Assistive Technology

Start with the devices

The mind map Devices that could help disabled people is a starting point for looking at accessible input. It includes the Braille keyboard and describes Braille as raised dots that people who are blind can read by touch. As you study, notice what each device is called and how a person uses it.

Another map covers devices for users with specific needs, including people with visual impairments or limited mobility. It brings together Braille, voice synthesis and actuators, which create physical movement in response to a computer.

Explore input and output

The page also lists a mind map on using computers with disabilities. It describes screen magnifiers, which enlarge writing on a screen, and screen readers, which read screen information aloud. These examples give you a way to compare different kinds of output support.

A map on learning with ICT includes voice recognition software. Its excerpt explains that someone who has difficulty typing can use a microphone to issue commands to a computer. Other maps list devices such as foot mice, eye typers and sip-and-puff switches.

Use flashcards alongside maps

After studying a map, use the Disabled Devices flashcards to practice recalling device names and uses. The deck includes questions about a puff suck switch, a foot mouse, an eye typer and a Braille keyboard. Return to the maps to check the descriptions and make connections between the devices.

Place the topic in its unit

Assistive Technology is a section of the Input and Output Devices unit in Computing and ICT (programming, computer science, digital skills, educational technology). The resources on this page help you explore that unit through devices and software used by disabled people. Choose a map, then use the flashcards to practice what you have studied.