Cognitive disabilities
Assistive technology for thinking disabilities helps with memory, understanding organising, and finishing tasks. These tools help people do more by making up for differences in how their brains work.
Physical environment
In the real world, assistive technology for people with thinking problems includes visual schedules, reminder systems, guides for finding places and simple signs that make it easier to handle daily tasks.
Example
A person with an intellectual disability who uses public transportation depends on clear maps that show each stop and spoken stop announcements. Signs with only text or complicated directions make it hard to use, even when the bus or train itself is easy to access.
Key point
People often focus on physical and sensory access when designing spaces, but for people with intellectual disabilities, a building that is easy to move around in can still be hard to understand.
ICT environment
In the ICT environment, assistive technology for cognitive disabilities includes tools that read text aloud, help with reading, check spelling, suggest words and reduce distractions.
Example
A student with dyslexia uses a text-to-speech app to hear web page words read aloud while looking at them. They also use word prediction software to help with spelling when they write, so they can communicate more easily.
Key point
Cognitive assistive technology is the least standardised and most varied group. Unlike screen readers, there is no one main tool. Many people who use cognitive assistive technology depend on a mix of built-in operating system features, browser extensions and special applications.