People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
In the lifetime of most readers of this article, technology meant a large room, filled with expensive equipment that only big business could afford. Now, it's in our phones, washing machines, cars and just about anywhere we care to venture. Has this still-evolving revolution led to liberation or built further barriers for people with disabilities? The answer is both, but actions are required now to ensure that future benefits outweigh the barriers.
The price of technology in general has dropped dramatically in the last 10 years. However, assistive, adaptive and augmentative (i.e. specialised) technologies used by people with disabilities mostly have not. A small market and the large amount of work involved means that they are often beyond the reach of potential users, unless s/he receives financial support.
National legislation abounds, but frequently only skirts around the edges of technology. For instance, apart from the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Universal Design, it was barely mentioned in the 2005 Disability Act. European legislation, such as the two recently enacted European Directives on Public Procurement offer greater hope, if properly transposed and enforced.
The National Disability Authority is playing a strong persuasive role, particularly in relation to public bodies. They have developed guidelines, introduced an awards scheme called Excellence through Accessibility and developed a web site explaining standards for technology development. International Standards bodies all now actively work on incorporating accessibility into their standards.
A European initiative named e-Europe aims to propel Europe to the position of world leader in the use of technology. It includes access by people with disabilities and older people as key criteria. One result was the establishment of a Design for All Network. This consists of one organisation in each of the then 15 member countries in the EU. Their twin roles are to promote Design for All and to develop a curriculum for Design for All to be incorporated into mainstream third level design courses. Design for All is an approach that includes the needs of as many potential users of a product or service as possible, without alteration.
Technology is only useful if it facilitates access to usable information. The Worldwide web Consortium (W3C) developed standards for information held on the Internet and these enjoy worldwide recognition. However, as recent research in Ireland showed, they are frequently ignored still.
In the realm of more traditional information, copyright poses a major barrier for those who require access to electronically stored versions of printed material. Fair Use is a concept that a person should be able to convert information to a format that suits their needs. This should be recognised in Copyright legislation. DAISY is a format for electronic material that is far more accessible than most other formats, and should be promoted widely.
The two elephants in the corner, however, are the problems of advocacy and training. What the Irish Commission on the Information Society describes as late adopters (including people with disabilities) do not know the market or have the skills to determine what is the most appropriate technology for their needs.
They need support in making these choices before even making it onto the first rung of the ladder of technological competence. Unlike a fridge, a microwave or even a television, technology typically has to be constantly updated and tweaked. This includes Anti-virus software, the operating system, specialised software and general software. The user needs support and training on the maintenance and efficient use of all of these.
Technology is no longer a luxury. Nor is it a goal in itself; it is a key tool for accessing education, employment and social inclusion. As teachers, employers and service providers (not least public bodies) continue to move towards delivering their services electronically, those who cannot use technology will be left further and further behind. Ireland needs to address the question of how information is stored and presented, the cost of specialised technology to the end user, advocacy in choosing appropriate solutions and, possibly most urgently, training. Choices made today will have far-reaching consequences long into the future. So we, people with disabilities, who will be the main beneficiaries or losers, must ensure that those choices include our needs from the start
For further information email:
Gerry.ellis@feelthebenefit.com
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