The disabled need policies to ensure accessibility<\/p>\n
Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id<\/p>\n
If information technology can serve as an enabler, why then is
\nit often difficult for people with disabilities to access
\ninformation?<\/p>\n
Luckily, as we explored last week, there are features in
\nWindows that can be activated, adjusted or amplified to enable
\nthose with hearing, visual and other physical disabilities to use
\nthe computer and be productive members of the community.<\/p>\n
Outside the operating systems -- Windows and Mac OS, there are
\na slew of other hardware and software products that can help make
\nit easier for them to read text, look at diagrams and interact
\nwith the computer.<\/p>\n
Talking about interacting with the computer, research centers
\nand universities around the world have been working on projects
\nthat will enable people with speech impediments and paralysis to
\ndirectly control the computer and communicate through it.<\/p>\n
One of the most progressive is perhaps the electrode brain
\nimplant that sends brain waves directly to the computer. It has
\nbeen developed by neuroscientists at Emory University led by
\nPhilip R. Kennedy, M.D., who founded and now leads Neural
\nSignals, Inc. (www.neuralsignals.com).<\/p>\n
BrailleNote is a family of Braille note takers with PDA
\nfunctionality.<\/p>\n
Made by Pulse Data (www.braillenote.com), the BrailleNote
\ndevices run on Windows CE, have a built-in modem and 8 MB of
\nmemory and come with a Type II PCMCIA slot that can accommodate
\nIBM MicroDrive for extra storage. They feature Word-
\ncompatibility, schedule and database management applications,
\ncalculator and other tools standard in a PDA.<\/p>\n
A BrailleNote can also be attached to the computer and
\nfunction as a reading device.<\/p>\n
Pulse Data also makes other technical aids such as
\nvideo magnifiers and voice synthesizers. We can download a
\ndemonstration version of the company's KeyNote Gold from its
\nWebsite.<\/p>\n
VideoEye Corporation (www.videoeyecorp.com) provides a simple
\nsolution for people who suffer from visual impairment due to
\nmacular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and other
\ntypes of retina damage.<\/p>\n
IBM is another technology provider that has offered solutions
\nfor the disabled. In October last year, it released Version 3.0
\nof its Home Page Reader, a browser with JavaScript support that
\nwill read aloud text, tables, graphics description, data input
\nfields, forms and image maps. With this product, even the blind
\nwill be able to shop online.<\/p>\n
For more comprehensive information on adaptive technology and
\ntechnology aids and products, Abledata (www.abledata.com) is a
\ngreat source.<\/p>\n
In this Internet era, however, all the technology aids will
\nnot be of much help if the Web pages are not designed with the
\nneeds of the disabled in mind. Therefore, the World Wide Web
\nConsortium (W3C), which is the governing authority of the WWW,
\nhas for many years been working on guidelines as to how people
\nshould author their Web documents.<\/p>\n
Called the Web Accessibility Initiative, this program focuses
\non ways Web contents can be made friendlier to people with
\ndisabilities. It may surprise us, but according to a census the
\nU.S. has 54 million people with disabilities. It makes
\naccessibility very important.<\/p>\n
And it is not surprising that a survey on the U.S. State and
\nFederal E-government, which was conducted by Darell M. West of
\nBrown University, also included an evaluation of accessibility of
\nthe Websites. The Websites are built with federal funds and
\ntherefore they should also comply with the Americans with
\nDisabilities Act (ADA) and Article 508 of the Rehabilitations
\nAct.<\/p>\n
West's survey found out that 27 percent of the government
\nWebsites already incorporated some level of accessibility
\nfeatures, such as Text Telephone or Telephonic Device for the
\nDeaf (TTY\/TDD) phone numbers and other types of compliance with
\nstandards set by W3C.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., failure to accommodate the needs of the disabled
\ncan in fact lead to a legal tangle. In November last year, for
\ninstance, America Online was brought to court by advocates of the
\nblind for failing to include accessibility features in its
\nsoftware.<\/p>\n
What about here in Indonesia? We still need to create the
\nawareness. It is certainly a better cause for the public to rally
\nbehind rather than the political infighting that seems to be on
\nthe rise again in the country.<\/p>",
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