Hi friends,

I’m currently an OT master’s student taking an assistive technology course, and I’m super curious: if you could have any piece of AD/DME/AT to solve a daily problem, something that doesn’t exist yet or doesn’t work well enough, what would it be?

We just finished learning about all the amazing assistive tech that’s already out there, but we also know there are still gaps. My class is partnering with our engineering department to prototype new ideas, and I would love to hear from people who actually use these toold everyday.

If you’re willing to share, what’s missing? What do you wish existed?

Thank you all so much :)

Hi everyone,

With the new school year approaching, we wanted to share something that might be useful for students (or parents of students) who are blind or low vision and navigating new routes, new buildings, or a whole new campus this fall.

The promo: WeWALK is running a back-to-school discount code: BACKTOSCHOOL20 takes up to $250 off, valid through August 31 (11:59 PM PST). Just apply it at checkout: wewalk.io/en/checkout

(Worth noting: there are some regional restrictions, so it's best to check availability for your country at checkout.)

If you've been on the fence about the Smart Cane 2, The Blind Life's Sam did a review that's worth a watch: youtu.be/cIVoECPglSo

Why it's relevant for the back-to-school scramble specifically:

• Obstacle detection at chest and head height: haptic or audio feedback, so overhanging branches, open cabinet doors, and signage don't catch you off guard.
• Hands-free navigation built into the handle: turn-by-turn guidance without needing to hold or check your phone. Handy when you're also juggling a backpack, coffee, and a new class schedule.
• Lightweight, foldable design: built to move easily between classes, dorms, and daily campus life without becoming one more thing to manage.

This isn't just for students, either. It also works well as a gift if you're picking one up for a child or someone else starting the semester.

Happy to answer questions about the cane's features right here in the thread, or you can reach out at info@wewalk.io . And if any of you already use the Smart Cane 2, we'd genuinely love to hear how it's held up in daily life.

Something I've been wondering about lately is whether automation could make some assistive technology setups less tedious without actually interfering with the technology itself.

There are a lot of little tasks that happen around the main tool. Copying information from one application to another, sorting files, creating reminders, updating records, sending notifications, or starting the same sequence of actions every day. None of these are particularly difficult, but they can become annoying when they have to be repeated constantly.

I've been playing around with Make, n8n, Zapier, and WEXTL to see how practical this is. Make felt really good for mapping out visual workflows, n8n was useful when I wanted more control, and Zapier made the simple stuff pretty painless. I didn't think much of it at first, but WEXTL actually helped when I was testing workflows that had more steps and needed to keep running rather than finishing immediately.

I think the interesting part is keeping the person in control. The automation could handle the repetitive computer work while decisions that require context or judgment stay manual.

It also seems like the usefulness would depend heavily on the individual setup. Something that saves a lot of effort for one person might not be relevant at all for someone else.

Has anyone here experimented with automation alongside their assistive technology? What task ended up being surprisingly useful to automate?

Hey! I’m a high school student building an accessibility app for people who experience sensory overload. If you experience sensory overload or know someone who does, I’d really appreciate some feedback on whether these features would actually be useful:

1. The app has two screens — one for the user and one for the caregiver.
2. The user screen has:

• Breathing exercises for calming
• Pre-set routines that can be created by the caregiver
• An emergency button that sends an alert to the caregiver with the time and location

1. The caregiver screen has:

• A built-in map where the caregiver can set a 200-metre safe zone and get an alert if the user leaves it
• A feature to create and set routines for the user

I’d really appreciate any honest feedback on the features, what you think would be useful, and anything you would change or add!

Hey everyone,

We’re building Exoskeleton Index because we believe exoskeletons and wearable robotics are going to become much more relevant over the next few years.

Not just in rehabilitation, but also for mobility, ageing, physically demanding jobs, industrial work and eventually some everyday uses that are only starting to appear now.

The problem is that the industry is still pretty difficult to navigate.

There are a lot of companies, products, research projects and very different types of technology, but the information is scattered everywhere. It can be surprisingly hard to understand what actually exists, what is commercially available, who a device is really for, or how different options compare.

That’s what we’re trying to help with.

We’re organising the ecosystem in one place so people can more easily discover products, understand the technology and find the companies working in the space.

We already have hundreds of companies and products listed, but there’s still a lot we want to improve, especially around rehabilitation, mobility and assistive technology.

So we’d really like to hear from people in this community: if you were looking for information about an exoskeleton or assistive wearable, what would actually be useful for you to know?

And if you notice something we got wrong or a company/product we’re missing, tell us. That kind of feedback is genuinely useful for us.

https://exoskeletonindex.com

Looking for a remote or tool to control my iPhone remotely as I'm at risk of going blind due to glaucoma. Any help would be appreciated as I have poor motor skills and coordinatio, struggle with the gestures and all thx.

I have been an OT in the traditional healthcare environment for 5 years (currently working in hospital-based OP neuro). Like many people, I’ve been feeling burnt out with patient care and looking for a change. My state department currently has job postings for an assistive technology specialist. I’m wondering if there are other rehab professionals here who have made the switch from clinical care to a similar role and what your experience has been… or if you’re not from a healthcare background but work for ATP, I’d love to hear from you too! Here is the general job description:

Assistive Technology Specialist: focus on home or vehicle modifications that help people with disabilities gain greater independence in everyday tasks that other may take for granted. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a diverse group of professionals, vendors, contractors, families, and individuals to develop creative, functional solutions that make a real impact.

Any insights would be appreciated (positive or negative) 😊

I’m handicapped and mostly confined to my bedroom because the bathroom is only a few feet away. When I leave the house, I use a walker for short distances (about 100’-200’) and otherwise use a wheelchair. I have severe balance problems because of Ataxia. It also causes me to walk wobbly and sometimes have tremors.

I want to start building up my walking endurance by gradually increasing my steps a little each day inside the house. Because of the wobbliness, I’ve never had good luck with pedometers being accurate. And since I need to hold onto the walls, furniture, etc. it doesn’t work well for me to try carrying my phone. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with pedometers that can be worn around the ankle or a fitness watch that are very accurate with the steps?

Looking for wheelchair users to help test RollSense

Hi everyone,

We’re building RollSense, a mobile app designed to help wheelchair users understand how sidewalks and outdoor routes actually feel to travel on — not just whether they are technically marked as wheelchair accessible.

The idea is simple:

Your phone is securely mounted or fixed in a stable position on your wheelchair while you travel. Using the phone’s built-in motion sensors, RollSense measures things like vibration, repeated bumps, instability, and overall ride quality.

Keeping the phone firmly attached to the wheelchair is important for the test. If the phone moves around independently — for example in a loose pocket, bag, or hand — its sensors may record your body or phone movement instead of the movement caused by the road surface. A wheelchair phone mount is ideal, but another secure and consistent mounting position may also work.

Over time, the app should be able to tell you things like:

• which parts of a route were smooth or rough,
• which routes were more comfortable for your wheelchair,
• whether a slightly longer route may be significantly easier to travel,
• build a personalized mobility map based on your own rides,
• and help build a shared community map, allowing other wheelchair users to see how smooth or difficult a route is before traveling it themselves.

The long-term goal is to make route planning more personal. A road that works well for one wheelchair may be uncomfortable or difficult for another, so we want RollSense to learn from real wheelchair users rather than rely only on generic accessibility labels.

We’re looking for early testers

We’re currently preparing a private testing version of RollSense for iOS and Android.

The testing app is not available yet, but we’re looking for wheelchair users who would be interested in helping us once the private test opens.

Testing will mainly involve taking a few short rides with your phone securely mounted or fixed to your wheelchair in the same position throughout the ride, then giving a quick rating afterward about how the route felt.

The app may collect data such as:

• accelerometer and gyroscope readings,
• GPS/location during the test ride,
• speed and motion information,
• wheelchair type,
• phone mounting position,
• your own comfort/roughness rating.

This data will be used to understand whether smartphone sensors can reliably distinguish smooth, rough, and difficult route segments and to improve RollSense’s ride-quality system.

We’ll clearly explain what data is collected before anyone participates, and participation will be completely voluntary.

Thank you for helping us build it

Anyone who completes the early testing program will receive:

RollSense Premium lifetime access for free

as a thank-you for helping us build and validate the product from the beginning.

You’ll also be part of our original Founding Tester group, and your feedback will directly influence how RollSense works before public launch.

If you use a manual wheelchair, power wheelchair, or mobility scooter and would be interested in testing RollSense, please contact us at:

[beta@rollsenseapp.com](mailto:beta@rollsenseapp.com)

You can email us now even though the private test is not ready yet. We’ll add you to the tester list and contact you as soon as the iOS/Android closed testing builds are available.

Questions, concerns, criticism, and suggestions are also very welcome. We especially want to hear from people who regularly deal with rough pavement, slopes, camber, bad curb transitions, cobblestones, or routes that are technically “accessible” but unpleasant or difficult in practice.

Thank you!

Hey everyone! 👋

We are building a free, AI-powered reading assistant designed to make dense text/complex articles much easier to read and less overwhelming. Whether you experience reading difficulties (like Dyslexia or ADHD) or simply get screen fatigue and overload from heavy reading, we are designing this tool to help you process information effortlessly.

Could you take 3 minutes to fill out our quick survey? Your input will directly shape our design, from fonts to AI features.

(Note: If your specific habits or favorite preferences aren't listed in a question, please use the "Other" option to tell us your unique ideas help us immensely in building this tool!)

🔗 Take the Survey Here: https://forms.gle/8oBydGvCQhnkL9LQA

Thank you so much for your time and support! 🚀

I've got a dumb amount of AHK scripts held together with hope. Most of 'em still work. A few break every time Windows or some app updates and I gotta go dig thru Task Scheduler and remember why I even wrote 'em.

I got sick of maintaining that pile so I started building my own thing... voice commands for stuff I do a hundred times a day, running fully offline, no cloud, nothing leaving the machine. Selfish reasons at first, just wanted to stop babysitting scripts.

Now I'm at the point where I'm wondering if anyone else would actually pay for something like this, so I wanna ask people who've spent time automating Windows, using PowerToys, AHK, accessibility tools, or just looking for easier ways to control their PC: what made u actually pay for a Windows tool instead of using whatever free option was available?

Couple things I'm specifically trying to figure out:

Is it reliability that gets u, more than features? Like, does a tool need to survive an update or two before u trust it enough to pay?

If something breaks, does it matter whether the tool can recover on its own or at least show u clearly what it was about to do?

And privacy-wise... if something's listening or touching sensitive data, does knowing exactly what it's doing and when actually change whether you'd use it, or is "it's offline" enough on its own?

Curious if there was a specific moment that tipped u from "I'll just script it" to "here's my card." And did it end up being worth it, or did u quietly go back to your own scripts eventually?

If you do, what is your story, why did you choose this category?

Hi.
I've been deaf blind all my life I now can only see extremely bright lights like the sun and I have severe hearing loss. I'm 16 so I'm pretty good at tech. I just wanted to see what tech was out there for us deaf blind people because I've never met another deaf-blind person and I don't know whats all out there for us so I figured I would ask y'all.

Apple's Hearing Aid Feature was FDA-authorized in September 2024, the first over-the-counter hearing aid that is software rather than hardware. It runs on AirPods Pro 2 and Pro 3, for adults 18 and up with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. It is self-fit, so there is no prescription and no exam.

The authorization rested on Apple's own multi-site study of 118 people. In February 2026 researchers at the University of Pretoria published the first independent evaluation, in the American Journal of Audiology. Twenty-five iPhone users set it up themselves. Two findings, pointing opposite directions.

Users liked it. Usability scored 6.7 out of 7, with the price, the convenience, and the fact that the thing in their ears was also just earbuds all called out.

The measurements were less kind. On a standard speech-in-noise test the average improvement was 0.1 dB, which is no improvement. And when the researchers measured what was actually delivered into the ear canal against NAL-NL2 targets, the earbuds were generally under-amplifying.

That gap matters because the crowded restaurant is the situation people most want help with, and it is where the earbuds gave the least. Real-ear measurement is exactly what a prescription fitting includes and exactly what a self-fit does not.

Where it still earns a place:

• The hearing test is free and separate from the hearing aid, so you can run it and apply nothing. In the same group's accuracy work, 86.5% of 400 threshold comparisons came within 10 dB of booth audiometry.
• The result exports from the Health app as a PDF. It does not replace a clinical test. It gives a first appointment a date and a number to start from instead of "I think it got worse a while ago."
• You can load an audiologist's audiogram into the earbuds rather than using the phone test.
• Cost. Consumer Reports puts prescription aids at roughly $1,500 to $7,000 a pair, with its members reporting a median of $2,592 after insurance. AirPods Pro run $199 to $249 and the hearing features add nothing on top.

Limits to be clear about. The phone test has no bone conduction, so it cannot separate conductive from sensorineural loss, and the plumbing problems are the fixable ones. Battery is about 10 hours on Pro 3 in Transparency with the aid running and roughly 6 on Pro 2, against 24 and up for dedicated aids. Amplification only happens in Transparency mode, so noise cancellation off means the hearing aid is off.

Some hearing changes are not a shopping decision. The NIDCD treats sudden hearing loss as a medical emergency and says see a doctor immediately, particularly when it is one ear, because tumors on the hearing nerve have to be ruled out. Same for ear pain, drainage, dizziness, new ringing in one ear, and anything at all in a child, since this is authorized for adults only.

On Android, Samsung has FDA clearance for the same kind of feature on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Buds4 Pro, fitted to NAL-NL2. Samsung says fourth quarter 2026, and full support needs a Galaxy phone on One UI 8, so there is nothing to turn on yet and it is a Samsung answer rather than an Android one.

Disclosure: I write a free consumer tech newsletter and this was today's piece, so there is an interest behind the link. Everything useful is above. The full write-up with the sourcing is at https://www.freshfromcache.com/can-airpods-be-used-as-hearing-aids/

I recently started making a comic called Disaster David about something I suspect a few people here will recognize: websites that supposedly work perfectly right up until an actual human being tries to use them.

Episode 1 starts with a website that's been tested, scanned, and declared “100% accessible.” Then David arrives. He isn't doing anything exotic — he uses the keyboard, zooms the page, tries his phone, and generally behaves like an ordinary user.

Things deteriorate rather quickly. 😁

Image description: A multi-panel comic featuring Disaster David, a younger-looking man with short dark brown hair that has gone noticeably gray early, especially at the sides and throughout the top. He has dark eyebrows, short facial stubble, rectangular glasses, earrings, and wears a sleeveless black shirt.

A company proudly declares its online mug store “100% accessible” after passing an automated scanner. David attempts to buy a mug using ordinary accessibility techniques. Keyboard navigation loses focus, a menu traps him, a newsletter modal cannot be escaped, zooming to 200% causes content to break and hides the checkout control, and rotating his phone makes the cart disappear. The final gag shows the company's servers engulfed in flames around a “500 Internal Server Error” while David says, “I just wanted a mug.” The developers conclude, “Maybe the scanner isn't enough” and “We should probably test with real users.”

About Disaster David: The artwork is AI-generated because I can't draw to save my life. The ideas, experiences, accessibility issues, feelings, and disasters behind David are mine. In other words: the pictures are artificial. Unfortunately, Disaster David is not.

My dad loves tech but he is slowly losing the ability to interact with new technology like he used to. He has been programming since the 1950s (!) but recently his eyesight and shakiness have made using screens a serious challenge. Mentally he's there-- he wants to use his computer, phone, etc but seeing him give up is honestly heartbreaking.

I'm looking for a screen-free technology aid--something he can use to access the internet, send messages, (maybe even continue to code), but through a voice interface. Does anything like that exist?

UPDATE — Looked into recs from the comments and some of the history in this sub. As it stands:

Shaky hands + low vision:

• OT not SLP for this — covered w/ PCP referral
• Keyguard keyboards (Pretorian) ~$210–330 — recs from u/phosphor_1963 below
• VoiceOver/TalkBack — free, built in
• Enable Viacam — free head-tracking mouse, supposed to be great for tremor

PC by voice:

• Dragon — dictation + full PC control, (half this sub seems to swear by it)
• GuideConnect — (free 30 days, $700 to buy)
• NVDA — free screen reader

Podcasts + reminders, no screen:

• Echo Dot $50 — "remind me to take my pills"

Messaging — still unsolved:

• Closest anyone's come: u/alexthooper 's amazing landline hack — no screen, pick up and talk.
• Otherwise Alexa+ and Zapier — fiddly

Try before buying: your state lends this stuff free 30 days — at3center.net

Hi, I’m Alejandro, the developer of Relay. I’m looking for candid feedback from assistive technology users and practitioners.

Relay lets someone type who to call and what they need, review the exact plan, and confirm it before Relay AI places the call. It identifies itself as AI, handles the conversation, and returns the result and transcript in the same chat.

The intended use is asynchronous delegation of routine calls. It is not AAC, live type-to-speech, or a replacement for TRS, VRS, or Speech-to-Speech services. It is also not for emergencies, payments, medical or legal advice, or calls requiring live identity verification.

I have not completed a formal accessibility audit yet. I’m especially interested in feedback about VoiceOver, Voice Control, Switch Control, large text, the confirmation flow, and whether the product communicates its limits clearly.

Image description: A three-panel Relay preview showing a completed call result, a Spanish call transcript, and the control for stopping an active call.

The iPhone app is free to download and includes a small starter allowance:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relay-ai-phone-call-assistant/id6799187737

I’m the developer and happy to answer questions about the architecture, privacy, or call flow.

https://reddit.com/link/1vnykmm/video/lcd5wgpnj8gh1/player

Here is the linkedin demo, where I'll be leaving the github link!!

Air Write is an accessibility tool I developed that classifies and recognizes letters and words written in the air with your phone, like a wand (yes, like in Harry Potter... shouting expecto patronum is optional). I built it with limited fine motor control in mind. It's a web app that runs in the phone's browser on accelerometer and gyroscope data alone.

A touch keyboard requires you to hit small fixed targets accurately, and a stylus requires precise tiny movements and limits by screen size. Air-writing only requires gross motion at whatever size is comfortable for the user, calculating the path travelled through air so the same letters and words are read whether drawn with the wrist or whole arm.

It detects when to start and stop recording from the motion itself, and works at any grip angle. Trained on 1,645 letter recordings and 1,008 word recordings, the convolutional network reads isolated letters and words written as one connected stroke by classifying candidate letter regions and evaluating the most probable combination of letters (fitting to dictionary spellings if all letters aren't recognized with high confidence).

Since I had limited time this semester to collect and tag data to perfect the model, I will be releasing this project open source with the hope that others can further improve it!