Standard computer equipment and software can often be the key to a better life for disabled people Mandy Collins
Most of us take technology for granted we have computers at home and at work, we can access the Internet, we have smart cards, smart phones, palmtop organisers the list is endless.
The future, too, is not what it used to be: we can probably look forward to advances such as interactive broadcasting, lights that switch on and off at a voice command, fridges that tell us when to go shopping essentially, if you can dream it, you can have it.
This kind of technology for most is a luxury, a convenience to make life easier, smoother and faster. For disabled people, however, technology is a godsend and is rapidly becoming a necessity if they are to succeed in an increasingly competitive job market.
Siva Moodley is the head of the Optima College, a division of the South African National Council for the Blind. The college teaches blind or partially sighted people basic life skills, but it also prepares them for the job market, primarily as telephonists and receptionists.
However, there is another aspect to the courses the college offers students also learn basic computer programs such as Windows and MS Office, as well as programming, thanks to voice synthesis software.
“Very simply, the software works like this,” says Moodley. “On the standard computer programs, when you click with your mouse, windows come up on the screen with instructions. When you use voice synthesis software, those windows are read out to the user. Also, in MS Word, for example, there are hot keys on the keyboard that tell you what page you’re on, and you can set up software so that it articulates documents by word or character it’s quite simple to use.”
Moodley says the software itself poses no problems for blind or partially sighted people they can access the Internet and use their computers as well as any sighted person, and the voice synthesis software tends to keep up with other new programs that are developed.
“Microsoft, for example, has a section for social responsibility and they try to keep abreast of changes. There is also software development on an ongoing basis, developed by blind people, so it’s very easy to keep up with new advances.
‘The difficulty is that jobs are difficult to find, because it means the hiring company has to invest in the software, and it is quite expensive one particular program, for example, costs around R7 000.” Ari Seirlis, chair of the Quadriplegic Association of South Africa, points out, however, that this shouldn’t be a stumbling block for employers. “I’ve used voice-recognition software for a long time now, and I type at 90 words a minute with 95% accuracy,” he says. “You show me an able-bodied person who can do that. And yet I’m less employable than all of you.
“I also don’t understand why employers don’t buy this software for all their employees to use it’s not only for the exclusive use of disabled people, and if you can double the speed your employees are typing at, for example, why not invest in it for the company? It can only improve productivity.”
And, in fact, a lot of the software is relatively inexpensive. A quick call to Incredible Connection revealed that ViaVoice retails at R1?800 and Dragon Naturally Speaking at R2?700. That may seem expensive, but it could be considered cheap, given its potential impact on the lives of disabled users. The 1998 version of ViaVoice has even been available free on computer magazine cover CD-ROMS.
Seirlis points out that he doesn’t just type: “I use Excel, MS Word, send e-mail whatever I need to do. I also have a digital recorder that plugs into my PC and saves the recording as a Wave file I can even plug it into my telephone if I need to record a conversation. It’s the size of a cigar, and fits into my pocket.”
Seirlis says the only problem he has encountered is getting hold of the right kind of mouse for his needs. He uses a rollerball mouse which he operates via two little sticks attached to a strap on his hands, and they aren’t readily available, as most people prefer to use the more conventional mouse.
In terms of other disabled people, adaptations seem to come in the form of software, like the voice recognition programs. Ian Hatton, product marketing manager for the Business Windows products at Microsoft South Africa, says that in terms of helping people with disabilities, Microsoft has built a number of features into Windows 2000 which are now standard.
‘For example, there are people who may not be completely deaf or blind, but are extremely hard of hearing or have very poor eyesight,” he says, “and so we’ve done quite a lot of work on that. For example, we have facilities that dramatically enlarge fonts on the screen, for example, and sticky keys for those with physical disabilities who might battle to hold down Control and Alt keys in combination with other keys. There are also filter keys so that if there are too many repeated key strokes, Windows will ignore them. You can even slow down the repeat rate on the keyboard.
“On the sound side, we have a Sound Sentry, which means that visual warnings pop up on the screen instead of the sound your computer would normally make if you pressed the wrong key, for example. Then, in the display area, you can adjust your display to have high contrast, which uses colours and fonts that are specifically designed for easy reading.
“You can also use mouse keys instead of a mouse, as some people can manage that better, and there are a whole bunch of options on that side.
“And finally, there’s a kind of magnifying-glass effect, whereby the area on the screen where you are working is made significantly larger. These have all been designed with disabled people in mind, but are all standard features in Windows 2000.”
Essentially, technology is a lifesaver for many disabled people Seirlis says that he depends on his computer to make a living. And, in a sense, at least in this field, those with physical disabilities are not discriminated against, but are very much empowered to be able to use technology to the fullest. The biggest difficulty they face is the perception by the able-bodied that their disabilities will hold them back. As Moodley says, all it takes is for someone to give them a chance to prove that they are eminently employable, and more than willing to prove it.