Laura Medcalf in her element at Easterseals Crossroads

Laura Medcalf’s Legacy

“I try to do as much as I can independently. That’s my motto. I want to do as much as I can while I can.” Laura Medcalf lived by her word. Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the age of four, she spent her whole life pushing past limits, exceeding expectations and inspiring other people […]

TranscribeGlass

TranscribeGlass™ Brings Captions to the Forefront

We likely all remember Google Glass, the ill-fated — though well-intentioned — brand of smart glasses developed and distributed by Google. After a great deal of criticism, the prototype officially stopped production in early 2015. Nearly 10 years later, the infamous Google Glass was resurrected. Well, sort of. At the annual tech trade show CES […]

MouthPad

Augmental Offers World’s First Hands-Free Touchpad

As a quadriplegic, Keely Horch spent a long time avoiding assistive technology since much of it required the use of her upper limbs. Tomás Vega, the CEO and founder of Augmental, shared her frustration, and out of that, he developed the MouthPad^, the world’s first hands-free touchpad. “Human-computer interaction really has been focused on the […]

The OrCam Hear

OrCam Hear Offers Conversation Solutions

In a 2023 study of more than 2,800 older adults, 65.3% (about 21.5 million individuals) of those aged 71 years or older had hearing loss, and by age 90 years, 96.2% of adults had hearing loss. However, only 29.2% of those with hearing loss used hearing aids. OrCam offers a more advanced hearing solution. The […]

Accessibility features for speech

iOS 17 Accessibility Features: Speech

Communication is vital for all of us, but it can also create barriers, especially for people with disabilities. The new iOS 17 not only offers non-speaking communication, but it also gives literal voice to the voiceless. Speech Is Just a Tap Away With Live Speech, users can type what they want to say or choose […]