Join Our Kickstarter Campaign and Make ModMath 2.0 A Reality!

This post has been written by Dawn Denberg, creator of ModMath. She recently started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to add additional features to the iPad version and also create an Android version in the near future.

If you�re a regular reader of this blog, you may recall my post last September about ModMath, a new iPad app my husband and I created to help kids with dysgraphia complete math homework without pen or paper.

We built this app out of desperation. Our son, who is dyslexic and dysgraphic, was falling behind in math because his handwriting is so terrible, even he can�t read it. And if you can�t write math problems, you can�t solve the math problems.

 So we created a free app that uses the iPad touch screen and an on-screen keypad to set up and solve math problems. Assignments are laid out on virtual graph paper that can be e-mailed to the teacher. The response to ModMath from the LD community has been overwhelming. Thousands have shared our story with their social media communities. And, to date, we�ve had more than 26,000 downloads.

We continue to receive a steady stream of letters thanking us for creating ModMath. But we receive an equal number of queries asking for additional features like a keyboard with buttons for variables, coefficients, integers, exponents and other advanced math concepts. Imagine a scientific calculator, and you�ll get the picture. However, like the original app, it won�t do the calculations for the student. It just sets up the problems and and keeps their work legible. We hope to level the playing field, not give dysgraphic kids an unfair advantage.

Also on our agenda: Once we establish the more advanced iPad version, we�ll duplicate the functionality and make it available for Android tablets as well. Other possible upgrades include the ability to save your work to Drop Box or Google docs.

We are committed to adding whatever enhancements we can afford. However, we�ve already tapped out our personal funds on the beta version. We�ve launched a Kickstarter campaign, where anyone moved to do so can make a donation. We set our goal at $20,000. That�s enough to cover the enhanced iPad version. But we�ll need additional funds to get that Android version built. So, feel free to overfund us. Kickstarter uses an all or nothing model, meaning if we aim to high we get nothing. So we settled on the minimum we need and hope to get much more.

 Give if you can. And if you can�t, just promoting our story on social media will help us reach our goal. Kids with learning disabilities have enough challenges. Please help us to help them around one of their many obstacles.

ModMath Kickstarter Campaign 

Image source: Flickr

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SnapType For Occupational Therapy Has More Updates And Features Now

This post has been written by Amberlynn Gifford - creator of the ever popular app "SnapType for Occupational Therapy".

When I created SnapType last year, I knew it would help children struggling with handwriting. However, I could never have imagined the outcry of support I received from therapists and parents. Each week I read several emails from users with stories of how SnapType has changed their lives.

"Thank you for this app! You are a blessing! I can honestly tell you that I have spent many hours crying and hurting inside while watching my son struggle to write pages of sentences and spelling words and other homework assignments. He screams out with frustration. It's been so bad that I have stopped him and honestly wrote for him, left handed to make it look more like a neater version of his because I could not take it anymore! Now, with SnapType, he completes his worksheets, show off his intelligence and feels more confident than ever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

That was an email I received from a mother who felt like she was losing her son. I tear up while reading emails like this from parents and it brings me so much joy to know that these children are succeeding with the help of SnapType.

I have learned along the way that SnapType helps not only children with dysgraphia but also individuals with several other learning disabilities, low vision, low muscle tone, and Parkinson's. It is so exciting to learn that a variety of individuals can benefit from SnapType.

When I first had the idea for SnapType, I wanted to test out the idea as quickly and inexpensively as possible. So I paid a developer in India $300 to build the first version of the app. It was so basic, but it was the perfect way to quickly find out if anyone would find value in my idea. With tens of thousands of downloads, and over a hundred emails from users, it was clear that people were finding value in the app.

Every week emails came in from users who were so happy to have found SnapType. But they were also asking for more functionality. They wanted to print and email from within the app, save documents to work on later, import documents from the image gallery and much more. The initial SnapType app lacked all of these features yet people still used the app because there was nothing else like it on the market that could help their kids and students.

I wanted to give the users what they were asking for. But being a full time occupational therapy graduate student, I couldn't afford to pay thousands of dollars to get the app made. I asked the developer in India if he would be interested in partnering with me to create a new app but without the cash, he wasn't interested. So then I reached out to a community of app developers and received interest from a few. Shortly thereafter, I started working with a developer and it was going great. Then the emails stopped. He fell off the face of the earth it seemed and I was back where I started.

Feeling defeated at the end of September, I reached out to another developer who previously expressed interest and he jumped on board right away. Instantly, we were going back and forth, exchanging ideas and building the app's fundamental layout and features. The communication was prompt and continuous as we crafted the upgrade. I say upgrade, but it's really an all new app, built from the ground up.

The developer, Brendan Kircher, has been instrumental in making SnapType a success. There were

times when I felt overwhelmed because we were moving so quickly and there were so many questions he needed me to answer. I was juggling being a full time grad student, working a part time job 25 hours a week and also spending several hours a day on SnapType. Nevertheless, I appreciated Brendan's speed and pushing because it has helped create a wonderfully powerful and intuitive tool. Without his speed, knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment this would not have been possible.

By Thanksgiving we were ready to share the app and we enlisted the help of two dozen users who were equally passionate about this project. We spent the month of December working with our team of testers to debug and refine the feature set. By early January we submitted the app to Apple and crossed our fingers that they would approve it. Two weeks later we received confirmation that it was in the app store and ready for the world!

As I write this article, SnapType version 2.0 has been public for just a few days. But already the comments are pouring in. Parents, occupational therapists, teachers and students are loving the new features!

SnapType is available for free on the App Store. We wanted to keep it free in order to help as many people as possible. Interestingly, many users asked us to charge for the app. That took me off guard, but they wanted to make sure that we receive some revenue to ensure that we continue to keep the app updated. After lengthy discussions with mentors, users and each other, we decided to keep the app free, but also offer an in-app purchase to provide advanced features for the power users. SnapType Pro enables users to work on multiple documents and also access the a whiteboard feature which turns documents into simplified black and white images, to save ink when printing. SnapType Pro is $4.99, but for a limited time, we're offering it for $2.99.

Another frequent request we receive is for an Android version. I'm happy to say that we've just started working on SnapType for Android (which by the way, requires writing the app all over again in a different programming language with it's own set of challenges). To learn more about the Android version and to stay connected for other SnapType updates, follow SnapType on Facebook or Twitter.

Click here to download SnapType for free on the iPad or iPhone.

Amberlynn Gifford is a 2nd year OT student at Springfield College in Massachusetts. When she's not studying, which is rare, you can find her coaching gymnastics and working on all sorts of creative projects. She will graduate with her masters degree in 2016 and looks forward to working in pediatrics. Connect with Amberlynn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlynngifford. 



Image source: Carissa Rogers

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OtoSense Mobile App: Re-Imagining Alerting Devices For Deaf, Hard Of Hearing

For Joyce Edmiston, 55, who admits she can�t hear her oven timer beeping when she removes her hearing aids, even if she�s in the kitchen, says lack of awareness of these audio alerts and other sounds can be a real problem. 

OtoSense, a sound recognition software company, has developed the first mobile app that identifies and distinguishes the source of incoming audio alerts, including alarms, sirens, timers, bells and other sounds, turning smartphones and tablets into assistive alerting devices for the deaf and hard of hearing. 

Joyce, who runs http://xpressivehandz.
blogspot.com is seen here
with an award.

For people like Joyce and Travis Dougherty, 33, who is deaf, OtoSense offers an adaptable, affordable and useful means of being notified of important sounds in their environment.

Wherever you go, it seems, people, young and old, are using smartphones and tablets. The real value of these devices, however, comes from the mobile applications. 

Smartphones have quite literally become the new form of an assistive device - the all-in-one system that is made all that more powerful with the mobile applications available to download. Today, there are apps that let you watch (even in closed captions), text, video chat, bank, shop, read, listen, take photos and movies, check the weather, traffic and even get updated arrival and departure times during busy holiday travel season. 

Travis, who admittedly is an early adopter when it comes to new technology, says that the time has come for alerting devices to evolve and �putting this kind of technology into a smartphone and tablet just makes sense.� 

Since the birth of his daughter, Travis now wears a Pebble smartwatch, which connects to OtoSense, and he will soon connect the app to his Philips Hue Lights when the next update comes out later this month. 

Most people today have their smartphone and/or tablet within arm's reach at all times, it's the portable computer in their pocket and charging it and keeping it running is important. Certainly that�s the case for Noelle Bell, 32, who has a cochlear implant. 

OtoSense works immediately upon download, coming with a built-in library of standard fire and smoke alarm sounds found in the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, OtoSense can be personalized by users, recording and storing the most significant sounds of their environment, notifying users via flash, vibration and third-party notification including SMS text and push notification.

Noelle Bell, founder/CEO of
Buzz Worthy Social Media.

For Noelle, who pairs OtoSense with her Pebble Smartwatch, says she�s taught the app the sounds of her alarm clock, the doorbell, oven timer and dog barking. 

�It lets me know the audio cues to participate in my environment, and has helped me not feel as isolated in trying to figure out all of the different sounds of modern life,� says Noelle. �For me, the sound of the oven beeping is very similar to the sound of my doorbell, and I�ve recorded both sounds and stored them in my personal library on OtoSense. Now I can distinguish the difference between the two, and that is a real benefit.�

OtoSense is available now on the Google Play store. When the iPhone and iPad versions come out later this month, the cost of the app, on either Google Play or the App Store, will be $4.99 with some additional in-app purchases. OtoSense connects to any smartwatch, alerting user via text and vibration of a particular sound they have recorded and want to be aware of. And with the launch of the app on the App Store, users will be able to connect the app to Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting, customizing notifications.

According to the World Health Organization, there are 390 million people who suffer from a disabling hearing loss. In the United States, there are 48 million people who report a hearing loss according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. 

Please follow OtoSense on Twitter at www.twitter.com/otosense, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/otosense, and Instagram at www.instagram/otosense. If you have questions or want to sign up for our email list, please go to www.otosense.com or email us atexplorers@otosense.com.

This guest blog post was writting by Kathryn M. Quirk. Kathryn leads marketing activities for OtoSense, bringing more than 15 years of experience developing and managing multi-channel communications programs across an array of business sectors. Kathryn has insatiable thirst for news and information, reading, listening and watching everything with eye for how she can develop and share good stories, with a preference for sharing stories about how technology helps people to live more independent and autonomous lives. Always in the back in her mind, are the words of Maya Angelou, who wrote, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel."

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ModMath: Math App For Dysgraphic Children

This is another great story of how a parent decided to find a solution for her kid's disability by creating an app for him and several others who have dysgraphia and help them solve math problems on their iPads! This blog post was written by Dawn Denberg, the inventor of ModMath - an app designed specifically for people with dysgraphia.

One evening, after another homework-related meltdown, I voiced my frustration to my husband, stupefied that I couldn�t find anything to help our son.

When people ask me about the biggest stumbling block for my son, Henry, who has dyslexia and ADHD, I tell them that it is his handwriting. If they�re in the know about learning disabilities, I�ll use dysgraphia, the clinical term for horrific handwriting.

Speech-to-text programs, like Dragon NaturallySpeaking, are a godsend for kids like Henry. My son uses it for almost every subject. It�s useless, however, for mathematics.

This is a big problem because Henry�s handwriting is so bad that often he can�t read it. Because of his working-memory challenges, by the time he gets to step two of any equation, he�s not sure if the number he wrote down was a 4 or a 9. As for creating number columns neat enough to effectively add, subtract, multiply, or divide multi-digit equations, forget it. A 5 from the 10s column, for example, will migrate to the space below a 7 from the 100s column. The final calculations are wildly off base.

Our only option was for Henry to dictate to me how to work through each problem. I wrote down what he said. This was not a workable long-term solution, unless he wanted me to be his college roommate some day. Every so often, I�d force him to work independently. This resulted in frustration, tears, and disappointment.

We tried lots of interventions, everything from pencil huggers to alternative grip pens, and special paper with raised lines to keep his writing more uniform. Years of occupational therapy went nowhere, as did more controversial interventions like vision therapy. Through it all, I searched for an assistive technology to solve this problem. I queried teachers, learning specialists, and other parents in the LD community. I scoured the Internet for leads, but I found nothing.

One evening, after Henry had gotten through another homework-related meltdown, I voiced my frustration to my husband, stupefied that I couldn�t find anything to help our son. I wasn�t looking for a solution, just a sympathetic ear. My husband, though, doesn�t like talking about problems without talking about solutions. Sometimes, I feel like bitching, and sometimes he�s willing to listen. But sometimes we both end up irked by our personality differences. In this case, however, his pragmatism was a stroke of genius. �Why don�t we make one?� he suggested.

So began our journey to create a math app that could help not just our son but any child who struggles with dysgraphia. It�s called ModMath, and it works on an iPad. (You can download it on itunes.apple.com or on modmath.com). It eliminates the need for students to write out math equations longhand. Think Excel, but without a calculator. Kids use the touch screen and on-screen keypad to set up and solve problems. Henry can now work through complicated math concepts � multiplying multi-digit numbers, doing long division, and regrouping and adding fractions with different denominators. The app lays out assignments on virtual graph paper that can be printed out or e-mailed to the teacher. When a child does make a calculation error, his teachers see where he went wrong and offer guidance because the calculations are �written� clearly in front of them.

Don�t be too impressed with our ingenuity. We didn�t write a single line of code. My husband is a creative director and co-owner of a boutique ad agency. He regularly contracts with software developers to create content for clients. So we knew where to go to get the job done.

Friends and colleagues were incredulous that we decided not to charge for the product. �Anyone who has an iPad can afford an app that costs a couple bucks� was a refrain we heard a lot. We don�t disagree with that logic, but our goal is to get ModMath into the hands of as many LD kids as possible. If we don�t charge, the media is more willing to give us free publicity. This increases our opportunity to reach the children and families who need it most.

We hope to create a ModMath 2.0 with additional features. However, we�ve already over-invested in our first app. Download the app and let us know how it has helped your child. We�d love to hear from you at contact@modmath.com.

Dawn Margolis Denberg is a San Francisco-based freelance writer. Her 12-year-old son Henry, who has ADHD and dyslexia, inspires her daily with his ingenuity, creativity, and zest for life. She will be launching a Kickstarter campaign soon to fund an update to ModMath which will allow students to work out algebraic equations. She hopes to build an Android version with similar capabilities.

This blog post originally appeared on ADDitudemag.com

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Spell Master: App That Improves Spelling Skills For Blind Children

What's great about technology, especially in this decade is that everyone has access to a plethora of information and resources that can help them easily find and/or create exactly what they are looking for. This is a huge blessing when it comes to assistive technology because more and more parents are taking things in their own hands using technology to come up with accessibility solutions for their kids instead of waiting for a developer to create something and mass market! Spell Master, an app created by Ruchi Patil, is a great example of that.

Ruchi Patil is a mother of a 10 year kid who is blind. He is a voracious reader and an exceptional

JAWS user. But because he couldn't practice how to spell words using a computer, his spellings were a little weak. To take care of this problem, Ruchi went on to create an iPad app that lets him practice spellings on the go! She emails him a list of words that she wants him to practice and he emails her the results right away straight from Spell Master. Since it is on the iPad, it is more like a game which helps in garnering more of kids' interest and attention. Ruchi's son also attaches an external keyboard to his iPad to type into it. Spell Master also allows kids to test their spellings in various other languages besides English. Sample tests for French, Spanish, and Hindi are included in the app.

It's a simple yet great concept for teaching visually impaired children at a very young age to spell words right. Spell Master is available on the app store for $4.99 and requires iOS 7.0 or later.

The app in itself is amazing, but it is  also a great step towards encouraging parents to develop apps for their kids and loved ones to fulfill their needs!

iTune Store Link: Spell Master

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Assistive Technology Gadgets That Could Change Your Life [Infographic]

Are you or someone you know an Occupational Therapist and/or take care of someone with special needs? Michael Leavy at Home Healthcare Adaptations, a family run company has created this helpful infographic that shows some really useful assistive technology devices that can make life convenient for a lot of people. 

An electric car that people in wheelchairs maneuver  without getting off and folding the wheelchair separately? A gadget that translates head movements into computer mouse movements? Alarm clocks for the deaf? Bookmark this handy infographic for quick reference to some really cool assistive technology gadgets. (click to enlarge)

Click to enlarge

Source: Michael Leavy

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A Blind Legend: Video Game For Blind People

In A Blind Legend, your eyes will be of no help

So close them, sharpen your hearing and your blade�

and embark on an epic, perilous rite of passage.

For the sighted, playing a video game without any video may not make sense at all. But for the blind, it may be the next best thing since sliced bread.

The concept of "video-less" games is being adopted by more and more game developers who want to make video games accessible so that blind people could play them without any trouble. One of the games that will be coming out soon (early 2015) is "A Blind Legend" developed by Dowino studios in France after successfully completing a recent crowdfunding campaign. This is a game in which you play Edward Blake, a knight who has no eyes  and is on a mission to rescue his kidnapped wife. He is accompanied by his daughter Louise, who gives him directions and helps him navigate the environment and  fight Thork's army. There are forests, mountains, dungeons, a furious sea, lots of other obstacles and combat against numerous enemies!

Click to enlarge

This game does not have a video but rather a realistic, 3D sound environment which is most effective when heard using headphones. The sounds coming from different directions help you navigate and take appropriate action. A Blind Legend is very intuitive, and since it is a mobile game, there are various simple gestures that define different actions.

Dowino is aiming to offer non sighted gamers a video game that will give them a rich storyline and an immersive experience, not just a "game" that does things using audio. Once released, this game will be available free of cost for iOS and Android. A demo of the game is available on Dowino's website in English and French for both Windows and Mac. It can be downloaded from here.

To get a feel of what the sound is like, put on your headsets and listen to this clip. 

More from the developers here:

To read more about this A Blind Legend and other similar games, and to know what binaural technology is (that's used in this game), hit the source link.

Source: BBC
Websites: A Blind Legend, Dowino
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud

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SnapType For Occupational Therapy: For Students Who Have Difficulty With Handwriting

 

 

A little compassion, zeal for problem solving, and a sketch on a napkin can do wonders to bring real world solutions for some people! Today's post is written by Amberlynn Gifford, an occupational therapy student, who helped a student diagnosed with dysgraphia keep up with his peers by developing an iPad app for him.

 

Steven* is a 5th grader that I met during my occupational therapy fieldwork this spring. He is diagnosed with Dysgraphia however his mind is sharp, but his handwriting is so messy that he can't even read his own writing. His OT tried countless ways to help him improve his penmanship but nothing seemed to work. The caring OT went so far as to scan his worksheets into a computer but that consumed too much time during class was quite a hassle. Even worse, Steven was very frustrated and getting left behind in class because he couldn't complete the worksheets with the rest of his peers.

 

I thought that there had to be a better way to help Steven keep up with the other kids in his class. Then I had an idea, what if Steven could take a picture of his worksheet using an iPad and then type his answers directly on the screen? I searched all over the app store, but there was nothing that did what I wanted. Well, there were a few apps but they were designed for business people and were far too complex for a child to use.

 

So I sketched out my idea on a napkin and shared it with Steven's OT. She loved the idea. So I put together a detailed mockup of the app and worked with a developer to build it. A few weeks and a few dollars later, I had a working app!

 

Steven's OT and teacher are thrilled. However, the real joy comes from seeing Steven use the app. It's effortless for him to take a picture of a worksheet and use the iPad keyboard to type in the answers. He's no longer left behind in class and is now more confident than ever! While he continues to work on his penmanship, he's now able to keep up with his peers.

 

SnapType is an iPad app that anyone can use. It's available on the app store for free and I'm hoping to help as many kids as I can by reaching out to OTs, teachers and parents.

 

*Name changed for privacy.

Amberlynn Gifford is a 2nd year OT student at Springfield College in Massachusetts. When she's not studying, which is rare, you can find her coaching gymnastics and working on all sorts of creative projects. She will graduate with her masters degree in 2016 and looks forward to working in pediatrics. Connect with Amberlynn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlynngifford

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How Do Blind Users Use Smartphones?

There are several things that are just not easy to understand if you don't have any sort of exposure to them. One of those several things that (especially sighted) people have a hard time understanding is how blind people use smartphones? A device with just a flat screen and one to maybe four physical buttons was the bane of many blind users when it first came out, but we all know that things have changed in the last so many years, and phone have become really accessible. But what does that mean (especially to sighted users who are not necessarily familiar with accessibility)? How does accessibility help blind users? What do they do different with their phones to do what sighted users would do? What kind of apps do they use on their phones?

So many questions!

Jonathan Mosen couldn't have done a better job explaining how and what for would a blind user use their smartphone. See him explain how to turn on voiceover on iDevices, and use it to navigate through apps and use them. He also enlightens us about some special apps specifically for blind users (an app that lets you take pictures of an object and searches a crowdsourced database to identify it) that make use of the smartphone a breeze and also enhance their user experience.

Last but not the least, he emphasizes how important making apps accessible is only because there are more and more blind people using smartphones now. If you are a developer, you cannot afford to ignore accessibility.

Watch this amazing video and share it! This is good knowledge for anyone and everyone!

 Follow @ATBlog2

Source: Twitter
Image source: New York Times

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CanTunes And CanPlan: iOS Apps For Cognitive Impairment

There are certain simple interests we all have that bring us immense pleasure. Needless to say, one of them is listening to music. Thanks to digital music and portable music devices, listening to music is much more fun, and the experience is more special. But what if someone has cognitive impairment and finds maneuvering regular music applications like iTunes difficult?

CanAssist, an assistive technology organization, has released an app for iOS with a minimal interface that helps people with cognitive disabilities play music on their iPhones and iPads with utmost east. CanTunes, a $.99 app on the app store, does not require knowledge of traditional music player buttons (play, pause, rewind, forward, etc.). The interface displays all the album covers on the device in the form of a circular disc. Tapping the album cover starts playing the music and spins the album art continuously, indicating that it is playing. Tapping the  same album art stops the music. You can also tap a different album cover to play that album and stop the current one. As simple as that!

This app also has sleep mode to turn off music after a certain period of time, and is also compatible with VoiceOver.

The same organization has developed another useful app called CanPlan which is a task management app that helps people with a range of cognitive challenges to complete activities with greater independence and confidence.

To set things up, a user would work with a support person and take pictures of each step in a task. For example, for all the steps required to make coffee (get coffee grinds, get filter, etc.), they can take pictures of every step, caption them and create a task. Whenever the user needs to perform that task, they will just go through all the steps one by one in CanPlan and finish that task. These tasks can also be scheduled - they can set reminders for themselves, so at a certain time of day, a message will alert them to perform that task, and they can go through all the steps one by one to accomplish it.

Watch this video for a simple demo of this app.

The free version of CanPlan supports a maximum of 3 tasks. The full version, which supports an unlimited number of tasks, is available for purchase from within the free app.

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I-Limb Ultra: Prosthetic Hand Controlled By iPhone App

Someone once sad �there�s an app for that,� and they weren�t wrong! In today�s society, everyday life is being made easier by apps on smart phones which can do anything from letting us check our bank balance on the move to helping us avoid the traffic on the school run. But the category that has shown the biggest boom in downloads are the medical apps. These range from apps that can help patients to control their long term illnesses, to apps that can allow doctors to visualise their patient�s x-ray radiographs on the move. 

One app that has made a big difference to patient�s lives is the iBGStar Diabetes Manager, and other
apps like it. They are used by diabetic patients to measure their blood sugar levels and keep track of previous reading to ensure they have good control over their condition. This is not only easier for the patient than the old �diary� method of recording their blood sugars, but it can help their doctors to see how treatment is working for their patient and whether it needs to be changed.

The award for the most innovative and life changing app must go to the i-Limb Ultra from Touch Bionics: the app is connected to a bionic prosthetic hand via Bluetooth and users can select different �grips� for any specific tasks they need to do. Sounds like something out of a movie, right? That�s what 16 year old Patrick Kane thought when he was fitted with the bionic hand. He lost his
hand as a baby due to meningococcal septicaemia, but because of this revolutionary new device he is able to live a normal life again, something that we often take for granted. The hand allows Patrick to carry out movements that are so precise they have not been possible with a normal prosthetic in the past: he can now hold a glass, pick up a piece of paper and tie his shoelaces with the touch of a button on his iPhone.

The limb can be controlled by electrical signals in muscles as well as by the iPhone, but this does take some practice to master as Patrick has already learned: "Controlling the hand feels very natural, although it does take a bit longer to learn how to use the automatic grips and gestures, so it was very useful to be able to work with the Touch Bionics therapist on these skills."

This innovation is a huge step for people like Patrick. At the moment the limb is still very expensive, between �30,000 and �80,000, but this technology means that in the not so distant future people that have lost a limb will be able to have the same quality of life as those who haven�t been so unlucky.

You can read the full article here.

This article was written by Niqui Stubbs, a 4^th year medical student with a love of gadgets and technology. She has worked with people who have lost a limb and knows the huge impact a bionic limb like this can have on someone�s life.

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ASETNIOP Keyboard: A Revolutionary Keyboard For People With Disabilities

The QWERTY keyboard has been around for ages and is the de facto standard for all devices we use that involve typing. However, it may be does not provide too much flexibility to people who may have visual impairment, not so good motor skills or over flexible joints (think Ehlers-Danlos syndrome). Of course,  another limitation, if I may, of QWERTY keyboards is that it if it's being used on a touch device like a tablet, it occupies a substantial amount of real estate which may be frustrating for people with low vision who may want to see a larger amount of enlarged text at a time on the screen.

To solve all these problems, and to essentially allow users to type wherever they want to (that's a bold statement, isn't it?!), Zack Dennis has devised the smarter, flexible ASETNIOP keyboard that only consists of 10 (one for each finger) invisible keys! A single tap on the  eight "finger" keys produce one of the ASETNIOP characters, and the two thumbs are used for "space", "enter" etc. The rest of the letters are produced by pressing two fingers at the same time - a two key combo, if you will, which are known as chords. These chords can be used to store commonly used words, automatic correction, and text predictions. With the ASETNIOP keyboard, what matters is which fingers are pressed down.

The best part about this keyboard is that its size can be adjusted to provide ample space for all ten fingers to press down comfortably. The visualization below depicts how uniformly the finger taps are distributed across the keyboard.

To watch a demo of this keyboard, watch the following video:

The ASETNIOP keyboard is available for the desktop and the iPad. Give it a shot!

Website: http://asetniop.com/

Read the full press release for more exciting information and to see a demonstration of someone typing 83 wpm on the ASETNIOP keyboard!

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Unus Tactus - Easy iPhone Interface For People With Motor/ Cognitive Deficits

Unus Tactus is a new iOS app that is designed to simplify the lives of people with mild cognitive and/ or motor deficits. The app creates an easy to use phone interface and adds quite many important features that can be easily used for making calls and in case of an emergency.

Unus Tactus creates an interface that shows all contacts in the phone in a 4x4 grid. Each grid has a contact's name and a big thumbnail of them. Calling them simply requires a tap on the thumbnail.

Another useful feature is the big help button on the app, which is available all the time. Whenever  the help button is pressed, two things happen: a phone call is made to an emergency contact, and at the same time a link is emailed to the emergency contact showing the person's exact location on Google Maps. 

The app also has a very interesting feature called Geofence which keeps track of the phone owner's physical location. If the person exits the "fence" (which can be set on the phone - 1 to 15 miles radius), an email with a link to that person's exact location on Google Maps, and an iCloud link (for tracking in real time if the emergency contact knows the phone owner's iCloud login) is sent to the emergency contact. 

Both these features can be especially helpful to people who suffer from Dementia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or any other disease that affects judgement, cognition etc.

The idea behind the app is to give peace of mind to caregivers, and to assure them that their loved ones are safe. Although this app is meant for people with cognitive deficits, I see this app as a very useful tool for even people with visual impairment who may use the help button if they get lost during their daily travels, or exit their "geofence". People with low vision too may find the big thumbnails very helpful for making calls.

Currently, this app is only available for iOS (4.2 and above) for $9.99. Go to the Apple app store to buy this app.

To visit the developer's website, click here. The developer also has a Facebook page (Unus Tactus) and a twitter handle (@unustactus).

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Tablet As Braille Writer

Adam Duran and his mentors have created a unique app that allows a tablet to be used as a Braille writer. But.. how is it possible for a blind person to use a tablet with a just a flat/smooth touchscreen (and no physical keys) to type characters?

That's where this app stands out. Instead of making the user find keys with their fingertips the traditional way, this app finds the fingertips of the user and produces "keys" on the screen right under the fingertips which can then be used to type Braille characters. It doesn't matter how thick or thin the user's fingers are - the user just touches the screen with their eight fingers and the keys appear and orient themselves to the fingers. In case the user becomes disoriented, the app can be reset simply by lifting all fingers off the screen and putting them back down.

This app has not been launched to the masses yet.

Here's a video of this concept and app in action:

Hit the source link for more information.

Source: Engadget, Stanford University

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FotoBabble: Add Voice To Your Photos

Sharing your photos with people with visual impairment just got a lot more easier and fun. Well, visual impairment may not allow them to see your pictures, but they would still love to hear  about your experiences, right? But what if they are far away from you - a couple of states, maybe an ocean away? That's when FotoBabble comes into the picture. FotoBabble is a web/mobile service that lets you add voice to your pictures. You can sign up for this service (it's free) and use either their website or iPhone app to create pictures with audio descriptions. You can either upload your own picture or choose one from Facebook, and add an audio description (maximum 60 seconds) to it.

Here is picture from FotoBabble with a very good audio description of the picture (click the play button at the bottom left corner of the picture to hear the audio).

Here is a quick tutorial on how to add audio to a picture using FotoBabble.




Website: www.FotoBabble.com
iPhone app (free): iTunes Store

Source: Mashable

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Audiobooks: Audiobook App for iOS

Audiobooks is very true to its name, and if you like (free) audiobooks, then this is the app for you. Available for both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, Audiobooks has over 3,500 classic books available for free. Most of the books come from the LibriVox Project where people from around the world release classic audiobooks that they themselves recorded.

Audiobooks is very intuitive  and easy to use. The first option on the app on the left navigation bar is "Top 50" from where you can choose one of the most popular classic books. You can also search for a book using the search option on the top left corner.

Notice that some of the books are highlighted in green and some in grey. The ones in grey are totally free whereas the ones in green have both free and paid options.

If you choose a book highlighted in green you will get multiple versions of it. The first version is always the paid version. 

There is also an "All A - Z" option that lists all the books this app has. Here, the ones highlighted in grey have both free and paid versions, however, the ones in blue are paid only. There are no free versions of those books available.

This app has a rating of 3/5 on iTunes. I noticed that most of the critical reviewers were looking for modern day books on this app which they obviously did not find. After reading those comments, I think I should mention here again that this app only has classic books. I tried three audiobooks and did not have any problems going through them (not the entire lengths, just bits and pieces for the sake of this blog post). 

The ad supported app is available for free. If you don't want to see ads and access some more features, you can get the app for $.99.

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CATRA - Smartphone Accessory That Detects Cataract

CATRA is a highly portable, and easy to use accessory that attaches itself to a smart phone and easily detects cataract. Made from off the shelf components, and consisting of no moving parts, CATRA, developed by Ramesh Raskar's team at MIT, is being considered to be ideal for the developing world.

The user is made to look through the accessory and press a few buttons. Doing so allows the app to collect quantifiable data and create an attenuation map, which in turn helps detect cataracts.

Watch this (technical) video to know more about CATRA.

Note: Although the price of the accessory is not mentioned anywhere, the same team designed a similar accessory called NETRA for eye exams which costs $1.

For more technical details, and to read the paper, hit the source link.
Source: MIT

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Verbally - Free Predictive Text App for iPad

Verbally is a free and easy to use predictive text app that allows people who have difficulty with speech to hold conversation with minimal typing. Verbally allows input in three ways - by allowing users to choose in-built words; phrases; and/or typing their own words. Users can choose either a male or female voice, and to make conversations more personal, can import their contacts to the app. The app also comes with three different keyboard layouts (Horizontal: QWERTY, Left Handed, and Right Handed) to allow users to choose the one that is best for them.

Verbally's description in the app store states that "Verbally is an invaluable communication aid for people with apraxia, ALS, stroke, traumatic brain injury, autism, parkinson's, cerebral palsy, or muscular dystrophy."

This app's rating is 4+ out of 5 on the app store, and has very good reviews from several users.

Check the video for a quick demo of Verbally.

Source: Bill Shackleton on Twitter (@CRPDisabilities)


App store link.


More at Verbally's website.

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Netflix Adds Captioning to iOS

Netflix recently announced that it has added captioning capabilities to its iOS apps on iPhone/ iPod Touch/ iPad. Turning on captioning is very easy. If captioning is available for a movie/ show you are watching, a little balloon appears right on top of the "controls bar" (where the volume bar, pause button are displayed). Clicking the little balloon brings up a list of languages in which captions are available (currently English). Choosing a language starts the captions.

Click the little balloon to see a  list of languages

Choose language

Captions now turned on

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iPad Helps Legally Blind Woman See

"...oh boy, what an eye opener, pardon the pun!"


Says Evelyn O'Brien, who has been legally blind for more than 30 years. She cannot see a person's face, but with the help of an iPad she can zoom in on pictures and see faces in great detail. This is how she was able to see her five children after more than 30 years.

Some argue that the kids could have bought her a PC with software for the visually impaired installed. But how convenient is it to carry a gadget everywhere and look at pictures whenever and wherever one wants to by just pinching in and out their fingers?

"Very", is what comes to mind.

Essentially, it can be any tablet (iPad, Motorola Xoom, Blackberry PlayBook etc.) that can help achieve this. All touch screen tablets allow zooming in and zooming out on pictures with your fingers. iPad makes the news because of apparent reasons - extremely popular; very affordable (starts at $499), and very easy to use.

Evelyn says she can see pictures/ videos, and surf the web on the iPad.

See these videos to know more about Evelyn's experience.

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You can read more about this story here.

Source: AOL, Obama Pacman

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