Assistive Technology
Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities (Assistive Technology Act of 1999).
The Learning Assistance Program offers individual trainings, workshops and/or classes that cover a variety of text-to-speech, speech-to-text, screen reader, note-taking, and magnification solutions. After meeting with your LAP Learning Disability Specialist or LAP Counselor to determine your accommodation eligibility, there are several ways to learn more about assistive technology:
- Make an appointment with the High Technology Instructor by calling 805-922-6966 ext. 3274.
- Check out the following pages for information about:
The following assistive technology is available or is available upon request in the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) Testing/Adaptive Technology Computer Labs and most mainstream computer labs:
- Kurzweil 3000 (text-to-speech software)
- Balabolka (free text-to-speech)
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking (speech recognition software)
- Windows Speech (built-in speech recognition)
- JAWS (screen-reading software)
- NVDA (free screen-reading software)
- VoiceOver (built-in screen-reader for Apple products)
- Kurzweil 1000 (text-to-speech software)
- CARS (free text-to-speech for math)
- ZoomText (screen-magnifying with speech software)
- Video magnifier with Speech (print enlarger)
- Electric height and/or crank adjustable workstations
- Scanners for use with Kurzweil
- For more specific AT location information, please review Assistive Technology, Equipment and Furniture Locations on Campus.
A limited inventory of equipment is available on a first-come first-serve basis for one-time loans to eligible students for demo purposes.
Equipment that is necessary for an ongoing accommodation must be acquired by the student. For more information, please review our equipment loan procedures and policies.
Examples of adaptive equipment are:
- Livescribe Echo Smartpens (note-taking)
- iPods (primarily for recording lectures)
- Assistive Listening Devices (amplifier)
- Digital Recorders (recording lectures)
- Large Print Calculators
- Large Print Scientific Calculators
- Talking Scientific Calculators
To learn more about more about LAP recommended technology, please visit our Assistive and Academic Apps and Devices page which offers a list of software, apps and devices that can help students improve their reading, writing, math, time-management, note-taking, test-taking and study skills in general.