Technological aid for PWD : A conversation revisited
In August 2023, AQEIPS collaborated with the C.R.E.T.H, the Technology Resource and Evaluation Center for People with Disabilities, an organization located in Belgium that specializes in technology and offers consultations for people with disabilities. Their objective is to find “the technological aid best suited to the needs and realities of the person”.
You can read more about our collaboration here.
Vincent Leon and Pierre Muraille stopped by the AQEIPS office to record two videos with two of our member-partners. The videos explain certain functions of the screen readers Voiceover and NVDA.
In the afternoon, the AQEIPS team and the C.R.E.T.H team sat down together to discuss different topics related to technology and disability. Here are excerpts from that conversation:
(These videos are currently only available in French)
1 – Autonomy in your pocket
The CRETH team held an event in Belgium to show people who work with people with disabilities (PWD) how you can do a lot of things using a smartphone, allowing a person to be more independent.
2 – Technology and autonomy
There are plenty of technological objects that could be called “gadgets” for the general population. But in the hands of a person with a disability, the smartphone or other technological object can become a “prosthesis” that can help a person with a disability to be more independent.
3 – Technology and disability
When someone comes to the CRETH for an assessment, the team looks at several things: the person’s experience with technology, their needs and what the person can still do. The team asks lots of questions, then has the person try out the selected technology for a couple of weeks to see if the technology suits them. Afterwards, the team re-evaluates the situation to ensure the person is using the best technology for their situation.
4 – The pandemic and technology
It was only in 2020 that students in Quebec could do their exams online because of the pandemic. For students with disabilities, it would have been useful to have access to online exams beforehand. People with disabilities should be at the center of plans and solutions meant to help PWD.
5-1: Technology and disability in schools
In Belgium, there have been big changes since the pandemic. Previously, it was the government that directly financed the technological products used by PWD. Now, there are budgets given to schools for students with disabilities and it is up to each educational establishment to manage the situation. The problem is that before the SWD could choose the technology they used. It is now the school that chooses one technology or another for students to use, and this can cause problems, forcing a student to use a device or a computer program they are unfamiliar with or that doesn’t properly meet their needs.
5-2: Technology and studies
In Quebec, there is an organization that provides equipment and materiel for people with visual impairments, however, the organization and government are the ones who decide what the PWD will use. In Belgium, decisions regarding technology are decided by budgets. A person can choose their equipment or technological device, then if the price exceeds the budget, the person can pay the difference with their own money.
In Quebec, for students with disabilities, the government will provide a one-time financing for the computer system of a SWD. The problem is that if the person decides to return to school later on and needs a new system, there will no longer be funding.
6-1 : Learning to use adaptive technology
For some time now, Pierre and Vincent have been giving a new type of training on how to use adapted technology where the participants are more active. Instead of only learning theory, participants will actively experience situations and will use the technology themselves in order to learn.
6-2 : Learning to use adaptive technology
People who work with people with disabilities need to experience using adaptive technology themselves in order to better understand how this technology works and how a PWD experiences using the technology. During the training, participants experiment with different technological devices and create different scenarios where they use these devices and explain to others how to use them. The goal is to better understand how these technologies work to be able to support the people they are working with.
7-1 : Apple versus Android
Which product is better, Apple or Android? Apple and Android products are made differently. Depending on a person’s disability, the CRETH team will advise a person to choose certain products over others. The most important thing is that the product works perfectly for the person.
7 – 2 : Apple versus Android
A good smartphone is expensive, but for a person with a disability, who will use it to help with their situation, it becomes a prosthesis, so it is a worthwhile expense. Generally speaking, Apple offers a lot of settings to make their products accessible. In the end, what is important is the independence and autonomy of the person. We must however continue to remain critical of these products in order to find the best solutions when it comes to accessibility.
8 – PWD at the center of solutions & technological monitoring
People with disabilities should be at the center of coming up with solutions for accessibility, otherwise we may miss important details that affect the community. PWD who work in the field are in the best position to move things forward, to talk about situations and propose solutions.
How to stay up to date on new adaptive technologies? Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information made available to PWD on new technological developments, so it is up to each individual to do technological monitoring to stay up to date on new products.
Resources :
- Les Tactiles : http://creth.be/les-tactiles/
- Le C.R.E.T.H. : http://creth.be/