Picture of a little boy sitting at a desk using a communicaiton tablet

Top 5 Posts of 2015

Happy New Year Everybody! Did you know that we publish a new blog post about assistive technology (AT) devices and services each and every week -usually on Tuesdays- and that you can sign up with your email address to get it delivered directly to your inbox?  Enter your email today so that you don’t miss…

Happy New Year! Now Let’s Talk About Resolutions…

By Rachel Anderson, Marketing & Communication Manager of Ability Tools Most of us choose January first as a good time to make some important changes in our lives, as it is a new year and symbolizes a new beginning. These resolutions usually include making healthier choices, including getting more exercise, getting more sleep, eating better,…

Robots Being Developed for Individuals with Disabilities

On December 2nd, the National Institutes of Health announced that it will fund the development of three exciting new robots! These robots, actually called co-robots, are designed to work cooperatively with people with disabilities and are part of the National Robotics Initiative.  Funding for these NIH projects will total approximately $2.2 million over the next…

Making your Android Device AAC Multi-Lingual

by Chi Hung Luke Hsieh, Assistive Technology Advocate at Community Access Center   Due to my moderately severe speech disability, I have been paying close attention to the development of Augmented Assistive Communication (AAC) devices/apps and Text to Speech Technology or Voice Engines. Those who have paying attention to my previous articles over the years…

picture of a smiling woman seated and holding a placard that says I am a caregiver for my mom

Happy National Family Caregivers Month!

Did you know that November is National Family Caregivers Month? Did you know that there are over 40 million U.S. caregivers who provide an estimated $470 billion of unpaid service annually? Fortunately, this month the Family Caregiver Alliance initiated a really neat campaign to honor these millions of caregivers. Join them in their campaign “I…

close up of robotic prostetic legs and people in the background looking at them in yellow shirts

Assistive Technology & Veterans

With the advent of the 3D printer, many AT “challenges” have arisen around the globe, inviting people with disabilities, engineers, and interested members of the public to create assistive technology solutions for people with disabilities. This is exciting to see, and, as one of our staff members who was able to participate in an AT…

picture of young boy and his wheelchair is an elaborate flying froglike creature he is smiling

Magic Wheelchair

Have you heard about Magic Wheelchair? This autumn, an outstanding costume design for a young man that uses a wheelchair has been all over social media.  Have you seen it?   The cool news is that this is not just an amazing Halloween costume, it actually was created by a nonprofit called Magic Wheelchair, whose…

close up of the handy bar that shows where it latches in on the door frame for leverage

Stickshifts and Safety Belts

By Aimee Sterk, LMSW, MATP Staff, from Michigan Assistive Technology Program My relationship with my husband had it roots in cars. Stickshifts and Safetybelts was our dating theme song. We spent a lot of time in our cars–he lived 45 minutes away–and we liked to go on drives together. We very much appreciated his bench-seated…

screenshot of iGurard Stove wtih the

iGuardStove: Convert your stove into a smart stove

Reprinted from Easter Seals Crossroads and INDATA Written by Laura Medcalf Scenario 1: In today’s fast-paced society, it seems as though we’re always in a rush.  We’ve been spoiled with smart technologies that provide us with instant notifications of texts, emails, and other miscellaneous alerts.  We’ve grown accustomed to everything being so instant and easy…