What is on Your Holiday AT Wish List?

Here at Ability Tools, we are always looking for good deals on Assistive Technology (AT) products to tell our readers about. During the holiday season it is a great time to find sales on those more expensive AT products, as sales are widespread and most stores participate in the giving spirit by giving consumers at…

logos of California Phones, California Relay Service, California Telelphone Access Program and Speech to-Speech

State Program Makes It Easier to Hear, Dial, and Call

The telephone may be an accepted part of life in the 21st century, but not for an estimated three million Californians. Most of us take using the telephone for granted. But if you have difficulty hearing, seeing, speaking, moving, or remembering, what seems to be a simple telephone call can be challenging to many—preventing communication…

top picture of an elderly black gentlemen with headphones on and an expressive expression and the bottom a latina older woman with the same look

Music & Memory

by Samantha Garcia, Office & Logistics Coordinator Henry lives in a nursing home. He has dementia, rarely speaks and rarely moves. But when he is given headphones attached to an iPod with music specific to his age and known memories, he is moved – to dance, to sing, to speak about what it has given…

Picture of the low vision/blind accessibility features on the screen of the fire phone

Amazon Fire Phone and its Accessibility Features

by Nubyaan Scott, Program Coordinator for Ability Tools Many of you may know Amazon for its widely diverse online marketplace where you can buy anything from a squat stand to a Roswell soil sample. But, did you know they also make a smartphone?  A couple of weeks ago the company revealed that it had designed…

Tips for Planning an Accessible Meeting

by Rosemarie Punzalan, Program Coordinator In-person meetings are great ways to network and collaborate with peers. They give participants a chance to connect on a more personal level than even the most interactive online platforms allow. They are a great way to share resources, as well as give an opportunity to brainstorm ideas with colleagues.…