Disabilities are defined as a condition that is likely to hinder a person's day to day activities. Disability can either be directly attributed to either cognitive, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual or physical; or a combination of more than one impairment. Limitation is a natural component of the human condition that is either temporary or permanent and can manifest at the onset of birth or later on during the development lifecycle.
Regardless of their predisposition people living with disability have access to technologies that can help in restoring or at the very least, improving their functionality; these are called assistive technologies. This type of technology is any item, product, system that is either purchased or custom-made to help maintain, improve or restore the normal functions of a person living with a disability or in part, recompense for a limitation.
Owing to the immense impact it has had on the lives of people living with a disability, it is a widely researched subject that even the best essay writing service will advise on it. You can readily get a wide array of research materials to help complete any assignment based on the subject.
Assistive technologies can also be called rehabilitative techniques, and contribute significantly to reducing the need for a person living with disability to require any additional care. These rehabilitative technologies are designed to cater for the needs of people from all walks of life, be it children, employers, educators, parents as well as the people in direct contact with people living with a disability.
Besides, these technologies can also be used by people who are not disabled, for instance, the use of screen readers to help people whose first language is not English. As a matter of fact, you may have used assistive technologies without even realizing it. For example, when you use the text prediction feature on your smartphone, touch screen input, spell and grammar checkers, audiobooks, and many others.
All in all, the use of such technologies is dictated primarily by his/ her needs, the caregivers, and a professional such as a doctor or physician. However, the type of disability has the most impact on the type of assistive technology used. Assistive technology classification depends on personal views, i.e., you can either view it as hardware and software-based, or as a form of electronic and non-electronic technology. Regardless, there are more classifications of assistive technology. They include:
Input based assistive technology
These are products designed to assist people with impaired cognitive functioning, to help improve their ability to perceive information from different sources. Examples of such technologies include hearing aids and screen readers.
Output-based assistive technology
This is the category that deals with assisting people with weakened motor skills, to gain or improve their ability to move around and interact with their surroundings. Examples of such products include pointing devices, specialized computing devices such as keyboards, and many others.
Hi-tech assistive technology
If you have had a look at the gift given to the late Stephen Hawkins by IBM, you already know what we are talking about when describing hi-tech assistive technologies. The electric wheelchair not only allowed him to communicate but to move around freely. Similar technologies have been used to help physically disabled persons to carry out their day to day routine with minimal effort, care, and supervision. Another excellent example of a hi-tech assistive technology is the use of prosthetics that are used to replace missing or amputated limbs. They work by using the impulses from the muscles to generate movement.
Low tech assistive technology
These are products that are more mechanical and less software or hardware-oriented. They are also used by people with impaired movement as a result of missing or amputated limbs but are considerably cheaper than hi-tech technologies with somewhat similar results. A good example are prosthetics that are spring-loaded, i.e., they do not require any stimulus from the user.
Also, the development of assistive technologies is still underway and thus, new, and emerging technologies are developed to improve upon preexisting ones. As such, the use of exoskeletons is fast catching on. These are suits that can be used to perform superhuman fetes such as lifting heavy loads or covering more considerable distances without tiring the wearer. Today the use of exoskeletons is strictly for military purposes, but there will be a consumer-friendly version eventually, and the possibilities for is use are endless.
These are just but a few of the categories of assistive technologies that can help people living with disability to mitigate expenses incurred to cater for the fees of caregivers and specialists.
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