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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.
I Can Connect, the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Project with Jerry Berrier and Joan Becker | www.icanconnect.org
The Phorm case adds rising buttons to your iPad Mini’s keyboard http://buff.ly/1EgPRoF
Beeping eggs help blind children join hunt http://buff.ly/1zYufH2
Apple puts Environment VP Lisa Jackson in charge of boosting accessibility efforts http://buff.ly/1M5YnGb
We’re just a step away from fully autonomous self-driving cars http://buff.ly/1BI6kjP
On the Hill with Audrey Busch www.ataporg.org
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JOAN BECKER: Hello, I am Joan Becker come and I am a trainer with I Can Connect.
JERRY BERRIER: Hi, this is Jerry Berrier, and I’m one of the managers of the I Can Connect program which is part of the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program, 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 of 197 of assistive technology update. It’s scheduled to be released on March 6 of 2015.
Today my guest star Jerry Berrier and Joan Becker from I Can Connect, the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program. It’s excited to talk about what they are making available in terms of equipment for folks who are deaf and blind.
We also have a visit from Audrey Busch from a tap tells us what’s happening in the Washington DC political atmosphere. We’ve got a thing called the Phorm case which makes a tactile interface on your iPad mini; some beeping Easter eggs for children who are blind or visually impaired; information from Apple about who is the new head of accessibility efforts over there; and some technical details on what might lead up to a fully autonomous self-driving car.
We hope you’ll check out our website at www.eastersealstech.com, call our listener line at 317-721-7124, or shoot us a note on Twitter at INDATA Project.
If you haven’t heard, next week we lost our first episode of our new question in a show. Do you have an assistive technology question? Treat us and we may include that answer to your question on our next show. All you have to do is set in a tweet and just include the hashtag #ATFAQ. We’ll monitor for that and you might just hear your question being asked on the AT FAQ show. Send a note on Twitter #ATFAQ.
So one of the challenges of using tablet computers, especially among people who are blind or visually impaired, is a slick piece of glass without anything tactile on it. I think we’ve long thought about the fact that there needs to be some sort of a way to have a tactile interface there. There’s a company called Tactus. They’ve created a new product called Phorm. Right now it’s an add-on case for your iPad mini. The way this works is you put your iPad mini into a case, and on the back there is a slider that you grab a two or three fingers and slider to the left or the right. Then the glass on the case that covers the iPad raises up and puts a tactile keyboard on top of the iOS keyboard. Right now they have it working a portrait mode and it looks like it only works in portrait mode. But it actually creates a situation with the glass raises up and makes plastic knobs that are over each one of the keys so you have a fully tactile keyboard.
At first I thought it was a little bit of interest and trickery, but when I realized and watching the video on Engadget that it’s basically a microfluidic system. So there is a reservoir of the word that says in the case on the side, and when you slide that bar from the left or the right, it forces fluid into these blister things that are smooth most of the time but then cover the keyboard when you enact this thing. Right now it’s preorder availability for $99. They are looking at selling them this summer for $149. In the video that I watched in Engadget, they also show an android tablet where, instead of this being a case for you slide a lever to activate the bubbles, or the blisters of the word, it actually is built into the operating system so that when you activate an application and the keyboard appears on the device, those little bubbles fill up with fluid and make the balls that you need to have that tactile experience.
It’s not what I am hoping for long-term with a fully developed version of this product, but it is something that is on the way to getting us toward a tactile tablet that has some pretty robust application. I’m going to pop a link in the show notes over to Engadget where you can not only see a photo gallery and some technical details, but then a video of this thing being used. It’s called Phorm from Tactus, and I’ll have a link in our show notes.
I found the story here that I thought is both clever and heartwarming. Over in Toledo, Ohio, I found a story from the Toledo Blade, their newspaper over there. There are a group of people who are trading in Easter egg hunt for kids who are blind or visually impaired. The headline reads, “Beeping ask help blind children join hunt.” Apparently there is a gentleman from Alabama named David Hyche, and he has created a thing called the Rachel project named after his daughter. They figured out how to take plastic Easter eggs that are used in the springtime around the Easter holiday and drilled holes in them and put batteries in them and made them beep. The folks over in Toledo have contacted Mr. Hyche to figure out how to do this. And then the folks contacted the Toledo Police Department bomb squad to get some help in constructing these beeping eggs. The folks at the police department were usually slipping away or to deactivate explosive devices are actually using those skills to create these very colorful beeping Easter eggs so the kids were blind or visually impaired can have an experience with their sighted counterparts in finding the eggs. They said the bad news is there’s not enough room for the beeping device and candy and was asked, so when a kid finds these beeping ask, they had to swap it in for some candy. Kind of a cool thing. We are getting close to spring and to the Easter holiday in it that I would share that with you. To that end, I will pop a link in the show notes and you can learn how the bomb squad in Toledo are building beeping Easter eggs for kids who are blind or visually impaired.
We are often excited to talk about Apple and the accessibility here, and I personally excited about what the Apple Watch might mean later this year. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, recently talked about the fact that Lisa Jackson has now been put in charge of accessibility efforts over at Apple. He made a press release where he talked about the fact that she has had a great impact on the environmental side of Apple and what he wants to take that skilled at developing global efforts over to the accessibility side. Ms. Jackson started with Apple back in 2013 and recently has taken on this new responsibility. Some of the specific things that are supposed to be done in terms of accessibility with the Apple Watch is access to accessibility settings on-the-fly, voiceover that is going to work on the Apple Watch interface, the ability to pinch and zoom on the Apple Watch so that it’s easier to see come in and also some settings to reduce motion control, stereo audio balance, reduce transparency. A lot of that stuff that we see on iOS now. We are excited to see what Ms. Jackson might be doing in terms of accessibility, where her efforts might lead. I’m going to pop a link in the show notes over to the 9To5Mac article where you can read more about Lisa Jackson who is now heading up accessibility over at Apple.
In the news in general and on the show for sure, we talk about autonomous vehicles. We talked about the fact that Google is working on a driverless car and Apple seems to be have recently divulged that they are working on an autonomous car. I see an article here from the Calgary Herald that has a headline that reads, “We are just a step away from fully autonomous self driving cars.” The thing that I find interesting about this article is a kind of breaks down some of the technology into some level of detail. We all imagine this self driving car that somebody with a disability or otherwise can get in and say take me to work and it does it. But the author here talks about specifically the 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T, which is according to the article about a $34,000 midsize sedan. It has some very specific features that are moving toward that fully self driving car. Some of the things that are mentioned in the article is to review camera to let you see what’s behind you and then interact with that on a touchscreen. It talks about blind spot detection to let you know when something is coming up in your plant spot. It talks about Lane departure warning systems where a camera contract lane markers and let you know if you’re outside of your lane, lane change assistance, forward collision warning to let you know if you’re getting ready to rear and someone took a truly interesting, I think, to talk about an autonomous car. But then this article does an interesting job of breaking down some of those components and what really makes an autonomous self driving car. It’s my hope, and I think yours too, that one of these days we do have cars that can be used by somebody who is blind or has other disabilities and can just get everywhere they want to go more independently. Kind of futuristic, kind of cool stuff. I will pop a link in the show notes to this Calgary Herald article and you can read about some of the details that are moving us toward fully self driving cars.
It’s time for On the Hill with Audrey. Audrey Busch is the Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs. In her update, she lets us know how the power of politics is impacting people with disabilities and their use of assistive technology. Learn more about Audrey and her work at ATAPorg.org.
AUDREY BUSCH: This is Audrey Bush, Policy Director for the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, coming to you with your monthly Washington update.
After the flurry of the president’s budget release, Congress started to move forward and begin the appreciations process. Even with the intermittent snowstorms piling onto the Northeast, Congress have not allotted to stop them from pushing forward with their work. The House Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee begin their discussions over the president’s budget proposal and hosted the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell; administrator of the Administration for Community Living, Kathy Greenlee; and the secretary of education, Arnie Duncan; to hear from them about the funding priorities presented in the president’s budget for these agencies.
Members of the subcommittee shared the lofty increases included in the president’s budget paid for with tax increases that have no chance of passing this Congress were far-fetched and reminded these agency leaders that there are hard choices ahead with funding decisions given the budget restraints that lie ahead in fiscal year 2016 due to the agreed-upon spending levels in the budget control act of 2012.
To add more chaos to defuse heavy snowfall, Congress continue to deliberate on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. The Senate’s progress is slowed by their willingness to make this reauthorization a bipartisan effort while the house has plowed through to reauthorize the law fairly quickly, working little with the minority to develop a bipartisan bill. The last week in February, the house dedicated three-day to deliberate their NCLB reauthorization titled the Student Success Act. But after I was a speculation on the last day of debate, it was decided to pull the bill from the floor because the GOP did not have the votes to pass the bill due to conservative opposition. Specifically the bill came under fire from conservative organizations, some very powerful lobbying organizations, felt that out the bill actually didn’t go far enough and restraining the federal government’s role in education.
So while things have fallen apart in the House on this reauthorization, the Senate is still plowing forward, and all eyes look to their leadership on this issue to get something done.
Such tussles in Congress are just the beginning of what is to come as funding decisions must be made and cuts are in store and some way, shape, and form. Amid weather conditions and all, the show on Capitol Hill must go on, and stay tuned for my next update to show the latest and greatest from our nation’s capital.
WADE WINGLER: So before I jump into the interview, I have to do a little bit of a quick disclaimer. Easter Seals Crossroads, the home of the in data project, does a lot of assistive technology direct services. One of those things we do in Indiana is assistive technology equipment training and support for people who are deaf/blind. As we go into our conversation today, know that we do this stuff. We think it’s great work, and we are part of it come up that this is a program that we are involved in from a clinical services program.
With that, I need to say I’ve seen in the press recently I Can Connect and the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program. I really wanted to make sure that you guys in the audience were familiar with this program and some of the amazing resources that are available because of it. I have joining the online today Jerry Berrier and Joan Becker who are with the I Can Connect program. Before we start, Jerry, Joan, think is much for being with us today.
JERRY BERRIER: Good to be here.
JOAN BECKER: We are delighted to be sure.
WADE WINGLER: Folks, can you do a little bit of a background information. Jerry, can we start with you and tell me a little bit about yourself, why you are involved in I Can Connect come and what your role is there?
JERRY BERRIER: I was a Verizon employee for 24 years. My last position with Verizon was in the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities in Massachusetts. I specialized come even though I had no prior experience with that, in working with braille using death/blind consumers. I became acquainted with what equipment was available back then. This is in the 90s. It’s kind of how I got started. And that I was and access technology consultant, and then Perkins recruited me when they were developing plans to create the I Can Connect program here and put me on board is one of the managers to work with the program, helping to develop it and also as a trainer. So I spent some of my time doing training at some of it as a manager.
WADE WINGLER: Joanne, some question for you.
JOAN BECKER: Perkins recruited me approximately 2 1/2 years ago. I’ve always been keenly interested in access technology and that’s in the background as a trainer as well as other positions. When I came on board, I am one of the people to provide training and also technical support.
WADE WINGLER: Thank you for that. That helps that you both have some history in industry. I’ve got some names here I need some clarification on. We’ve got Perkins; we’ve got I Can Connect; and we’ve got the alphabet soup of NDBEDP (National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program). Can one of you give me some clarification on those terms so we know you’re talking about?
JERRY BERRIER: I’ll be happy to do that. The NDBEDP is the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program. We came up with I Can Connect as a name that was a little easier to remember. It kind of relates to what this program does which is provide equipment and training to enable people who are deaf/blind to communicate over the Internet, the cellular network, or the landline network or some other advance electronic network. So I Can Connect is what we call it. The official name of the program is National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program.
WADE WINGLER: And Perkins fits in there how?
JERRY BERRIER: Perkins actually fits in a couple of ways. We were awarded an outreach contract for the National Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution Program, so we handle doing national outreach. It was through that that we developed the I Can Connect name. When this program was first developed, the FCC offered folks around the country the opportunity to apply to become the entity for each individual state. One of the first things we did here at Perkins was starting to call around to all the states. We called blindness agencies and other agencies that serve deaf/blind folks and encouraged agencies to consider applying because they wanted to be sure that this program is successful and that it’s available to deaf/blind folks around the country. As it ended up, we didn’t compete with anybody, but we did apply in states where there were no other applicants took as it stands now, I think we are up to 18 states that Perkins is managing the we are also involved in a number of other states. We provide equipment procurement took we provide a database book we do a number of other things and some of the states. So we are involved in someplace and all around the country appeared
WADE WINGLER: A quick point of clarification, we have a pretty large international audience to listen to the show. Do you guys know, is there something like this in other countries? I think it’s relevant regardless, but is there an equivalent in other countries?
JERRY BERRIER: I’m not aware of anything in any other country. This is a funded program. No, I’m not aware of anything internationally.
JOAN BECKER: Nor am I.
WADE WINGLER: I’m not either. Maybe that’s an interesting point of action for some of our international listeners. I think I know the answer to this question but I’m going to ask it anyway. Why should we care about telecommunications for people who are deaf/blind?
JERRY BERRIER: Let me answer that by saying how this program, what caused it to become available. It’s part of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. When that act was enacted, it was recognized by the FCC and others that people who are deaf/blind are probably the most disenfranchised group when it comes to having access to modern communications facilities like the general public use because equipment such as braille devices and screen magnification devices and that sort of thing tend to be rather expensive, and for a number of reasons, folks who are deaf/blind have difficulty accessing it. So they decided we should have a program to get people who are deaf/blind access. To answer your question about why we should care, I think part of it is because people are deaf/blind have more difficulty finding modern ways of communicating than most people do. They need the communications because if folks with no disabilities can’t communicate one way, they are likely to be able to find another way to do it. But people who are deaf/blind cannot always have the option. Joanne, anything you want to add to that? I don’t think I said that as clearly as I could have picked
JOAN BECKER: I think you said it briefly pick it is so important to know that at this point we have some technology that really can help with communication pick I think this is a critical program for people to be able to participate and receive not only the equipment but the training that’s going to make it possible for them to be able to communicate. This, I think, has been such a wonderful program took we are doing a lot of work with a lot of different people with a varying ranges of aptitudes and attitudes toward technology. It makes for a really interesting program.
WADE WINGLER: I think people are probably at the core of all of this. To me little bit about how the program works and who qualifies.
JERRY BERRIER: It’s a reimbursement program which means that the entities managing it do not get funding until they provide equipment to people. We are funded based on what equipment and training we are able to provide to people. The program works like this: to qualify, the person must be categorized as deaf/blind based on the National Helen Keller act definition of deaf blindness. It is a rather broad functional definition. So if the person has the two disabilities and has significant difficulty in their daily lives based on the combination of deafness and blindness, than they could qualify from a disability standpoint. That doesn’t mean you have to be totally deaf/blind by any means, but they do have to have significant vision and hearing loss, or a progressive disorder such as Usher syndrome or one of the others that affects both hearing and vision. Then they had to meet income guidelines which means that their household income has to be within 400% of the federal poverty guidelines for income. If they are on certain programs such as SSI or food stamps or section 8 housing or a number of other low income-based programs, those can qualify automatically from the income standpoint. The third thing I’ll say is they have to have prerequisite skills to be able to get equipment. They also have to be willing to pay for the services needed for the equipment. We can provide the equipment. We can provide training. But we cannot pay for Internet service or telephone service or anything like that.
WADE WINGLER: So tell me a little bit about the kinds of equipment, the services come and what it looks like when somebody receive services from the program.
JERRY BERRIER: Joanne, you want to take that one?
JOAN BECKER: There are a range of products and technologies that are available to people. People who are blind will often use a screen reader and a braille display in combination with a screen reader. We have various notetakers. We have a range of magnification solutions, anything from software installed on computers and video magnifiers, many different specific solutions that just depend on what that person is able to maximize the use of.
JERRY BERRIER: That really kind of boils down to we can provide any combination of equipment that’s available that enhances the person’s access to what we call distance communications. If it doesn’t, we can’t provide it. No matter how useful the device is, if it doesn’t meet the requirements of distance communication, then we can provide it.
WADE WINGLER: And is not just the equipment. It’s training and support, right?
JERRY BERRIER: Correct. We go and set up the equipment and train the person to use that. If there’s a repair needed, we typically pay for that unless there was gross negligence involved. So we are in the third year of a pilot program. We do anticipate the program becoming permanent after the end of the pilot which will be at the end of June of this year. Although we don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like at that point, the program will continue permanently.
WADE WINGLER: Obviously there is a lot of changes in assistive technology, especially in this space. How do you guys stay on top of the latest stuff and make sure that you’re using the most effective technology?
JERRY BERRIER: I rely on Joanne for that.
JOAN BECKER: I rely on Jerry for that.
WADE WINGLER: Hey, wait a minute.
JOAN BECKER: We obviously go to all of the technology conferences. We were just at ATIA and we will be at CSUN. In addition, reading and finding out as much as we can about any new development.
JERRY BERRIER: The way I do it is mostly reviewing things on the Internet. I’m on a bust the list serves. I go to website and read RSS feeds and all that sort of thing just to – is not easy to keep up because things change and people develop solutions that maybe we haven’t even thought of. We also communicate a lot among ourselves. We have a trainers’ forum that our trainers can use in various ways we can let each other know about new possibilities.
WADE WINGLER: As I mentioned earlier, I think this is really all about the people. I’m going to invite either of you to tell me a story about how this is impacted positively somebody’s life.
JOAN BECKER: I can tell you about a woman that I’ve been working with. She is taking college courses. She is now using a computer with notification. Something which seemed so simple as understanding how to create a document and emailing that document to a professor, that for her is such an incredibly important step and she never knew how to do that. This kind of training helps her learn all of those aspects of how to be a student more confidently and independently. It was nice to be able to see her able to take on that challenge and be able to work with it in such a way that you can now email professors her completed assignments.
JERRY BERRIER: This might be a good spot for me to mention our contact information just in case someone wants to learn more about the program, because there’s a lot that we are not going to have time to say here.
WADE WINGLER: Absolutely.
JERRY BERRIER: Our website is very easy. It’s www.ICanConnect.org. The telephone number is a national number, 1-800-825-4595. If a person who is deaf/blind calls that number and wants to be contacted, our national call center which is located in New York will make sure that the proper state is notified and that someone contacts the person.
WADE WINGLER: Excellent. Jerry Berrier and Joan Becker are both with I can connect and have shared information with us today and how they’re working with assistive technology to help improve the lives of folks who are deaf/blind. Jerry, Joan, thank you so much for being with us today.
JOAN BECKER: Thank you.
JERRY BERRIER: 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.
