Software developer, company founder leading sessions

The founder of AssistiveWare software will be at Anne Carlsen Center for Children Monday, June 18, for two training sessions.

David Niemeijer of Amsterdam, has been developing assistive technology software for more than 10 years. He does so in collaboration with users and assistive technology specialists.

Registration for the two sessions is now being accepted. Participants may attend one for $45 or both for $75. Seating is limited for the hands-on sessions.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for people who use the software or support individuals who use it, " said ACCC’s Assistive Technology specialist Mark Coppin, "to work with David and learn the ins and outs of the software directly from him. We’re thrilled to be able to bring him to North Dakota. "

The first session, from 8 A.M.–NOON, will cover AssistiveWare’s VisioVoice, Keystrokes, and Proloquo programs.

VisioVoice makes using the computer easier, more efficient and more fun to use for people with vision impairments. It has high quality voices, an easy-to-use text reader, powerful zoom, large cursors, and a fully-functional advanced virtual on-screen keyboard that allows users to type with a mouse, trackball, head pointer or other mouse emulator.

Keystrokes provides word prediction and can reduce typing efforts by 50 to 70 percent.

Proloquo is a multi-purpose, multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that:

Provides a full-fledged communication system (AAC) for people who cannot speak.
Improves accessibility of Mac OS X for people with visual impairments.
Provides speech feedback in any application while typing for children and people with learning disabilities.
Can serve as a talking word processor.
Provides text to speech for people who prefer listening to reading
Provides an advanced, multilingual speech engine for our KeyStrokes® onscreen keyboard and our SwitchXS® switch access solution.
Can be used as a tool to learn the pronunciation of foreign languages.

The second session, from 1–5 P.M., reviews SwitchXS and Layout Kitchen applications. SwitchXS is typically used by people who have very limited limb movement. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by using a scanning menu.

LayoutKitchen is an editor for SwitchXS scan panels. Users can use the software to create their own scan panels/keyboards to customize them to the controls and functions they need.

For more information about these sessions, visit
www.annecenter.org or contact Coppin at 1-800-568-5175.