Photo: Drawing children in pre-school; Copyright: PantherMedia/OMG Images

Teaching group work to students with autism

22/11/2019

Children with autism have an obvious disadvantage in starting and carrying meaningful conversations with their peers. A study with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder showed that through a structured protocol of group work with typical peers these children were able to increase significantly their social interactions.
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Photo: Man and woman communicating in sign language; Copyright: PantherMedia/Andriy Popov

Sign language translator app to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing

28/10/2019

Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania students created a mobile app that allows translating sign language characters. The app is also an alternative way of text typing.
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Photo: A woman and a man are watching the 3D printing process; Copyright: PantherMedia/Monkeybusiness Images

Leveraging research and development to shape the future

01/10/2019

Whether it’s wheelchairs or prosthetics – there is an ongoing effort to continuously improve auxiliary aids and services. As a result, the standards of medical equipment also continue to change - always based on the latest developments and research results. That’s why REHACARE.com has taken a closer look at how trends like digitization and creative minds impact this industry sector.
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Photo: Reading devices for visually impaired people at REHACARE 2018 ; Copyright: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Daily living aids improve quality of life

03/06/2019

Whether they are smart and connected or simple and low-tech – the market offers many different types of tools and resources that make everyday tasks easier for people with disabilities. They also increase self-determination and promote participation in all areas of life.
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Photo: ESports area during REHACARE 2018; Copyright: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Games and eSports: expanding participation opportunities

02/05/2019

An estimated 34 million Germans play computer and video games using a host of different devices. Between three and four million of them fall into the eSports category. REHACARE.com has taken a closer look to find out why some German institutions have difficulties defining eSports as real sports and examined how sports simulation games offer people with disabilities the opportunity to participate.
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Photo: The TiPY keyboard for one hand; Copyright: Drory Handels GmbH

"TiPY is designed to accomplish the same things with one hand as you can with a standard two-handed keyboard"

25/10/2018

Microsoft has led the way and launched an adaptive controller to enable people with physical disabilities to have nearly the same complete gaming experience as people without disabilities. Mattheaus Drory achieved a similar result. In this interview with REHACARE.com, he admits that he initially didn’t necessarily have people with disabilities in mind when he developed his one-handed keyboard.
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Photo: An elderly woman catches ichó. The ball starts to glow in red-orange colors.; Copyright: ichó systems - icho-systems.de

"ichó brings people with and without dementia together and provides a way to share stories, experiences, and impressions."

22/04/2018

Like the golden sphere in the fairy tale of the Frog King, ichó (Greek for echo) is meant to bring back lost motor skills and cognitive functions to people with dementia. The project of four former graduates of the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences aims to offer individual support through a person’s favorite music or fairy tale.
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Photo: the team of Capjob: Asal-Rothenburger-Huening; Copyright: Felix Huening/Capjob

Capjob: "People with severe disabilities assist job seekers with severe disabilities"

13/07/2017

Modern and user-friendly: job seekers are able to indicate their type of disability on the Capjob.de employment portal and search for jobs that are right for them. REHACARE.com spoke with founder Felix Hüning about the unique features of Capjob and why virtually all parties could benefit from an inclusive employment landscape.
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Photo: Florian Adler; Copyright: Tim de Gruisbourne

"Inclusive communication design is both accessible and attractive"

15/06/2017

For many, recognizing and understanding characters is an important prerequisite to social participation. Inclusive communication design helps people with visual impairments to accomplish this. REHACARE.com spoke with designer and expert of the German Association for Blind and Visually Impaired People, Florian Adler. He has developed a digital guide to inclusive communication design.
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Photo: Carer holds the hand of a patient; Copyright: panthermedia.net/michaeljung

Concept for caregiver workload relief: "Empathy is a fundamental part of being human"

15/09/2016

Caregivers encounter many different emotions in their jobs. Patients are in pain, have questions about their own mortality or they pass away. The empathy-based relief concept empCARE was founded to better handle these emotional experiences. With the help of training courses, caregivers are taught to learn how to prevent an empathic emotional overreaction.
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Photo: Marcus Rohrbach cuts fruits in kitchen, camera records scenes, computer screen in foreground

Will software automatically describe movie plots in the near future?

18/07/2016

In order to understand the plot of a movie an audio version is very helpful for visually impaired people. Authors watch the whole movies and describe what happens in each scene. But wouldn’t it be possible for a computer software to do this kind of work? Researchers work on developing a program which automatically generates movie descriptions and reads them out.
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Photo: Simon Janatzek talks about accessible smartphones

If you buy them, some smartphones are already accessible

14/04/2016

A quick check on your smartphone to see when the next bus leaves or letting your friend know via WhatsApp that you are running late: those are mundane situations for many people. Yet how accessible are smartphones actually for visually impaired and blind people? REHACARE.com spoke with Simon Janatzek. He is visually impaired and tells us which apps are helpful in everyday life.
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Photo: meeting in the PIKSL Lab

"PIKSL focuses on the removal of digital barriers"

26/01/2016

Digital transformation does not only cause problems for persons with disabilities. Companies are also facing digital barriers they need to overcome. The PIKSL Lab makes digital inclusion its priority: together, individuals with and without disabilities work on removing digital barriers. In this interview with REHACARE.de, Project Manager Tobias Marczinzik explains the PIKSL concept.
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Photo: Laura Gentile; linked to

Laura Gentile - That's how she rolls

03/06/2015

Like for many other young women fashion is an important everyday topic for Laura Gentile. That is why she shows on a regular basis in her blog that fashionable clothing and a wheelchair are not contradiction. But the Austrian woman also dreams of changing the world and more respect. Who made her the person she is today, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Photo: Birgit Nofftz using a mask for speech recognition

"Speech-to-text interpreters assist in equal access communication"

26/03/2015

There is an alternative for hearing impaired or deaf persons, who are not able to or don’t want to communicate with the help of sign language: so-called speech-to-text interpreters reproduce spoken words into a text format onto paper, computer monitors or screens. REHACARE.de inquired with the German Association of Speech-to-Text Interpreters and gained some insight into this profession.
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