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Study Says Pistorius Has “Unfair” Edge on Blades

November 20, 2009 | by

A new study published today in The Journal of Applied Physiology concludes that prosthetic legs worn by double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius give him an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners. In the study, “The fastest runner on artificial legs: different limbs, similar function?,” researchers said Pistorius’s blades allow him to turn over his strides more quickly and with more power than a runner with biological legs. “We conclude that running on modern, lower-limb sprinting prostheses appears to be physiologically similar but mechanically different from running with intact limbs,” the report says. Researchers conducted three tests that compared his prosthetic limbs and those of competitive male runners with intact limbs. They determined that Pistorius expended less energy when he ran, particularly when comparing him against runners in the 400-meter speciality. Also, the study says Pistorius benefits from enhanced running mechanics on his blades, including longer foot-ground contact time and less time in the ... keep reading »
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Paralympics to Host Students in Vancouver

November 20, 2009 | by

The U.S. Paralympics will be hosting 12 student-athletes (ages 14-19) with physical disabilities and six adults, made up of coaches, teachers and program leaders at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, March 12-21. In the Paralympic Experience program, participants will have the opportunity to meet U.S. Paralympic Team members, attend Opening Ceremonies and athletic competitions and build camaraderie with other potential Paralympians. The Paralympic Experience program introduces individuals with physical disabilities to Paralympic sport on the local and international levels. Paralympic Sport Clubs, located in more than 100 communities across the U.S., annually host a one-day Paralympic Experience event that exposes local participants to a variety of Paralympic sport opportunities available in the community. To find a Paralympic Experience in your community, visit the Paralympic Activity Network. Every two years, one Paralympic Experience is held internationally in conjunction with the Paralympic Games. Student-athletes and coaches are selected based on leadership, community ... keep reading »
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Google Adds Automatic Captions to YouTube

November 19, 2009 | by

I knew Google Voice would have multiple uses for people who are deaf and hearing impaired, but I didn’t expect this news to come so fast: Google is adding automatic captions to YouTube videos. Google announced the news today on its official Google blog, and while the feature is definitely a work-in-progress, it’s an exciting start to machine-generated video captions. Many people know that Google created a YouTube caption system about a year ago. It required users to upload captions themselves, a time-consuming process, which meant that most videos did not get captioned and were inaccessible to people with hearing impairments. With the new “auto-caps”, Google is combining its automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology with the YouTube caption system. Auto-caps use the same voice recognition algorithms in Google Voice to automatically generate captions for video. “The captions will not always be perfect, but even when they’re off, they can still be helpful,” ... keep reading »
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Live from NCTI 2009: Developing the Net Generation

November 16, 2009 | by

An eclectic group of social entrepreneurs and educators are creating new solutions for teaching a new generation, including those with disabilities. Moderator Alan Brightman, senior policy director of special communities for Yahoo!, spoke with panelists on how to engage students using technology. Brightman was joined by Sheryl Burgstahler, director of DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technologies), University of Washington; Monica Martinez, president of the New Tech Network; and Jan Morrison, senior STEM consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provides funding for educational initiatives. Highlights: - The Open Prosthetics Project, an open source model that lets users, designers and funders create and make available prosthetics for use in the marketplace. - DO-IT’s Center for Design in Education is a good primer on how to use universal design principles in higher education spaces and in classes. Live from NCTI 2009: The Future of Marketing of Assistive Technology The assistive technology market is somewhat fragmented. Generally ... keep reading »
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Live from NCT1 2009: Social Media and Assistive Tech in the Classroom

November 16, 2009 | by

On a panel with social media innovators and educators, Andy Carvin (@acarvin) moderated a discussion on the different social media channels available to students and others. Carvin is a social media strategist for NPR and the author of EdWeb: Exploring Technology & School Reform. Other panelists included Steve Hargadon, founder of the Classroom 2.0 social network; Lee Rainie (@lrainie), director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a think tank that studies the social impact of the Internet; and Michael Levine, executive director, Joan Ganz Cooney Center, which supports research and investments in media technology for young children. The panel began with an excellent slideshow on how teens use technology today. Some examples: 14% of online kids blog; 54% read blogs; 55% use wikipedia; and 73% use social networks. You can view it here. (Thanks, @lrainie!) As brilliant as all these guys are, there was, unfortunately, not much discussion on assistive ... keep reading »
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FCC Holds Hearing on Broadband for People with Disabilities

November 13, 2009 | by

On November 6 the FCC held a Field Hearing on Broadband Access for People with Disabilities at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The hearing is one of many that will discuss ways to bring access to broadband to the nation’s 54 Americans with disabilities. The meeting included panelists from A.G. Bell, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, a group that’s making a big push for a federal law that would require, among other innovations, closed-captions (for the deaf) and video descriptions (for the blind) for Internet TV and movies. Academy-Award winning actress Marlee Matlin also served as a panelist on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf. Federal Communications Commission Michael J. Copps spoke at the start of the meeting, and made it clear that the agency is working to make broadband access a reality for the disabled. Here are excerpts ... keep reading »
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U.K. Passes Landmark Autism Bill

November 13, 2009 | by

Today England will pass a the first ever disability-specific bill, The Autism Act. The bill will require health organizations to provide support for people with autism, which affects over half a million people in the U.K. The U.K.’s National Autistic Society (NAS) heralded the new law. The Act “will add serious weight to the forthcoming adult autism strategy so now we’ll be keeping the pressure up on Government to make sure they get it right and deliver lasting change for people with this serious, lifelong and disabling condition,” says Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS. Under the Autism Act, the Government’s forthcoming adult autism strategy will be legally enforceable and must be published within the next six months. New responsibilities the NHS and local authorities will be expected to fulfil will include providing diagnostic services for adults with autism and better training for health and social care staff. The NAS is also ... keep reading »
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Two Universities Reject “Inaccessible” Kindle

November 12, 2009 | by

Two universities say they will not deploy Amazon’s Kindle DX to distribute electronic textbooks to their students, citing the Kindle’s lack of accessible features for people with print disabilities. While the Kindle DX features text-to-speech technology that can read textbooks aloud, the menus of the device are not accessible to the blind, making it impossible for a blind user to purchase or read books from Amazon’s Kindle store. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University say they will not adopt the device for general use unless and until it is made accessible to blind students. The National Federation of the Blind applauded the schools’ decision. The Kindle is “inaccessible” and “denies the blind equal access to electronic textbooks,” says Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the NFB. “No university should consider this device to be a viable e-book solution for its students.” Schools have been searching for an easier way to distribute ... keep reading »
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Glee: That’s How Artie Rolls

November 12, 2009 | by

I’m a product of the MTV generation, and last night’s “Wheels” episode of Glee blew me away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a music video cute boy in a wheelchair roll cooly through a high-school cafeteria in slow motion while singing a Billy Idol song, and then pop and spin through the hall as he rocked out to ’80s music. Kevin McHale, who plays Artie Abrams, a paraplegic in Fox’s Glee, turned the number into a powerful acknowledgment that having a physical disability can make you feel like an outcast among your own kind. This truth is intensified in high school, where, among the esteemed cheerleaders and football players, you struggle to fit in and find your place.   Artie has a dilemma. He wants to join the rest of the Glee Club for an off-site competition, but the school cannot afford an accessible van. Sure, Artie’s dad can drive him separately, ... keep reading »
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Blind Readers Blast Intel’s “Ghetto” Text-to-Speech Device

November 11, 2009 | by

I wonder if Intel feels sheepish right now. Here they are, thinking they’ve just launched a great new product for the blind, a mobile device that reads text aloud. Intel partnered with assistive tech pioneer HumanWare and reached out to the blind community to get their input, too. But the Intel Reader, announced yesterday, has pretty much bombed in the marketplace. At $1,500, the Reader is overpriced and doesn’t have any more bells and whistles than other devices already out there. Intel should have known this would happen — or perhaps they don’t really care. After all, if they can get schools to pay for it under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, then they’ll make money. But making products that don’t represent the needs and wants of consumers — blind or not — is anathema to what technology companies should be doing. They should be innovating along a universal design ... keep reading »
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