Apps and other digital technology are great—until they aren’t. You may have heard worst-nightmare stories: fatal accidents due to someone’s being distracted by a smartphone; suicides triggered by cyberbullying or doomscrolling. On a less dramatic note, just about everyone has…
April 26 is International Noise Awareness Day. Whatever constitutes everyday “background noise” in your neighborhood or community, your conscious brain has probably learned to tune it out—but never giving it a thought may be costing you. Noise and Health The…
Many people find apps, smart devices, and other assistive technology a big help in managing autism—but there’s so much assistive tech out there, sometimes you have no idea where to start looking for the right item. Even where the tech…
If you’ve followed our blog for long, you’re familiar with “Digital Navigator” topics—and you know that a Digital Navigator promotes digital equity by helping clients get device access, household wireless services, and personalized training. This improves opportunities for: “Digital Navigators…
In September 2022, Easter Seals Greater Houston/BridgingApps became one of 18 organizations in the new Digital Navigator Corps, a national program formed under a $10 million investment from Google.org. The purpose of the Corps is to help rural residents gain…
The term “birth defect” is falling out of favor, as people rightly resent implications of being “defective.” This writer personally prefers “congenital disabilities”; the World Health Organization speaks of “congenital anomalies”; but for the present, “birth defects” remains the official…
November is National Assistive Technology Awareness Month. What comes to mind at the phrase “assistive technology”? By formal definition, assistive technology is “any item, piece of equipment, or product system—whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized—that is used…
Happy Digital Inclusion Week (October 3–7 in 2022)! Since 2016, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has been working to raise awareness of the digital divide and to promote digital literacy. What Is Digital Inclusion? For those new to the…
Read Time 5 Minutes When your child has serious disabilities, it’s important to have friends and family you can rely on for backup caretaking, resource recommendations, and comfort when reality gets overwhelming. However, you can get into trouble assuming that…
Read Time 4 Minutes Public attitudes toward disability have come a long way in the past few generations. From a topic that was rarely acknowledged in polite society, disabilities or “special needs” have evolved into an everyday concern that few…
