Mr. Sullivan's PowerPoint presentation was an eye opener. You hear so much about race related laws and racial discrimination that you forget about the laws that protect those who suffer from a disability. He lists several federal laws (The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The American's With Disabilities Act and The Telecommunications Act of 1996) and guidelines (W3C, WAI, WCAG 1.0 and 2.0, ATAG, XAG and UAAG) which make web browsing easier and convenient for persons with disabilities. He also lists software that are used to assist blind, deaf and paralyzed citizens who access the Internet. From screen magnification software to voice recognition software, there is a product out there for everyone. There is also screen reader software too!
Screen magnification software makes text larger on the computer screen and it also reads text aloud. This is ideal for persons who are do not have adequate eyesight or suffer from learning disabilities. Screen reader software reads an entire screen and also navigates a site through speech. With this software, the keyboard is used to enter commands. This is ideal for persons who are blind. Voice recognition software performs commands by speaking into a microphone. This is ideal for persons who suffer from crebral palsy or any other disability which limits the use of hands. Although the second link that listed tools and software for the accessibility for all was not well maintained, I was able to view a couple of software programs that made things a bit easier for persons with disabilities. EMACSPEAK allows blind people to be independent computer users and HAL reads a screen to a blind person and also uses Braille.
This information can be found at Mr. Stephen Sullivan's blog.
Screen magnification software makes text larger on the computer screen and it also reads text aloud. This is ideal for persons who are do not have adequate eyesight or suffer from learning disabilities. Screen reader software reads an entire screen and also navigates a site through speech. With this software, the keyboard is used to enter commands. This is ideal for persons who are blind. Voice recognition software performs commands by speaking into a microphone. This is ideal for persons who suffer from crebral palsy or any other disability which limits the use of hands. Although the second link that listed tools and software for the accessibility for all was not well maintained, I was able to view a couple of software programs that made things a bit easier for persons with disabilities. EMACSPEAK allows blind people to be independent computer users and HAL reads a screen to a blind person and also uses Braille.
This information can be found at Mr. Stephen Sullivan's blog.
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