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Assistive technology and devices

  • 07-01-2006 12:50pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 4,381 ✭✭✭


    i thought i would make this thread a sticky in light of the previous thread.
    • if you or anyone you know is in need of assistive technology please contact the relevant health professional before purchasing anything. You may get a referral through your GP or by contacting the relevant community/ health centre in your area if a blanket referral is in operation. you may also be referred on to see a community Occupational therapist by the OT in an acute hospital setting.
    • it is the community OT that assesses and provides you with most of the relevant equipment.
    why go through an OT?

    they are specifically trained to assess the client and provide the relevant equipment. they are trained in everything from Anatomy, Applied anatomy and biomechanics, physiology, Medicine and Orthopaedics, Assitive technology to psychology, applied psychology and psychiatry. Most OTs you will be working with will be senior grades (will have trained for 3years plus in a given area, community OT is only one area we work in, and most basic grades will have supervision from a senior grade and standard operating procedures to follow set by their workplace and local health board).

    for health and safety reasons a person may have to be properly measured to make sure the equipment is suitable for them. Lots of factors such as suitability, cost, medical condition of the person must be taken into consideration. also whether the person is actually likely to use it or not, eg their preferences should always be taken into account as they are the primary consumers.
    most AT can be gotten for free if you have a medical card or are over 70 or a long term illness card. also the county council has a system of providing grants (20,000) to contribute towards house improvements, clients are put on a waiting list according to the urgency of their case. the Irish Wheelchair Association often can help out with the provision of AT and sometimes it can provide Homehelp. Other voluntary organisations include meals in wheels (for older people who need regular hot meals). also check with voluntary organisations to see what they provide, aswell as statutory entitlements.

    once you are assessed it can take anything from a week to 2months to get your AT depending in the area your living, how busy the department, budgets and what priority the equipment is (p1,2 or 3). for example you will get a hoist or pressure cushion almost immediately, may have to wait a week or two or even a month for a raised toilet seat and possibly longer for all p3 equipment such as modified cutlery (unless it is in storage in the OT department and doesn’t need to be purchased immediately).

    i have to mention again if you want to purchase something for someone else make sure they are actively involved in the process as attitudes and preferences are vital in whether it's actually going to be used or not.

    i will try to add to this and modify as often as i can but i thought this information would be useful to share.


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 4,381 ✭✭✭snorlax


    enable ireland have a good section on how to get funding/ and on AT in general

    http://www.enableireland.ie/at/index.html

    and another addition (pretty comprehensive list of equipment)

    http://www.assistireland.ie/

    please bear in mind health and safety before purchasing anything. and bear in mind some items require an assessment first - wheelchairs/ hoists/ pressure cushions etc, some can be be gotten free through your health board/ medical card/ OT.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,269 ✭✭✭cathy01


    Hi I am looking for info on a Nano pad.Nuro pad.Its like the Alpha pad only better???
    thanks,
    Cathy


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21 petamour.com


    snorlax wrote:
    enable ireland have a good section on how to get funding/ and on AT in general

    http://www.enableireland.ie/at/index.html

    Nore on AT -

    This crowd are linked to Enable

    http://www.gateway2at.org/


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,631 ✭✭✭✭Mental Mickey


    Hope this is in the right section??

    I'm looking for an underseat carrier bag for carrying large files/paperwork while pushing my chair.

    I recently injured my hand(only slightly)when I was trying to open a door, carry a folder, and push my chair at the same time!!!??

    Any advice/useful links would be welcome.

    Cheers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,381 ✭✭✭snorlax


    try assist ireland (meant to put this link in before but am on placement at the mo!)

    http://www.assistireland.ie/


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,269 ✭✭✭cathy01


    Hi I have used
    Kurtaweil 10o0 and 3000 and find both excellent eap the 1000 for visual impaired, even though I am not.Its very helpful to those with dyslexia, I so love trying to spell that word...............
    Cathy


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,631 ✭✭✭✭Mental Mickey


    Hi.

    I am looking for advice/suggestions to modify a front door to enable me to open close it by myself. Myself and my father are currently discussing getting a ramp put at our front door - yeah I know it should've been done years ago - and we would need to modify the door handle to enable me to open/close it. I have thought about putting an extra door handle near to the hinge side of the door to enable me to grab it from the outside??

    Any suggestions would be helpful.

    I'm going to have a look at www.assistireland.ie as well.

    If you can suggest anything, e-mail me at wheelz97@hotmail.com.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,631 ✭✭✭✭Mental Mickey


    Hi Guys

    Can anyone suggest where I would be able to buy absorbent underwear(briefs/boxer shorts)???

    Cheers

    MM


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,269 ✭✭✭cathy01


    their a chemist on Talbot street in Co.Dublin, they deliever and take credit card.
    HTH,
    Cathy


  • Registered Users Posts: 52 ✭✭digitaldarragh


    A resource that allows you to try assistive technology was released some time ago. Visit www.try-it.ie. This was set up in colaberation with a lot of the major organizations in Ireland. I've written about it once or twice on my own site www.digitaldarragh.com. That's not a plug, it may help some of you who use assistive technology for the visually impaired. Yesterday, I reviewed the new Jaws Tandem feature for example.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭atheist


    There's a VAT61a form available to reclaimm vat on equipment you've paid for yourself. You're asked about the percentage disablement awarded.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Hi I'm visually impaired myself and I'm currently working with trainees in the NCBI and though I don't need it myself some of the software for computers is very good.

    They use programs like Jaws, Supernova, Callview (telephony system) and Talking Typing Tutor.

    Jaws is a vocal piece of software for computers that allow the user to hear what they are typing/clicking etc on a computer. I'm not exactly sure how much this costs but I know there's a free trial which can be downloaded on their website. The direct link is here ftp://ftp.freedomscientific.com/users/hj/private/WebFiles/JAWS/J10.0.1142.exe

    The voice is pretty good however in the NCBI it's a fairly outdated version and with this latest one you can change the voice to what seems better to you.

    Supernova is a magnification tool like Zoom Text except a bit easier to use in my opinion. It also comes with a voice but it's a little difficult to understand and can be slightly irritating. A free trial is available on their website.
    The direct link is here http://www.yourdolphin.com/tryit.asp?id=1

    Callview is a telephony system that they also use. It appears to be the only telephony system that will also successfully work with Jaws.

    www.ncbi.ie will have plenty more information on services/assistive technology that is available for visually impaired people.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,269 ✭✭✭cathy01


    Great info, thanks for that.
    Cathy


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    cathy01 wrote: »
    Great info, thanks for that.
    Cathy

    I aim to please. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    Are there any applications like those available for operating systems other than Windows?
    Are they available for MAC or Linux for instance?


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Are there any applications like those available for operating systems other than Windows?
    Are they available for MAC or Linux for instance?
    http://www.afb.org/message_board_replies.asp?TopicID=3387&FolderID=7


    JAWS doesn't run on the mac operating system. The mac does have a screen reader built in, though. It's called Voiceover. I have tried it only briefly-- I can say from experience that the learning curve is quite steep. Before your friend dives into a whole new operating system, he/she should do a couple of things-- read the 2005 AccessWorld review of Voiceover
    www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw060505
    and listen to the much more recent Dueling Operating System presentation from CSUN last month
    http://dcnightout.com/?p=137

    Hope this can help you.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    Thanks for the info .... appreciate it .... and the link.

    What about voice to text?

    Is there anything in that area?

    Thanks again.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Thanks for the info .... appreciate it .... and the link.

    What about voice to text?

    Is there anything in that area?

    Thanks again.

    You might have to be a little bit clearer on this one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    That_Guy wrote: »
    You might have to be a little bit clearer on this one.

    Sorry.

    Most all of what I have come across are "readers"

    I am wondering about any software that accepts voice input and enters text into a word processor => speech to text.

    Thanks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Sorry.

    Most all of what I have come across are "readers"

    I am wondering about any software that accepts voice input and enters text into a word processor => speech to text.

    Thanks.

    I've been looking and I can only find text to speech software.

    I did find this though from the microsoft website.

    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/moskowitz_02september23.mspx

    I briefly read it and I think this might be what you're looking for. I'm not entirely sure about software for MAC. If I find anything though for MAC users I'll be sure to post it up.

    In the meantime I hope that article is what you're looking for mate. Seems to be a lot in it and I'll have a proper read through it later on when I get the chance.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    Thanks for the link. It made interesting reading ... up to a point.
    It appears that things have not progressed at all, in general computer terms, in the last nine years - see quote and date below.

    I do not use any MS branded product at all. Currently I use Linux as my OS on my desktop machine. I was hoping to find, amongst the multiple of expected 'hits' from a search, a few open source projects that might give some hope. Unfortunately there are very few informative 'hits' and none with any info about an application that will run on Linux -- that I have found anyway.

    Thanks again for your help with this.

    Regards,

    JohnBoy
    Final Thoughts
    Now that solid speech recognition technology is available in Windows XP, I predict that we'll see more third-party programs take advantage of the hooks that Windows XP provides. By setting up speech recognition now, training the SRE, and getting used to the interface, you'll be ready to enjoy it when the next wave of integrated software arrives.
    Speech Recognition with Windows XP
    Published: September 23, 2003
    By Jeremy Moskowitz, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951




  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy



    That's interesting. Like I said before I'm in the NCBI on a regular basis and the training centre manager there often goes to technology conferences etc and I'll be sure to tell him of this and see if there's any further developments regarding it etc.

    In the meantime I'll ask around for Linux voice recognition software. I'll see what I can find out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    That_Guy wrote: »
    That's interesting. Like I said before I'm in the NCBI on a regular basis and the training centre manager there often goes to technology conferences etc and I'll be sure to tell him of this and see if there's any further developments regarding it etc.

    In the meantime I'll ask around for Linux voice recognition software. I'll see what I can find out.

    Appreciate any info you post, thanks.

    I saw a demo of the app I linked to above and it is shown opening, closing etc browsers and such but I saw no indication of speech to text ...... not saying it is not there; just I did not see it.

    Besides the obvious benefit to people with disabilities, a speech to text application would allow everybody to dictate their letters/memos etc without having to maybe two-finger type.

    It is surprising to me that there has not been more progress in this area.

    Regards,

    John


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Appreciate any info you post, thanks.

    I saw a demo of the app I linked to above and it is shown opening, closing etc browsers and such but I saw no indication of speech to text ...... not saying it is not there; just I did not see it.

    Besides the obvious benefit to people with disabilities, a speech to text application would allow everybody to dictate their letters/memos etc without having to maybe two-finger type.

    It is surprising to me that there has not been more progress in this area.

    Regards,

    John

    I'm sure there's something out there but it seems near impossible to find. I'm sure it'd cost a bit I'd say.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Think I might have found something.

    http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/

    And here's something about using it on Linux.

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=168711


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    That_Guy wrote: »
    Think I might have found something.

    http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/

    And here's something about using it on Linux.

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=168711

    Thank you for the links. You weren't joking when you said it would cost! I saw prices up to £220 .... whatever that is in euros!
    In addition, to 'fudge' running it in Linux one requires a valid WinXP licence ..... another 100 euros or so I am told.

    If I had copies of both here, otherwise unused, I would probably try to get it running in Wine on Linux, but not only can I not afford such an outlay I really would prefer not to have to purchase anything from the MS stable.

    In fact if I had a valid XP licence and a copy of DNS that could be used I would most likely set them up as a dual boot or in a VM or such ...... but in all honesty I think I would prefer to do without than to go down that road.

    I don't wish to appear ungrateful for your efforts in sourcing something like this -- indeed I am grateful for your help -- but having moved away from MS some five years ago, I do not wish to go back.

    I guess I will have to put up with the situation as is for now, and hope that someone produces something useable in the near future for Linux.

    I will keep a watch on that Simon project ...... maybe it will develop into something that can be very usefull.

    Best regards,

    John


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    Thank you for the links. You weren't joking when you said it would cost! I saw prices up to £220 .... whatever that is in euros!
    In addition, to 'fudge' running it in Linux one requires a valid WinXP licence ..... another 100 euros or so I am told.

    If I had copies of both here, otherwise unused, I would probably try to get it running in Wine on Linux, but not only can I not afford such an outlay I really would prefer not to have to purchase anything from the MS stable.

    In fact if I had a valid XP licence and a copy of DNS that could be used I would most likely set them up as a dual boot or in a VM or such ...... but in all honesty I think I would prefer to do without than to go down that road.

    I don't wish to appear ungrateful for your efforts in sourcing something like this -- indeed I am grateful for your help -- but having moved away from MS some five years ago, I do not wish to go back.

    I guess I will have to put up with the situation as is for now, and hope that someone produces something useable in the near future for Linux.

    I will keep a watch on that Simon project ...... maybe it will develop into something that can be very usefull.

    Best regards,

    John

    It's very costly alright.

    Unfortunately the majority of people use MS and so developers will always make software for MS first before everything else which is a bit discriminatory.

    If I can find anything else I will obviously let you know but this is the best (and unfortunately most expensive) thing I could find.

    I'll ask around again though for what I can find for Linux users that won't cost you an arm and a leg.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,342 ✭✭✭✭That_Guy


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_speech_recognition_software

    I just typed in "speech recognition software for Linux users" into Google and this seemed to be the most informative thing I read.

    You had to be awkward and have Linux. :)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    That_Guy wrote: »
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_speech_recognition_software

    I just typed in "speech recognition software for Linux users" into Google and this seemed to be the most informative thing I read.

    You had to be awkward and have Linux. :)

    :D:D

    Call me cheapskate!

    :D:D


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