Let's Blog Ability

2010 EnableMart Catalog is Mailing Now!

After many long hours, a lot of diet Coke and tons of research, I am happy to announce that our 2010 catalog is finally ready here! Of course, there's no way that we could show everything we have to offer in one little book but we have compiled a comprehensive collection of our best selling & most requested items from each of our categories into one easy to use guide available in print or as a downloadable PDF.  The new catalog contains 36 pages of Assistive Technology with vivid full-color pictures and simplified descriptions & explanations, making it a great tool for educators, therapists, non-profit assessment centers and home users.

Download the PDF or request your copy by mail today:
http://www.EnableMart.com/Catalog-Request

Stimulus Package Saves Schools?

How many special needs teachers were already facing dire circumstances such as layoffs, budget cuts, etc even before the economy went kaput? Here are some quick facts about the stimulus that may be heartening for teachers and educators:

• $91.3 billion going to health, labor, and education departments . $600 million 
• $29 billion of that designated for "Education Programs" 
• $600 million which may be available specifically for Assistive Technology upgrades 

In spite of the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001, the Bush administration has increasingly moved away from federal support for schools and school programs - opting to leave the responsibility with State and Local governments. The stimulus package changes the course of the federal government by increasing the involvement of federal monies in primary and secondary education.

What does this mean for the teachers? For starters, it means relief for those who are worried about massive layoffs. Some of the money can be used to prevent downsizing school staff. Teachers and other staff will also receive further training including proper use of the latest technologies. And money can go to maintaining and expanding the current Assistive Technology tools and programs available to students with disabilities. 

If you would like to read more, there is an article with details about the education aspect of the stimulus package at eschoolnews.com

Question of the Month: Can someone with limited mobility use a computer?

This month our customer Geoff called in looking for help for a client with cerebral palsy. He was looking at Dragon NaturallySpeaking software to assist in transcribing speech into the computer. Geoff's client still needed something to speak the text back to him so that he could fully function on the computer without assistance. He was using the built-in Narrator text to speech on his PC and was frustrated with its errors on many words and the inability to work with Internet Explorer.The client wanted his emails read aloud to him before sending to ensure proper spelling and grammar.

Although the major operating systems do come with text to speech functionality, the capability is usually limited and doesn't provide the robust features to allow full use of the computer. EnableMart carries a bundle that includes Dragon NaturallySpeaking and ClaroRead Plus, which includes text to speech functionality, for users who need to speak and have text spoken back to operate a computer. Claro and Dragon work together out of the box giving you the ability to type and proofread word documents and emails, have PDFs read aloud, and more. Claro features a PDF reader that converts your scanned documents to a Word document that it then reads aloud. Claro also has a range of voices to choose from instead of the robotic voices of Microsoft's text to speech software.

People with disabilities that affect motor skills no longer need a teacher or assistant to use Microsoft Office or the Internet - Dragon and Claro provide all the necessary tools to communicate with the computer. 

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred and ClaroRead Plus Bundle is available for $499 at EnableMart.

People With Disabilities Contribute to Record Voter Turnout

Many states across the country reported record numbers of votes cast in the presidential election yesterday. With the election over, many people with disabilities were just grateful for the opportunity to vote. 

At EnableMart, we are happy to have contributed to the electoral process in Oregon wit accessible voting stations.

The Help America Vote Act, HAVA, was passed by President Bush on October 29, 2002 - just over six years ago today. HAVA's goals include making the voting process more accessible to people with disabilities. To comply with the act, states are finally implementing assistive technology at the polls.  

Oregon is one such state that came to EnableMart to update the process to include all of their voters. Our sales rep, Cristian, spent a few weeks this past summer setting up voting stations for people with disabilities at polls throughout the state. 

The updates make it possible for people with disabilities to vote from home and to vote at polling places without an assistant. 

Each voting station consists of traditional computers components including a mouse, keyboard, printer, as well as specialty items for accessibility like a trackball mouse, joystick, Intellikeys custom keypad, and USB switches. The set up gives those with low vision, limited muscle control, and other disabilities an easy alternative to traditional voting methods.

The stations are used at polling places but are also portable so many people were able to vote from home this year. This easy access for people with disabilities contributed to a record voter turnout in Oregon with over 80% of those registered actually voting.

EnableMart commends the state of Oregon for creating accessible voter stations that helped many Americans cast their votes this year.