Technology opening new doors for disabled
From: Los Angeles Times - 11/01/2010
By: John Keilman

Sophie Prunty has a rare neurological disorder that makes it difficult for
her to get around and communicate. But fastened to the front of the teen's
wheelchair is a computer that has changed her life. 

Looking like an overgrown iPad, the touch-screen tablet allows Sophie, 16, to
control devices such as a television and an MP3 player. Most importantly,
when she pushes buttons on the screen, a robotic voice speaks for her. 

Some say this is a mere forerunner of a larger revolution that is yet to
come. They envision products designed so that anyone can use them, appliances
that automatically detect a person's needs and become more user-friendly, and
a transformed Internet that welcomes the blind and developmentally disabled. 

In the more distant future, there is an expectation that everything from home
appliances to airport kiosks to adapt technology that allows them to change
their interfaces depending on who is using them, offering larger text, voice
commands, or whatever is necessary. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.latimes.com:80/health/ct-met-disabled-tech-20101101,0,5650934.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/health/ct-met-disabled-tech-20101101,0,5939552.story

Link:
ATIA 2010 Chicago
http://www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3530

Submitted by Jamie Prioli