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Disability Network Northern Michigan
It's in our power to change everything, from individual lives to the wider community.
The nation’s largest theater chain is having nearly 6,000 screens equipped this month with closed-captioning glasses developed by Sony. By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times Raymond Smith Jr. has been trying for nearly two decades to make the movie industry listen to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing. This month, the senior [...]
By CAITLIN KELLY For years, Stacy Zoern, a Texas lawyer who lives alone and uses a 400-pound power wheelchair, yearned for more independence. Because of a neuromuscular condition, Ms. Zoern, 33, has never walked, and for a while drove a custom van. But the van was destroyed in a crash, and she didn’t have $80,000 [...]
The Traverse Area District Library (TADL) would like to invite all Talking Book Library (TBL) patrons, their families and friends, and interested members of the community to the Talking Book Library Open House and Technology Fair on Friday, March 1 from 1-5 p.m. at the Main (Woodmere) Branch located at 610 Woodmere Avenue in Traverse City. The [...]
Leader Dogs for the Blind is using technology to help clients navigate their communities in combination with a cane or guide dog. The Rochester Hills-based organization, which operates on an $11 million budget, began exploring handheld audible GPS technology for its clients in 2005, working with Quebec-based HumanWare Group Inc. to pilot a device called the Trekker. But [...]
Until recently, students at University of Michigan who needed access to three major assistive technology programs for Windows had to go to specific locations to use them. These programs can be critical to the ability of students with disabilities to complete their coursework, take tests or participate in social media. They include: JAWS, which speaks [...]
Companies Are Developing Technologies That Allow Visually Impaired Users to Feel More Connected to Society By TE-PING CHEN For decades, technologies to assist the blind have focused on the simple mechanics of day-to-day living—helping the visually impaired safely cross a street or turn on a stove. Increasingly, a new generation of products is on the [...]
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Using assistive technology for autism behaviors doesn’t have to be expensive, and many of the products that work well for children continue to function effectively for the adult population. Organization, self help, social interaction and academic skills are a few of the areas where the right assistive technology can make a big difference in the [...]
Microsoft will be adding new features to its upcoming Windows 8 operating system designed to help people with disabilities navigate and better use the OS, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. “Windows 8 is a product we design for an incredibly broad spectrum of people around the world,” [...]
Interview with Stacy Zoern Stacy Zoern was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a form of Muscular Dystrophy, and has never walked. She is an attorney, practicing patent litigation, and a published author. Disaboom: We understand that in addition to your successful law practice you started Community Cars, a company that is manufacturing electric cars [...]