Disability Resources Guide Launch

This week the DPN is launching its online Disability Resources Guide!

This web-based guide is your One Stops' personal library of disability and employment information. It was created by the Disability Program Navigator for SF One Stops in order to centralize information on services for individuals with disabilities.

Each One Stop must provide a permanent email address to serve as your site's username.

Orientation sessions will be held:
Fri, August 21, 3-4pm
Wed, August 26, 3-4pm
Fri, August 28, 3-4pm

LOCATION: CVE office, Computer Lab, 1425 Folsom St., San Francisco

Please let us know if you will attend.
disabilityprogramnavigator@gmail.com
510-544-0124 office

Resource of the Week

Quick and Easy Guide to SSI and SSDI
This free booklet answers common questions about SSI/SSDI benefits, definitions of disability, how to apply, how to appeal, amount determinations, and In Home Support Services. Published in 2007, it is available in English, Spanish and Chinese from the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco (ILRCSF). ILRCSF runs Latino and Chinese outreach programs, workshops, support programs, and special services for individuals with hearing loss.

With budget constraints ILRCSF is not currently able to provide free printed copies of their publications, so we have posted this Quick and Easy Guide to SSI and SSDI, along with several other ILRCSF pubs, on the DPN's new Disability Resources Guide (launching this week). Contact the DPN to access the database and sign up for an orientation session.

To preview this publication in English, click here.

Resource of the Week

This week we're focusing on screen readers, a form of accessible technology to help users with low-vision or blindness. Screen reader software can also be very helpful for users with learning disabilities or cognitive problems caused by medication, illness or brain injury.

Introduction to Screen Readers
JAWS is the most common and robust screen reader. It is also the most costly ($1000). For One Stops, JAWS may be more powerful than necessary. Below is a comparison of free screen readers compiled by Jane Berliss-Vincent at the Center for Accessible Technology. These will be the most useful for One Stops.

View the screen reader comparison here.

Additionally, the following software also has audio features that can help users with vision loss or learning disabilities:

• ZoomText Magnifier/Reader ($500)
• EasyTutor from Dolphin Computer Access ($335), or Kurzweil 1000 (for the visually impaired, $1000 and up) and Kurzweil 3000 (for those with reading difficulty, $2000 and up)