Pacific Mobility Center

Stairlifts - Lifts - Mobility Products

disabled

Technological Innovations in Accessibility

By

A disability is any physical, sensory, or cognitive impairment that makes daily activities more difficult. Many people are born with a disability. Others acquire a disability later in life, from an accident, an illness, or the aging process. Many older individuals are diagnosed with chronic conditions that lead to functional or cognitive disabilities. Pacific Mobility Center specializes in products that give those with disabilities freedom and independence.

Over a billion people globally have some form of disability: 360 million people worldwide have moderate to profound hearing loss; 285 million people are visually impaired (39 million of whom are blind) and 75 million people need a wheelchair (of which, only 5-15 percent actually have access to one).

In recent decades, new and innovative technologies have helped lower the barriers that people with disabilities encounter in their daily lives, helping them with tasks that able-bodied people take more or less for granted, such as speaking, travelling, reading, and writing. These new technologies can be classified as assistive, adaptive, or accessible.

Assistive technology

Assistive technology is technology designed specifically to improve a disabled person’s functional capabilities, and includes a wide range of devices and services, including IT-enabled prosthetics and implants, custom computer interfaces, and accessible communication tools. Adaptive technology provides a mechanism that allows people with disabilities to use technology that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Text-to-speech technology, for example, helps users with vision impairments to be able to “read” materials that are written. Computer screen readers and screen magnifiers help make computer output accessible for visually impaired users. Accessible technology helps remove barriers and make the world more accessible for people with disabilities. Speech recognition software, for example, has many uses such as dictation or automated telephone systems; however, the technology can also provide independence for quadriplegics by allowing them to control a computer with their voice. Consumer Electronics Shows annually feature these types of products.

While there remains a long way to go before all new technologies are made accessible to people with disabilities, in recent years there has been a great deal of progress. Mainstream technologies are becoming increasingly adaptable, and specialist technologies have, in many cases. become increasingly affordable.

Some examples of innovative new products that further help disabled people function more easily, while acquiring more independence, include:

• Dot: the world’s first Braille smartwatch
• Talkitt: an innovative application that translates unintelligible pronunciation into understandable speech
• The Sesame Phone: designed to be used with small head movements, tracked by its front-facing camera
• Uni: a tool that detects hand and finger gestures that it converts into text
• The Finger Reader: a wearable tool that can scan a text and give real-time audio feedback of the words it detects
• Be My Eyes: an application that connects blind people with volunteers from around the world who can help with simple tasks
• AXS map: an app that carries information about wheelchair-accessible ramps and restrooms in public places
• Transcence: an app that converts spoken words into text in real time for group messaging
• Liftware: a self-stabilizing handle on which one can attach an eating utensil like a fork or spoon for patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease or other forms of motion disorders that causes hand tremors.

Some other new and/or emerging technologies include:

• Driverless cars
• Smart glasses that include facial recognition software which interprets facial expressions and tells the wearer how the person in front of them is feeling. This could be particularly useful for people Asperger’s Syndrome, for instance, who struggle to interpret facial expressions unassisted
• Prosthetic limbs that allow wearers to “feel” touched objects, while offering better control and efficiency
• All terrain wheelchairs, capable of scaling uneven surfaces
• Smart belts that can detect when a person is falling in order to deploy air cushions prior to impact
• Medical exoskeletons which can be used to assist people who have trouble walking
• Smart canes that can alert a user’s relative is there is any unusual use or movements of the cane

Contact Pacific Mobility Center with any questions about how you and/or your loved ones can benefit from the best accessibility products available today: Stairlifts, Residential Porch Lifts, Vehicle Lifts, Ceiling Lifts, Shower Buddy, Electric Door Opener, Ramps, Scooters, Lift Chairs, Wheel Chairs, Power Electric Wheel Chairs, Walkers, Turning Automotive Seats, Automotive Hand Controls, Pool Lifts and Other Aids to Daily Living.

Don’t Let Mobility Keep You From Voting!

By

New laws passed in many states requiring voters to present valid state or federal identification are bringing back to light a subject often overlooked in the modern American political landscape: disabled voter disenfranchisement. As many as 37 states have passed or are considering voted ID legislation, which could potentially affect, amongst other groups, disabled and elderly voters disproportionately. Disabled and elderly voters are less likely to have ID, and would be prevented from voting under the new or proposed laws. There are also other alarming trends.
A recent study by Rutgers University reveals disabled and elderly voters were disproportionately less likely to vote, a new article by NBC reports. According to the study, disabled and elderly voters were 7% less likely to vote than other groups of voters. The reason? In short, mobility. The study reports that despite court rulings, less than 33% of polling places were completely obstruction-free.
How is this possible in modern America? How can a federal court order be so blatantly flouted? One way state and local governments dodge the order is by allowing absentee ballots and curbside voting. Absentee ballots are ballots mailed in by the voter ahead of the election date. Curbside voting involves mobility-challenged voters staying in their cars while poll workers bring their ballot out to them and assist them in voting. Both of these methods, however, have drawbacks.
Many disabled voters feel that while these options are convenient, some feel they are poor substitutes for voters who want to vote traditionally. Absentee ballots must be mailed well ahead of election dates to ensure they are valid, and hence voters may miss the opportunity to change their planned vote at the last minute due to late breaking developments with a particular party or candidate. In addition, absentee ballots are often not counted unless the race is close. With approximately 11% of voters currently disabled and as many as 36% of voters of 65 disabled, this can lead to the disenfranchisement of a large segment of the population. Voters 65 and older alone comprise 17% of registered voters. Curbside voting is usually counted in the regular vote, but can sometimes lead voters to feel embarrassed or as if they are burdening overworked poll workers. This can lead many disabled voters to avoid using it where available, leading to a drop in the number of disabled people casting ballots.
“People with disabilities should have the same options as everyone else has,” Lisa Schur, a Rutgers University associate professor, said in the article. “Voting in a polling place is an important and symbolic ritual.” Do you feel the same, but are having trouble with your mobility or having trouble accessing your polling place? Pacific Mobility Solutions is here to help.

How Can Pacific Mobility Solutions Help You?

If you are disabled and/or suffering mobility difficulties, please come and see us or call us at (760) 471-8884 to schedule an appointment or drop on in to take a free test drive one of our powerchairs and to find out more about having your vehicle equipped. Many of our powerchairs are capable of negotiating many of the obstacles you may find in real-world situations such as polling places. We’d love to help you find the right one for you, and we can even help you with the Medicare paperwork. We also rent powerchairs and scooters. Come see us today!