University Times

Pitt celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Learning Skills Center Oct. 20 by unveiling the most advanced university-based computer lab in western Pennsylvania for the visually and physically challenged and the learning disabled.

Sue Sillman (left), a senior majoring in communication, and Shirley Abriola (below), a senior majoring in social work, demonstrated a voice-activated computer that performs word processing without a keyboard, a speech-synthesizing computer that can vocalize written data, and a Braille keyboard and printer. In addition to serving visually and physically challenged students, the lab is also designed for students with such hidden disorders as dyslexsia, attention deficit disorder, and psychiatric disorders that make it difficult for them to use conventional computer hardware and software.