Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. The progress in software and hardware technology has also brought new solutions to assist disabled people and have made their daily lives a lot better.
Just to summarize, they have:
- Allowed people who are unaware of the surroundings to navigate better via audio/visual cues,
- Visually impaired individuals to be able to identify objects.
- Resolved problems related with travelling in busy cities around the world.
- Let individuals with limited mobility to make best use of their abilities
- and solutions to many other similar problems faced by these individuals.
Apps take center stage as they help the disabled manage their life a lot better. These apps do everything from using a phone’s hardware in unique ways to provide audio, visual and physical cues to the users. Be it navigating in the roads, keeping clear of obstacles, enhancing your sense of listening, helping you type easily and more.
Today, we take a look at some of the best apps which can help disabled people in improving their lives and becoming more independent.
Be My Eyes – For the Visually Impaired or Blind
Be My Eyes uses smartphones and a global community of volunteers to help visually impaired individuals by becoming their eyes in day-to-day activities.
If you need assistance in identifying an item or navigating an unknown street, Be My Eyes can use video chat to connect you with a volunteer. The volunteer can then provide assistance using your smartphone camera to see what you can’t.
The app also makes use of an iPhone’s VoiceOver feature, which reads out the contents of the screen, so even blind users can still contact volunteers.
Users can give feedback on volunteers based on their service, while volunteers can improve their reputation by “leveling up”, based on user feedback. Over 340,000 volunteers are a part of the app network with more than 31,000 users with visual impairments.
Download: iOS
Petralex Hearing Aid – For the Hearing Impaired
Petralex is a smartphone-based hearing aid alternative that’s great for anyone who may be hard of hearing.
To start off, it runs a series of frequency tests in each ear to analyse your hearing capabilities. Then it analyses ambient sound before creating an audio profile for that environment. The profile is used to isolate a conversation in front of you while reducing background noise making it easier to hear them.
You can create and save your own profiles for environments you experience regularly, such as the office, shops or the outdoors. If you notice that the volume is a little too high or too low, you can adjust the sensitivity using a slider.
Petralex does require headphones to help isolate audio, but this also gives you an option to use a mobile headset mic.
Adjustable Keyboard – For those with Mobility Difficulties/Dexterity Issues
There are multiple keyboard apps out there that can make typing easier for people with limited dexterity or vision impairment.
Layout settings let you increase key height, text size, the space between rows, colors and more which can improve clarity and reduce the chance of hitting multiple keys at once. Even if you do hit multiple keys, with some trial and error, you can get things. These keyboards also offer unmatched word predictions to ease typing plus you also get voice input.
Some popular keyboard apps are:
Perfect Keyboard: Android
VizWiz – For the Visually Impaired or Blind
This is an item identification app that also uses crowd-sourcing. Instead of calling, the user takes a picture of an item, records a question and then sends the photo. The question is sent to your choice of anonymous web volunteers, IQ Engines, your Twitter followers, your Facebook friends, and/or an e-mail contact.
Responses appear on the app and are read aloud verbally
KNFB Reader – For the Visually Impaired or Blind
This is a print-to-speech app that uses a phone’s camera to take pictures of printed material, convert the pictures into text form and then read the text aloud fir the user.
If the user has an attached Braille display, the recognised text can also be read using a connected Braille display.
Get There GPS Nav for Blind – For the Visually Impaired or Blind
Moving around is a very difficult job for the visually impaired and the elderly. This app solves that by speaking your present location, what direction you are facing at that moment and what points of interests are around you. All you need to do is shake your phone.
Download: Android
Braille Tutor – For the Visually Impaired or Blind
Braille is the global written language for the blind. To get started with reading text, you need to learn braille ad there is no better tutor out there than Braille Tutor.
Using this app you can learn to read and write Braille easily.
Usound (Hearing Assistant) – For the Hearing Impaired
This app is godsend for those with hearing problems. It amplifies sound around you so that people with hearing impairments can use it with earphones to hear conversations, movies and TV wouthou causing anyone else any problems.
The app initially does a hearing test to assess the user’s hearing difficulties and customises the amplification settings to their needs. The amplification can also be adjusted for different situations.
Otosense – For the Hearing Impaired or Deaf
This app is different from others on the list in that it detects noises and alarms around the home such as the doorbells, telephone, fire alarm and vibrates, flashes or texts you to alert you of the noise.
The app is pre-programmed to recognise standard alarms but the users can also customise by adding other alarm sounds in your home.
Download: Android, iOS
Spread the Signs – For the Hearing Impaired, Deaf or Mutes
Spread Signs claims to be the “world’s largest sign language dictionary with over 300,000 signs” in multiple sign languages for different countries.
Sign languages are used around the world to communicate with those who cannot hear or speak. And this is an easy way to learn the language spoken by millions.
MedCoach – For Alzheimers or the Forgetful
MedCoach helps you remember to take your medications and pills on time. You can set up several alarms, log the medicine you have taken already, and the app gives you automatic reminders when you need to refill your prescription.
The app also links to a medication database that provides information on medicines.
Fall Alert – For Mobility Impaired
This app triggers an alarm if you fall, sending an automatic SMS or a phone call to your designated emergency contact. It detects the fall using the phone’s sensors and waits a while for the user to report they are fine. If no response is received, an alert is forwarded.
GPS coordinates are also attached in the SMS message. It is also possible to activate the function by pressing the ‘Panic’ button in the app.
Talkitt – For People with Motor, Speech and Language disorders
including but not limited to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Cerebral Palsy, stroke, brain damage, autism and Parkinson’s disease.
This app translates unintelligible pronunciation into understandable speech, allowing disabled people to communicate using their own voice.
The technology behind the app is unique. It recognises each individual user’s vocal patterns, and “speaks” their words in a coherent manner. In short, it allows them to communicate clearly and easily suing their own voice. The program works in nearly every language.
Join Here
ntouch Mobile – For the Hearing Impaired or Deaf
ntouch Mobile is a videophone service for deaf people that allows them to communicate using a sign language. It also comes with SVRS support and some other features.
It’s a simple app but a powerful app and could help a lot if you communicate mainly by sign language and need someone to interpret that to those who cannot understand. It has some very positive reviews and is among the best apps that have such features.
SwiftKey Symbols
Symbols is a symbol-based assistive communication app which is powered by SwiftKey’s advanced prediction AI.
The app is designed to facilitate communication between individuals with autism spectrum disorders or any other similar visual or assessment issues.
Just like the company’s keyboard app, it learns user’s choices and predicts the next symbol according to that. The app holds great value for those with learning difficulties as well.
Download: Android
Share this list of apps with your friends. Who knows how many people receive the help they need by using these apps.
If you think we missed any good app, mention in the comments below.
Please don’t forget to mention talkback or voiceover, the free screen readers for the blind in android and apple devices. without them, these apps are simply useless.
Excellent contribution.
BigFont to increase font sizes on Android. For ppl who hv difficulty reading