|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
        |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
eAccessibility for all
The Information Society presents challenges and opportunities to all citizens and to those who govern or provide goods and services to them. People with disabilities have had to fight to establish their rights in civil society and are now engaged in ensuring they are not prevented from full participation in the Information Society. Maureen Piggot, Mencap's regional director, who recently addressed the European Commission's IST Conference on the subject, discusses the issues affecting access to information and communication technologies and gives examples of promising technology developments. eExclusion Terms like the 'digital divide', 'the info-excluded', 'information poverty' and 'information famine' regularly appear in literature and the media. Often they refer to the growing gap between the developing and developed world.They also apply to the technology gap between people with and without disabilities. In the USA, in spite of the high level of prosperity, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and an impressive programme for getting technology to people with disabilities, a report of the National Organisation on Disability showed that almost 60% of Americans with disabilities had never used a personal computer, compared with 25% of Americans without disabilities. Within the population of people with disabilities are sub-groups that experience particular disadvantage people with cognitive disabilities, including learning disability, dementia and brain injury fall into this category. As the 'Europe Action Plan' is implemented and eGovernment turns us all into eCitizens, people with cognitive disabilities will be eExcluded unless their specific information and access requirements are understood and met. Technology and support Technology promises greater choice, convenience, improved communication, enhanced services, better use of resources, better jobs and access to all the information the state and the world has to offer. The technical know-how for inclusion already exists. Technology for inclusion There are so many developments across a wide spectrum of technologies that it is hard to choose examples of promising developments. This selection deals with access to and use of significant technologies, the internet, the world wide web, multimedia and computers as personal assistants. The principles, which guided the selection, are user control; sustainable development; partnership between disabled and non-disabled people and enhancing social interaction. Online communications Members of the People First team work together to provide an accessible online meeting place for people with learning disabilities around the world. Access to this growing community of people with disabilities and their supporters is through the Central England People First website, www.peoplefirst.org.uk. Here you can register for a number of discussion lists, the mission statement of which can be summarised as, 'We want to communicate. We use technology to do it.' Members communicate through the list, one-to-one or in groups, including pre-planned teleconferences, supporting access for all. Where there is a barrier, members share what they know and look for a solution. Some of the communication strategies use voice technologies including talking email, video sign language, text and pictures to ensure there is a medium that suits all participants and hardware know-how is shared among members. The supportive and informal style of discussion is as important as the technology. These are commonplace technologies and commonplace experiences for the average internet user. However the commonplace cannot be assumed to be the common experience of people with disabilities. Multimedia and accessible web design Transactive is a Mencap-led project for young people with and without learning disabilities looking at the process of transition to adulthood where technology features in two ways. The first is by helping the youngsters to get to know one another by working towards the common goal of designing a website, www.trans-active.org.uk. The second is by providing rich media support for constructing an individual profile. Standards are beginning to emerge for accessible design. The W3C guides to web design, available from www.w3.org/WAI, are an example but the reality is that information providers, designers and developers are too remote from people with cognitive disabilities to produce person-centred solutions. The Transactive website got inspiration from a number of sources including www.peepo.com, designed by enthusiasts rather than professional designers. Valuable results of the project so far have been in learning about accessible design: Key factors include: design through engagement; age and lifestyle relevance; value of peer support; different types of collaboration between agencies; and, models of interaction that respect difference. Transactive has benefited from the work of ActingUp (www.acting-up.org.uk) on multimedia profiling for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Using a variety of media they create a profile that reflects the person. The profile is used to express preferences, tell life stories, pass on essential personal support information, capture significant events for the later enjoyment of the individual or to communicate them to friends and carers. The similar use of a multimedia album was found by the TASC telematics project for the benefit to elderly people with dementia some of whom, during trials, spent hours browsing their album. As one author put it, 'memories are the gift of life.' Preserving them, recalling them and sharing them are fundamentally valuable activities. Interestingly the commercial care sector is starting to use the ActingUp approach and is finding an increasing demand for training in the use of profiling. Orthotic devices Computer technology has the potential to be to people with cognitive impairments what the wheelchair is to people with mobility impairments. Products which can be described as portable cognitive support include PEAT, Neuropage, Isaac 400, IQ Voice Organiser. These hold and retrieve personal information, deliver reminders and prompts with varying approaches to the task and different degrees of sophistication. In designing portable support devices developers face problems of getting the balance between function, ease of use and portability. The complexity of cognitive functions and the amazing qualities of the human brain make this a challenging field and developments in brain science and ambient intelligence, including wearable computers, will offer new kinds of cognitive support. Getting technology to people Other developments, which are essential to inclusion, are initiatives to make equipment more available and the development of Community Technology Centres is a step in the right direction. Voluntary schemes to recycle computers are also ensuring that people who would otherwise not have access are able to use IT. Awareness raising amongst people with cognitive disabilities needs a bigger push. The partnership model of Wemedia.com is interesting in that it brings together major technology related companies like Microsoft and eBay with disability organisations and other NGOs but the initiative is limited through its reliance on the web to reach people. Getting technology to young disabled people to facilitate their independence and inclusion from the outset is the other basic requirement. The acquisition of skills early in life is not only important because of their immediate usefulness to the child but because the integration of those skills across all the domains of development serves as a foundation for further experiential learning and gives rise to higher levels of competence and achievement. eRights
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
