Scott is a self-employed handyman contractor in the Okanagan. He does maintenance and small renovation projects for rental property owners and homeowners, as well as work as a subcontractor. New to the industry, he’s in the early stages of building his client base.

“I’m half deaf in one ear due to injury,” he shares. “This has negatively impacted client relations and safety in the workplace where communication prevents accidents.”

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In this episode of our AT Help Desk podcast, “We Have Solutions,” Seaver Stafford is joined by Nakia Singh. They talk about the AT Summit, Legere Reading App, and the 1X NEO home robot.

Listen on Amazon Music or Spotify.

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Debbie is a media and marketing strategist, and the founder of her own company, which provides contract work to about 20 other freelancers across BC and beyond. Much of her job involves work on the computer — including doing spreadsheets, analyzing data, writing reports, drafting proposals, and engaging with the ad accounts of her clients social channels.

“I have a visual impairment that has made it very difficult to see fine detail on the screen,” she shares. “It slows down my work which limits how many clients I can bring on and how much work I can generate for my partners.”

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Last May, after many years of volunteering in her community, Lynn began working her first paid job in 23 years as a library assistant at the local library in Fort St James. She has a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair, needing an accessible vehicle to commute to and from work.

“Earlier that year, my accessible vehicle was involved in an accident, which significantly impacted my independence. Without reliable transportation, everyday activities — including volunteering — became difficult and unsustainable,” she says. “I knew I needed to return to work in order to purchase a new accessible vehicle and regain my independence.”

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There are lots of great reading apps on the market that are designed to offer alternative approaches to accessing digital text. In fact, the app that we are looking at today is essentially the Android version of one of our favourites, Voice Dream Reader.

Legere Reader is a reading app designed to support people who face barriers when accessing digital text. Built with accessibility at its core, Legere helps users read, listen to, and interact with documents in ways that match their individual needs. It is a great option for individuals with visual impairments, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, brain injuries, or anyone who benefits from customizable reading tools.

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Lena works as an ESL teacher. Her duties include helping the students practice pronunciation, providing guidance and feedback, and managing the flow of class, all in a noisy and fast-paced environment. She has hearing loss.

“Without my hearing aids it was extremely difficult for me to communicate efficiently with my students, understand their comments and questions, as well as help my students become confident while speaking, because they were not sure if they made any mistakes every time I could not hear them,” she shares.

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We’ve looked at task management and to-do list apps in the past, but we haven’t spent a lot of time looking at apps that are designed to promote independent living. CanPlan was designed specifically with people who have cognitive challenges in mind, offering a way to complete everyday activities by breaking them down into clear, manageable steps. The app was designed with a variety of individuals in mind, including those with brain injuries, dementia, Autism, Fetal Alcohol, Dyslexia, and a variety of developmental disabilities.

CanPlan is a step-by-step photo-reminder/planner app that pairs simple instructions with a variety of prompts. Users can choose from photos, text, and optional audio prompts in order to guide individuals through a variety of routines like making a meal, completing household chores, or getting ready to leave the house.

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While receiving training for a career in human resources, Earl was referred to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for accommodations to help him with his studies and job search activities. Earl faces many employment-related barriers.

“I have physical, cognitive, and mental health related functional limitations that can affect comfort, concentration, processing speed, and stamina when completing tasks. Without appropriate ergonomic support and structured working conditions, it can be more difficult to stay focused for extended periods and to complete computer-based work consistently,” he shares.

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On the latest episode of our AT Help Desk podcast, “We Have Solutions,” we review the Youlearn.ai app as well as Dragon Anywhere Mobile, and discuss the upcoming AT Summit taking place in February. To register for the AT Summit, click here.

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Theresa has been working as a public service assistant at a library for 10 years, helping people from all walks of life access resources at the library.

“I experienced gradual, age-related hearing loss that made it very difficult to understand conversations,” she shares. “I was constantly asking people to repeat themselves, and it was as frustrating to me as I am sure it was to anyone with whom I was attempting to converse, both patrons and colleagues.”

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