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About
the Author:
Karen
Wingate is a minister’s wife and youth ministry
leader at the East Sparta Christian Church in East Sparta, Ohio.
Using her 21 inch monitor, a specialized magnification program,
and a closed circuit television (CCTV), Karen has published ten
books, numerous Sunday School and VBS curriculum units for Standard
Publishing, and over 200 articles. She writes a weekly blog on
Christian education issues at childrenteach.blogspot.com.
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Technology
for the Physically Challenged: How
Good Is It?
by Karen Wingate
Remember the
days of manual typewriters and strip correction tape? Typing an
error-free manuscript became as much of a chore as actually composing
one. What was annoying for most of us, however, was nearly impossible
for the physically challenged writer unless someone else helped.
Today’s computer technology has thrown open the doors of opportunity
for writers with disabilities. Simple features like spell checkers
to more advanced accessibility features like speech recognition
and high contrast screens have enabled physically challenged writers
to work productively and independently in areas they thought near
impossible even twenty years ago.
As aging brings
on limited vision and stiff fingers, perhaps you are starting to
consider how you can adapt your computer to make your writing work
easier. Perhaps a temporary injury or a chronic illness is keeping
you from doing the work you love to do. In your attempts to cope,
maybe you’ve noticed that newer operating systems like Windows
XP come equipped with what is called accessibility tools. They sound
like neat whiz-bang options, yet how good are they? What else is
available for the physically challenged writer? And how do you choose
what will work for you?
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Accessibility
features can be broken down into three categories: magnification,
screen readers and speech recognition. Magnification programs allow
you to enlarge everything on your screen; text, graphics, cursors,
icons and web pages in the fashion you want them enlarged. These
programs also allow you to change the color of the background and
text to make material easier to see. The downside to magnification
is that images do become pixilated or jagged at higher magnification
levels and you will see less on your screen, requiring you to scroll
back and forth to see an entire line of text.
If magnification
isn’t enough, your computer has the capability to have a synthesized
voice read your document to you and identify verbally everything
your cursor touches. Synthesized voices can be hard to hear since
they aren’t always correct on pronunciation of foreign or
archaic words.
For those who
can’t use their hands, computers have the capacity to turn
your spoken word into text, called speech recognition programs.
Speech recognition programs do take time to train and are usually
only 90% accurate requiring you to edit what you have spoken into
your file. Depending on the software, mistakes can be difficult
to correct by voice.
For those facing
minor challenges, the accessibility features on Windows are probably
enough. Realize, however, that these options are just a taste of
how your computer can be adapted to fit your needs. Also, every
person is different. There are a lot of accessibility features available
on today’s operating systems that cater to different needs.
Take the time to find out what works for you. Changing the color
of your cursor, inverting the color to a white on black schematic,
setting your font at 16 pitch or using the keypad instead of the
mouse may be all you need. The beauty of customizing your computer
is that it can easily be changed. Use one setting for a few days
then try something else.
Whatever accessibility
feature you use, ask yourself, “Is this easy to use?”
“Does it perform the way I expect it to?” Don’t
assume the problem is you. Just because a program boasts that it
can do something does not necessarily mean it will do it well or
that it is user friendly. Some accessibility features on Windows
that seem to be a good idea, actually are so complicated, it becomes
a bother to use them.
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Specialized
software such as Zoom Text (magnification), JAWS for Windows (screen
reader) and Dragon Naturally Speaking (speech recognition) are high
powered, sophisticated programs that will make Windows accessibility
features look like the Medieval Age of Accessibility. These software
programs are easy to install, easy to turn on and off, and easy
to customize to fit your particular needs. These sophisticated programs
are continually upgrading to correct the issues I’ve mentioned
above. However, they are designed for specific disabilities, usually
cost hundreds of dollars, and may be overkill for your purposes.
If you do have
a severe physical challenge, these high powered programs might still
be available to you. Every state has a Rehabilitation Service whose
goal is to provide equipment so that the disabled might find and
retain employment. That includes writers! Also, many libraries and
public colleges have special equipment and software available for
the disabled. If your library has nothing available, tell them you
intend to be a regular patron, and ask if the library might be able
to find funding to provide assistive technology. Title Five of the
American Disabilities Act requires them to provide this equipment
for the public. While it is your right, funding for many libraries
is also tight so ask respectfully and graciously, showing you are
willing to work with them.
“Technology
is constantly changing,” says Kelly Kulick, a disabilities
counselor at Kent State University. Today, we have the capability
of putting an entire book onto a CD in less than half an hour, connecting
a telephone line with a video camera showing a person translating
a phone message into sign language, and closed circuit televisions
(CCTV) that will enlarge fine print on anything from the want ads
to a medicine bottle. What is cutting edge today will be obsolete
tomorrow, so Kulick’s best advice to the challenged writer
is, “Keep checking!”
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