In todays day, technologies are being improved everyday. There is something being made for everything, and almost everyone can be at an advantage from these advancements in technologies. Having a younger brother with severe autism, and whom is also non verbal, I have seen first hand how a variety of technologies are helping him learn new things every day, and live his daily life. In the past, there was a role of acting as if a person with disabilities didn’t exist, or their problems didn’t exist. Within the recent years there has been a change where people are addressing the disabilities people may have, and promoting them into something positive. Seeing a huge influence in the acceptance of disabilities, has made people more aware of what new technologies need to be created to help people who need certain accommodations. So if we look over the past 20 years, we see a variety of new technologies that are helping children and adults everyday learn, and help make their daily lives a little easier.
Starting with a simple technology, books. While they might not seem like a technology because they are not always on a device, they help people, specifically children learn. Charis L Price writes in his journal how finding the appropriate diversity for children through books is tremendously important for them when they are in a learning setting, describing it as “challenging yet important.” The US department of education claimed that (in 2015), “65.9 percent of children ages 3-5 with disabilities, and 95 percent of children ages 6-12 with disabilities, spend at least part of the school day with their peers without disabilities.” Books are used to teach children with disabilities and are a great day to get one intrigued with a certain topic. But according to this article they can also help the mindset of young children and their understandings with people with disabilities. Promoting and encouraging the understanding of disabilities with young children is how we create a generation of people who want to improve ones life even if they are not directly effected by it. Children have so many ideas, so having children with and without disabilities learn from diverse books in the classroom, can generate new ideas and new technologies to be created for a different generation.
Books also have a completely different purpose, as books that include people with disabilities typically have a story and a reasoning behind that character. Price’s article gives children almost a sense of identity, and they discuss the book Looking After Louis, as a prime example of how books can alter a Childs mind. In the book the main character has a disability but is shown doing main tasks that help others and give him a sense of independence. Whether it be passing out crayons or being willing to ask for help, it improves a child with disabilities mindset, and gives them a sense of independence and confidence that all help a child improve and keep improving. Also discussed in the article is the book Andy and His Yellow Frisbee, and this books highlights how the main character is not only disabled but how the character is similar to his classmates who are not disabled. Over all if the mind set of how children view disabilities had higher understanding, then we could have a more educated generation who is willing to help other people.
Nilika Mehrotra, wrote a journal about how there are issues with old research in regards to disabilities, that go back tremendously far. She states how disabilities have been one of the biggest things that people are researching to understanding exclusion. Since for years this idea of disabilities has been hugely profitable for the government and health care system, and how people as a whole view people with disabilities and exclusion of those people. Finding the need for a larger systematic effort to change how disabilities are viewed is something Mehrotra is striving for, but she does acknowledge all of the change that has occurred in the past few years. So while she agrees that there has been ground breaking change, we do need to see more from everyone as a whole in supporting other people.
A company called Intelliwheels has been recently made to help with those in wheelchairs, have an easier and more comfortable life. Giving people who need wheel chairs, things like accessories for their wheel chairs, devices that help make their handles more comfortable to use, and including personalized wheelchairs for recreational use, and simply everyday use. Two wheelchairs are available with custom designs, but the sports they are made for are basketball and tennis, as well as everyday wheelchairs made to be most comfortable for the user. Having a technology like this that is so highly accessible and made to make lives of those who need a wheel chair easier. Jose Di Felice from Switzerland, found that after he was disabled in both legs, stairs were his biggest hurdle to overcome, so he created a wheelchair model that was made from a special rubber and helped him go up and down stairs with ease. Felice claimed to be very emotional when he test drove this wheelchair and went up and down stairs so easily. Something that was once extremely difficult for him was made simple, and he found himself full of emotions when thinking of how his life with change. One of the most innovative inventions CNN Business discussed was the Smart Walking Stick that was created in Turkey. “According to the World Health Organization, 39 million people worldwide are blind and another quarter of a billion are visually impaired.” This stick connects with Google Maps and uses vibrations through the stick to alert the user when they are approaching something. Kursat Ceylan, CEO and founder of WeWalk, is shocked how people are talking about flying cars and all of these new technologies being made, yet blind people are still using a plain old stick. People who are visually impaired do not know what train is approaching, or what exit to use for their train, but now this Smart Stick will help visually impaired people with all of that.
An issue being found from all of these new devices being made, is the accessibility of them to an average person. Everything that is being created typically comes with a high price tag which does not make it affordable to the average person. While this is important technology that helps extraordinarily, there should be a more inclusive model that makes it more affordable, so more handicapped people can be included in the benefits of these technologies. By allowing disabilities to be more mainstream we are promoting the potential for people to have higher understanding and empathy for the subject matter. People with disabilities to not have time for communities to build handicapped ramps all over cities, and make accommodations that include them, so seeing such highly innovative designs to help handicapped people promotes this idea of independence and confidence.
LD resources foundation, is a group that helps identify, diagnose, and provides plans to help improve the life of those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, and ADHD. While being on their website, they provide direct links to articles and resources providing to identifying one with a learning disability and how to improve their lifestyle. Something that was found to improve the learning styles of those with disabilities, was a drop down link of all the resources provides for different learning disabilities. Speech to text, and text to speech devices are offered, and even offered organizational devices. There was a link provided which brings viewers to a page where there are lists of celebrities and well known people who struggle with learning disabilities . As discussed earlier in this paper, the mind set and awareness of disabilities can make the world of differences for someone who is effected by a disability. Technologies as simple as a website provide further links to information that can alter the mindset, and again, reestablish this sense of independence and confidence.