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[ Music ]
>> The following program may contain strong language
and brief nudity.
But don't get your hopes up.
After all, this is Public Access TV.
This program was made possible from the support of VSA
of Texas, and Amerigroup.
[ Music ]
>> Rise up, Amerigroup.
>> Gene: Hi, folks.
I'm Gene.
>> Dave: And I'm Dave.
>> Gene: And we're the --
>> Dave and Gene: -- Gene and Dave Show.
>> Dave: I am so excited for this, another episode
of "South by Southwest."
And, man, this one is --
we pulled out all the technology stops.
Man, if you're a technology guru, you are going
to love this episode, so don't go anywhere.
And if you're not a technology guru --
>> Gene: You will be after watching this.
>> Dave: Watch it anyway because there are some really fantastic
cool stuff on here.
>> Gene: Yes; we've been coming to "South by Southwest"
for years, but this time we not only saw vendors,
but there are presentations and workshops,
everything that enabled people with disabilities.
>> Dave: Absolutely.
>> Gene: So let's get started.
>> Dave: So we got all hooked up,
we've got our camera gear on, and we are rocking and rolling
at "South by Southwest 2013."
>> Dave, we're here at "South by Southwest"
with Carrie and Dominic.
They're going to give a presentation on 3D printing.
And this is particularly geared for people with disabilities.
So you're going to enjoy this.
>> Enabled by design-athon is a 2-day event.
It's kind of an experiment
to see how we can bring together our community with makers
of new technology to come up with new products
that can potentially change people's lives.
>> Paul: All disabled are kind
of always just adapted to things really.
There are a couple of things
that it took me a long time to find a way around.
One of the biggest things that are going
to sound really trivial to everyone else breaking eggs
up until 2 years ago I've never cracked an egg in my life,
but that was until a friend of mine bought me this.
It's an egg breaker, a very simple thing, made of plastic.
It opens up a bit like that, egg goes in it, closes up,
you *** it on a surface, open it back up,
yolk and everything falls out of the thing,
and in theory no shell.
So that is a very, very simple example
of how a very simple product can --
I don't want to say change my life with making eggs
because I didn't feel like I was massively underprivileged not
being able to break eggs, but
it has opened up omelets, cakes I can bake.
I can bake now.
I've never been able to bake before.
>> So as you can see from that Enabled by Design has tried
to bring design for all to the mainstream really,
I think very importantly because of the society we live in,
because of the way disability is viewed on the whole,
Design for All and Universal Design is actually a really
useful concept for us to think through in terms
of how can we just mainstream accessibility?
How can we make sure
that everything we do meets everybody's needs
as best as possible?
And that was where most of the mentality that we came
from initially with Enabled by Design, particularly because of
where the product manufacture world is,
and also we started Enabled by Design about 4 years ago,
so 3D printing was maybe just
about being introduced [inaudible]
in 2009 at that point.
But even then we were a little bit before that.
So that's where it was.
Obviously in Enabled by Design we've got this amazing community
of people who either have a need themselves.
They have been users of this equipment.
Or there are occupational therapists, there are advisers
of people who need this equipment,
or there are designers or manufacturers
who are either making money from assistive equipment,
or they are, you know, designing really trivial things day to day
and they wanted to do something that mattered to them.
And so the idea was to bring 100 people together in a room
to look at a bunch of needs.
So there was -- I think we got 13 needs on the day.
It was a classic and an act upon thing.
And we -- as [inaudible] we do an awful lot
of digital [inaudible] for people
who spend 24 hours building absolute services in that sense.
The more we wanted to do was a physical hack-a thon
to actually see how far we could [inaudible] our products
over the course of 24 hours as well.
So one of the examples --
Paul is obviously our favorite subject,
but he enjoys it so much so why not.
But he came along and he kind of expressed a few
of this problems, a bit like his egg cracking problem,
but he also expressed a need for trying
to solve the kettle issue,
which you can see some of the prototypes on the table up here
where we were starting packing kettles.
As you can see, when you're missing both of your arms,
it's a bit of a dangerous struggle to try
and pour a kettle, to say the least.
And that was tending to be how he did it previously.
Kettles aren't really that brilliantly insulated for people
who want to push the button so that they can pivot
on the top half of their arm.
So we had some of the [inaudible]
and student designers thinking about this problem with a --
throughout this roomful of people, with us,
all of us working on these 13 ideas that we have.
And this was the outcome of it.
This was -- this is about as far as we got on the day.
>> The first presentation we went
to was 3D Design, Enabled by Design.
And I was wondering, Gene, what in the world is 3D printing?
You know, they go through a design and I was like,
"And how does that affect people with disabilities?"
But this Enabled by Design group is kind of like
when I was watching them they're like the AIR Austin, you know,
as to web pages as to what they use --
>> Gene: Right.
>> -- as what these Enabled by Design are for engineers
for the stuff that people with disabilities need.
I mean, all the time I'm thinking, "Man,
I just wish I had that one thing, that one type of remote
or that one day that, you know, I could get something done."
I think about it in my head and, wow, that's as far as it goes.
These Enabled by Design people, man, they've got 3D printing,
and they design everything 3D print it out,
and test it on the folks that need the equipment.
>> Gene: Yes.
The 3D printing, for those of you that aren't familiar
with it, is an additive manufacturing process.
Now, instead of say taking a block of wood
and chipping away whatever doesn't belong,
they start with nothing and just add to it bit by bit
until they get a item, customs item that they want.
Now, they didn't have a good video to show for us, but Dave
and I found one on a web.
This will show you how 3D printing works.
[ Sounds ]
>> It's pretty cool stuff.
So, Gene, I've heard that you had something special
that you had one time, and you lost it
and you needed to make another one.
And you used 3D printing.
>> Gene: Exactly, yes.
I had a special bowl that I used in the microwave
and it was just right for me to get out of the microwave.
I could never find a replacement for it.
But I called my brother who does 3D printing, and I said,
"This is what I need."
And he went and [inaudible].
This is what it looks like.
But he made that, yes, on his 3D printer.
So, you know, like you were saying,
you had in mind something you wanted or could really use,
I had a 3D printer bowl.
You could just make it.
>> I'll have to run right out and get one.
[Laughter]
>> So welcome you all to Enabled by Design-athon.
Enabled by Design is a [inaudible] as possible just
by making [inaudible] a little bit easier.
>> Great; to parallel evolution and accelerate evolution
and finding great solutions.
That's the first bit of good news.
We're really a collective bunch.
And there's something really exciting to think about,
you know, a future with products that are designed
to make the customer the expert.
>> The Enabled by Design-athon has kind of been about looking
at new technologies, new materials, new ways of working,
and bringing together a whole range of people,
certain designers, engineers, health and safety professionals,
people with disabilitie as well.
So kind of getting most people together
and seeing what they can come up with within 24 hours.
[ Music and Background Talking ]
>> We've got [inaudible] for a half an hour.
My legs hurt and my arms are hurting.
[Inaudible].
>> So we're doing beautiful [inaudible].
>> I think people have been really quite inventive
with [inaudible].
We have things such as drugs [phonetic] going missing
from the refreshment table, and being [inaudible].
So yes, people have been hacking things, [inaudible].
[ Music and Background Talking ]
>> [Inaudible].
[ Music ]
>> Gene: Maybe Austin will have an Enabled
by Design workshop someday.
>> Dave: That would be awesome.
>> Gene: Yes; because they made 12 prototypes
in 24 hours, and it was great.
>> Dave: Very cool stuff.
We'll keep watching for those folks to come on over --
>> Gene: Yes, yes.
>> Dave: -- and work on stuff.
But until then, you know, go their website and check it
out at Enabled By Design.
So, Gene, with these 3D products that the people make, you know,
like the bowl, for example.
So when your brother printed the bowl out for you,
did he just mail it to you
and then you just used the 3D printing bowl?
>> Gene: I sure did, Dave.
But he made that a few years ago,
and now we have a little bit more information,
and we know that there are 2 different types
of plastic they use in 3D printing, at least 2;
one is toxic and the other is not.
And we've got that on our show summary page
that people can find at www.thegeneanddaveshow.com.
Look for the show and you'll read all about it.
>> Dave: If you ever want more information,
just go to our website.
We've got it all right there for you.
So after our 3D printing we kind of moseyed
on around the showroom floor.
I mean, there's just awesome stuff in there,
and of course right in the middle
of it were our good friends from Knowbility.
>> Gene: Knowbility.
Yes; these folks do so much for access
and information technology for people with disabilities.
So we just had a talk with them.
And the first person we spoke
with is our old friend, Kathy Keller.
>> Dave: So while I was cruising around you cornered Kathy
and asked her a few questions
about all this new print media stuff, and also other stuff
about how it's used in secondary education.
>> Gene: Yes.
Now, Kathy's trying to work on some state legislation that has
to do with accessible materials design council.
They're looking to establish a council.
They'll make sure that whatever learning materials are
in school are accessible to students.
Right now there are some issues with students being allowed
to use assistive technology
to complete their tests and assignments.
I know it's hard to believe but it just stuns me
that the school system isn't more helpful
to people with disabilities.
>> Dave: So they're able to learn
and they do all their studies, and they write their papers
and everything on all this great assistive technology
and then they go in to take a test,
and all of a sudden it's taken away from them?
>> Gene: Right, exactly.
>> Dave: Oh, man, okay.
>> Gene: And it even gets worse
in the postsecondary system and universities.
Believe it or not, education is not the number one priority
for universities.
And it boggles the mind that they don't want
to make textbooks accessible right away,
but there you have it.
Maybe you should be a football player
and then you get what you want.
>> Dave: Okay.
All right; so let's listen to Kathy.
>> Kathy Keller: I'm Kathy Keller.
And my day job is I'm the electronic information resources
accessibility coordinator for the Department of Family
and Protective Services.
So what do you want me to tell you, like the whole background?
>> Gene: Well, tell us about the bill you're working on now
and the group you're working with.
>> Kathy Keller: Okay.
So the bill that I'm excited to tell you
about is House Bill 3586,
and that bill will create an accessible learning
materials council.
And that council will address issues for students
with disabilities in Texas K through 12.
>> Gene: So, Kathy, we've been working on this for years,
and even before the ADA, about accessible learning materials.
We were trying to get e-books in the school years and years ago,
and our biggest problem back then was copyright issues.
Has that been raised in your group at all?
>> Kathy Keller: Frankly, we haven't talked
about copyright issues as much as we've talked
about just all the general access issues for students in K
through 12 and how sometimes they have access
to their learning materials
but they can't use their assistive technology
for taking tests.
And that can be a big issue for them.
There are many discrepancies with students and their programs
for accessibility in K through 12, so my good friend,
Jan McSorley, who you know well.
>> Gene: Sure, oh, yes.
>> Kathy Keller: Yes.
>> Gene: Yes; we know Jan.
>> Kathy Keller: Yes; and we all -- Jan's a great advocate.
And she and I and some others began a work group
that we call the "K through 12 Accessibility Work Group,"
and we've been meeting monthly since January of 2012.
And this fall we got really geared up and we met
with the chief of staff
at Representative Mark Strama's office.
Her name is Mary Throop, and we presented to her the issues
that we had put together regarding the civil rights
of students with disabilities in K through 12.
And Strama's office really took an interest in this,
and we worked closely with them to put this bill together
that would create this council.
You know, Gene, there's a council now
that addresses accessibility for state agencies.
It's the Accessibility Council of Texas, and that group's been
around for about 7 years, and our friend, Glenda Sims,
was involved in that, and Ron Lucy from DARS,
and a lot of great folks that work for state agencies
or did -- like Linda did work for a state agency.
We were putting our efforts towards making electronic
information accessible to the public,
and to staff working at state agencies.
So this bill for K through 12 would create a council very much
structured after the Accessibility Council of Texas.
It would have subject matter experts
and accessible technology, as well as TEA, and teachers,
and parents of students with disabilities.
So we're very hopeful about this.
>> Gene: Now, after we talked with Kathy,
we spoke with Desiree.
And Desiree knows everything
about any Mac product and accessibility.
She's always showing us all kinds of cool things.
But this year she also showed us a refreshable Braille unit,
and other things.
>> Dave: And Desiree's no stranger
to the Gene and Dave Show.
>> Gene: That's right.
>> Dave: I think she wins an award for being on the most
of our shows, because if we need something about knowledge
and technology, boy, Desiree she's the place to go.
>> Gene: She's super.
Tell us about your refreshable Braille unit to start with.
>> Desiree: This -- you probably --
I don't know if you've seen one like it before,
this is the Braille Sense Plus,
and it actually is running my iPad, not my computer.
>> Gene: Oh, okay.
>> Desiree: So it's actually controlling the iPad using
voiceover and the Braille so I'm able to basically open any
of my apps that I want to pretty much do anything I want
on the iPad using this keyboard and the Braille.
>> Gene: And it's giving you audio feedback?
>> Desiree: It's giving audio as well as Braille.
>> Gene: Oh, okay, okay, super.
>> Desiree: The only problem is I don't have wireless in here.
It's too busy and all the wireless networks are blocked
up so I can't go to a website on the iPad.
>> Gene: So, how -- what's your email address?
>> Desiree: It's -- well I'll show it up here on the screen,
but I'll put it right here.
Do you want to -- it's right there on the screen,
cdsturdy@sbcglobal.net, or desiree@Knowbility.org.
>> Gene: All right, super, thank you, Desiree.
All right, thanks Desiree.
Now, the top banana, the chief cook and bottle washer
of course is Sharon Rush.
>> Dave: Absolutely.
>> Gene: And Sharon built Knowbility,
which is a organization here in Austin to make --
or help make to the web accessible worldwide.
And Sharon had some interesting things to say.
Here we are again at "South by Southwest 2013,"
in our favorite booth, Knowbility, with Sharon Rush.
Sharon, you've been a long-time friend to the show.
Tell us what you're doing here today.
>> Sharon Rush: Knowbility has a booth at "South
by Southwest" once a year.
We look forward to it.
It's our chance to talk about technology access for people
with disabilities in a mainstream forum
with technology professionals who love technology,
and maybe have never thought about what does it mean
to make technology accessible to people with disabilities?
So we get to be here with all these bright thinkers
and innovators, and get them engaged in the challenge
of making websites and other technology accessible
to people with disabilities.
>> Dave: So, Sharon, AIR Austin is fantastic.
It helps build websites for folks,
it's still going on, correct?
>> Sharon Rush: Oh, yes.
AIR is definitely going on,
and in fact it changed a lot this year.
That's another thing that we do at South
by Southwest is we give away our accessibility internet rally
awards for web professionals
who have taken the accessibility challenge and created websites
that are accessible by people with --
for people with disabilities.
>> Gene: Also, you'll be doing the Dewey Awards tonight.
Do you want to tell us about that?
>> Sharon Rush: We're happy that we get
to give our Accessibility Internet Rally, or AIR Awards
in conjunction with the Dewey Winburne Awards.
In 2002 I was very privileged to be given honors
at the Dewey Winburne Community Service
Through Technology Awards.
And it's something -- Dewey Winburne was a --
he was one of the founders of the Interactive Festival.
He was a very connected to the community kind of guy.
He's one of the kinds of innovators that you see all
over South by Southwest.
And unfortunately he passed away before South
by Southwest became the phenomenon that it is now.
But they understood his influence and his dedication
to the community by creating this award.
They give 10 people Dewey Winburne Community Service award
every year in recognition of ways
that technology transforms the lives of people
in the community, people who use basically technology
for good, or tech for good.
So yes, the Dewey Winburne's Awards we do that in conjunction
with the Accessibility Internet Rally or AIR Awards.
>> Dave: Yes; she is so tied into South by Southwest.
You know, never surprises me.
She's always right on the ball, and just right in there
so we thank you so much, Sharon, for all your help with the Gene
and Dave Show, and also for just making the world a better place.
>> Gene: Absolutely.
>> Dave: And a more accessible place.
>> Gene: Exactly.
>> Dave: So thanks to Sharon and the rest
of the crew at Knowbility.
>> Gene: Now, every year at South by Southwest Sharon
and the group at Knowbility will present the Dewey Winburne
Community Service Awards.
And that's an award given to folks who use information,
technology as a community service.
And yours truly was a nominee one year.
But went to the ceremony the Dewey Winburne Ceremony
presentation, and I ran into our old friend, Charles Chen.
Now, if you folks are a fan of the show, you'll remember
that Charles Chen was an intern at the John Slatin Institute
for Accessibility here in Austin some years back,
and wrote a plug-in for a web browser
that would read aloud mathematical symbols.
Now, if you're science-minded and you're blind, this is huge.
This is a big deal.
And Charles did it while he was an intern.
Well, now he's over at Google, and he came in from California
from Google there to the South by Southwest this year,
and he was telling me about an organization called "Tecla."
And they've got amazing products for people with disabilities.
>> Dave: Yes; this thing is so cool, just hook it
up to your wheelchair and or whatever device,
even just a single button.
I was amazed, just a single button
and you can control your smart phone with it.
Amazing stuff.
Check out this video that we saw on the web about Tecla.
[ Music ]
>> Smart phones and tablets are revolutionizing our lives,
but millions of people are still unable to use them due
to disease or disability.
Introducing the Tecla Shield.
The Tecla Shield helps people with mobility issues
by letting them use the interfaces they are familiar
with to control state-of-the-art mobile devices.
The user activates an adaptive switch, or the driving control
of their wheelchair to send commands to the Tecla Shield.
Then the Tecla Shield relays the command wirelessly
to the mobile device.
Tecla allows control of smart phones and tablets,
with adapted devices ranging from a single switch
to multiple switch inputs.
Tecla will soon be compatible
with more devices, so stay tuned.
[ Music ]
>> For me to access the phone I use the different switches
that are already available on my chair.
I drive with my headrest and the shoulder switch to sort
of change gears forwards, backwards.
But when using the phone and so it's all connected that way.
So I use the shoulder switch to switch to [inaudible] box,
and then I would use the head controls
to navigate the onscreen keyboard of Tecla.
>> Gene: Now, Dave, we know that Sharon is always in the know.
She told us about Leap Motion, which is a vendor
at South by Southwest.
So we went to check out what they were showing their demo.
But first here's a video that we stole off the web
that really gives an idea of what this product is all about.
>> Dave: So if you are able to use your hands somewhat
but maybe you had difficulty with the keyboard
or using a mouse, this looks like a really cool alternative
for anybody that can just kind of wave their arms around
and make something happen.
So let's check out their little demo first.
[ Music ]
>> Gene: Yes, that was amazing.
I've never seen anything like that before.
I went to test it out.
>> Dave: So their demo was cool, but you wanted to actually see
if you could use this thing.
>> Gene: Yes.
>> Dave: Because these guys were using chopsticks
and pinching and dragging --
>> Gene: Right.
>> Dave: -- using both arms and swinging
around like they were Kung Fu masters; but, you know,
how is this really going to work in the real world?
So you went down there to check it out, right?
>> Gene: Absolutely.
Now, I can't use my fingers at all.
My hand is permanently in a ball like this, but I was able
to play the virtual harp by waving my hand
over this device they had at the desk.
Now, in the video you could see the virtual strings getting
plucked there.
Unfortunately, the volume's not good in the studio,
but so someone like myself can interface with the computer.
I'm thinking other people
with lesser disabilities might really --
this might really open up the world.
So we were really happy to see that.
>> Dave: Oh, man, I can't wait
to hear this music that you're making.
All right; so here's Gene plucking away.
[ Background Talking ]
>> Gene: Dave, you remember our friend Glenda Sims?
>> Dave: Sure.
She was also at the Knowbility Booth.
>> Gene: Yes, she was.
And she's been around so many years evangelizing the virtues
of accessibility and such.
And she was on our technology show years ago
and taught us what it means to have an accessible webpage.
>> Dave: Yes.
>> Gene: Really how to make it accessible.
She's now a company called "Deque,"
and they do all things accessible on the web.
But here's what Glenda had to say.
Now, Glenda, you're an old friend of their shows.
You helped us understand how to build
and accessible website for our access show.
And now you're with Deque, and Deque is spelled --
>> Glenda Simms: D E Q U E; but I joke with my family
that I'm really just a manager at Dairy Queen.
Would you like a Blizzard with that?
>> Gene: And what exactly does Deque do?
>> Glenda Sims: So we do anything to do
with digital accessibility, because we just want
to make sure that everything is available to everyone.
I do strategic planning, we do manual evaluations,
we do automated evaluations, we do captioning.
You name it, if it's
in the digital space we can make it accessible.
>> Gene: And how important is
that to make websites accessible?
I mean, what does it mean to the company that owns the website?
>> Glenda Sims: You know, that's a really good question, Gene,
because I've been in the field for about 12 years,
and 12 years ago we were doing it
because we believed it was the right thing to do.
We believed it was part of making sure
that everyone had equal access.
There's been a lot of legislation,
and to tell you law suits since then about equal rights,
that the internet, that the web really is a human right.
Access to this information is a human right.
And so what I've discovered in the past 2 years is that more
and more companies are coming to this.
Some of them are coming to it because of legal pressure,
but a lot of them are recognizing
that this is an equal right and they're excited about it,
so it is critically important for companies to do this
without a doubt, because there's legal pressures.
But what I love more than anything is the connection
into universal design.
So we're not just doing this for people with disabilities,
but it actually ends up making
for a better web presence for all.
My favorite catch line is, "When we think about disabilities,
we think about people that cannot see,
people that cannot hear, people that may not be able
to use a mouse, cognitive and speech."
I want you to remember that so much
of the digital world is lacking those same senses.
For example, Google is deaf, blind, and cannot use a mouse.
So the things that we do to make the web more accessible
to people with disabilities actually makes
for a better experience for all, whether we look
at search engine optimization, or whether we look
at mobile devices and more.
>> Gene: You know, I talk to some folks at companies
and I say, "Well, this isn't really accessible."
And they say something like, "Well,
we're not required to be accessible."
And my question is, "Well,
why wouldn't you want to be accessible?"
>> Glenda Sims: And I think that there has been for a number
of years lack of understanding for people
that accessibility does require to them, that it is a part
of the Americans with Disability Act.
If you are in the United States there are laws that are going
into place internationally.
Canada is just passing a law.
So I'm finding much more recognition of this.
Companies are coming
to us before they get into legal trouble.
What's been most impressive to me is that when I get
into these big, big like Fortune 100 companies, that might be
under a little pressure from upper management to move forward
on accessibility, I'm always wondering,
"Are the developers going to be excited about it?
Are they not going to be happy to see me?"
And what I've found every single time is that as soon
as I introduce them to what accessibility really is,
equal access, equal rights, web for everyone, web on everything,
that they catch fire with it.
And before I know it, I'm getting phone calls
from Fortune 100 developers who are trying
to use a screen reader for the first time, and they're going,
"Oh my God, this is awful."
And I'm like, "Yes."
And they go, "How did they ever handle this?"
I'm like, "Well, they're really courageous and tenacious."
And they start to care and they take it even further.
They're like, "How is this person really going to be able
to buy this ticket and attend this event?"
They stop even caring just about the digital space, but they want
to make sure that the person
who purchased whatever it is can actually experience it,
enjoy it all the way to its fullest.
So it's that connection to doing good for real humans
that lights them on fire.
>> Gene: She's wonderful.
I always like speaking with her.
>> Dave: Oh, yes, she's a lot of fun.
So we do occasionally get away from the showroom floor.
And we got the opportunity to go to a few workshops too.
And we found another gentleman that also is blind
who uses the phone as a device,
as Desiree had shown us, over and over again.
You know, she doesn't leave home without it.
Her phone helps her do everything.
And we met Victor, who also talked about his phone
and the apps for his phone.
>> Gene: Yes.
Victor works at Yahoo, and he develops apps for folks
with disabilities, particularly visual impairments, to interface
with their phone, particularly to buy things.
But Victor conducted this workshop,
and then he invited the audience to take part
in getting a firsthand look of what a phone actually does.
Yes; to getting a sense of what needs to be accessible.
Here's Victor.
>> Victor: There's an interesting delta here
when you start talking about users who don't interact
with interfaces in the same way as most people.
And so, for example, if you have a low vision, that light,
for example, may be too weak for you, or the [inaudible].
If you're blind and you put your light switch somewhere near the
floor, most likely I'm never going
to be able to find it, right?
What I asked Jeff to do is to use his Android device
and describe what you feel when you use the device?
Okay, go ahead.
You can just start dragging your finger.
>> Jeff: What do I feel --
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: -- it vibrating every time.
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: I can't tell if --
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: I think it's vibrating when I get
to something [inaudible].
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Victor: Okay; anything else?
>> Jeff: Well, it's also talking to me.
>> Victor: Yes.
>> Jeff: You get lots of little [inaudible].
>> Victor: Yes; anything else?
And try it as long as you need to.
>> Jeff: Yes; I'm stuck in --
>> [Inaudible].
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: Okay; so far all I've noticed is if I turn on --
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: It's all kind of smashed together,
so you really have to listen to what's going on with the --
>> Victor: Okay, cool.
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: Well, because I can see the outline [inaudible].
>> Victor: Sure, sure; anything else that you [inaudible]?
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Jeff: [Inaudible].
>> Victor: Exactly, yes; so this is what's called --
Google calls it earcons.
It's kind of like icons but for your ears.
>> Jeff: So, they're --
>> Victor: Yes; the ideas
of those sounds you can also use them as a guide
to let you know what's happening.
So, for example, when I scroll left or right --
[ Sounds ]
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Victor: So you can see -- so as I move up or down or left
or right you'll hear this, "Ding, ding, ding," the sound.
So this is just to let you know that, you know,
in case you didn't hear the speech you can listen
for these sound or cues to tell you what's --
you know, what kind of action you've performed.
Okay?
>> Jeff: Okay.
>> Victor: Okay; so let's summarized,
we've got what's called "[inaudible] feedback."
As Jeff told you, if you touch the hat it was vibrating.
So every time he moved his finger, he will do --
>> Device Sound: [Inaudible].
>> Victor: -- again, you know,
and then there's the sound, right?
Okay; let's do the same thing with [inaudible].
>> Dave: So Victor was really smart, and in fact, you know,
he seemed to have his own crystal ball, and even talked
about a few secrets that he's working on with the Yahoo folks
about this is something that you might see coming soon.
>> Gene: Yes; this was amazing.
We asked Victor, "Well, what should we expect
to see in the future?"
And he was telling us one thing is an explosion
in gesture-based programs, or apps.
And this is like that Leap Motion program,
just waving your hand or looking at something will interface
with the computer or smart phone.
And so I'm looking forward to that
so I could make some funny faces
with my iPhone and see what happens.
>> Dave: And we know it's coming.
In fact, you heard it right here on the Gene and Dave Show,
so don't say we didn't tell you so.
Speaking of crystal balls and Victor,
he said that they're going to start using some
of that technology of the phone
and guessing what you're thinking, and predicting based
on your gestures and things you're doing.
One of the examples he used like, "If you look outside,
if you look out the window, your phone will just say, 'Well,
today it's going to be partly sunny with a high of 95,
just because you're looking at the window.
And the phone knows, you know, 'Well,
he must be thinking about the weather."
>> Gene: Yes; it's kind of scary, but for folks
like me it might be helpful.
I don't want to be spending all my time at the keyboard
so that could be a good thing.
>> Dave: So just turn on your gesture recognition
and the thing will tell you, you know, what's going to happen.
>> Gene: Yes; that was a good group.
I think some people were surprised.
Victor mentioned the earcons instead
of icons was [inaudible].
It's earcons for people that hear things.
There's no things on the phone that will alert you
to certain situations, so it was good to be able to be there.
>> Dave: There's some pretty cool stuff.
>> Gene: Yes.
Thank you, Victor.
>> Dave: So we've talked a lot about the technology devices
and the things of how some people do it,
or use them to be able to live and to be able
to do the things that they need to do.
But another group that we heard and we talked
to in another workshop was how these devices
and the applications for them, you know, once we get an iPad
or an iPhone, how people with autism
and learning disabilities can just explode
with their learning, just by being able to hold an iPad
and to be in control of their own learning
and to make their own choices.
And they went over app, after app, after app of things
that has changed, and not only lives of children
with autism, but also adults.
You know, and one thing that you can watch
for in here is them talking about, you know,
how adults don't need a Mickey Mouse app
because they're adults, but they still want to learn some
of the same basic concepts and tools.
And those apps are out there too.
And these --
>> Gene: Yes; and age appropriate apps, yes.
>> Dave: Sure; and these folks showed us how.
This was very interesting, and really opened my mind
to many new applications available
for people with autism.
>> Gene: Yes; this apps autism group was packed.
It was a huge room, and it was just packed.
You and I had trouble finding places to sit.
But they explained what autism was.
Sammy, the one gentleman speaking there,
told us that he had a free book online apps for special needs.
If you look at the title online, they used the number 4 instead
of spelling it out F O U R. And if you look for apps
for special needs on the web,
you'll find a place you could download it for free,
or at least view it for free.
But yes, let's take a look at this data.
>> Dave: Or if you don't want to look around for it,
you know where to go, the geneanddaveshow.com.
>> Gene: The geneanddaveshow.com.
>> Dave: It will be right there in the show summary
for our South by Southwest 2013 show.
>> Gene: Yes.
>> Dave: But now let's check these folks out.
>> Finally, we have Sami Rahman.
>> Sami: Hi.
>> Sami is the co-founder of bridgingapps.org,
but he's also the author of iPads for Special Needs
which is also available on the web for free.
He has certification
in assistive technology applications programs
from Cal State.
And he works with Easter Seals of Greater Houston
with his company that helps parents, therapists, doctors
and teachers share information on how to use mobile devices
like iPad, iPhone, iPad Touches and more.
So when we're looking at autism, there's a lot
of stereotypes [inaudible].
And because of this, everybody's individual needs
and what they need [inaudible]
when you literally have 60 people in a room and none
of them will be anything alike,
you're as individual as [inaudible].
So what ties all those groups together?
Well, most people with autism have some sort of speech
and language communication delay.
They have poor social skills, and maladaptive behavior.
But in reality you're looking at language you have people
that are absolutely non-verbal.
That doesn't mean there's lack of intelligence,
that just means they need a better way to communicate.
And some people are pre-verbal,
can only say 2 to 3 words at a time.
And then you have people in the spectrum
that will absolutely talk your ear off.
All of them usually have some special language deficits.
And when it comes to social you have the population that's
completely withdrawn, don't want to be
around people, to highly social.
You have sensory issues, normal sensory to sensory overload.
Your process run way too fast or too slow.
So sometimes individuals but they can see the [inaudible],
everything's too loud.
And it's very hard just to do everyday activities,
because behavioral issues from nonexistent
to aggressive mainly caused by lack
of communication skills in [inaudible].
A lot of people have motor delays,
and many people have [inaudible].
It's a disability where it's almost impossible to rise,
and it's very hard to [inaudible].
So there are so many ways to work with people with autism
or communication, sign language, there's a very [inaudible]
that has individual pictures that they can communicate with.
But now that the iPad has come out it's been a game changer
in communication, and the great thing
about it it's really simple.
And finally, a solution for parents and for children
and it doesn't cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
It's affordable.
Everybody can go out and get one.
And for some reason, and we don't know why,
that those children really engage [inaudible] more
than they do a laptop.
And it's been a game changer.
[Inaudible] inexpensive, and the best thing
about it it's portable.
In the past you were carrying around big devices, but this,
you can take this everywhere, and it's visually acceptable,
[inaudible] organized such as your calendars, et cetera.
But the bad thing about the iPad is that it's so fun
and so engaging that you really don't want to do anything else.
And children with autism can get completely engrossed
in their tablets.
And they can focus just on their favorite topic,
maybe it's trains.
They might get social interaction,
their academic performance, working towards job goals,
this can be a con as well.
And then I would like to turn over our panel to Betsy Furler,
who's going to talk more about speech
and language and the iPad.
>> Betsy Furler: Hi, I'm Betsy Furler,
and I'm a speech pathologist
as Jennifer said, an autism consultant.
And I started using the iPod Touch as soon as it came out,
because I knew that [inaudible].
And I used it basically for reinforcement, the iPod Touch.
Because of the size of it, it was really difficult
to share that experience.
But when the iPad came out, it really was a game changer
because all of a sudden you have that interactivity of the iPad
and the -- of the iPod Touch and the larger size that
I could share the experience with the child
or adult I was working with.
So I could literally talk to you for about, you know,
4 or 5 days about how I use the iPod, and iPad,
but I only have a few minutes so I'm just going to go
through a few of my favorite apps
and give you just a little idea of why I like those apps
and what makes them so great.
Anybody is welcome to come and find me afterwards,
and I have my iPad with me always,
as my little comfort item, and I am more than happy to tell you
about the app that I'm going to show you some of them.
>> [Inaudible].
[Laughter]
>> Betsy Furler: Okay; I have multiple iPads,
but I only have 1 today.
>> She has an ankle holster.
[Laughter]
>> Betsy Furler: Ipad -- I'm going to start iPads
and Apps Anonymous for myself.
So some of my favorite apps for communication --
and all these apps also will be on our website
at www.bridgingapps.org.
We'll have a list of all of them so you don't have to write them
down or anything like that.
So some of my favorite apps
for communication ProLoQuo2Go was one
of the very first unlimited communication apps out there.
It really is at a conversational level if you need it to be
and it's also very customizable.
That's one thing I love about apps and working with this
with special needs is that if you can customize it
to their interests for your own content, that is a huge plus.
You can also bring in your own photos for drawing pictures.
And also Sonoflex is a similar app,
just set up a little bit different way.
It's also for augmentative communication.
They also can both be used in core language
or [inaudible] language.
So Much 2 Say entry level cognitive communication apps,
some of these AEC apps, as we call them,
are 2 to 3 hundred dollars for the apps,
so they are fairly pricy.
So for some of the early users, maybe a child
or an adult who's nonverbal, but we think that we've kind
of missed out on their communication over the years
and we just want to try something out
and see what we could get, something like So Much 2 Say is
about 25 bucks is a much better starting point.
And you can also upload your own pictures.
And then Go Talk Now is another customizable app that is modeled
after and made by a company
who has had [inaudible] communication.
The iPad and apps are also great for social skills.
It seems a little counterintuitive,
because you think about people turning into their devices
that we were calling your devices
or a lot of socialization.
And there are lots of apps out there.
Some of my 3 favorites are My Playhome,
which is a visual doll house apps.
[Inaudible] people around in a doll house and you can have --
you can pretend that they're talking to each other
and they can eat Food, they can take a shower,
and then they come out of the shower dripping wet.
I mean, you have to dry them off with a towel.
It's great for social skills, working with the child.
Two people can actually activate the app at the same time.
And it also leads into pretend play.
I love to have with kids that the child [inaudible],
use an app, then I can then go into pretend play,
kind of the reverse of what we normally think
as using technology with kids.
UNO is a card game that you're probably all familiar with,
[inaudible] love on the iPad even more
because as I say everything's more fun on the iPad.
And then Social Express is a complete curriculum
for teaching social skills, very engaging,
and it goes through little videos and activities
with the kids to learn social skills in like eye contact
and looking at the person who's talking to you and looking
at that object that they're talking about.
>> Can I add one?
>> Betsy Furler: Yes.
>> I'd like to add also we use my son
as [inaudible] we use Face Time to communicate
with his grandparents.
So it's a real treat for them.
They [inaudible]; and it's a really --
it's a way of reinforcing icons [inaudible].
>> Betsy Furler: Yes; that's great.
I also use Face Time with a boy that I've boy with for 13 years.
He's on the autism spectrum.
And a couple years ago he started getting a little tired
of me, and now we use Face Time probably with 50%
of our sessions, and he is so engaged with me now.
And he's also having to do things
like if I'm not online he has to text me or call me and tell me
to get online so we can have our session.
Also, if he has problems with a word if we're reading
or something, he has to --
if he spelled it to me sometimes I just don't like --
I don't -- I still [inaudible].
He has to type the word out and send me a message
with that word, and then also if I happen to not be on Face Time,
he wants to send me another message he's going
to send me [inaudible].
He's been sending me video messages, and that's really fun,
I'm really seeing his skills improve so much with that app
that is used by lots of people for lots of different reasons.
It wasn't designed for someone to use for therapy
or a child with autism.
And apps for language skills, there are millions of them
out there, but, you know, my big thing
with language skill apps is I really like the graphics.
That is something that, you know, you see from a lot
of the apps that are developed
for the special needs populations.
And so I end up using a lot of apps that are developed
for just the general population, because I love the graphics.
Grammar Wonderland is a really cool app that comes actually
in 2 different levels.
And it's made by one of the textbook publishing houses.
And it's readable graphics and it's very game-like.
So for some of those kids who are kind of reluctant
to do more academic school kind of work,
that kind of app is fantastic.
>> Gene: You know, Dave, when the presentation was over,
they had a line of people wanting to ask questions.
And everyone just stuck
around because they wanted more and more information.
And there's a wealth of information out there.
There's more resources like say our webpage.
So please feel free to explore our website
and see what you can find there.
>> Dave: Yes; and if you can't find us, please email us.
Use the contact link at the top and email Dave or Gene
at the Gene and Dave Show, and we'll see if we can answer it.
If you send us a really great question, we might come out
and film you or we might go out
and film whoever you're wanting to know about.
It would be great to add your comments
and your story to our own show.
>> Gene: And until the next time, folks, take care.
This is Gene.
>> Dave: And I'm Dave with the --
>> Gene and Dave: -- Gene and Dave Show.
>> Gene: See you next time.
>> Dave: Bye, now.
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