Technology can be a useful aid to support access to the curriculum for all children and young people with a visual impairment.
A simple solution can be to use the features already built into the operating systems of most computers and smart phones. The benefit of these adaptions is that they can be customised to suit individual preferences. All of our advisory teachers can support you to set these features up. In addition, CallScotland have some excellent online guides to support you to install these functions.
These adaptations include:
- Magnifying text by increasing the font size to aid readability.
- Magnifying information on the computer screen such as the desktop, menus, icons.
- Increase the size (and colour) of the mouse pointer.
- Use mouse pointer ‘trails’ to track mouse movement.
- Change font and background colours to improve contrast, e.g. yellow on black, white on black.
- Listen to information on the computer spoken aloud – for writing, reading and navigating around the computer.
- Use a high visibility or larger keys keyboard to aid typing.
Other solutions may require specialist devices and or software. Many companies provide this equipment and it must be noted that Babcock LDP does not endorse any specific equipment or company.
To help you make an informed choice about what is available, you may wish to visit The Big Hack by the charity Scope. This website highlights products available to help improve digital products and services for disabled people. You can access the information here using this link: https://bighack.org. Particularly useful is Holly Tuke’s guide to the devices, software and equipment that disabled people use to navigate the web. Holly explains what assistive technology is and the products available. Holly is an award winning disability blogger and writer. Read her guide using this link: Assistive technology devices: How disabled people use the web | The Big Hack
Other sites that offer information about assistive technology products include Humanware. Humanware is the global leader in assistive technology for people with visual impairments. They offer a wide range of innovative products that are used in schools across the UK.