All the usual prescription label information is encoded into a special ScripTalk label which can be read by a small device called a ScripTalk station.  Just press a button and all the label information is spoken by a pleasant, nautral sounding voice. The ScripTalk station is free when you sign up for the Walmart Mail Service program.

For more information on how to enroll in the program and to get a free ScripTalk station, contact En-Vision America at 800-890-1180.

The original post is located here: Talking Prescriptions

To explore their job openings, go here.

To find out how to apply, go here.

The original post is located here: DOL Wants You!

Here’s an excerpt from their webpage describing the project:

(DREDF) is conducting research on what factors are most important to riders with disabilities when deciding which transit mode to use.

The confidential survey results will be part of a national study called Transit Cooperative Research Project B-40: Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit by People with Disabilities. The goal is to develop strategies to improve bus and train systems for people with disabilities. DREDF’s research partners are TranSystems Corporation, The Collaborative, and KFH Group.

Click here to take the DREDF online survey.

The original post is located here: Improve Transportation for People with Disabilities

The Shop provides wheelchair repairs and distributes donated assistive technologies and durable medical equipment.  They also provide information about assistive technology and referrals.

The Shop is located at 2539 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. RSVP’s are requested; just call (510) 649-1100, ext. 303, or e-mail theshop@cilberkeley.org.

The original post is located here: Grand Opening of The Shop @ CIL

The idea of a dental switchboard that was tongue-controlled was first introduced by Alfred Bester in his 1956 award-winning science fiction novel, The Stars My Destination. Now that science fiction has become a reality.

The circuitry for the new intraoral Tongue Drive System developed at Georgia Tech is embedded in this dental retainer worn in the mouth (right). The system interprets commands from seven different tongue movements to operate a computer (left) or maneuver an electrically powered wheelchair. (Credit: Maysam Ghovanloo, Georgia Tech)

It’s called the Tongue Drive System. Simply by moving their tongues, people with high-level spinal cord injuries can operate a computer or maneuver a standard electrically-powered wheelchair.

Introduced in February of this year at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, the newest prototype of the system allows users to wear an inconspicuous dental retainer embedded with sensors to control the system. The sensors track the location of a tiny magnet attached to the user’s tongue. The sensors then wirelessly transmit the signals to an iPod or iPhone, where special software interprets the signals and controls the movements of a cursor on the computer screen or substitutes for the joystick on a powered wheelchair.

Georgia Tech researchers designed this universal interface for the intraoral Tongue Drive System that attaches directly to a standard electric wheelchair. The interface boasts multiple functions: it not only holds the iPod, but also wirelessly receives the sensor data and delivers it to the iPod, connects the iPod to the wheelchair, charges the iPod, and includes a container where the dental retainer can be placed at night for charging. (Credit: Maysam Ghovanloo, Georgia Tech)

In earlier versions of the Tongue Drive System, the tongue magnet sent signals to sensors mounted on a headset worn by the user. “One of the problems we encountered with the earlier headset was that it could shift on a user’s head and the system would need to be recalibrated,” explained Maysam Ghovanloo, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Because the dental appliance is worn inside the mouth and molded from dental impressions to fit tightly around an individual’s teeth with clasps, it is protected from these types of disturbances. . . . By moving the sensors inside the mouth, we have created a Tongue Drive System with increased mechanical stability and comfort that is nearly unnoticeable.”

Why the tongue? Actually, there are several reasons why the tongue is particularly well suited for this. Neurologically, the tongue and the mouth are nearly as capable of sophisticated motor control and manipulation tasks as the fingers and hands. The speed and accuracy of the tongue, combined with the fact that it doesn’t easily fatigue, makes it suitable for manipulating assistive devices. Furthermore, the nerve that connects the tongue to the brain usually escapes severe damage in spinal cord injuries and is the last to be affected in most degenerative neuromuscular disorders.

The system can potentially capture a large number of tongue movements, each of which can represent a different user command. The system also provides a framework where a unique set of specific tongue movements could be tailored for each individual, according to the user’s abilities, oral anatomy, personal preferences and/or lifestyle.

The research team has also begun to develop software to connect the Tongue Drive system to a wide variety of readily available communication tools such as text generators, speech synthesizers and readers. In addition, the researchers plan to add control commands, such as switching the system into standby mode to permit the user to eat, sleep or engage in a conversation while extending battery life.

The original post is located here: A Tongue Drive?

By 2014, all of AMC’s theaters will be equipped with both captioning devices–small rectangular screens that attach to cup holders on theater seats–for people with hearing impairments, and headsets that describe the action on the screen for people with visual impairments.  A spokesman for AMC said about half their theaters would be equipped by the end of this year.

The process that culminated in this victory was initiated in May 2010 when Equip for Equality, an Illinois-based disability advocacy agency, sent a complaint to the Illinois attorney general’s office.  Similar legal action has been brought against movie theater companies in Arizona, New Jersey and New York by their state attorneys general.

The original post is located here: Accessible Movies

“The device uses a suspension system that balances the weight so [users] can stand up with just a gentle pull. Standing for an hour or more every day is important for people who have lost movement in their legs; without the weight-bearing effect of standing, they can develop cardiovascular problems, brittle bones, pressure sores not to mention the psychological importance of eye-to-eye interpersonal contact.”

Because of a unique design, the user can maneuver himself into the device safely and easily without assistance. He can switch from sitting to standing and back again with ease, and while standing his hands are free to carry groceries or stir a pot on the back burner.  Narrow aisles in a store or restaurant are no longer a problem because of the device’s small size.  We’re talking greatly increased independence here.

But all my talking about it can’t do it justice–you’ve got to see it for yourself.  Check out this video on the Gizmodo website of a paraplegic man using the Tec Robotic Mobilization Device in his daily life.

The original post is located here: Beyond Wheelchairs

The Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) can help in this process. The ILP is a strategic planning tool that can be used to help students identify and assess their career interests and then link those interests with the educational steps and subjects needed to enter those careers.

“According to focus group results of students who used the ILP process, youth appreciated the online career assessments and especially the ‘how do I get there?’ planning. They also found great value in the self-assessments portion of the ILP, which helps students discover such things as their learning styles and interests. The process also helped them understand the relevance of their academic classes as they were linked to specific career goals.”          –National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability

It is important to know that ILPs and IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) are not the same thing. The ILP is an additional document that can be used to improve and expand the sections of the IEP relating to transition planning.

While ILPs are not federally mandated, some states have passed laws requiring them.  Even if your school district doesn’t require their use, your family can still use most ILP websites to help your youth prepare for the future.

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability has some very good information on ILPs.  You can go directly to their webpage on ILPs for Youth with Disabilities here.

The original post is located here: ILPs for Youth with Disabilities

If you are a person with a disability–cognitive, hearing, vision, physical or other–who receives SSI, SSDI, or retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration, the researchers would like to talk with you. Phone interviews will be approximately a 30-45 minutes long.

For more information, or to participate, call  (855) 209-9538 (toll-free) to leave your name and number. A UCSF researcher will call you back to tell you more about the study.  Or you can email alice.wong2@ucsf.edu.

The original post is located here: Social Security Wants Your Feedback

Mist in the Bush by Mark Richards

After I finished my last blog about taxes, I thought I’d explore something more fun. Something visually pleasing. Something inspiring. It didn’t take long to find, and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with you.

What I found are some websites featuring a wide variety of art by artists with a wide variety of disabilities.  Really gorgeous stuff!  Among my favorites are Scottish landscape painter Keith Salmon and Australian photographer Mark Richards.  I’ve included teaser samples of their work here to entice you.

Upland Scene by Keith Salmon

I discovered both of these gifted artists through the websites below, where there are many more fantastic pieces of artwork by artists with disabilities waiting for you to discover and revel in them. I encourage you to use these links as a launch pad for your own aesthetic journey, to explore further the particular artists that appeal to you.

So go get yourself a hot cup of tea or maybe some wine, let your left brain relax, and sit back and enjoy these two sites:

WebDesignerDepot.com

RedBubble.com

And if, perhaps, you find that all this visual ecstasy inspires you to explore your own artistic expressions, here’s another launch pad that might interest you–the National Endowment for the Arts’s list of organizations that assist artists with disabilities.

The original post is located here: And Now for Something Completely Delightful