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Re: GAAD - fine motor and gross motor experience

for

From: Judith.A.Blankman
Date: May 15, 2015 10:48AM


Hi, Deborah,

We will have several stations. One will be focused on low vision
experience, with glasses that emulate a range of experiences.

Another we'll have a laptop and iPad and will be discussing how to make
videos accessible, why each feature is important.

SSB Bart Group will have a table to demonstrate JAWS and to show what
screen magnification is like, optimal vs. suboptimal experiences.

The idea of the empathy kit is to help people put themselves in someone
else's world. Some of us are naturally empathetic, others need to be
guided to a place where they can experience the lives of others. That's to
me what GAAD is all about. Less theory, more exposure to real experiences.
I agree that having people who can share their personal experience would
be ideal. Since it's an open house, I can't be sure who will actually show
up. I know some blind team members who we expect to show. But I don't know
anyone who self identifies with motor issues. I might meet someone there.

My plan is to have a keyboard, a laptop and an iPad at my station, so that
the experiences will be directly related to interacting with these
devices. We will also have a trackball with an oven mitt to demonstrate
how much easier a trackball is to use.

On 5/15/15 9:23 AM, " <EMAIL REMOVED> "
< <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

>> I understand fine motor and gross motor in theory, I want to be sure I
>>am teaching/guiding them through the issues correctly. When I ask
>>participants try out the "empathy kit" (hair ties and socks, or sponge,
>>tape and pencils,) I want to be clear on the limitations, activities,
>>and needs for each.
>
>Do you have anyone who will participating who has motor limitations
>themselves? That would be ideal.
>
>Your "empathy kit" (that name makes me a little uncomfortable) seems to
>be focused on material things, activities of daily living, etc. Will you
>be doing anything that has to do with computers or mobile devices? E.g.
>computing without a mouse; computing with a large keyboard; using
>assistive touch on a phone; using pedals, voice, foot switches, buttons,
>or puff tubes to control technology? I ask not just because that is the
>focus of this list, but also because computing is a key part of 21st
>century enfranchisement, and mobility problems with computing don't get
>brought up nearly as often as some other issues.
>
>I'm glad you are doing this!
>
>Deborah Kaplan
>Accessibility Team Co-Lead
>Dreamwidth Studios Llc
>>>>