Let's Blog Ability

9 Great AT Blogs

(Photo courtesy of Son of Groucho)

I've been reading up on some other blogs about assistive technology and living with disabilities that I wanted to share a short list of some good AT blogs I've come across lately:

1. Can-do-ability: A great blog about living with disabilities by a young woman from Australia who uses a wheelchair.

2. The Virginia Dept of Education Assistive Technology Blog: This is a no-frills little blog that does a good job of pointing to interesting developments in the AT world. A good occasional resource for teachers and providers looking to stay up to date.

3. No Limits 2 Learning: You're a noob if you don't know this blog already. The blog''s author, Lon Thornburg, is an educator and an AT specialist and trainer. He is very involved in the community and posts some great info related to AT and education. He also runs AT Blog Carnival.

4. A.T.TIPScast: The blog correlates with the podcasts by Christopher Bugaj about helping public school students with Assistive Technology. Keep your eyes out for a book on the topic available in March 2010.

5. Indiana Easter Seals Blog: These guys do a lot of product overviews and reviews as well as posting about different conferences and public issues for the disabled. There's a lot of localized info about Indiana but many of the issues are relevant to national and global readers.

6. AT in the UP: AT in the UP is local to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Posts cover everything from web tools to software and everything else needed to live in the Internet Age with a disability.

7. ATMac: ATMac is great for all you Apple fans out there. It covers all things Mac & Apple geared toward products that help people with disabilities.

8. Coral and Opal: Sometimes self-reflecting and sometimes reporting on the social aspects of living with a disability, Coral and Opal feels more personal than some of the others. Author Bill Darling is a disability professional at Ohio State University who also discusses assistive products.

9. AbleBody:  This blog is more professional with several contributing authors. Many of the stories discuss political and community issues for people with disabilities but they also cover new and exciting AT.

So that's it. These are a few that I've come across lately. What about you? What are your favorite AT or disability related blogs?

ATIA Assistive Technology Conference a Huge Success!

We're back in Action After a Great ATIA

We are so excited to be back from the ATIA Conference in Orlando and finally caught up enough with our email and voicemail to start bringing some of the new technology to our site. The show this year had a heavy emphasis on alternative communication, autism and blindness and we are psyched to start adding more of these products to our repertoire!

We're still working on the details but stay posted to LetsBlogAbility and EnableMart.com for updates over the next few weeks. We will be bringing on some new AAC Picture Communicators, head tracking devices, wheelchair and desk mounting systems, software & CCTV's with built in OCR that will instantly read to you as it magnifies!

Popular and Affordable Amplified Phone : The Ameriphone XL50

If you've been looking for an amplified phone to assist you in hearing your friends and family members, look no further. The Ameriphone XL50 Amplified phone is far and away our most popular model.  It offers all the features of high-end phones at half the price and is known for it's durability and ease of use. 

The Ameriphone XL50 is an ideal solution for those who have low vision and/or moderate to sever hearing loss.  Over-sized buttons make this model particularly easy to use.  This phone also features Ameriphone's Digital Clarity Power technology, giving the user the ability to amplify incoming sound up to 48 dB. You are able to connect headphones or other assistive listening devices to the 3.5mm jack on the phone.  The XL50 is hearing aid compatible, has redial, flash, hold and program functions; capable of functioning as an office phone for the hearing impaired. Keep your friends programmed with one-touch speed dial settings.  The automatic amplifier control can be set to turn on when you life the handset to answer a call.  This unit also includes battery backup for use in the event of a power outage and a 1 year limited warranty!

Reasonably priced at just over $100, the Ameriphone XL50 should be considered by anyone looking for a new amplified phone.  The features are unmatched at this price-point and the fact that this phone is so easy to use, makes it a no-brainer. If the XL50 is out of your price range, also consider the Ameriphone XL30 or the Clarity XL40D, both of which are great options at lower price-points.