> Update and clarification on Internet usage by people with disabilities
>
> The Harris poll results regarding Internet usage by people with
> disabilities do not
> conclusively show that people with disabilities have really gained on
> their non-disabled peers during the past few years, says Stephen
> Kaye, Ph.D. of the NIDRR-funded Disability Statistics Center, as we
> reported in the 1/22/02 E-Letter ("People with disabilities still lag
> on Internet usage," online at
> http://www.accessiblesociety.org/e_letters/eletter012202.htm)
>
> What is important, he says, "is the very large gap that persists
> between people with and without disabilities in their access to the
> Internet. Even though a significant majority (56%) of adults without
> disabilities use the Internet at home, according the the Harris poll,
> most (62%) adults with disabilities don't use the Internet at home.
> It's likely that most of those people don't have computers at all, or
> don't have an Internet connection.
>
> "Many people with disabilities have difficulty traveling outside the
> home, and, partly as a result, participation in society among people
> with disabilities is relatively low," says Kaye. "The Internet could
> provide opportunities for participation in society, especially for
> those people with disabilities who are socially isolated.
> Unfortunately, when people with disabilities lack access to the
> Internet, they cannot take advantage of these opportunities, which
> are much more readily available to people without disabilities.
> Especially relevant is the employment arena--jobs are posted on the
> Web and often require Internet skills; telecommuting has often been
> touted as a viable employment option for many people with
> disabilities, but it is largely unavailable for those without
> computers and Internet access."
>
> The National Organization on Disability study we reported in the
> 1/22/2001 E-Letter was conducted by the Harris Poll; Kaye's study was
> done as part of his research with the  NIDRR-funded Disability
> Statistics Center (a link to Dr. Kaye's report can be found at the
> Center for an Accessible Society website at
> http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/webaccess/digitaldivide.htm  )
>
> "Differences in the definitions of disability used in the two surveys
> prevent direct comparisons between them," says Kaye. "The Current
> Population Survey data that I used in my analysis of Internet use
> relies on a definition of disability based on work limitation. The
> population estimate is 21 million people age 15 and over."  The
> Harris Poll, however, used questions similar to the questions used in
> the 2000 Census, which "capture a much broader population of
> approximately 40 million people age 5 and above," says Kaye.
>
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