- Public Forums to Address Disability Issues
Join the Arizona Center for Disability Law at a public forum in your neighborhood!
What are the biggest issues facing people with disabilities in Arizona today?
What are the barriers to people with disabilities achieving independence?
What should the Arizona Center for Disability Law be doing to address these issues and barriers?
Do the Center's current priorities - employment. accessibility. mental health. education, health care - address the most important issues for people with disabilities? What areas should we include?
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 10 AM to Noon
Hon-Dah Casino (Board Room), 777 Highway 260, Pinetop, AZ
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 10 AM to Noon
DtRECT Center for tndependence, 1023 N. Tyndall, Tucson, AZ
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 10 AM to Noon
Disability Empowerment Campus (Conference Room 1).
5025 E. Washington, Phoenix, AZ
Gaff Lorraine at (520) 327-9547. ext. 313 or 800·922·1447 for more information. - In 2005, the City of Phoenix Office of the Mayor and the
Phoenix Fire Department began the Smoke Alarm Awareness
Program in response to a tragic fire that killed an entire
family. It was determined that the residence where the
family was living did not have a functioning smoke alarm.
Since the program began, volunteers have installed over
4,000 smoke alarms at low-income, high-risk residences
throughout the City of Phoenix with large-scale community
canvassing events.
Valley of the Sun United Way (VSUW) joined the effort in the spring of 2007, and has recently secured a grant to provide 75 low-income Deaf or Hard of Hearing individuals with a specialized smoke alarm that features a strobe light and vibrating piece for the bed. Prior to this funding the program did not have the capacity to purchase these specialized alarms due to the exceptionally higher cost per unit versus a traditional alarm. We are thrilled to begin this pilot effort in the Phoenix area.
At this time, our funding is limited to 75 alarms, which will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis to qualifying individuals. Any applications received beyond that will be kept on file until we can acquire further resources to accommodate these requests. It is our intent that we will continue this branch of the Smoke Alarm Awareness Program with a high-risk population, in addition to providing the community with traditional smoke alarms.
Eligible Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals are encouraged to fill out an application for an alarm. Please call (602) 631-4843 to have an application mailed (use 711 for Arizona Relay Service). All applicants will receive notification one way or the other, and any approved individuals will be contacted so that we may schedule the installation. Volunteer teams will be available on designated days/times to go out to homes of approved families to complete the installation. - The Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTAP) has scheduled a Microsoft Accessibility Resource Center (MARC) training on accessibility/disability related features offered in Microsoft VISTA in July. The date is Wednesday July 15th, 2009 from 9:30 am to 11:30 at AzTAP. Space is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible to Mellowdee Brooks or if you have questions at Mellowdee.Brooks@nau.edu 602.776.4667 / 1.800.477.9921 x 2. AzTAP's address is 2400 North Central Avenue #300 Phoenix, Arizona (85004). Thank you – please forward on to anyone you think would be interested.
- For more announcments, events and activities, visit Arizona Disability Post - http://www.azdisabilitypost.org
Gadgets for parents: “The Why Cry Baby Crying
Analyzer”
Claimed to be clinically certified and as accurate as up to 90%, “The Why Cry Baby Crying Analyzer” is one of those gadgets that young tech savvy couples may like to try out with their first child. The Why Cry Baby Crying Analyzer is said to work by analyzing the frequency of your baby’s cry and through that its meant to teach parents about their child and which cries are normal.
Requiring four AA batteries, the analyzer has a large LCD screen to read from and will set your wallet back by $80. Has anyone got one of these (or similar device) at home? We’d love to hear from you
Hi-tech clothes to help elderly
Housecoats and electronics are set to meet in a research project led by Northern Ireland academics.
University of Ulster researchers are examining how hi-tech clothing could improve the lives of older people.
The three-year project could see electronic devices built in to clothing that could provide information ranging from heart rate to bus timetables.
The research, funded by the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, is driven by teams from several UK universities.
The University of Ulster's Computer Science Research Institute has been doing work on assistive technologies for independent living and healthcare monitoring.
Its director, Professor Bryan Scotney, said they would be looking at sensor
technologies.
"This project is particularly exciting as we will be working with partners with
complementary expertise that will enable our research in sensor technologies,
data fusion and intelligent data analysis to have a real impact on people's
everyday lives," he said.
Lifestlyles
The team at the UU includes Dr Eric Wallace, Director of the Sport and Exercise Research Institute.
He said they were at the forefront of examining active lifestyles.
"Essentially, once the data on the movements of older people is recorded, it is then passed to SESRI and we will make sense of it in a lifestyle capacity," he said.
"This information can then in turn be used by those developing the garments, to understand better the most effective usage of the technology in the clothing."
An important aspect of the work will be making the technology user-friendly as well as the clothing comfortable.
It is thought that the technology could have benefits as diverse as monitoring temperature in the home and automatically adjusting the thermostat, to even providing a life-saving tool by alerting a GP or relative if heart rate drops.
The University of Wales is also involved in the project through its Smart Clothes and Wearable Technology team.
Director Jane McCann said the merger of textiles and electronics marked "the beginning of a new industrial revolution".
"Little has been done to address the design requirements of older wearers in terms of human factors such as sizing, fit, predominant posture, thermal regulation, moisture management, protection and the psychological 'feel good factor'," she said.
"This project will develop a shared 'language' to enhance communication between older wearers and bring together the traditional clothing and textile designers with electronics and healthcare experts."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2009/06/01 12:06:23 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Clipboard portable Hearing Loop
An Induction Loop System you can take...anywhere!
Clipboard "Carry Around" Hearing Loop is a self-contained, fully portable, wireless, rechargeable, one-on-one Audio Frequency Induction Loop System for hearing impaired people, that is discreetly designed to double as a clipboard.
America’s television becomes digital! But don’t panic!
Friday,
June 12, 2009, all full–power TV stations will broadcast only in digital. The
DTV transition will affect those who watch free over-the-air television (through
a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”).
What do I do? (3 Options)
1. Connect your analog TV to a digital-to-analog converter box. Digital-to-analog converter boxes are in stores and have a one-time cost of $40-$70. To help you pay for the boxes, the U.S. Government is offering two $40 coupons per household. (Please note that these coupons will expire 90 days after mailing). For more information on the coupons, visit www.DTV2009.gov, or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).
2. Buy a digital television (a TV with a built-in digital tuner) You do not need a High Definition TV (HDTV) to watch digital broadcast television.
3. Subscribe to a paid TV service. If your TV set receives local broadcast stations through a paid provider such as cable or satellite TV, it is already prepared for the DTV transition.
Will change to digital affect closed captioning?
The change to digital could affect closed captioning. If you have questions concerning digital and closed captioning contact Communications Services for the Deaf:
1-877-388-4968 voice
1-877-889-4273 TTY
http://dtv.c-s-d.org (has
AIM)
email DTVHelp@c-s-d.org
Sorenson VP is 1-866-351-1950 and 1-866-401-3519
To find all the answers visit -
http://www.dtv.gov
Or call 1-888-CALL-FCC (Voice) 1-888-TELL-FCC (TTY)
Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTAP) Announcements