Assistive Technology

[Wooster]

Here are some interesting places I've found useful 'assistive technology' while my brain is off in lala land with respect to reading comprehension. If you know of more, please post 'em!

-[link=http://www.kurzweiledu.com/" target="_blank]Kurzweil 3000 [/link]is a comprehensive study aid package, but for me its most useful feature is the text reader. It highlights the sentence and word as its reading to you. You can have it read word documents, pdf docs, or even the web... which is how I'm trying to keep up with the boards around here these days. It's not perfect and it does mispronounce things, but apparently you can train it. I've had the 30 day trial for almost 30 days now and am thinking of asking my voc rehab counselor if they would be able to pay for it on my behalf.

ETA: DANG!!! That's one spendy little program! If you know of other text reader programs, please let me know! I hadn't looked at the price until today.

-Free audio books from [link=http://librivox.org/" target="_blank]librivox[/link] You can get free mp3s to download of lots of books that are in 'pubic domain' (ie their copyright is no longer valid). This includes a lot of books I should have read in school had I been paying attention and not screwing off because I could get away with it... also good works by Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, PG Wodehouse, and lots of others. The books are read by volunteers. And if you don't like a recording, Librivox encourages you to contribute your own. I had been gifted a subscribtion to [link=http://audible.com/" target="_blank]Audible[/link] that ran out last month, so I was hurting for books to "read" with my ears until I found librivox.

I'm also intending to find out if I can access the collection of talking books through the state library for the blind. It seems the criteria are fairly stringent... they want you to have a visual disability that limits your ability to read. I have brain cooties that limit my ability to concentrate and comprehend what I'm reading. And I miss reading. It's always been one of my solaces. But I will continue to pester them and see if a letter from my doctor can help.

In the mean time, if you know of any other sources for free audio books, I'm keenly interested.

Peace,

Wooster

[Velvet Elvis]

I worked in AT for for a while. It's really a facinating field, custimizing a UI for the specific needs of the individual.

The Recordings For The Blind program in the US is open to individuals with any kind of diagnosed disability. Have you had any kind of assesment done to determine if you might have some kind of latent LD issues that didn't become a problem until you lost a few IQ points because of meds and MI?

I've been looking at this stuff again recently because I've pretty much lost use of the little finger on my left hand due to RSI crap. The worst part is In the past I've pretty much lived in emacs so losing the left little finger is a problem.

Some sites I've bookmarked:

http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/

http://www.abilityhub.com/

http://atrc.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=c...6&Itemid=47

http://www.closingthegap.com/index.lasso

[Wooster]

Hey VE

(Where'd you get the MST3K footer, by the way? Makes me pine...)

Have you had any kind of assesment done to determine if you might have some kind of latent LD issues that didn't become a problem until you lost a few IQ points because of meds and MI?

No. Really, you think me getting less smart 'coz of drugs? *smirk*

Nope, I haven't. But I did get hooked up with voc rehab, and I think it would be a very valid question to ask. Or maybe my psyNP would be interested in writing a letter on my behalf without having to do any neuropsych batteries. Or maybe there's someone who can help me document a difference in reading comprehension with out assistive tech and with AT? It's a good question because I really, really, really miss books.

I'm glad your little left finger hasn't come back to you in a box or anything like that. But being a mac-ma'am myself, I understand the importance of the left little finger cannot be overstated.

Thanks for the bookmarks. I'm interested to check them out tomorrow, as slurroquel has me in its ever widening tendrils for the evening.

Peace,

Wooster

[olga]

Wooster, have you visited your public library? Our libraries here on the Right Coast have thousands of audio books, on tapes and on CDs. I bet the public libraries out there have them, too.

We have everything from popular novels to classics, language tapes, travel books, self-help books, etc. My little library doesn't have the download thing yet, but the big regional library has the deal where you can download the book to your MP3 player.

I love audio books---they keep me entertained in the car.

olga

[Thomas]

Our library also has thousands of audio books (almost all on CD). Whenever a best seller comes out they buy dozens of copies for all the branches. When the latest Harry Potter book was released, they were all set with 100 audio books spread around the branches and the main library.

Tommy