Computing for People with Disabilities

The computer has been the world’s best invention since electricity and the motorcar. It has changed our world, completely. The computer is a vital tool in today’s technological society and that means for everybody and particularly for the disabled. It is the difference between freedom and dependency. What would you choose?

I used to work for an Australian company that specialized in putting together computer packages for people with disabilities. That was eight years ago when Dragon Dictate was still in its early stages and was set to be marketed to lazy business men but the implications went far beyond that for people with disabilities.

It has changed lives and created autonomy and choices for people who would otherwise have limitations placed on them because of their disability. They can now do their own shopping across the net, they can work from home, and they have a new freedom to participate in the life that was otherwise restricted.

They still need help from the caregivers but with these new technologies they too have more options. There are new programs and equipment being created every day that helps those people whose quality of life has been diminished in some way.