WEBVTT

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Scott: Really technology

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has opened up so many doors
over the last couple of decades

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and has absolutely led
to more inclusiveness

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for people who are
blind and hard of hearing

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or who have a dual sensory loss.

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(music plays)

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Chris: We have four DeafBlind participants here
today, sitting in a circle.

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Additionally, we have a tactile
sign language interpreter interpreting to Bapin.

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We have visual ASL interpreters
sitting to the right

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of Scott Davert.

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Visual interpreters will sign
so that the tactile interpreter

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can copy sign to Bapin. And Bryan
and I will access the interpreter visually

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Not visible on camera is the ASL
to English interpreter

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who will voice into spoken English,
what Bryan, Bapin, and I are signing.

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The voice interpreter
is utilizing a neck loop mic

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with Bluetooth capability

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that will transmit the sound directly to Scott.

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All four participants have access,
meaning as DeafBlind individuals,

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we can participate
in the roundtable discussion.

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[music plays]

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Chris: Scott, would you like to start us off
by answering that question?

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Scott: I don't actually know that there's
a single answer to that because there's a lot of overlap.

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There are, adaptive, of course,
means that you're adapting things to

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work for an individual
that's not using the only,

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only the main features
built into something-

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But it's also assistive in the sense
that it assists people

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who are not necessarily able
to access features in certain devices

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unless certain things are turned on.

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So, for example, my iPhone,

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I wouldn't call that necessarily
assistive technology,

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but it has assistive technology
built into it.

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Bapin: They are synonymous.

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In fact, both mean technology

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that gives us better access
to information

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for anyone with any type of disability,

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be that blind, deaf, or DeafBlind.

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Bryan: My perspective on the words
is that they're similar,

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but the word assistive seems to encompass
all people with disabilities,

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whereas adaptive is specifically
to support people with low vision

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or with vision loss
and those types of accommodations.

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That's my perspective.

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Chris: I appreciate your perspectives
on the use of the terms.

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We may use these terms interchangeably
throughout this discussion today.

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[music plays]

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Bryan: Assistive technology
is a kind of tool or system

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to give us access in our everyday lives

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and our workplace to level the playing
field with our able-bodied peers.

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It gives us more access.

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It's really important,
most of us feel we need something,

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but each of us might
need something different.

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Assistive technology helps us function.

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Bapin: This is technology that has benefits

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for hearing-sighted people as well.
For example,

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I use my laptop.

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I can't access it
because I can't see or hear.

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I need to use a braille display

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and that looks like what I have with me
now, as you can see.

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This one is smaller
as I use it with my iPhone,

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but I have a larger braille display
that I use with my laptop.

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I connect the devices,
but there is also a screen reader

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which is the software that

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essentially will relay the information

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on the screen

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to my braille display so I can read it.

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So that is what I call necessary
adaptive technology.

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Scott: Once I started losing more
of my hearing, I had to transition

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to being a braille user,
which was kind of a struggle.

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But I made it work and

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like Bapin I have my braille
display paired to my iPhone

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and also use a braille display
on my computer.

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In addition to that, though,
I also use a lot of technology,

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which helps me hear better.
If I go into a restaurant, for example,

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and it's very loud, as they often are,
even these days,

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it's very difficult for me to understand
what people are saying

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that I'm in conversations with.

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So the microphone that is in use right now
also get used in those environments

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so that I can go out and have a conversation
with somebody in a loud environment.

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And, you know, it connects me with people.
It makes me feel

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more included in society
than just sitting home doing nothing.

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And some of the great things
that come out of it

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are things like something simple
such as text messages.

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You know, it really helps
connect you to the world.

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And also, if you want to access the phone
system, for example,

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you could call a restaurant to order food
through a service called text relay.

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You can also contact doctors
and things like that.

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So really, technology has
opened up so many doors

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over the last couple of decades
and has absolutely led

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to more inclusiveness for people
who are blind and hard of hearing

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or who have a dual sensory loss.

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Chris: Take the regular camera on the iPhone,
a feature that is standard on all phones.

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I will use that camera

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if I can't see the print,
let's say at a grocery store.

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Often the ingredients are printed
very small on the label.

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I can use the camera app
to zoom in on the label and read the words

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much more easily.

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I know that some of you use
assistive technology for your personal use.

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Are there ones you'd like
to mention that are available

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that might benefit other DeafBlind people?

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Bapin: I'm thinking about the word
assistive technology

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and it can be low tech.

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We're not always talking
about high tech devices.

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It can mean very low tech things.

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For example, I work with wood.

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I often have to measure the wood.

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I need something
one foot, three feet, etc.

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I can't access print,
so I use a raille ruler

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or tape measure.

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I'd call that assistive technology.

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It's a broad term to describe
anything that gives me access.

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So it's important

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to remember that when we're talking,

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it's not always the high tech stuff
we're talking about.

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[music ends]