Posts Tagged ‘assistive technology’

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services Helps Kelly Get to Work

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services participant Kelly coming down a ramp from his wheelchair accessible van

Kelly is a sales manager consultant at a car dealership in the East Kootenay.

“I appraise used vehicles for trade in purposes, wholesale vehicles to brokers, work deals with customers and salespeople. I also manage the sales department and staff issues,” he says.

Kelly is a C4-C5 incomplete quadriplegic and uses a wheelchair.

“I Feel More Confident Going Into Every Situation”

a person using a laptop

Marcy works in an administrative role in Prince George.

“My hearing loss impacted many facets of my current work, including communication with clients and co-workers in many situations,” she says. “Factors like having a large office with workspaces spread out, speaking through plexiglass, and equipment limitations have been some of the challenges.”

Marcy needed new hearing aids, but could not afford them. She learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services (ATS) during her hearing test, and she decided to apply for funding.

Otsimo Education

a young girl using a tablet on a couch

Lately, we’ve been noticing that the Special Education category in the App store has been filling up with some pretty incredible learning apps. We’ve already looked at a few of these apps in recent articles (see Starfall and Homer for more), but today we are looking at a learning app specifically designed for children with learning disabilities.

Otsimo is an award-winning special education app available for iOS and Android. And while it is designed for children with autism in mind, it can be helpful for students with a variety of challenges, including ADD/ADHD, Down Syndrome, speech challenges, aphasia, Asperger’s, as well as other learning differences.

“The Impact Was Immediate!” New Hearing Aid Helps Kevin Avoid Workday Fatigue

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services participant Kevin in front of a WorkBC job search presentation

Kevin is a Workshop Facilitator with WorkBC Employment Services in Abbotsford, delivering presentations to clients in both English and French.

“Listening well is a very important part of understanding and communicating well with clients and teammates,” he says.

“After experiencing significant, sudden hearing loss, I really struggled when in a group of three or more participants. Some locations are more difficult than others due to poor acoustics, echo, etc, but I was struggling to catch parts of conversations.

“I Wouldn’t Be Able to Work Without Hearing Aids”

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services participant Vinzenz at the Kelowna office

Vinzenz works at a retirement resort in Kelowna as an executive chef, arranging schedules for chefs, planning the menus, and preparing bread, desserts, and main dishes for 150 residents.

He has hearing loss.

He learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services from his hearing clinic.

How to: Use the Microsoft 365 Accessibility Checker

a man in a wheelchair using a laptop

The awareness and implementation of accessibility features within mainstream technology has been growing over the years, and Microsoft has recently made some big improvements to the overall accessibility of their products. Today we are going to talk about one of those newer features, the Microsoft 365 Accessibility checker. This tool is available to individuals using Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Visio, and it visible to web users as well as those using the full version of the app on PC or Mac.

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Burnaby, BC V5C 6P9
604 473 9360 | 1 877 673 4636
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Hearing Solutions logo
400 – 3999 Henning Drive
Burnaby, BC V5C 6P9
778 945 1215
hearingsolutions@neilsquire.ca
Refer today