Designs With Accessibility In Mind

This past week in class we learned about how design can help improve people's lives.  I have had a little experience with discussions very similar to this before, in high school I took two American Sign Language courses and part of our learning was to find out how new technology can help improve the lives of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.  So the things we discussed in last weeks class made me think about what I had previously learned in ASL.  The use of lights in a deaf person's home is very important for several different reason.  Lights flashing can signal that someone is ringing the door bell or that someone is calling the phone.  They can also be used to know when the fire alarm is going off.  The flashing of the lights differ from situation to situation so the individual in the home knows exactly what it means.  Other technology I know that is used is the shaking of the bed, this is their alarm clock for in the morning.  Because of not being able to hear it is impossible for them to hear these sounds like a door bell, phone ringing, or their alarm going off it is important to have an alternate way of knowing these things.  Expecially when it may come to having a house fire and needing to get out as quick as possible.  I know that their are a lot more improvements out their that can aid in their living, and even the technology that is available can be made better, it just needs to be designed.