When we talk about disability, of the several issues that come to mind, the most apparent is that of the varying degrees of dependence of people with disabilities on others. Even in our daily lives, we often see the disabled getting support from others whether it is the blind being helped in navigating through traffic or the motor-disabled being assisted in moving their wheelchairs or communication of messages in sign language for those who cannot speak or hear. Sometimes the disability is so severe that professional caregivers are hired to be available to persons with disabilities (PWDs) to help them perform certain functions in their routine life.

The world over there is now increasing conversation about facilitating independent living of PWDs and significant progress has been made in this context. As is obvious from the very term, independent living emphasizes decreasing or ending dependence on others while enabling the PWDs to perform functions which they were earlier unable to because of their disabilities. A simple example of this can be the newfound ability of a person whose hand has been amputated to once again be able to grip things, control movement of fingers and perform tasks with the help of a bionic hand linked to his nervous system.

People working for the rights of the PWDs say technology is a great equaliser, a leveller that can in many cases bring the PWDs at par with people without any noticeable disability. The good news is that it does not always need to be hi-tech or even costly. Innovative solutions, low-cost products and assistive technologies that provide support to them are essential in realising the goals of independent living.

Usman Zia, a lecturer in special education at the University of Education, Faisalabad, says the term ‘assistive technology’ is used to describe both the products and the services for people with special needs. It includes a range of technologies which enable people to build on their abilities and participate as fully as possible at home, school and work. Zia points out that this ‘technology’ is essentially a broad field ranging from the very simple to the very complex and may be organised into a system of low-tech, medium-tech and high-tech tools and strategies that match a person’s needs, abilities and tasks.

People working for the rights of the people with disabilities (PWDs) say technology is a great equaliser.

Citing an example, he says, empty plastic bottles have been used as forearms by children who had had theirs amputated by pushing their elbows and upper arms into them. Pencils were affixed to the mouths of these bottles to help these children write. Similarly, he says, children facing difficulties in holding pens or pencils are assisted in this context with the help of clothes pegs tied to their fingers. Tennis balls cut into halves are also effective in this regard, he adds.

On the other hand, Zia says the rich can afford intelligent and bionic hands and arms that are linked to the human nervous system and can be controlled just like a part of one’s body. The same is the case with wheelchairs, which can be manual and mechanical as well as electronic and computer operated. However, there is a major price difference between the two.

While assistive technologies can be completely new, they can also build on existing ones to innovate and make them more user-friendly. The example of Braille system introduced by Louis Braille, a blind man, can be cited here. Braille got access to the French military’s coding system used to send secret messages and developed it into a comprehensible language for the blind. Now Braille is an assistive technology that can be applied to any language in use.

Basic assistive technology paraphernalia can cost as little as Rs 500 and may go up to Rs 0.3 million to Rs 0.4 million for a digital brailler. Today, a Braille tablet-like device is available in the market that allows visually impaired users to access various functions, including word processing, e-book reading, web browsing, social networks, voice recording and e-mail using Braille and speech.

Similarly, a basic hearing aid can cost anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 whereas a cochlear implant can cost between Rs 1.5 million to Rs 2.5 million. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that electronically stimulates a hearing impaired person’s cochlear nerve which is used for hearing.

Zahid Abdullah, a visually impaired person, says his life changed altogether when he came to know about Jaws Access – a screen-reading software that allows the blind and the visually impaired to read the screen with text-to-speech output tools. However, while the software has enabled him to do extensive research, reading and writing, such technologies are quite expensive. He suggests local software companies and startups also work to come up with low-cost solutions so that more and more people can benefit from these.

He adds that mobile companies are also launching phone models with inbuilt text-to-speech softwares, which very few are aware of.

Abdullah mentions that research is also underway on using artificial intelligence (AI) and sensors in white canes so that they can tell the users about the nature and distance of objects coming their way using optical recognition (OR) tools. Explaining the difference between technology and assistive technology, Abdullah says the former makes existing things easy while the latter can make the impossible possible and works as an enabler for the disabled.

Usman Zia shares that a female colleague of his who is blind has used assistive technologies in her kitchen in a manner that has enabled her to establish herself as a wonderful cook. Zia says hers is an excellent case study of how PWDs are using assistive technologies.

Dr Izharul Haq Hashmi, Director Programmes at the Punjab Welfare Trust for the Disabled, believes that it is the responsibility of the state to develop low cost and affordable assistive technologies for the disabled. He shares that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had selected around 200 such technologies, which were later narrowed down to 25, and asked its member states to further develop these for the welfare of the PWDs.

Hashmi says that Pakistan was an eager participant in the process and had also given important suggestions to WHO which were acknowledged globally. During his last visit to China, Hashmi says Prime Minister Imran Khan sought support from Chinese government and businesses to develop similar technologies and products that could bring relief to the PWDs at low cost without compromising on quality.

The writer is a staff member and can be reached at shahzada.irfan@gmail.com