Jean-Luc works as a ramp agent at an airport. His job involves loading and unloading planes, and communicating with pilots to dispatch airplanes safely and efficiently.

“I am hard of hearing in both ears,” he shares. “This can make hearing speech in loud environments at the airport difficult.”

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Our team was recently featured on Speak Up, Listen Up, Act Upon on CJSF 90.1 FM, hosted by Charlotte “Sista C” Ferrell. Charlotte is a participant of our Computer Comfort program.

Staff members Nate Toevs, Curtis Larsen, Kakie Wong, and Heather Ritchie discuss our various programs, including Computer Comfort, Creative Employment Options, Hearing Solutions, and WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, all of which are aimed at helping persons with disabilities access assistive technology, employment, and digital literacy.

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When it comes to speech recognition software, Dragon is widely considered to be the best. However, this software is highly specialized, and it requires much more training and troubleshooting than your average piece of assistive technology software.

VoiceComputer is an add-on for Dragon that was designed to alleviate some of the problems associated with using such a specialized piece of software. With VoiceComputer, items on your computer screen become numbered, and to access them, all you have to do is say “task 4” or “task 1” and the associated task or function will open.

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Gloria is studying web development and design, learning everything from coding to Photoshop as she looks to pursue a career in the field.

“I have profound hearing loss due to work related conditions,” she shares. “As I’m unable to properly hear individuals in surroundings with competing noise, it’s important that I’m able to be self-sufficient with a career that allows me to do much of my work and communication online and remotely.”

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For persons with print disabilities, using a traditional library could be a difficult if not impossible task. And, depending on the degree of your disability, a library might not offer enough content that you can meaningfully access. Thankfully, with the advent of the internet, there are services available online to help fill that gap, and today, we are going to explore one of such services.

The Centre for Equitable Library Access or CELA is an online library for Canadians which provides alternative and accessible reading formats to over a million titles. With an emphasis on Canadian titles and authors, the library includes bestsellers, award winning titles, a range of fiction and non-fiction, and plenty of choices for children and teens. As of right now the library also offers access to around 45 newspapers and 150 DAISY (Digital Audiobook) magazines.

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Neel is employed in the insurance industry as a Disability Claim Consultant. His job involves coaching and mentoring new case managers once they complete their formal training.

“My hearing loss made it difficult to interact with clients professionally,” he shares. “It was difficult to understand what they were saying to me.”

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We’ve looked at a few mind mapping tools in previous articles, but there is so much variety in this category that we keep finding new apps to talk about! Plus, a lot of the mind-mapping software that we’ve reviewed in the past has been more student-focused, and those apps tend to feature tools that reflect that vision.

Today, however, we are going to look at a mind-mapping tool that was clearly designed for professionals working in a business environment.

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Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Roxanne, who works in childcare, received new hearing aids.

“For the first time in 15 years, I have two identical hearing aids providing me with 360 degree sound experiences and sound clarity. I am able to hear the child in my care from anywhere in the house, as well as cars or people that are not even in my vision yet. This gives me the confidence to know that I am able to provide better safety and care for the child in my care when we are out of the house. This is all thanks to the Assistive Technology Services Program approving me for funding. The application was straightforward and thorough, and the correspondence with the case managers were pleasant and informative,” she shares.

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Kelly works at a shipyard. He has hearing loss and needs to wear hearing aids.

When he needed new hearing aids, his audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding help. He applied and was quickly approved.

“It was able to supply me with some funding in help in paying for a new set of hearing aids that were needed for my hearing loss,” he shares.

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Volodymyr is currently searching for work while attending classes to improve his English.

While working with WorkBC Employment Services to find employment, he was referred to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding to get hearing aids, which he needs for employment.

“[The] Assistive Technology Services program helped me improve communication with people. I currently received and am using a hearing aid, Phonak Audeo L-R/RT,” he shares.

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