At Closing the Gap, Aira Focuses on Blind Students With Special Needs
Aira attended the annual Closing the Gap conference in Minneapolis, MN recently to begin learning first-hand how to extend its services to another growing segment of the blind community: visually impaired students with special needs in education, rehabilitation and vocational training.
¨For us to be effective in serving this market,” says Amy Bernal, Director of Agent Services at Aira, ¨we must be adequately aware of the needs of these students in the classroom, home and in other daily environments so that Aira technology and services can be optimally used towards meeting their needs in each of these settings.¨
Aira´s participation in Closing the Gap — one of the premiere events showcasing the latest products in assistive technology and best practices — gave the company the chance to not only showcase its services, but to also interact with blind students with special needs, and with key professionals in this field. These included classroom teachers, occupational therapists, clinicians, assistive technology specialists, in addition to parents of blind students.
¨The insight and feedback we gained from the event will be valuable as Aira moves forward in further exploring this expanding area of the blind community,” says Amy. Aira´s product demonstrations at the conference were also successful, with new users giving Aira positive comments, such as this one from Kevin Bundy, a digital operator in assistive technology: ¨Aira has amazing potential, and becoming an Aira Explorer would be a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of navigation for those of us who are blind or who have significant visual impairment.¨
