Neil Squire Regional Manager Charles Levasseur was interviewed by CBC New Brunswick for their feature on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help level the playing field for workers with disabilities.

The CBC notes, “More than 35 per cent of New Brunswickers have a disability, according to Statistics Canada, and only 46 per cent of them are employed. But a greater understanding and acceptance of new technology in the workplace could close that gap.”

Charles discussed his hope for digital literacy around artificial technology to increase, and for new assistive technology solutions that remove barriers for people with disabilities to be embraced by employers.

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Margaret works at a call centre for an auction house in Chilliwack, calling customers for payment and determining when equipment sold will be leaving the site.

She uses a wheelchair, and she needed an adapted van to get to and from work independently rather than having to rely on others for rides. The WorkBC Centre in Chilliwack referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help. She applied, and before long, she had the adapted van she needed for work.

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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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Terry works as a bus driver, transporting people with disabilities to and from hospital appointments. He loves his job, however, his employer determined that it was unsafe for him to continue driving with his hearing loss.

Looking to continue driving, Terry went to a hearing clinic for help. With the prohibitive cost of hearing aids, his audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help funding the hearing aids he needs for work.

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Sandra is looking for part-time work as an online ESL tutor. She has been receiving training through WorkBC Employment Services and is volunteering to get some experience in the field.

Recently, Sandra, who is in her 60’s and has multiple disabilities, found she was having a hard time hearing people on her computer during online courses, although she initially attributed it to technical issues. Eventually, a hearing test revealed that she has hearing loss, and she was referred to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for hearing aids to help her in her training and employment goals.

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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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Stephanie works in pediatrics, supporting children with serious illnesses.

“I have moderate to severe hearing loss which made my workday challenging,” she shares. “I rely on lip-reading, and when we are to wear masks at work, not only is the sound of speech muffled, but I am also unable to lip-read.”

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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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Colin’s work involves a lot of meetings, taking place online, over the phone, and in-person on construction sites. However, he has hearing loss in both ears, which was affecting his ability to communicate during meetings.

His audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help funding the hearing aids he needed for work.

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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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