IPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/nyregion/31owen.html

by credo • 16 years ago

51 16 16 years ago

nithyad• 16 years ago

Apple always gets the UI right - right enough to even overcome disabilities. This is amazing!

ethyreal• 16 years ago

Yup! Though they take a lot of flack over the draconian control they wield, the results are a brilliant ai, out of the box accessablilty! (I sound like a dirty apple whore)

kellishaver3• 16 years ago

Yes and no. Their built-in screen reader and other accessibility tools in OS X are great. The iPad has allowed me to read a book again-which I haven't been able to do in 2 years, unless I was sitting at my desk (can't see printed text). However, you can't, for instance, do some very simple things, like enlarge the text in iTunes, or change the size of the min/max/close buttons in the OS's UI.

Many people don't need/want full-screen magnification/zoom all the time, just the ability to enlarge some text and tiny UI components. For things like that, I find linux far more accessible.

All of that said, most of my accessibility problems with Apple center around OS X.

Though you also can't enlarge text in iTunes/app store on the iPod/iPhone, the iPad has a much more usable 3-finger zoom, as well as a screen reader. The iOS touch interface is, as a whole, very intuitive and easy to use.

It is a bit too sensitive in some instances, but also rather forgiving in others. I'm guessing that has more to do with the app itself than iOS or the touch screen technology.

mattparcher2• 16 years ago

You make a good argument for resolution independence in Mac OS X — which would allow the user to resize interface elements on-demand, without loss of image quality. Apple is working on this, but has not provided an indication of when it will ship to consumers.

bemmu• 16 years ago

There really doesn't seem to be a way to change those close/min/max buttons. Couldn't find any utility for doing that either. Can you use keyboard shortcuts like ⌘Q to do it instead?

ugh• 16 years ago

… if they care about it. Luckily they care about the UI and accessibility on their iOS devices. (Except for certain things like notifications their iOS UI has been a home run since day one.)

usaar333• 16 years ago

In all fairness, I'd credit this specific case much more to the form factor and input system of the device over the software UI.

jnoller• 16 years ago

As a hacker, and a Dad, I can't say I wasn't choked up at the end of that article and had plenty of tears in my eyes as I sat there looking at my perfect, healthy daughter.

This is just another example: We in the technology sector spend a lot of time arguing and debating about total bullshit. We deride iPads as underpowered, or over controlled while I think we miss the fact that something well designed, simple and accessible can do the thing none of our editors, frameworks or other baloney can do:

Change People's Lives.

Maybe I've just grown cynical at the cyclical nature of technology debate and discussions, at the fact that we seem hellbent on painting bike sheds more frequently then making something amazing and at the constant retreading in a lot of startups of the same old technology. Of course, things like this should inspire all of us, as entrepreneurs and developers to consider something more.

It's a challenge to us to overcome and create something amazing.

mathgladiator• 16 years ago

Dude, that moved me.

sleight422• 16 years ago

I've found this to be true for my wife, who has fairly advanced Huntington's Disease (please do read about it -- to say that we'd love a cure is a massive understatement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntingtons_disease), as well.

Although it seemed odd to me at first, she performs far better with the iPad than the iMac that I bought her years ago. Typing, clearly a chore for her with a physical keyboard, is somehow simpler on the iPad in landscape.

A clear benefit of the iPad: it is relatively simple to constrain what can and can't be done. The base set of apps are simplistic.

The only downside: I can't hide apps that she doesn't want to use or that I would rather insulate her from. I'm looking at you, Settings.app.

But between E-mail, bookmarks as desktop icons, Friendly, Proloquo2go, Safari, and the iPod app, my wife's quality of life suddenly improved dramatically.

sleight422• 16 years ago

If you didn't gather from the article, there is an entire subculture of people like my wife and I that loves the iPad. I am slowly finding other members of this little community.

So here is a free product idea that would scratch our itch: build an iPad case that is friendly to autistic/motor-skills-impaired individuals. The OtterBox Defender is a step in the right direction but it lacks:

* a transparent screen protection layer

* optional carry/grab handles

* a detachable carry strap (I may hack one out of duct tape -- I did this for my wife's Kindle case ages ago. Oh, and did I mention how the adjustable font size is totally awesome for my wife?)

* more padding so that my wife could possibly drop the iPad from ~4' and not have to be terrified that she just destroyed $500 of iPad?

glhaynes• 16 years ago

iOS 4.2 will bring folders to iPad, which might help a bit. At least all the "dangerous" stuff can be put in one hopefully-not-very-interesting-looking place. Though that might cause problems too, of course! It seems like the complaint about not being able to hide things is a consistent one whenever the topic of disabled people's usage of Apple's touch devices comes up; I hope they hear it and do something about it.

mattparcher2• 16 years ago

This reminds me of the usefulness of having multiple user accounts on the iPhone and iPad. Given the social, shareable nature of these devices (especially the iPad), a bit of added complexity would go a long way to customizing the experience (and protecting sensitive data).

preek• 16 years ago

The iPad has certainly brought the Internet to my 75yo grandfather: http://blog.dispatched.ch/2010/07/18/my-grandfathers-ipad/

He's not disabled in any way, he's the most active senior citizen I've ever seen, but computers or the net have not been in his portfolio before. Now he writes mails on a regular basis, manages his digital photo albums, surfs the net on soccer news and even plays games!

It's an incredible machine for non-hackers.

IPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

Related Stories