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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow A Simple Apple Feature Called Switch Control Is Changing Lives
For years, Christopher Hillss cerebral palsy made it nearly impossible for him to use a computer. Now hes editing video on one.
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On April 3, 2012, Christopher Hills posted a clip to his YouTube account. In the three-minute video, Hills squarely addresses his webcam from what looks like his childhood bedroom. On the white walls behind him are a smattering of posters of high-end sports cars, jets, and rocket ships its the kind of teen bedroom thats been home to countless YouTube rants, confessions, and reviews. But Hillss demeanor is serious as he begins talking about the rise of smartphones, tablets, and touchscreen technology. I am going to show you how touchscreens help me, he says to the camera. Moments later, we see Hills in his wheelchair, facing a desk with an iPad perched atop. We watch Christopher, a resident of Queensland, Australia, move forward slightly, struggle for a moment, and then pause, unable to reach the iPad screen.
I keep reading things about the touchscreen overtaking the mouse and keyboard and this really scares me, he confesses into the camera. Hills Athetoid cerebral palsy has left him unable to walk or use his hands, and, at that moment in 2012, his fears were understandable. I think touchscreens are an amazing technology, but my disability means I cant use my hands so lets face it, he says. The video shot, edited, and posted by Hills is an arresting reminder of an alarming truth: Technologies aimed at, hyped by, and marketed toward an able-bodied majority often overlook the eager constituency of the disabled.
For Hills, that fear and frustration began to subside after 2013. Thats when Apple introduced Switch Control, an accessibility feature that helps those with limited mobility to navigate, select, and manipulate iOS touchscreen devices with the click of a button, movement of the body, or any number of alternative inputs (blowing into a tube, etc.). Launched as a feature in iOS 7, Switch Control gave Christopher and thousands of others the opportunity to finally take command of touch displays inside Apples applications as well as third-party programs, like games and browsers, without the use of expensive third-party devices. For Hills, though, nothing was as satisfying or memorable as being able to perform the most elemental functions.
The thing that comes to mind is the day I made my first phone call. I was 15. I was able to call mum at work. As you can imagine, this was a very big thing, Hills told BuzzFeed News of using Switch Control for the first time.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/how-a-simple-apple-feature-called-switch-control-is-changing
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's a "mouse" that works by laser or something. He has very little range of motion and can only move his head, pretty much. This thing goes on his head and is centered just above and between his eyes.
He's pretty quick with it, too--been using it for years, a decade, at least.
Accessibility is a big deal for people who are seriously disabled--glad that people are inventing hardware/ software/apps that help them. One thing they do need to work on, in some instances, is the price point for this stuff--if they were smart, these companies would give it away and write it off as a charitable donation. So many people who are poor often do without the basic joys of connectivity because they can't afford the special equipment, over and above the cost of a computer or other device, to get them online.
REP
(21,691 posts)I'm surprised more people aren't aware of all the options available - from Switch Control to Invert Colors (white text/black screen).