Neil Squire Solutions: The Video
Neil Squire Solutions is a team of healthcare professionals who specialize in using assistive technology and ergonomics to find the most effective individualized solutions to meet our clients’ needs.
Makers Making Change and COVID-19
Before the advent of the COVID-19 epidemic, it would have been hard to picture a scenario where small-scale manufacturers and makers would have such an important role to play in the health of our nation. But in this post-pandemic world, we are seeing restrictions on large-scale manufacturing due to the health concerns surrounding large gatherings of people. This unprecedented situation has presented the maker community with the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives by focusing on 3-D printed projects that impact the fight against COVID-19, as well as by continuing to safely deliver assistive technology to persons with disabilities during this pandemic.
Home Office Ergonomics Part 2
Before you begin, if you haven’t read part 1, please click here. This series is written by: Alain Désir, MSc.Erg.(Enr NB).
You will want to maintain your wrists at a natural angle when typing. Your hands should be as straight as your forearm when typing. To assure a proper wrist angle, collapse the keyboard legs so that the keyboard lays flat on the table. Use a palm rest if you have one. If not, roll a medium towel to make a DIY palm rest.
Home Office Ergonomics Part 1
During the Covid-19 pandemic a lot of people will be working from home due to the mandated quarantine measures. Most home teleworkers will have to spend hours a day working on their computers and telephone, but they will not have the proper furniture and equipment to reduce the risks of developing muscular skeletal injuries due to improper body positioning and biomechanics.
At-Home Learning Resources for Students
Up until recently, most of us haven’t had to stay at home with our school-aged children for extended (and unexpected) periods of time. In these situations, it’s essential that parents provide their children with stimulating learning resources. Doing this not only keeps the kids learning and focused on positive, educational ideas, but it also gives parents time to work, clean, prepare food, or to simply take a moment for themselves.
With that in mind, we’ve assembled a list of educational resources designed for at-home learning. These resources are mostly aimed at school-aged children, and all the content listed below is free.
Choiceworks Calendar
Calendars have been used as our primary means of organizing and scheduling for thousands of years, so it perhaps shouldn’t be much of a surprise that even in the digital era that we live in today, the basic structure and utility of the calendar hasn’t really changed, although it certainly has become digitized. This is great news for individuals who struggle with reading, writing, and executive functioning, or for anyone who simply forgets to, or chooses not to use paper calendars, because with this digitization comes convenience, and most importantly, an increase in accessibility.
EquatIO: Predictive Math Writing
Since the original roll out of extensions in 2010, Google Chrome has become a leading hub of accessible apps for PC and Mac computers. Many of these apps are free or free to try, thus providing users with an exposure to accessibility that was never possible before, and with Chrome being responsible for over half off all of the world’s internet traffic, accessible apps and features have never been more mainstream. And, thanks to the open-sourced origins of this browser, new accessibility extensions are being added every day.
Live Listen: Enhanced Hearing for iOS
Apple’s Air Pods have become hugely popular among consumers thanks in part to the fact that this new iteration of earbud is small, discrete, and completely wireless. But, what a lot of Apple users might not know is that these devices can also be used as assistive technology for individuals with auditory challenges! In today’s e-bulletin we’re going to explore the Live Listen accessibility feature which first debuted with iOS version 12.
CamScanner: OCR to PDF, and Beyond
Over the past few years, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) apps have been gaining increased popularity among both mainstream users and individuals with disabilities. Because this technology allows users to easily digitize and edit print-based documents, books, photos and more using their smartphones built-in camera, the barrier to alternative, digitized means of expression for individuals who struggle with print-based disabilities is becoming smaller and smaller. In the past, individuals with print-based disabilities would have to seek out alternative formats for learning content, a process that was often both costly and difficult. With OCR apps, individuals with disabilities can quite literally take matters into their own hands.
Learning Tools for Edge
While Apple is known for offering products with some the most complete built-in accessibility features available, many of the companies’ competitors have been putting similar focus into offering products with equally impressive built-in accessibility features. Microsoft, Samsung, Google, and many other tech giants have put a level of focus on accessibility that is unprecedented, and these innovations are happening fast, with many platforms and operating systems releasing major accessibility upgrades with every major update.


