Emerging Technology for Physically Challenged People

jame.rabusa wrote:

Oh yeah.. Afro. I wish disabled people can be given an option to grow Afro's even if they can't.

isaiah.magnaye wrote:I say yes and no, because there are handicap people who has money and there are handicap people who has no money. for me. it depends on the human if he/she will prioritize buying gadgets being launched by market. some rich handicap people prefer buying everything new because they have no other things to spend with. About the poor guys. they prefer not buying those new gadgets because they prefer it as a waste of money. For me, IT all depends on what type of human are you, whether rich or poor, or normal or abnormal.

very well said.
but i hope soon enough, all kinds of people will have access to good quality of living.

abigail.calingasan wrote:

romah.atienza wrote:

Admin wrote:I think physically challenged people are least prioritize with the gadgets being launched in the market nowadays.

i dont think so,,because some gadgets are made for the disabled people to help them to communicate with their loved ones..these gadgets are especially made for them to be happy and live with an easier life.. =]

i agree with rhoma

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hehehe.. =D thnx abi!! =]
well,,people who are disabled should be respected..so that they can feel comfortable,happy and normal..we should not " maliitin " them.. LOL! we may not know but the gadgets of this people may be more high-tech than ours.. ^^

When you hear the word gadgets don't think only to a device to have fun with, think about devices that improve people life, especially the ones with disabilities.

people with disabilities have a harder time when it comes to doing things that are generally easy to do for those who have no disabilities. the good thing is there are some items and gadgets that can make life easier for the disabled. when there is a special occasion, it is thoughtful to give people with disabilities something that can be of use to them.

luigi.dimayuga wrote:

patriz.cacho wrote:

Admin wrote:I think physically challenged people are least prioritize with the gadgets being launched in the market nowadays.

Yeah! I feel sorry for them actually Some people think that they are less important.

I absolutely disagree. We should not feel sorry for them because there are also technologies and new inventions made for them.

yeah!you're right! =] we should not feel sorry for them because if we show that we're sorry for them they'll feel sad and they'll think that they dont deserve to live anymore because all they believe is that they cant do anything anymore..we,normal people,should support them to have the courage to be happy as if they are like normal people..we should not let them feel miserable coz for me,a miserable life combine with a disability would result to a disaster which i dont want to happen..we should treat one another equally because every person has a right to be happy and live a normal life..


*sorry winner! XD

i agree on that..but advancement of those gadgets can help the poeple to easily do what they will do...those special people can do everything even thay has a problem on them.Just believe on yourself that technology of those gadgets can help special people but don't abuse it.It may bring danger on the ohthers.

Admin wrote:I think physically challenged people are least prioritize with the gadgets being launched in the market nowadays.

i agree...

I don't agree with that because there are people who are inventing gadgets for them like the wheelchairs and hearing aid. Maybe we're just not aware of it in the case that we don't need it. And the gadgets we know are just the things which can entertain us.

I agree, because almost all ofthe gadgets launched nowadays cannot be used by the physically challenged people. I think they should equally prioritize the physically challenged people to the ordinary people because neglecting physically challenged people because of their condition is a form of discrimination which we should prevent.

Admin wrote:I think physically challenged people are least prioritize with the gadgets being launched in the market nowadays.

Since the UN Decade of Disabled Persons was launched in April 1993, Singapore has come a long way and much progress has been made in many areas; in economic, social and technological advances. Such progress has also benefited the Singapore NGOs as well as people with disabilities as a whole.

As NGO, we could see that the Singapore Government has played a more proactive and supportive role in uplifting the lives of people with disabilities and helping to integrate them into mainstream society. The Singapore Council of Social Service took on a new name, i.e. National Council of Social Service"with a new vision and mission, all with the aid of developing the social service sector to greater height.

The social service system in Singapore is based on a"many helping hands"approach with the government moving away from direct service to a more facilitating and enabling role. Today, help for the disadvantaged and distressed is met by civic-minded individuals and organisations. The range of services today is largely provided by the voluntary sector with greater resource allocation from the government than in the past. The social service sector today reaches not only the vulnerable and needy who continue to remain a priority, but increasingly to those in mainstream society.

There has been a concerted effort taken to involve numerous NGOs in Singapore to come together to network, share experiences, pool resources and work together for the common good of people with disabilities. Initiated by both the government and NGOs, more such sharing sessions and joint working relationship are held. Most importantly, feedback and evaluation of services/programmes provided were critically assessed and evaluated for further improvements.

The entry of other organisations in the social service sector such as the Community Development Councils has somewhat changed the social landscape. The CDCs and other ethnic self-help groups are fast spreading their influence.

Unlike some countries, Singapore does not have legislation for people with disabilities. Nevertheless, governmental support and other measures to facilitate the growth of a vibrant community and voluntary sector have sparked significant improvements in various areas. ; be they accessibility, transportation, education, employment, etc. The Handicaps Welfare Association, for instance, was often called upon by building professionals and building developers to conduct survey of buildings on accessibility. Though the Association is not the approving body, its comments have a weightage. This clearly reflects the importance which the governmental authorities have demonstrated in wanting to see Singapore developed into a truly accessible place.

Ten years ago, there were very few disabled people (especially those using wheelchairs) who dared to venture out on Singapore streets. This was because most of the roads, buildings, housing estates, places of interest, etc were inaccessible. But over the years, things have changed and today, the people with disabilities could commute from one place to another quite easily. This is not to say that every place in Singapore is accessible but at least, the disabled who use wheelchair could travel to many places. All new public housing estates are now accessible and a wheelchair user can commute without any assistance. The existing Mass Rapid Transit system will be fully accessible by year 2005. The Singapore Government has allocated over S$80 million dollars to retrofit all existing train stations to make them accessible to people on wheelchairs by providing lifts, ramps, etc.

Disabled who could drive using special hand-controlled gadget, are given special incentives to own a vehicle of their own. They do not have to pay for additional registration fee and certificate of entitlement fees which could save them, about $40 to $50 thousand dollars. Such incentives have helped many disabled to acquire their own vehicles and thus solve their commuting problem. Many disabled people are now able to find jobs in the open market because of their enhanced mobility.

In the area of education, the Singapore Government has ensured that disabled students are not deprived of an education by building accessible schools all over the Republic. For instance, because of mobility problem, students residing in the eastern part of the island would have a school suitable for them in the vicinity. In the past, most schools were rather inaccessible and if there were, these are few and far. As a result, many disabled children have to forgo their education, especially if they belong to families in the lower income group. All these improvement in accessibility was largely due to the revisions of the"Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility in Buildings."in 1995 and again in 2002. The Handicaps Welfare Association has worked closely with the Building Control Authority and the Singapore Institute of Architects on the two revisions to the Code Book.

To encourage building professionals and developers to be more"accessibility-minded, the Handicaps Welfare Association and Singapore Institute of Architects have periodically organised formal events to recognise the best handicapped friendly buildings in Singapore. The publicity generated on the award helped to instill not only a greater awareness on the need for accessibility features but also provide role models for other building professionals/developers to emulate.

NGOs, such as HWA, have focused to empower people with disabilities with the essential skills and physical capabilities to contribute their part to the society. We provided bursaries and scholarships to deserving disabled people to pursue higher education. Those already employed are encouraged to pursue life-long learning in order to remain employable for life. Prizes were awarded to those who took up the challenges as an incentive and a model for others to emulate.

Our Association is now working with the National Council of Social Service to revise the Access booklet. The Access booklet provides details of buildings, places of interest, hotels, etc which are accessible to people with disabilities. It is especially useful to foreign disabled tourists who may want to have instant information on accessible places in Singapore.

In Singapore, many new rehabilitation centres have sprung up all over the island over the past decade. Disabled people, including the frail elderly, are able to gain access to such centres located within a short distance from their residences. Such rehabilitation centres are operated and managed by government hospitals, VWOs and private organisations. The Handicaps Welfare Association provides rehabilitation services to its disabled members as well as the community at large and the fees are highly subsidized to make it affordable for all. We believe that someone with a disability should undergo periodic rehab service to improve or at least, maintain their bodily and limb movements. Ten years ago, there was a lack of rehab facilities in Singapore and many disabled are deprived of such services.

As Singapore advanced into the technological age, more and more NGOs are encouraging people with disabilities to use assistive devices in their activities of daily living as well as learning tools to improve their skills and employability. HWA has worked closely with the Inforcomm Development Authority of Singapore, various polytechnics and institutions of higher learning, to open up infinite opportunities and empowerment to people with disabilities to the world of information technology. The rapid advances in technology has and will impact on information sharing and service delivery in social services.

source: http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/intl/02rnn/singapore_e.html

Technology helps them in some ways but their capability of using such things are limited.

I agree that the physically challenged are those who least enjoy the new technologies ;however, modern scientists are trying to improve the availability and usefulness of these technologies so that everybody can benefit from it.

no, not really. i think we don't have to focus with the numerous gadgets that are used by normal people. there are still gadgets that come up for the physically challenged people. it's just that, there are more gadgets produced for the normal people than for the physically challenged people.

bea.mandocdoc wrote:no, not really. i think we don't have to focus on with the numerous gadgets that are used by normal people. there are still gadgets that come up for the physically challenged people. it's just that, there are more gadgets produced for the normal people than for the physically challenged people.

I agree with you!

Not really because there are gadgets invented for physically challenge people like The new Universal Electric Scooter designed by Ji-Hoon Hong is primarily for the elderly and physically challenged so that they can use the same without any assistance. While one of the major advantages with this Universal Electric scooter is that unlike other scooters that are built for physically challenged, these come with adjustable seats so one can adjust the height accordingly. This allows easy accessibility, seat positioning, and better comfort. Apart from the same, the designer has also looked after the universal safety as the front and the rear lamps has been positioned in a manner which indicates if the vehicle is turning or halting. Overall a very practical design!

I agree because people is affected by the society. And some people can't live w/o using our new technology.

I AGREE about the emerging technology for physically challenged people because this will make their lives easier and maybe they can cope up with normal people on their daily lives,with the invention of this technology disordered people can be helped to live their lives like normal people and they will not be disappointed with themselves..

agree agree!! coz they're thinking that they don't have the capability to use gadgets like those just because they're disabled, but in fact, everybody can use it.

Admin wrote: I think physically challenged people are least prioritize with the gadgets being launched in the market nowadays.

I disagree because some of the gadgets are for the physically challenged like hearing aid, mechanical arms and legs, computers generally controlled by hand, using a keyboard, a mouse, or a trackerball, etc.

not much because some gadgets are invented for physically challenged people.

I agree...but not all disable people are left behind by our new technology.

I agree with it but at the same time feel sorry for them cause some people thinks that they are less important. which we should not think about.

I agree because many disabled people feel they are not important in the world. but even they are disabled the can use the gadgets they want to use. and not all the people who are disabled can provide gadgets or the things they are needed.