Justin, on the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work's website
www.workink.com you will find an article that I believe you will find
informative. Below is the url and I have also pasted the article.
Regards,
Nayla Farah
CCRW/CCRT
Manager/Directrice, WORKink
Tel/Tél: 416-260-3060 Extension/Poste 224
1-800-664-0925 Extension/Poste 224
Fax: 416-260-3093
[log in to unmask]
www.workink.com <http://www.workink.com>
http://216.13.114.21/workink/national/search3.asp?id=4366&purge=20020121&pub
lish=20020121
Article follows:
Driving Technology by Disability
By: Sandra Carpenter,
Foundation on Independent Living
A longtime and well-loved personal and professional associate of mine, Dr.
Audrey King, first made the case, "We are all disabled on the moon." All
humans
have disabilities underwater, too, requiring special clothing and breathing
apparatus to survive.
Since first thinking about that fact, I have been struck by how developments
to enable human function in space have had later application for people with
disabilities (and vice versa), and how developments to enable disability
access have had application in the general market.
Let's track Velcro: developed for space suits, then used to enable people
with disabilities who couldn't handle buttons and zippers to dress
themselves,
and later used for shoes and clothes in a general market. I could tell you a
story about the occupational therapist who once had the brilliant idea to
use Velcro on my underwear to enable my independence…but I'll leave it to
your imagination to figure out how well that worked!
So, imagine my excitement when, at the recent Wellsizing the Workplace
conference sponsored by Royal Bank, Sun Life, Microsoft, IBM, and NCR, I met
Steve
Jacobs, President of IDEAL at NCR.
Among other things, Mr. Jacobs has coined the phrase "electronic curb cut."
The explanation goes something like this:
We have seen how curb cuts in sidewalks benefit not only the wheelchair user
for whom they were originally intended, but also people wheeling strollers
or shopping carts, and people on roller blades, skateboards, or bicycles-
all benefit from them.
He then goes on to illustrate how much current and planned information
technology has its roots in disability accommodation:
The first typewriter was built to help a woman who was blind write.
The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, inspired by his work
with people who were deaf.
The first keypunch system was developed by a person with a learning
disability. This same person founded The Tabulating Machine Company which
later became
known as IBM.
The specifications developed for "talking book" machines invented for people
who are blind inspired the tape recorder.
Research into smaller, cheaper hearing aids for people who are deaf produced
the transistor radio.
ARPANET, precursor to Internet, only contained text messaging or an e-mail
function because its inventor, who was hard of hearing, used it extensively
in
communication with his wife, who was deaf.
Today's computer scanners use technology originally developed for the
Kurzweil readers used extensively to give access to print to people who are
blind.
Kurzweil also developed the first music keyboard with acoustic sound.
Picture- or symbol-based keyboards, also developed for print disability, now
have widespread use in many fast-food restaurants.
Voice-activated software, originally developed for people who could not
type, is now in common use.
Caption decoders for people who are deaf enable the search and retrieval of
video content, by word, in multimedia databases, and because of the
universal
chip in all newer television sets, they can be used to help small children
learn to read, or people of any age learn a second language. (See The
Electronic
Curbcut Phenomenon by Steve Jacobs at NCR Inc.)
There are more examples. Furthermore, listening to the NCR people talking
about what they are working on for the future- inspired by disability needs
but
with application for the business market- was very encouraging. They showed
software that originally enabled persons who are blind to browse the web,
but
has been broadened to enable anyone without access to a computer to browse
the web by phone. This is highly positive because it brings the cost of the
item down, and equalizes the situation for people with disabilities. This is
the idea behind universal access, and the first time the consistent message
from some big corporate players said, "Innovations and ideas inspired by
work in disability accommodation mean new general markets."
The Foundation on Independent Living (FIL) is committed to working with
mainstream media, to show how disability solutions developed by individuals
themselves,
corporations, and communities can have huge social and economic benefits for
society. Our current primary vehicle for this is a weekly program about
living
with disability called Moving On.
FIL is about ensuring an authentic voice of people with disabilities in
mainstream media and providing skills development opportunities for people
with
disabilities working in and/or with communications media.
Note: Moving On is finished for the season on CBC. TVOntario will air the
program starting in July. Re-runs are expected on CBC in the Fall.
For more information, contact the Foundation on Independent Living at (416)
369-1653.
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-----Original Message-----
From: VICUG-L: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Justin Philips
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 5:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Ideas/pointers?
Hello everybody,
I need the following information for a possible speech.
I would like input on how accomodation of the needs of the physically
handicapped, has benefited, society at large. Any examples, thoughts, or
resources will be greatfully appreciated.
Justin
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
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