Really wishing there was a good textbook reading app for someone with both visual and cognitive #disabilities.

I just started a new course at Colorado Christian University, and this week's reading is 7 chapters from a book called Introducing Christian Doctrine—which is pretty heavy stuff. I've been struggling just to get through the first chapter.

I tried reading in Word with JAWS, but quick navigation keys keep getting disabled, and adding comments isn’t very accessible. So I switched to the ePub version in Bookworm, which lets me add bookmarks, named bookmarks, and comments. That’s been a huge help.

For notes, I’m using Joplin, which works well for organizing thoughts in Markdown. And when I hit a sentence I don’t understand—like “propounded dogmatically” (what even is that?)—I just open Copilot in the browser and ask for a plain-language explanation.

It’s not perfect, but it’s working. I just wish there were tools designed with both cognitive load and screen reader accessibility in mind. Reading theology is hard enough without fighting the tech too.

(My degree is in computer science, but theology is part of the core curriculum.)

#disability #multipleDisabilities #Accessibility #JAWS #ScreenReader #CognitiveDisability #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Blind #Neurodivergent #NeurodivergentBlind #BookwormReader #JoplinNotes #Joplin #Markdown #TheologyStudent #Christian #ChristianUniversity #InclusiveTech #EdTech #AccessibleReading #DisabilityInEducation #StudyTools #ePub #AssistiveTechnology #MastodonEdu

@mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @neurodivergentblind

Explore what cognitive disabilities are, why they matter in digital accessibility, and how to make the web more usable for everyone.

https://buff.ly/3Y7x6AW

#Accessibility #Cognitive #CognitiveDisability #DigitalAccessibility #IntellectualDisability #WebAccessibility #A11y

Today I asked my adult special needs son to help me with a small home task and he made only a perfunctory objection and was then quite helpful.

This sounds like a complaint. It is not. It is a celebration. I am a bit teary. He has come a very long way and lately seems to be improving every month.

If I’d known 20y ago we’d get here I’d have less white hair now.

#autism #specialneeds #cognitivedisability

I was reminded today why PDs used to arrest special needs adults because they would confess to any semi-plausible crime.

When T has strong feelings he confabulates. He describes extraordinary events that did not happen. He kind of believes what he says — though belief is a complex thing. Often it’s about a local K-9 unit arresting someone who displeased him.

#specialneeds #cognitivedisability

In retirement I am considering providing a low cost/free iOS/macos support service for local low income vulnerable adults and caregivers.

The legal felony risks (edited, was “liability”) risks of physically touching a machine seem high however. There is too much power with modern credential storage. By definition these are vulnerable people — though usually low asset. (Nothing to steal)

Has anyone seen any discussion of this issue? 1/2 ….

#cognitivedisability #specialneeds

Pinned post for discovery of person (me) based on topics of interest:

#liberalism - ideology #liberal
#bicycling
#medicine
#singletrack
#mountainBiking
#science
#anthropology
#sociology
#economics
#cognitivedisability #specialneeds
#cognitivescience
#wordcel

https://appdot.net/@jgordon/112479879754387311

The W3C gives advice on how to make content usable for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.

https://buff.ly/2PbOhOO

#Accessibility #A11y #Cognitive #CognitiveDisability #LearningDisabilities #Neurodiversity #IntellectualDisabilities #UX #UserExperience

My cognitively disabled son is spending impulsively - we have had to kill his debit card.

OTOH US disability rules mean he can't accumulate savings, so when he works near full-time he HAS to spend or we have to stuff money in the screwed up ABLE plan system. And neurotypicals spend money on, for example, cable TV, cigarettes, and the GOP.

We are trying to figure this out ... Experimenting with prepaid debit cards ...

#cognitivedisability #specialneeds #disability

He was having trouble using iOS Mail.app - creating complexity and settings.

https://www.sphone4all.com/2023/07/19/iphone-email-failures-review-your-settings/

In this case it's a lifelong cognitive disability, but it's similar for elders with acquired cognitive issues. Apps continually grow in complexity but it's often possible to reverse the complexity of Apple products in Settings. #special_needs #CognitiveDisability

#jgshare

Via @e8d79:

New browser extension fixes YouTube thumbnails by:

- Removing sensational language from video titles

- Replacing clickbait thumbnail images with a still image that is actually from the video

https://beehaw.org/post/716342

#YouTube #Clickbait #Marketing #DeceptivePatterns #DeceptiveDesign #Sensationalism #Anxiety #CognitiveDisability #UX

Took me a while to understand why my 26yo likes to register for big bike events and go to college hockey games.

He can be part of the adult world and pass as “normal”. Just one of the masses. (And, of course, for the same reasons as everyone else)

#autism #cognitivedisability

Apple has just announced a number of new accessibility features coming to the iPhone, iPad and Mac:

https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2023/05/apple-previews-live-speech-personal-voice-and-more-new-accessibility-features/

There are some impressive-seeming innovations for blind and low-vision users, and the ability to create a voice trained on your own speech patterns could be a lifesaver for people with degenerative conditions like ALS

But the highlight for me is the new support for people with cognitive disabilities, who haven’t perhaps been served so well by Apple up to now – this is a welcome first step 🙌

And I was very pleased to read that Apple will be highlighting the advocacy work of Autistic non-speaker and AAC user Jordyn Zimmerman 💜

#GAAD #GAAD2023 #accessibility #CognitiveDisability #disability #ListenToNonSpeakers #AAC #CommunicationIsABasicHumanRight #Apple

When I was on a county advisory board regarding #homelessness I was laser-focused on prodding the system to upgrade #infectioncontrol. Nowadays that topic is more widely discussed. But still few discuss the role of #cognitivedisability in exacerbating things for many of the half million Americans who are #homeless.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/evidence-based-living/202009/what-we-know-about-homelessness-and-intellectual-disability