Home: Publications: Public Information Series: Assistive Technology

Computers have created more opportunities for visually impaired people. At CSBPS, we pride ourselves on staying on top of the latest developments in the Assistive Technology (AT) field which in turn, allows us to keep our clients apprised of all the latest resources available to them.

Our AT Specialist provides information and referral about assistive technologies that support the independence and well-being of people with impaired vision. We offer hands-on demonstrations of selected products and personalized instruction in their use.

Our Services

Information and referral via the telephone are free. Demonstrations and tutorials are available at the agency’s main office in Seattle (near Northgate Mall). Demonstrations are free for the first 1.5 hours, then $25 per hour thereafter. Individual tutorials are $25 per two-hour session. Please call ahead to schedule an appointment.

We Can Help You Find Services or Resources To:

• Read or listen to newspapers, magazines and books
• Read email and surf the Internet with confidence
• Get information such as: local time, weather and directions
• Tips on making your computer easier to use
• Find and use Braille materials
• Volunteer services
• Education, information and referral services

Assistive Technology 101

Speech synthesizers

Convert electronic text to speech and can be used with a variety of access hardware and software.

Screen reading software

Is designed to work with particular operating systems (Windows, OS/X). It controls and sends screen information to the speech synthesizer.

Optical character reader (OCR) software

Recognizes and extracts text from the image produced by a scanner.

Scanners

Scan an image of a printed page and put it into electronic format on the computer to be read by OCR software.

A personal reader

Is a machine that scans printed pages, recognizes text, converts the text to synthesized speech and reads it aloud.

Screen-enlargement software

Magnifies and enhances the readability of text and graphics. It is also called screen-magnification software or large print software.

A large monitor

Is an alternative to magnification software, if high powered magnification is not needed.

Braille translation software

Converts text to Braille and then sends it to a Braille printer for output.

Select Assistive Technology Products on the Market

Screen Reader

Jaws (Windows)

www.sightconnection.com
(800) 458-4888

Hal Dolphin (Windows)

www.yourdolphin.com
(866) 797-5921

VoiceOver (Mac)

www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover/

NVDA (Windows) **FREE**

www.nvda-project.org

Satogo (Windows running IE 6+) **FREE**

www.satogo.com

Window-Eyes (Windows)

gwmicro.com
(260) 489-3671

SystemAccess (Windows)

serotek.com
(866) 202-0520

 

Screen Enlarger

ZoomText

www.sightconnection.com
(800) 859-0270

Zoom View (Mac)

apple.com/accessibility/macosx/vision.html

MAGic (Windows)

sightconnection.com
(800) 458-4888

Lunar and LunarPlus (Windows)

yourdolphin.com

VisioVoice (Mac) **ALSO SCREENREADER**

assistiveware.com

Personal Reader

OpenBook (Windows w/ scanner)

www.freedomscientific.com
(800) 444-4443

Cicero-Text-Reader (Windows w/ scanner)

www.dolphinusa.com
(866) 797-5921

SARA

sightconnection.com
(800) 458-4888

Kurzweil 1000 (Windows w/ scanner)

sightconnection.com
(800) 458-4888

Voice Recognition

J-Say

www.tandt-consultancy.com or www.ngtvoice.com
(425) 744-1100

Internet

WebAnywhere (multi platform) **FREE**

www.webanywhere.cs.washington.edu
(206) 543-9347

LowBrowse (multi platform w/ Firefox) **FREE**

lighthouse.org/aboutus/lowbrowse

Looking for a Beginning Computer Class?

The Hadley School for the Blind offers a web based introduction to basic computer functions course. For more information, contact Student Services at The Hadley School for the Blind:

Phone: (800) 323-4238
Website: hadley-school.org
Email: student_services@hadley-school.org