Katherine Swarts – Page 7

man standing at podium teaching veterans digital navigator skills

Program Update From Walter Prescher

At BridgingApps, we place high value on keeping our clients and followers updated. As summer moves toward autumn and the second half of 2024 picks up speed, our August blog posts will highlight “Program Update” reports from BridgingApps team members.…

mom and son hugging in front of school bus

Back-to-School Apps List for Parents

As families across the country begin a new school year, thoughts turn to new routines—and new hassles. Adjusting wake-up hours. Getting everyone from bed to bus. Scheduling extracurricular activities. Briefing new teachers on accommodation and health needs. If you need…

How to Take Your Dog on Vacation: Assistive Technology for Pets on the Road

’Tis the season to be vacationing, and over 40 percent of Americans plan to take, or already have taken, at least one road trip in 2023. The majority travel with family—and not just the kind of family that walks on…

Your Right to a Real Life: The Story of Olmstead v. L. C.

Last June 22 marked the 25th anniversary of Olmstead v. L. C., when the Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act to keep people in disability-care institutions when they were better served elsewhere. The…

A young man wearing headphones and glasses sits on a bus, looking at his smartphone. The bus is relatively empty, and sunlight is streaming in through the windows.

Video Captions and the Curb Cut Effect

Curb cut effect: what happens when something, designed with one demographic in mind, proves to benefit the larger population. —————————————————- The first captioned media was likely the silent movie, popular in public theaters a century ago. At the time, there…

family gathered in living room preparing for emergency

Could a Disaster Interrupt Your Vacation? How to Travel Prepared

(This article was largely drafted as Houston sat out the “sideswipe” by Hurricane Beryl, and was completed in a public “cooling center” the next day.) An Emergency in Strange Territory: One Family’s Story As most ESGH clients know, Houston has…

Planning Your Summer Vacation: BridgingApps Travel App List

Going anywhere this summer? Vacation trips are tons of fun, but often tons of bother as well: what-to-bring lists; heavy suitcases; delayed flights; rental cars; navigating unfamiliar locations; perhaps meltdown-provoking chaos, misplaced medications, or older buildings that lack modern accessibility…

Commuting in Greater Houston: When You Have Disabilities and No Private Vehicle

July 26 is the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This article is dedicated to continued progress in public accommodations. In Greater Houston, well over 90 percent of households own cars. With a large population scattered across a…

Cybersecurity 101: Special Disability Concerns

We’ve all heard of the digital world being used as a tool for crimes: romance scams, fake emergencies, ransomware, and stalking, to name just a few. While anyone can be a victim, disabled users have special concerns: Says Walter Prescher,…

1980s typewriter and red telephone on desk with hat, wallet and glasses

Looking Back: Assistive Technology in the Last Quarter of the 20th Century

Would it surprise you to learn that assistive-technology engineering began long before the age of apps? And long before the Americans with Disabilities Act? And even before computers became household appliances? My Father the Pioneer I grew up close to…