The Power of Assistive Technology

I think it's great that there are so many technologies out there to help people with various disabilities.  I'm also surprised at how many of the solutions for helping the disabled seem to be designed--or at least thought up--by regular people.  For instance, the "Disabled Bodies, Able Minds" article tells the story of how a disabled boy came to play a musical instrument:

A school employee sought out a music-store owner named Robin Amend, who is also a musical-instrument inventor and repairman. Amend, whose grandfather had played a musical instrument despite having only one arm, designed a euphonium with a joystick that electronically instructs the valves of the euphonium to move. Later, an engineer worked with Amend to refine the joystick technology.

It's remarkable that this technology would never have been created had it not been for the minds of a school employee and a music store owner.  Likewise, in the video "Adapting Classrooms for AT Users," many of the assistive technologies are very "low-tech." (for instance, simple solutions involving things such as buttons, spinners, switches, a door opener, and a specialized chair).