Customer Reviews

Computer and Web Resources for People with Disabilities: A Guide to Exploring Today's Assistive Technology

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The Alliance for Technology Access is a network of community-based resource centers dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults with disabilities. Toward the furtherance of their mission that have produced Computer And Web Resources For People With Disabilities, now an expanded and thoroughly updated third edition. Computer hardware and software provide children and adults with an unprecedented opportunity to interact with the broader world of work, education, recreation, and socialization. Featured in this superb instructional reference are recommendations for making use of conventional, assistive and information technologies; illustrative personal stories of people using technology in their daily lives; details about state-of-the-art computer technology (including screen enhancements, speech synthesizers and customized keyboards); new and extensively updated listings of Internet resources, publications, support organizations, and vendors. Computer And Web Resources For People With Disabilities is an absolutely essential, core acquisition for personal, professional, academic, community library, health center, and community center disability resources library reference collections.

I've used this book or versions of it for a couple of years now...I've often been asked in regular science education classes or in neuroscience or biology situations, "How do we make this stuff accessible to those with disabilities?" Thank heavens for all the tremendous work done by this group and other innovative inventors who strive to put Deaf people like me and those with learning, visual, and orthopedic disabilities on an equal footing with everyone else. This book has more than served its purpose and paid back its price many times over. Teachers and professors are always amazed at the amount of work that is ongoing in this area, as well as the amount of money out there for developing computer technology for the disabled through the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, and the National Institute of Health, as well as individual companies.

We will never make this country totally computer literate if we exclude specific populations. As the push for inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools and acceptance of these students becomes stronger, it is absolutely critical that teachers be aware of both hardware and software that can make their curriula more accessible to both disabled and 'normal' students.

I fully endorse and encourage teaching universities and educators and librarians to make sure an updated version of this book is made available so that all students have an opportunity to achieve their highest abilities. Karen Sadler Science Education, University of Pittsburgh