Assistive Technology Glossary Family Center on Technology and Disability (page 5 of 5) Page 5 of 5

W

Web Accessibility:
Universal accessibility to the Web means that all people, regardless of their physical or developmental abilities or impairments, have access to Web-based information and services. Making Web pages accessible is accomplished by designing them to allow the effective use of adaptive technologies to access their content. See also, Screen Reader

Word Prediction Programs:
Word prediction programs allow the user to select a desired word from an on-screen list located in the prediction window. The computer-generated list predicts words from the first or second letter(s) typed by the user. The word may then be selected from the list and inserted into the text by typing a number, clicking the mouse, or scanning with a switch.

Example: Word prediction programs speed up the time it takes Johanna, a young woman with quadriplegia, to communicate her needs to her personal assistant (PA). Instead of typing out full words, a drop down list of common words, beginning with the initial letters entered, appears allowing the entire word to be simply “clicked” instead of typed out in full. Word pre diction programs also help Chad, a sixth grader with learning disabilities, when he is writing papers for school. Often he can only recall parts of a word or can spell a word phonetically, but cannot correctly spell the word. Word prediction programs allow Chad to type in a few letters, or type in a word’s phonetic spelling, and then present him with correctly spelled alternatives.

X

X-10 Unit:
X-10 is a communications “language” that allows compatible products to talk to each other using the existing electrical wiring in the home. Most X-10 compatible products are very affordable and the fact that they talk over existing wires in your home means that no costly rewiring is necessary. Installation is simple, a transmitter plugs (or wires) in at one location in the home and sends its control signal (on, off, dim, bright) to a receiver which plugs (or wires) into another location in the home.

For the full guide with images of some of the assistive technologies, click here.
 

From the Family Center on Technology and Disability. Used with permission. www.fctd.info.

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