Introducing “DisabledBook”, the first social networking media for people with disabilities, founded by Petros Kaloupis, a Greek programmer, who is dedicated to offering people who are blind, deaf or handicapped the opportunity to use a platform that works very easily like “Facebook”.

***

Greek programmer Petros Kaloupis creates the first social networking media for disabled. Petros, who encounters mobility problems himself, says that “After receiving an email from a disabled friend, who brought up the subject about there not being a social media site for the handicapped, I decided to go about covering this need for communication, openness and interaction between people with disabilities”, “I wanted to come up with a platform, where our abilities are also seen stronger than our disabilities, and of course, I intended to change many misperceptions of the meaning disabled”.

 

So, just like Facebook technology, registered users of DisabledBook can create their own profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in contact with other members from all around the world. Most importantly, they can find information on social or voluntary services, as well as, professionals from the health sectors in Greece and abroad. The website, available in over 36 different languages, also features unique tools, including hearing technology and video and music centres.

 

The platform is without a doubt, a great advantage and motivation for its members, as it has been designed to recognise if the user has some kind of disability and allows for example, a person with a visual impairment or someone with mobility problems to engage successfully on the site. The “mouse” for example, can be moved with a simple command or by movement of the foot, and to activate the camera, a user just has to shake his or her head.

 

Presently, Petros works in collaboration with a team of 11 valuable professionals, who each play a different role in providing their expertise to ensure the successful operation of the platform, and DisabledBook has over 100,000 users, although not all of them are handicapped. The platform also gives people who are not disabled the opportunity to interact with members who are. They can learn about their difficulties and understand more about the new technologies relating to disability and health. DisabledBook puts the spotlight on what a person can do rather than what they can’t do and shows people that the severity of one’s disability does not determine the level of potential.

petros-kaloupis-social-network-disabled-4Finally, Petros Kaloupis has recently completed a new innovative plugin for web conversion, accessible by people with motor disabilities mainly in the upper limbs, the blind and the deaf. This new tool is adaptable for all websites and anyone wishing to implement the free software component can do so and become part of a growing community giving opportunities for disabled people to have access to information, services, and the labour market. To show how easily this can be done, a short time ago, Petros participated in the project “wheeling2help”, donating the implementation of DisableBook, (worth 18,000 €) for the people with disabilities in the Municipality of Kalamata, Greece.

To become a member of DisabedBook, go to www.disabledbook.com & for more information on wheeling2help (in Greek): http://www.wheeling2help.com/

.sourse: Events & PR Manager for DisabledBook