By Ann Bordelon, July 2006
While many of us take certain physical skills for granted, millions of others throughout the world are unable to speak; read a computer screen; or hear what their friends, families and teachers are saying. See how HP products are helping people with disabilities.
Alyson Brown is one of those people. Due to autism, the 23-year-old resident of Lexington, Kentucky, does not speak and can read just a few words. Nonetheless, she works two mornings a week at a dental office with the help of an assistive device based on the HP rx3715 iPAQ Mobile Media Companion. Developed by One Write Company, her Cyrano Communicator helps her do her job more confidently and competently than ever before.
Then there's George Kitch, 69, of Columbia, Pennsylvania. A stroke 13 years ago limited his ability to read, write and speak, a bitter disappointment for this active and gregarious man. Kitch has conquered these challenges, learning to speak via a device developed by DynaVox Technologies and powered by an HP iPAQ Pocket PC. "George's Palmtop Impact from DynaVox has made him completely independent," says wife Mary Ann. "It lets him visit with everyone, even strangers, which is something he loves to do."
The Pocket Hal Screen Reader from Dolphin Computer Access translates information on the screen of an HP iPAQ Pocket PC into spoken letters, words and sentences.
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Both DynaVox and One Write are members of an HP program designed to help companies develop and market assistive technology (AT). For people like Brown and Kitch, as well as those who are unable to use their hands to type or to click a mouse or who have age-specific limitations, assistive technology can make the difference between isolation and productive, fulfilling lives, says Debbie Morey, manager of the HP AT Partner Program.
"The HP AT Partner Program is all part of the company's promise to connect people to the power of technology," Morey explains. "The result is a wide variety of innovations that help people lead more productive lives and communicate better with family, friends and coworkers."
"HP products include accessibility features and are designed to be effectively used either on a stand-alone basis or with appropriate assistive devices," adds Morey. "But HP goes even further by offering a wide range of support for companies that produce assistive technology."
The 45-plus companies signed up as HP AT Partners have created hundreds of products to help persons with disabilities. One of the newest is the Pocket Hal Screen Reader from Dolphin Computer Access. Pocket Hal translates information on the screen of an HP iPAQ Pocket PC into spoken letters, words and sentences.
The iChat2G and Palmtop2G from DynaVox Technologies offer a wide vocabulary base so that people can use phrases that fit their personality.
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Other newcomers are the Palmtop2G and iChat2G from DynaVox. Modeled after the HP iPAQ Pocket PC, these easy-to-use devices offer people with speech disabilities a wide vocabulary and the ability to personalize phrases to fit their own personalities. Once created, the user's messages are audibly "spoken" by the device.
Another new development is Freedom Scientific's FaceToFace, a wireless product that uses Freedom Scientific's PAC Mate, which is modeled after an HP iPAQ Pocket PC. Anyone wishing to communicate with a person who is deaf-blind can send information to that person's PAC Mate from an iPAQ hx2100 Pocket PC. FaceToFace software on the PAC Mate then translates the words into Braille output for the deaf-blind person. That person can then respond by speaking or by using the PAC Mate.
"We are very impressed with HP's commitment to accessibility," says Brad Davis, vice president of Hardware Product Management for Freedom Scientific. "HP knows the best answers come from relationships with people who truly understand the needs of each group."
Other HP AT Partners provide speech synthesizers for HP desktop PCs, screen readers, navigation/orientation systems for visually impaired persons and special keyboard and mouse input systems for people with muscular control problems.
HP AT Partners are also members of HP's Developer and Solution Partner Program (DSPP), which helps independent software vendors, developers and system integrators create unique solutions across the broad spectrum of HP platforms and operating systems. A separate program supports HP iPAQ Pocket PC projects. HP often invites AT Partners to demonstrate their products in HP booths at major trade events.
In recognition of its work with assistive technology companies in developing leading-edge products for people in disabilities, DSPP received a 2005 da Vinci Award. Keybowl, a developer of alternative keyboards and an HP AT Partner, nominated HP for the prestigious award, which is given annually by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Michigan Chapter and The Engineering Society of Detroit.
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