PEW report has me concerned! Internet Challenges for the disabled

Internet Challenges for the Disabled

Pew Research follows trends in the US and today they reported on an are of concern, 54% of Americans with disabilities use the Internet, compared with 84 % of the able-bodied population.

Americans living with a disability are less likely than other adults to use the internet. According to a national survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in September 2010, 54% of adults living with a disability use the internet, compared with 81% of adults who report none of the disabilities listed in the survey. Two percent of American adults say they have a disability or illness that makes it harder or impossible for them to use the internet. The survey found that about one-in-four (27%) American adults live with a disability that interferes with activities of daily living. Statistically speaking, disability is associated with being older, less educated, and living in a lower-income household. By contrast, internet use is statistically associated with being younger, college-educated, and living in a higher-income household. People living with disability, once they are online, are also less likely than other internet users to have high-speed access or wireless access. The Pew Internet Project report provides context for the continuing conversation about who does -- and does not -- use the internet in the U.S., including a proposal to extend the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act to include websites operated by certain entities.
Click here to read the full report.

Dell Integrating Streak, Mobile Devices into Healthcare Solutions

Thanks to Tim, an OT here in Alberta Canada for alerting me to this new technology.

iPad: A therapeutic marvel

From the NY Times
By EMILY B. HAGER
Published: October 29, 2010

OWEN CAIN depends on a respirator and struggles to make even the slightest movements — he has had a debilitating motor-neuron disease since infancy.

Owen, 7, does not have the strength to maneuver a computer mouse, but when a nurse propped her boyfriend’s iPad within reach in June, he did something his mother had never seen before.

He aimed his left pointer finger at an icon on the screen, touched it — just barely — and opened the application Gravitarium, which plays music as users create landscapes of stars on the screen. Over the years, Owen’s parents had tried several computerized communications contraptions to give him an escape from his disability, but the iPad was the first that worked on the first try.

Click here to read the whole story (NB: non-person first language used in this article such as quadriplegic and autistic)

'Wil-habilitation' at Western Plains Therapy Services - Dodge City, KS - Dodge City Daily Globe

'Wil-habilitation' at Western Plains Therapy Services - Dodge City, KS - Dodge City Daily Globe

iPortal To Change The Lives Of Wheelchair Users

iPortal To Change The Lives Of Wheelchair Users

Tinhte.com - Talks Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense ...

IBM: Safe social networking options in healthcare settings

It has been my contention for a long time now that health care practitioners need to get online to network and share knowledge to develop health care practice. Of course one of the biggest barriers is having a safe and reliable system to use!
This link is to an IBM website that details their social software solutions for healthcare professionals. I am not endorsing it as I haven't tried it, I am highlighting the fact that the IT industry has heard our pleas and now we need management of health care networks to say "we support professional development using online technologies... At work.... On work time!"