Apps

August 2014 – IDEAL Group Apps4Android, the world’s largest developer of Android accessibility apps, announced the release of the “Document Knowledge Miner” app. The app assists individuals with physical, developmental, cognitive, and other disabilities to gain access to information in documents.  The innovation in this app is that it can access document information even if it isn’t presented in an accessible format. Developed with support from the Wireless RERC’s App Factory and NIDRR, the app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

August 2014 - The Wireless RERC partnered with AT&T early in 2014 to produce Discover Wireless Accessibility!, a series of outreach workshop for consumers with disabilities. They have traveled to Atlanta, Ga., Austin and Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Ill., and Washington, D.C. educating consumers about the accessibility features available on their mobile devices.

The Shepherd Center and the Wireless RERC have been awarded the Google Glass Accessibility Grant to develop an application to assist individuals who experience brain injury-related memory loss. The $15,000 award amount will go towards app development and testing on the Google Glass device.  The wearable computer technology will aid in helping users recognize people who do not regularly frequent their social circle, a common issue for those who have memory loss.

Featured in this month’s Special Needs App Review, the Smart Steps mobile app helps to support users with cognitive challenges through guided decision making and individualized feedback. Assisting individuals with autism, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, the app helps users regain their independence in the community, classroom, and workplace by assisting in everyday decision-making. Some features include: 24/7 support options, decision trees, and the ability to personalize an account. The Smart Steps app is free of charge and can be found in the iTunes App Store.

June 2014 – Sprint Good Works^SM launched their Neurodiversity ID Pack, a mobile applications collection assisting consumers with neurodevelopmental disabilities and cognitive conditions, such as autism, dyspraxia, and dyslexia. As the third largest wireless networking corporation in the U.S., Sprint is demonstrating their commitment to wireless accessibility with this collection of apps, weblinks, educational tools, developmental games for children, and support apps for parents.