Nancy works in accounting, and found she was having difficulties communicating at work due to hearing loss.

“I have problems hearing clearly what people say, which in turn affected my communication, as I can hear things wrong. It is critical that I get the correct information, especially as I am dealing with numbers and deadlines,” she shares, noting that she didn’t feel as involved in team meetings.

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Alejandro works multiple jobs. He sells countertops as an account manager, works in the cleaning business in the evenings, and he works on-call as a waiter and bartender. However, he was recently diagnosed with otosclerosis, causing severe to profound hearing loss in both ears, making it difficult to communicate with customers and co-workers.

“[It] has impacted my life tremendously, I was having panic attacks, frustration and anxiety every time a client will make an appointment or walk into our office, as well as when my co-workers needed to speak to me,” he shares.

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As part of National AccessAbility Week, WorkBC Assistive Technology Services was featured in the most recent edition of WorkBC’s “In the Spotlight” feature.

You can also read an article by WorkBC on National AccessAbility Week and WorkBC Assistive Technology Services.

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Katherine works in human resources with a non-profit in the Fraser Valley. Her job involves a lot of communicating with co-workers and attending meetings, as well as taking meeting minutes.

She has hearing loss and needs to use hearing aids. However, her hearing aids were getting rather old, and she was worried they might break and couldn’t be repaired. Her audiologist referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding. She applied and was quickly approved.

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Jo-Ann works as a Specialized Education Assistant for a school district on Vancouver Island. She works with students with behavioural issues, helping them learn self regulation tools and life skills while supporting their academics.

“I have significant hearing loss in both ears,” she shares. “To successfully and safely fulfill my job requirements I need to hear conversations in the school yard, participate in class discussions, and be attentive to speech nuances.”

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When it comes to learning, everyone is different, and what works for one student may not always work for another! Math apps are a great way to tackle this issue but sometimes students need something a little more hands-on. In-person tutoring is one way to tackle this issue, but depending on where you live, that may or may not be possible. So then that begs the question, what do you do when you need tutoring in math but there’s no one in your area who is available or qualified?

Enter Brighterly, an online tutoring service for students who are struggling in math. The service is designed for students from grades one to grade eight. Subjects include algebra, fractions, geometry, measurement, money, times table, number sense, numbers to word, and more.

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Andrew works full-time at a grocery store in Victoria, where his tasks include pulling skids, loading milk trays, stocking fridges, as well as directing other employees. He has post-surgery right arm weakness, as well as right foot drop, making his job difficult at times.

His orthotics provider referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding.

“I received a right foot orthosis, that was much better than my previous one,” he shares.

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We are thrilled to announce that our organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this coming June.

Four decades of technology, knowledge, and passion. From humble beginnings to impactful programs, we’ve come a long way, thanks to your unwavering support.

Please join us in commemorating this milestone throughout the month of June by celebrating with us at one of our free regional events across Canada taking place in Burnaby, Regina, Ottawa, Fredericton, and Calgary. Details are below for each event.

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Cass is a professional musician, who recently trained to become a technical animator in the film industry. She is currently looking for work as a technical animator, and she is also doing paid gigs as a musician.

“When the pandemic hit and folks were wearing masks, I realized that I had been relying on my ability to read lips to understand people. I was tested in August of 2023, and diagnosed with genetic hearing loss in the lower-to-mid frequencies. It affects my ability to distinguish speech and pitch,” she shares.

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When you’re blind or low vision, finding your way around unassisted can be an intimidating and sometimes be a downright dangerous task. Some cities are built to be more accessibility-friendly than others, but even within relatively accessible cities, there are still bound to be areas that are difficult to navigate. And while we’ve looked at a few apps that are designed to assist low-vision users with tasks such as shopping, identifying faces, reading descriptions, etc., but we haven’t seen many apps that do a decent job of assisting with navigation (at least none that have good information about navigating within New Brunswick).

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