I think that’s an excellent focus. I’m glad that you’re going to be leading the charge with that. I see that need myself. It’s one thing to be doing work on the behalf of kids, but those kids grow up. They’re going to have needs that extend beyond that. Amy, I feel like you and I could probably sit and talk about this all day, but we’re almost out of time for the interview. We remind folks the website address and how to get more information about the NJC and maybe provide contact information. If they want to reach out to you, how should they do that?
AMY GOLDMAN: The NJC is www.asha.org/njc. My contact information is pretty easy, amy.goldman@temple.edu. I welcome any questions that people might have. Feel free to contact me. My phone number – we don’t do too much voice anymore – is 215-204-3862.
WADE WINGLER: Excellent, Amy Goldman is my friend and the coexecutive director at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University and newly appointed to the NJC. Amy, thank you so much for being with us today.
AMY GOLDMAN: Thank you, Wade.
WADE WINGLER: Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? Call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Looking for show notes from today’s show? Head on over to EasterSealstech.com. Shoot us a note on Twitter @INDATAProject, or check us out on Facebook. That was your Assistance Technology Update. I’m Wade Wingler with the INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana.
