Mind Maps are great tools for visually laying out complex ideas. They’re especially helpful for visual learners and even for individuals with print-based disabilities because you can add pictures, colour-code certain concepts and paths, and the basic structure of the mind map allows you to better conceptualize connections between ideas. They allow you to plan out concepts in a clean and structured way without being overly “wordy.”

And while most students have probably used a mind map at some point in their lives, the concept of mind mapping is actually relatively new, with the term being officially coined in 1995 by an author and educator named Tony Buzan.

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We’ve talked about AI a few times in the past, especially in the context of how it can be used as assistive technology (AT). We’ve also explored quite a few chatbots, which are AI-based apps that are designed to simulate human conversations. Typically those apps are fairly general in nature, but recently we have learned about some very interesting task-specific chatbots which focus on one particular task rather than serving as a blank conversational canvas.

ChatPDF is a free, browser-based chatbot that focuses specifically on analyzing and summarizing PDFs. This tool can be helpful for students, professionals, researchers, and anyone else who works with PDFs.

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In this episode, we are focused on one topic: Cephable. Cephable is an accessible control app designed for individuals with physical disabilities, and it’s completely free for personal use. The app uses a combination of voice control, head motion, facial expressions, and virtual buttons to give you unprecedented control over your PC.

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Typically, when we review higher-tech software, the biggest barrier we see for potential consumers is the high cost of purchase. Of course, many of these apps (such as the previously mentioned Dragon Dictation) offer life-changing features that ultimately make the purchase worth it for persons with disabilities. Sometimes however, we are introduced to an app that is both life-changing for persons with disabilities, as well as being affordable.

Cephable is an accessible control app designed for individuals with physical disabilities, and it’s completely free for personal use. The app uses a combination of voice control, head motion, facial expressions, and virtual buttons to give you unprecedented control over all of your devices, including Mac, PC, Android, and iOS.

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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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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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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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Browsing the web can be a very inconsistent experience for anyone, but when you’re a person with disabilities, those minor inconveniences might actually become massive barriers.

Today we are going to look at tool that is designed to make reading on the web much easier for persons with disabilities, students, and essentially anyone else who reads content online. Helperbird is an accessible reading and writing toolbar that functions as an extension to virtually any browser. The app offers a variety of reading features including Reading Mode, Immersive Reader, Highlight Menu, and more. It also allows you to tweak and customize the look of the content you are reading, from fonts, to colors, to spacing, borders, and more.

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Today we going to look at something a bit different. Rather than our usual app review, we are going to look at a piece of hardware which has a ton of potential to be used as AT, even though it wasn’t originally designed as such.

The Stream Deck is a PC accessory that gives users an array of extra buttons that can be programmed to do virtually anything you want. Originally designed for streamers and YouTubers, this device can be used to automate virtually any task, which means it has a ton of potential for persons with physical disabilities.

And because this device was designed for a mainstream audience, the price is very reasonable with the smallest version of the device costing just over a $100 for an eight-button controller.

For example, you could program one button to turn on your computer, open teams, and open a word doc. That’s just one of many examples. A button could also be used to toggle accessibility features such as Read Aloud, or to pull up all accessibility settings. The possibilities are endless.

The programming interface is easy to use, and it gives you a lot of flexibility in how you program your buttons. Additionally, Stream Deck uses a series of built-in and downloadable plugins to enhance the user’s experience. Some examples of free plug-ins include Control Center, Win Tools, YouTube, and much more. These plugins are easy to access directly from the Stream Deck interface, or you can browse the available plugins here.

The Stream Deck also allows users to create and save profiles, which is great for multi-user integration, or for people who simply want more control over their device. It also allows users to save specific presets, for example, you could set up a specific audio preset just for listening to podcasts, or for having content read aloud.

With all that in mind, we can see that the utility of this device as a piece of assistive technology is virtually endless and is only limited by the imagination of the user. That being said, the Stream Deck is currently only available for Windows or Mac users, but hopefully we will see mobile versions of this device become available over time.

This post originally appeared on the AT Help Desk website.

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