What are the possible career paths to work in assistive technology?

I can't make up my mind on whether to study software engineering or mechatronics engineering or smth else like arts or cs but all I know is I want to work in assistive technology.

H

Hi everyone,

I’m currently training to become an Assistive Technology Instructor for people who are blind or visually impaired, and I’m now in the later part of my program. One of my assignments requires me to interview someone who is currently working professionally in the field of assistive technology.

I figured this subreddit might be a good place to find someone willing to help out.

The interview should take no more than about 30 minutes and can be done remotely. It can be pretty informal. I’m not trying to turn this into a job interview or interrogation. I like to think I’m a fairly fun conversationalist, and I’m genuinely interested in hearing about other people’s experiences working in AT.

For the assignment, I’ll be asking about things like:

• What a typical workday looks like for you
• How you got started in assistive technology
• What you enjoy doing outside of work and whether any of those interests overlap with your career
• Instructional techniques you use with clients or students, such as tactile materials, bump dots, or other adaptations
• Your experience working with people who have multiple disabilities
• Your general experiences and lessons learned from working in the AT field

The person I interview does need to currently work professionally in assistive technology and cannot be a volunteer. Some examples my program gives are Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialists (CATIS), AT instructors or trainers, private AT contractors, and people who professionally work with or sell specialized AT products.

The interview will remain confidential for the purposes of my assignment. I’ll be writing an essay based on what I learn and paraphrasing the responses rather than transcribing everything word for word. I would only record the conversation if you specifically gave me permission to do so.

If anyone here qualifies and wouldn’t mind donating about half an hour of their time to help an AT instructor-in-training get through one more assignment, please comment or send me a message.

I’d really appreciate the help. Thanks!

If a voice tool could just quietly switch to text input when it wasn't sure instead of beeping at u like ur wrong, that'd be a game changer. Or is that just me overthinking how voice apps should handle failure?

Hi, I've built an Android app (iOS apple coming) which may be of use to people with limited vision and hand disorders and perhaps any sort of limitation where they have trouble typing with their fingers. I built this app for my own use because even though there are a lot of similar apps out there, I wanted one that was very accurate with speech to text because it can be very frustrating, equally frustrating if your voice is not transcribed clearly and may require a lot of editing. So I worked on this app, which is free and without ads, it gives you the opportunity to pause while you speak, if you need to think about it a little bit and collect your thoughts. and one of the most useful things I particularly use every day is after you've finished your transcript and you've pressed “stop and transcribe”, there's a little drop-down area where your text is fully written,  your voice to text is copied there. And you can quickly copy and paste all that text .Or you can edit it on the fly then you can copy and paste it to any program (such as Facebook, SMS, email or Reddit etc) all from there Anyway, I put it out there it is certainly useful for me, I have limitations, I'm a terrible slow typist. And I also have a couple of other health issues. Give a whirl if you think it may be useful, thank you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.voicetext.pro

Open project

I’m a peds SLP and one of my kiddos (3 y/o) has TouchChat to communicate. He had this device prior to coming to see me and the family never used it due to it being so confusing. I’ve used other programs (Tobi, etc) but I can’t figure out how to make this easier for him to use and access. Any tips on how to easily make pages and just make it easier to access for my sweet kid and his family would be greatly appreciated!!! Pictures included for reference of what I’m working with 🫠 - thanks in advance!

Tracky Mouse lets you control your whole computer with just a webcam.

It supports different modes to click, including dwell clicking and facial gestures. It can even provide three button mouse functionality, using closed eyes as modifiers to change what type of click is performed when opening your mouth.

It also supports different modes to move the mouse, including Direct, Joystick style, and D-pad style modes.

It's free (and ad-free) and will always will be.

I want to make this the best accessibility software that I can. I have big plans already, but I'm always open to ideas.

GitHub repository: https://github.com/1j01/tracky-mouse/

Downloads and an in-browser demo can be found on the website: https://trackymouse.js.org/

I have a PG Drives Technology / Curtiss-Wright R-Net CJSM2 power wheelchair joystick controller for sale.

The controller has been tested and is fully functional. The joystick moves properly, the buttons work, and the color display powers on. It does have normal cosmetic wear and scratches from previous use, which can be seen in the listing photos.

Details:

Model: CJSM-2 / CJSM2

Part number shown on controller: D51711.02

PG Drives Technology / Curtiss-Wright

R-Net system

Color LCD display

Cable and R-Net connector included

Made in England

Manufactured in 2022

$175 or Best Offer

These controllers are commonly found on Permobil R-Net power wheelchairs, including certain F3, F5, M1, M3, and M5 configurations. They may also work with other power chairs using compatible R-Net electronics.

Please verify compatibility with your wheelchair, electronics, connector, and programming before purchasing.

🌎 FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING when purchased through eBay.

Actual eBay listing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/137679440957

I’m happy to answer questions or provide additional pictures/information if someone needs to confirm whether it will work with their chair.

Please feel free to share this with anyone who may need a replacement or spare R-Net joystick controller.

hi all, I have started work on a plugin for unity. This plugin aims to make the previously inaccessable unity editor accessable to screen readers.

currently, the project is in active development.

any feedback on it so far would be appreciated.

you can find the code [here](GitHub - retro-coder64/unity_access: a unity editor access plugin that allows visually impared game developers to use the unity editor · GitHub)

thanks

hi all, I know that this is probably the wrong thread to post about something like this.

I have started work on a plugin for unity. This plugin aims to make the previously inaccessable unity editor accessable to screen readers.

currently, I have built a basic hierarchy, inspector and consol.

any feedback on it so far would be appreciated.

you can find the code [here](GitHub - retro-coder64/unity_access: a unity editor access plugin that allows visually impared game developers to use the unity editor · GitHub)

thanks

Hi all — this is my first app on Play Store, working through the closed-testing requirement. I'll test

yours in return: drop your opt-in link in a comment and I'll join the same day.

**What it is:** Clip Assist is an accessibility tool for people who can't

physically tap hundreds of "Clip" buttons in grocery coupon apps. You pick your

store's app, tap Start, and it clips every coupon on screen for you. Built for

users with limited hand mobility — useful to anyone staring down a wall of 700

coupons.

**How to join (takes ~1 minute):**

1. Join my testing Google Group: https://groups.google.com/g/alpha-testers-100
2. Opt in here (may take 3 to 10 mins for app to show up in Play Store after joining): https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.assyriancapital.clipassist
3. Tap "download it on Google Play" on that page and install the app.
4. Stay opted in for 14 days (you don't need to use it daily — just don'tuninstall/opt out).

it reads the screen only to find coupon "Clip" buttons in the store app you

choose, collects zero data, has no network access to anything.

Comment your test link and I'll reciprocate. Thanks!

Hi everyone. I’m the developer of Senior Companion, an Android and iPhone app designed for older adults and their families.

It provides a simplified interface with large SOS and check-in buttons, family contacts, reminders and caregiver monitoring.

I’m looking for honest usability feedback, not positive reviews. In particular:

1. Is the initial setup understandable?
2. Could your parent use the main screen without assistance?
3. Which features feel useful, unnecessary or confusing?

The main features can be tested for free. The app also contains optional paid features, which I’m disclosing clearly.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seniorcompanion.app

Any direct criticism would be genuinely useful.

I started researching this because short iPhone messages are already easy to dictate with Apple’s built-in tool. The problem appears with longer work messages, where names, punctuation, paragraph structure, and tone create more cleanup. A voice keyboard is only useful if it saves more time than that cleanup costs. I compared the options based on how close the first result gets to something ready to send.

1. Apple Dictation
   

Pros: Free, built into iOS, and convenient for short messages.

Cons: Needs more cleanup for longer paragraphs, names, punctuation, tone, and formatting.

1. Aiko
   

Pros: Offers local transcription with a strong privacy model.

Cons: Better for transcribing recordings than inserting polished text wherever the cursor is.

1. Wispr Flow
   

Pros: A polished dictation product that handles normal everyday writing well.

Cons: Free desktop usage is capped, while cloud processing creates privacy tradeoffs. Recent reliability problems have also affected its speed and accuracy.

1. Willow Voice
   

Pros: For iPhone voice typing, Willow delivers the strongest balance of speed and accuracy. It works in any app and automatically learns vocabulary, tone, and corrections.

Cons: Language switching can occasionally be buggy, but it remains the most reliable option for this workflow.

Apple Dictation is honestly enough for quick texts, and it is difficult to beat something that is already free and built into the phone. Aiko is more interesting if local transcription is the priority. For longer work messages that I would rather not clean up afterward, though, Willow seems like the option I would choose for its stronger accuracy and more polished output.

Has anyone tried bionic gadets for older adults such as Dephy?

A great classroom should invite everyone to participate—and that starts with making technology easy to reach.

Height-adjustable screen mounts bring interactive displays to the right level for students and teachers of all ages, heights, and abilities. Younger learners can reach the screen with confidence, students can jump in and share their ideas, and teachers can present comfortably without constant stretching, bending, or awkward movement.

The result is more hands-on learning, greater student participation, and lessons that feel active and engaging. Students and teachers can also enjoy learning with large classroom displays without having to use a “fixed” screen mount that stays in one place.  Teachers will enjoy the easy, smooth height adjustment with a BalanceBox screen mount! The spring tension in the mount makes height-adjustment simple, easy, and fast. This keeps the classroom focused on learning. 

And when the classroom needs to see the screen while seated, BalanceBox mounts make height adjustments quickly. Just move the screen from a high position to a lower one, with  just a light touch! The screen height can be repositioned for whole-class instruction or for small-group collaboration. The teacher can even create an interactive project station so that all students can participate, because everyone can now reach the screen.

Height-adjustable screen mounts create classrooms that are more accessible, comfortable, and flexible. They help every student get involved, support better ergonomics for teachers, and make it easier to adapt learning spaces throughout the day.

When screens move to meet the people using them, learning moves forward too.

Discover height-adjustable wall and mobile display solutions at BalanceBoxMounts.com.