The significance of technology to disabled people in the society

Physical disabilities 4 1. Sensory difficulties 5 1. Neurological disabilities 5 1. Cognitive and developmental disabilities 6 1. Psychiatric disabilities 7 1. Head Control Technology 15 2. Smart Glasses Technology 16 2. Talking Hands Technology 18 2. Reliable Signals Technology 19 Bibliography 21 Table of Figures Figure 1: Eye Technology system 14 Figure 2: Head Control Technology system 15 Figure 3: Smart Glass Technology 16 Figure 4: Talking Hand Technology system 18 Figure 5: Application of Myo technology. The significance of technology to disabled people in the society 1. In almost 50 nations, the situation of people with disabilities has been acknowledged and addressed by formulating laws that protect the rights of such group of people from discrimination by guaranteeing them access different activities in the society. There are different things that can be done to make people with disabilities become contributing members of the society. For instance, technology has been on the forefront towards designing devices and other online platforms that make sure that disabled people can physically access buildings and other public places2.

Also, it helps them access education, employment and other functions that promote the economic well-being of their societies. The research paper describes ways that technology helps people with disabilities to become productive and contributing members of the society. Further, other “invisible” physical disabilities are not constantly present or apparent but result in considerable complications. Therefore, such complications are considered as complications under the constitution and are treated as the other obvious issues4. Some of these invisible complications are joint/back problems and chronic pain. For instance, the joint problem can make someone unable to walk if he/she sits for a long time in the office or on a plane. It is a disability that can make many people suffer from loss of self-esteem.

Such people may lose consciousness or apparent disturbances in motor control6. Tourette syndrome is a body condition whose signs are uncontrollable twitches on the voice and body. It is famous because vocal tics by most individuals include obscenities. Its effects differ from one individual to another, but it is always embarrassing and painful to the victims and results to challenges at workplaces and other social gatherings. Cognitive and developmental disabilities Cognitive and developmental disabilities are genetic and develop even before birth. However, some other environmental factors can have long-term psychological impacts in our lives such as child abuse, war or physical injuries. People undergo different periods or events in life that can expose them to depression, and anxiety which can also serve as symptoms of psychological disabilities.

However, they are not actual disabilities because they can be resolved very fast by employing a natural course of living8. The real mental disabilities include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and cases of chronic depression. Schizophrenia conditions were once believed to result from poor parenting because it is noticed at adolescence age. Challenges facing people with disabilities People in different regions of the world have different views concerning the origin of disabilities. For instance, most of the people in African region view disability as a spiritual curse regardless of medical descriptions of the cause. On the other hand, people from western countries view it as a natural phenomenon that can be medically explained using theories9. The people with disabilities suffer different challenges ranging from psychological, physical, economic, health, education and emotional.

Economic Challenges Disabled people face a lot of challenges concerning their economic well-being. Traveling by public means is another challenge because they are unable to read road signs placed in strategic places. Some public service operators shun disabled people arguing that they are wasting their time, making it difficult for them to use public transport because of the way vehicles are designed especially in the case of blind and people with problems of walking11. On the other hand, most of the disabled people cannot fully participate in sports. Their talents go unrecognized because of limited opportunities to take part in all the events. Their participation in sports needs specialized appliances that are costly to acquire or not in most of the markets globally.

Further, disabled persons have very limited access to general health knowledge and sexual education. They have insufficient expertise concerning family planning, making them bear many children as well as compounding their financial problems. Access to standard healthcare services is also another challenge because of the charges and distance involved from their residence. Importance of technology on people with disabilities Despite different complications and challenges facing people with disabilities, they can benefit more from the emerging technologies that help in the modification of appliances that can assist them to fit in the education sector, job market, participate in different sporting activities as well as become contributing members in the society. According to report at AAAS event, “When new technologies emerge, too often the concept of accessibility is considered an afterthought or used in ways that do not improve the lives of the people who need assistance.

The technology involves both internal and external components. The internal components are implanted surgically in the auditory nerves whereas the external components are worn on the rare side of the ear or put in a pocket with a lot of care. The external compartment is made of a speech processing device, microphone, a magnet and a transmitting device16. The function of this external system is collecting sound from the surroundings, processing, changing the audio signals and transmitting to the internal system. On the other hand, the internal system is composed of the receiver, magnet, array of electrodes and simulator. The sensing devices fit well in a wheelchair, and it uses a Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone application. According to his explanation, "If the app notices that the pressure hasn't changed in a certain period, it will notify the user as a reminder to move18.

It's raising that awareness for the user because we're often paying attention to other things throughout our day and don't remember to move. Therefore, such technology is helpful to people suffering from pressure sores or the ones with walking difficulties. The problem of pressure sores can render someone useless in the society, but this kind of technology assures continued contribution to the society. The user is seated in front of a tablet bearing a minute video camera. An infrared light emitting diode now is used in illuminating the user’s eye. On the other hand, the camera is now used to determine the distance from the user’s pupil and bouncing back of diode light on his/her cornea. The small gap between the two changes as the gaze changes, something that helps the computer to determine exactly where the user is looking.

According to Ms. The following diagram shows how the whole set appears. Figure 2: Head Control Technology system 2. Smart Glasses Technology Report by the World Health Organization shows that are approximately 39 million individuals with blind defects. However, 90% of these people have a small level of visual perception. Stephen Hicks developed smart glass technology, and it accentuates between dark and light things. Research shows that Helen Keller was the first deaf/blind person in the world to earn a degree in arts in 1904. People suffering from disabilities can use tactical alphabets to express themselves in different situations by pinching or pressing various parts that represent letters. However, Nicholas Caporusso designed another mode of changing these touches and movements to electronic simulations by wearing a special glove known as dB Glove.

These specialized gloves have sensing devices that turn tactical alphabets into computer message, and it has actuators that trace these letters back to the hand. It helps people with visual and auditory defects operate their smartphones and computers23. Figure 5: Application of Myo technology. Bibliography Bawi, Salai Vanni. UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES OF DISABILITY IN MYANMAR".  Burmalibrary. Org. Changing The Physical And Social Environment | Section 4. Ensuring Access For People With Disabilities | Main Section | Community Tool Box".  Ctb. Ku. Edu. Challenges Faced By People With Disability For Getting Jobs: Entrepreneurship Solution For Unemployment".  International Journal Of Academic Research In Business And Social Sciences 7 (3): 334-337. doi:10. IJARBSS/v7-i3/2738. Sininger, Yvonne S. org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/21/478925944/for-people-with-disabilities-new-technology-can-be-life-changing. Ta, Tiun Ling, and Khoo Suet Leng. Challenges Faced By Malaysians With Disabilities In The World Of Employment".

 Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development 24 (1). doi:10.