Disability Mentoring Day

American Association of People with Disabilities

Accessibility projects remove barriers to use of computers

October 31, 2005

By Linda Musthaler, Network World

Technology has become a pretty pervasive part of our lives. We’re addicted to the devices and applications we think we can’t live without: BlackBerries, browsers, e-mail and the Internet. We use them daily and take them for granted.

In the past week, I was reminded that technology is great, but it isn’t necessarily easy for all to use. For example, what if you were blind and couldn’t see the Web page on your screen? What if you broke your wrist and couldn’t press Control-Alt-Delete to start your PC, and you had to type one-handed? What if you forgot your reading glasses at home and couldn’t read the messages stacked up in your inbox?

In our lifetime, 1 in 3 of us will develop some sort of disability. Every one of us is getting older each day, increasing the likelihood of developing an age-related impairment such as presbyopia or hearing loss. Today there are more than 69 million Americans over the age of 40, representing 48% of the total U.S. workforce (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). If you don’t need assistive or accessible technology today, chances are you will at some point.

For at least three or four years now, I’ve been involved in programs and projects to increase the accessibility of technology for people with disabilities or age-related impairments. This week I had the pleasure of seeing two of my pet projects come to fruition, and I want to share them with you.

The first project was Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) and Accessibility Awareness Day (AAD) at Hewlett-Packard’s Houston campus. I was a consultant to the team that pulled together these activities.

HP hosted 16 Houston-area college students for DMD. Each of the students has some type of disability; all are pursuing degrees that will allow them to fulfill their dreams. At least half are majoring in computer science or a related engineering field. HP employees acted as mentors to these students for the day, introducing them to the reality of the working world at a global high-tech company. Perhaps some of these students will return to HP for an internship or employment one day. I certainly hope so (see http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/051019a.html).

Along with DMD, HP also sponsored an internal event to increase employee awareness of the need for accessible products and services. Employees visited a “sensitivity center,” where they learned what it’s like to use a screen reader application to “read” a Web site. They visited with assistive technology developers who market products designed to ease the challenges that people with disabilities face. For example, OneWrite Company demonstrated Cyrano Communicator, a hand-held portable software application designed to help speech-impaired individuals communicate through a series of customizable images, text and sounds, including natural-sounding synthesized speech. This tool is useful for people with autism, or for people who have difficulty with speech after suffering a stroke (see http://www.cyranocommunicator.com).

Another of my accessibility projects to execute this month is the AIR-Houston rally. Eight teams of professional Web developers tested their skills by creating fully accessible Web sites for non-profit organizations in a single day. Well, OK, they did spend a few hours ahead of the rally planning the sites, but rally day was intense! At the end of the day, deserving groups such as Taping for the Blind and The University of Houston Center for Students with DisABILITIES had beautiful new Web sites that can be accessed by anyone, even when using a screen reader to read the contents and navigate the pages.(see http://www.knowbility.org/air-houston/?content=home).

Robert Bartlett, president for Taping for the Blind and co-chair of the 2005 AIR-Houston rally, demonstrated to me the importance of an accessible Web site. Bob lost his sight about a decade ago, and he now uses Freedom Scientific’s JAWS screen reader application to use his PC effectively. When Bob starts up JAWS, it begins to read everything on the screen to him, including icons, radio buttons, links and text. Bob could not use his computer without such a tool. When he encounters a Web site that isn’t accessible – and he showed me a few examples – he literally cannot make sense of the site.

I’ve preached it before and I’ll say it again: An accessible Web site means that more people can make use of the information and services that you offer via that site. If your site is not accessible, it’s not reaching its full potential. It’s like hanging a sign that says, “Almost everyone is welcome.”

Technology is terrific, especially when it makes all of us more productive. There’s no good excuse these days for barriers to use.

Linda Musthaler is vice president of Currid & Company. You can write to her at Linda.Musthaler@currid.com.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes the economic and political empowerment of all 56 million children and adults with disabilities in the U.S. It was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). AAPD members have access to a full range of financial services through a federal credit union, a discounted mail order prescription program, and a quarterly AAPD newsletter. For additional member benefits, or to learn more about AAPD's advocacy efforts and major program areas, visit the AAPD website.