This study examined stress, attitudes, and expectations among mothers of deaf children who underwent cochlear implantation (CI), as related to time elapsed since surgery. Participants were 64 mothers of such children at different points in the implantation process: candidates, 0-3 years postimplantation, and more than 3 years later. Expectations…

Despite the expansion of Deaf people's use of communication technology little is published about how they use electronic communication in their social and working lives and the implications for their concepts of identity and community. Australia is an ideal research base because the use of a range of technologies is widespread there. To gain…

The teletypewriter, or TTY, is a device that lets deaf and hearing people type back and forth using regular telephone lines. The teletypewriter has been called by several names, including Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) or Text Telephone (TT). However, a national organization, Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. (TDI), has taken a…

Technology has changed the world. Unfortunately, for many adults with learning disabilities (LD), the literacy demands of technology are beyond their reach. Since most adults with LD struggle in the area of reading, they are frequently not able to understand higher levels of written language or remember multi-sequence procedures often necessary…

Describes how Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio has become a U.S. leader in accommodating students with disabilities. (EV)

This brief article describes eight resources for using assistive technology to support the development and participation of young children with disabilities. Resources include fact sheets, guides, Web sites, organizations, videotapes, special projects. (DB)

Addresses assistive technology concepts as they relate to education. Provides an overview of the NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) and ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) guidelines concerning assistive technology and proposes a model for a course concerning assistive technology and universal…

Purpose: This study systematically reviews approaches that national surveys have used to measure the use of assistive devices and examines the implications of these different approaches for prevalence estimates of device use and disability in late life. Design and Methods: Cross-sectional data from six national surveys are used to compare rates of…

This article reviews the literature on the various components of long canes and reports on a study of the knowledge and preferences of 100 adults with visual impairments regarding the various components and types of canes. Results indicated that the terrain of a route, weather conditions, mobility demand, and purpose of an outing are important…

This study examined the role of visual imagery in the centripetal execution principle (CEP), a graphic rule that is related to the drawing of complex figures that are composed of embedded geometric shapes. Sighted blindfolded children and children with early-onset low vision and early-onset blindness copied raised-line drawings (using only the…

This article reports the highlights of the recently concluded Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference organized by California State University at Northridge. Attendees from more than 30 countries learned about services provided by the Social Security Administration, GeorgiaTech (CATEA), NISH, Computer/Electronic…

The aim of this study is to determine what factors constitute a quality prosthesis and ascertain which factors affect prosthesis satisfaction. Sixty-four women who received full funding for their prosthesis and 38 women who received their hospital's usual funding were recruited. Women rated the information provided about breast prostheses very…

In order to enable students who are blind and visually impaired to observe chemical changes in solutions, a hand-held device was designed to output light intensity as an audible tone. The submersible audible light sensor (SALS) creates an audio signal by which one can observe reactions in a solution in real time, using standard laboratory…

Often, specialists in the field of Assistive Technology (AT) are presented with the challenge of teaching learners to utilize AT in order to increase, maintain, or improve their capabilities. Despite best efforts, rates of AT abandonment are alarmingly high. Understanding the factors that may influence an individual's choice to utilize AT may…

Listeners with sensorineural hearing loss have well-documented elevated hearing thresholds; reduced auditory dynamic ranges; and reduced spectral (or frequency) resolution that may reduce speech intelligibility, especially in the presence of competing sounds. Amplification and amplitude compression partially compensate for elevated thresholds and…