Feed on
Posts
Comments

Home Oxygen & Fire Safety, 5/30/13

May 31st, 2013 by

Home Oxygen and Fire Safety

Contributed by Provi Sharpe, Director of Emergency Management and Reuse, MDTAP 

Oxygen is often called O2, and it is a colorless, odorless gas that is part of the air we breathe. It is essential for all cells in our body and helps healing.  A doctor’s prescription is required for home oxygen use.

Oxygen use in the home is safe. It does not explode and it is not flammable but it can cause other flammable materials to ignite more easily and to burn more quickly.  The use of home-based and portable oxygen systems in the home continues to increase and it is of great benefit to those home healthcare patients in need of supplemental oxygen therapy. Please remember, however, that it should always be handled with caution and complete awareness of the potential hazards so that it can be used safely at home.

Stay safe from fire with these Home Oxygen Safety Tips.

It is important for family and visitors to know what they should and should not do in a home with an oxygen system. You can easily remind them with this handy Home Oxygen Safety Poster.

Do you have a family member or visitor who smokes?  Here’s what you should know about Smoking and Home Oxygen Systems.

Posted in AT News, Emergency Preparedness, Things to Know Thursday | No Comments »

Keyboard Accessibility, Web Tip #12, 5/29/13

May 29th, 2013 by

Keyboard Accessibility

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

  • Structure
  • Presentation

Ensuring that your web page is fully accessible using only the keyboard is a vital component of web accessibility. All interactive elements, including links, buttons, form fields, media controls, etc. should be accessible using only the keyboard. Use the Tab key to navigate through page elements. Shift + Tab will navigate backward. The Enter key will typically activate links, buttons, etc. The navigation order of interactive elements should be logical and intuitive. It should generally follow the visual presentation order (left to right, top to bottom). Particular care should be taken to ensure that forms can be completed and submitted using only the keyboard. If you must press the Tab key a significant number of times to interact with a page, consider adding a “Skip to main content” or “skip navigation” link.

Posted in Assistive Technology, Information Technology, MD Technology Assistance Program, Web Accessibility, Web Tip Wednesday | No Comments »

Accessible Summer Sailing w/The Lollipop Kids Foundation, 5/28/13

May 28th, 2013 by

Although 18% of US children are living with some type of disability, accessible sport and recreational programs are limited. Most often, children with severe physical disabilities are excluded from these programs completely. The Lollipop Kids Foundation, in collaboration with the Downtown Sailing Center, has developed  a summer accessible sailing program which proves that “sailing is for everyone”, regardless of ability.

Accessible sailing, when used as a form of therapeutic recreation, provides a unique setting in which multiple therapeutic modalities are employed simultaneously. Accessible sailing enhances coordination, balance, communication, comprehension and visual stimulation. Children with limited ability to sit still or concentrate are visibly calmer, relaxed and focused while sailing. Accessible sailing also builds confidence and self-esteem, prevents social isolation, increases muscular strength and flexibility, improves cardiovascular functioning and enhances the child’s overall well-being.

This program incorporates modifications needed to welcome children with all types of disabilities, even children with the most profound physical limitations.

 

Check your summer calendars – It’s time to go sailing!

2013 Summer Sailing Sessions:

June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, July 29, August 12 & August 26

Time:

5:30PM – 7:30PM

Location:

Downtown Sailing Center

1415 Key HIghway

Baltimore, MD 21230

Registration:

To register, please email debbie@lollipopkidsfoundation.org with the following information:

1. Child’s name

2. Child’s age

3. Can the child sit independently?

4.  One parent/caregiver can sail with the child or a sailing buddy can be assigned.  Which do you prefer?

Minimum age is 6 years.

Posted in Assistive Technology, AT Events, Blind/Low Vision Aids , Communication Aids, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Aids, Learning Aids, Maryland, Mobility Aids, Tech Tip Tuesday | No Comments »

$10,000 for AT, 2013 Grant Year, 5/23/13

May 23rd, 2013 by

The ERIC Fund is offering up to $10,000 in grant awards for assistive technology for the 2013 year. Applicants must live in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area including these Maryland counties – Montgomery, Prince Georges, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Howard, Charles, and St. Mary’s. To learn more or apply, visit www.ericfund.org.

Posted in MD Technology Assistance Program | No Comments »

Page Title, Web Tip #11, 5/22/13

May 22nd, 2013 by

Page Title

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

  • Content
  • Presentation

Providing a descriptive, succinct page title is important for accessibility. The page title (usually appearing at the very top of the browser window) is the first thing seen by sighted users, is the first thing read by screen readers, and is used by people and search engines to determine the content of the page. Because the page title is read on each page, it should be short (generally no more than a few words). The site name and other information may be included in the page title if it is succinct and informative (e.g., “Acme, Inc.: Order Form”

Posted in MD Technology Assistance Program | No Comments »

NVDA – The free, open-source screen reader, 5/21/13

May 21st, 2013 by

NVDA – The free, open-source screen reader

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Technology Outreach Coordinator, MDTAP

Traditional screen readers for Windows are expensive.  They can cost anywhere from a few hundred to the low thousands of dollars.  It’s not uncommon for assistive technology to cost more than the common off-the-shelf hardware with which it works.

NVDA, which stands for “Non-Visual Desktop Access” is a free screen reader for Windows which does nearly as much as the expensive screen reading solutions, but costs nothing.  It’s a good product.  We use it here at MDTAP and often recommend it to clients.

NVDA has a newly redesigned home at:  http://www.nvaccess.org.  Here, you can download the newest release (there is a new one as of this month) and get all of the information about installing, and using NVDA you could possibly want.  Of course, being Open-source, you can also get the source code or contribute to the project either with your coding skills or with some financial lubrication.

The free voices which come with NVDA are terrible in my opinion, but additional voices can be purchased, some of which are very high quality. I was pleasantly surprised by the voice samples available  on the website.

Later this afternoon, I plan to check out the new NVDA support for MS Power Point.  JAWS For Windows doesn’t work particularly well with it, so I am eager to see how well NVDA stacks up.

If you want a smaller, faster and free solution for screen access to Windows, try out NVDA.

Posted in Assistive Technology, Blind/Low Vision Aids , Information Technology, MD Technology Assistance Program, Tech Tip Tuesday | No Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

MDTAP | 2301 Argonne Drive, Room T17 Baltimore, Maryland 21218| Voice: 410-554-9230 Toll Free ⁄ Voice 1-800-832-4827|Email: mdtap@mdtap.org