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17
If you are travelling somewhere you haven’t been before then have a look at
Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth. You can get an aerial view of your
destination giving you an idea of how far you will have to walk, for example
between the train station and the buses or from a car park to your
destination.
By getting the lie of the land you can familiarise yourself with your destination
meaning you can take the shortest possible route, planning stops in cafes along
the way, and saving taking unnecessary detours. It can help too in choosing the
location of a hotel or B&B.
By using these tips and by researching my travels thoroughly beforehand by
telephone and internet has enabled me to travel to places alone which I never
thought possible. It is still incredibly exhausting and painful, still involves huge
compromises and takes a very long time to recover from but the chance of
meeting new people, experiencing new things and seeing fantastic sights keeps
me going through the dark and painful days.
Modified Equipment
Whilst many people take using computers for granted, for people with disabilities it
can be more difficult and you might not think computing is available to you.
However, there is a host of specialised equipment or software out there that can help.
A basic example is a screen magnifier, this simply magnifies the bit of screen your
mouse hovers over; or screen readers, which read out anything on the screen.
These are obviously of help to those with visual impairments but there are also more
solutions for more specific needs.
The Tracker 2000 allows you to move the cursor around the screen purely by moving
your head.
AbilityNet is a charity dedicated to helping people with disabilities to use computers
and the internet. They can help you out and advise on specialist equipment, from
larger keyboards to screen readers and alternatives to a computer mouse if you find it
difficult to use.
The Aidis Trust is another organisation that can help. It offers free IT assessments
and its website offers free information and downloads whilst it also has a technical
support phone line to assist with any kind of computing query.
Taken from Lifestyle Motability Magazine
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