For the Disabled, More Power for Play

(page 2 of 3)

Temporary Help

Even those who don't have a permanent disability—a bad fall on the ski slopes, perhaps?—can benefit from assistive technology. Take Arel Wente from Livermore, Calif., who broke her foot and considered canceling an upcoming cruise with her husband. Instead, she used a wheelchair, and luckily, she sailed on Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Solstice, which has introduced new accessibility standards for the high seas: pool and whirlpool contraptions that lift wheelchair users in and out of the water; automatic doors for the ship's 30 accessible staterooms; and for the deaf, lights that flash when a restroom stall is occupied.

Walt Disney World (DIS), quite possibly the epitome of fun, "goes above and beyond what the ADA requires in its theme parks," says Stephen Ashley, author of Walt Disney World with Disabilities. Deaf and hearing-impaired park-goers can follow the thrills at Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Hollywood Studios in Orlando with a PDA-sized closed-captioning device that's free to use with a $100 refundable deposit. The sleeker, lighter 2008 version of the narration device now has descriptive audio for visually impaired guests. Disney also offers several wheelchair-accessible rides.

Those looking for a more mature experience can enjoy many national parks and zoos with the GPS Ranger, a handheld that uses GPS coordinates to trigger an audio and video commentary of the immediate area. Software designer Lee Little, founder of BarZ Adventures, invented the GPS Ranger after a family visit to Yellowstone National Park, where there was no ranger available to answer his questions about the park's geysers. Little realized his new device could also be useful for for people with all kinds of disabilities, including those with hearing, sight, and mobility impairments. The GPS Ranger is truly a multitasking gadget. Since March 2008, deaf users have been able to watch a sign-language video interpretation of a park or zoo tour on the device's four-inch screen. Those with mild or moderate hearing loss can watch with subtitles. Real-time audio descriptions aid visitors with vision impairments, and for wheelchair users, an interactive GPS map provides the location of accessible ramps, parking, and restrooms. The GPS Ranger can be rented at two dozen zoos and parks, including the Dallas Zoo, Zion National Park in Utah, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It costs about $15 to rent for the day.

Apple (AAPL) has been making a serious footprint with accessibility, including improvements in September to the latest version of its popular iPod music player and the iTunes 8 music library. The fourth-generation iPod nano now has speech capability that can be enabled via iTunes on a Mac or PC during the sync process that creates spoken names for everything on the iPod. The font sizes can also be enlarged from the settings menu. Apple also plans to install technology in iTunes by June 2009 that will make the entire library accessible, guided by a voice that calls out whatever a mouse pointer slides over, including file commands and music and movie titles. The price for the iPod nano starts at $149.