Hi:
This might be useful at some point.
Peter Altschul
>>>FYI. Please forward this to whomever you know who deals with job placement.
>>>It could also be of use to disabled folks who operate their
>>>
>>>
>>>FutureForms
>>>
>>>
>>>DIGITAL MANAGER By John M. Williams FEBRUARY 10, 2000
>>>
>>>"Making Your Company More Accessible to Disabled Staff and Clients
>>>Electronic forms and talking Web sites help as much as ramps and wide doors"
>>>
>>>It is very well to say that computers make it possible for many more
>>>disabled people to work for themselves or others. Yet the conventional
>>>Internet and computer technologies most people take for granted are useless
>>>if you can't see or control your hands well enough to use a keyboard. Sad to
>>>say, something as basic as an inability to fill out forms makes it pretty
>>>tough to launch a business - or even take an ordinary job at a company,
>>>small or large. U.S. government figures show that 74% of persons with severe
>>>disabilities between the ages of 21 and 64 don't work.
>>>This dismal statistic may not resonate with non-disabled small-business
>>>owners - until they consider the tight job market. Just making internal
>>>forms electronic and accessible may enable them to hire a much-needed,
>>>skilled worker - who happens to be disabled. Another consideration -
>>>accessible materials on Web sites make their services available to more
>>>clients.
>>>FutureForms has been in the forefront of adapting business forms to work
>>>with assistive technologies, such as screen readers (which read out loud the
>>>contents of a computer screen) and software that converts speech to text.
>>>"We believe everyone has the right to participate in the
>>>information-technology revolution, and we intend to see that blind, visually
>>>impaired, and people who can not use keyboards participate in the benefits
>>>of information technology," says Bill Sahlberg, director of marketing at
>>>FutureForms.
>>>The company's interest in making accessible forms grew out of work it did
>>>for a blind attorney, says Sahlberg. That made the company aware there was a
>>>large potential market in tools for disabled staff that weren't billed as
>>>"accommodations" - a term that scares employers with its connotations of
>>>inordinate expense and lawsuits. FutureForms' says its goal is to create
>>>universal documents that can be plugged into assistive software, so that no
>>>one needs to request special forms to do his or her job, participate in
>>>employee programs, or order a company's products.
>>>Companies or government agencies generally contract with FutureForms to
>>>create electronic versions of their paperwork, Sahlberg explains. The
>>>company will provide the tools for customers to create their own material,
>>>but most find it far easier to let FutureForms do the work. FutureForms'
>>>uses several formats. Companies can have software-filler programs installed
>>>on each employee's PC. Open the program first, call up a directory of forms
>>>within that screen, select one, and fill away. More popular - and more
>>>useful - are forms that open up within a browser on a Web or intranet site.
>>>The forms can be configured to work with any of the major screen readers -
>>>WindowEyes, JAWS (Job Accommodation with Speech), or Microsoft Speech, all
>>>for Windows - as well as such speech-recognition products as Dragon Dictate,
>>>a product of Dragon Systems, based in Newton, Mass., and various keyboard
>>>switches. (The latter are modified keyboards for people with limited use of
>>>their hands.)
>>>FutureForms recently released a product called Verbal-Eyes that works with
>>>its forms and those of other designers, who can use it under license.
>>>Verbal-Eyes acts as a bridge between the forms and the assistive technology.
>>>When a user opens a form created with Verbal-Eyes, the software
>>>automatically determines whether any of the three major screen readers
>>>listed above are in use. If it locates an active screen reader, Verbal-Eyes
>>>tells it to read the form. If there's no screen reader, the user just
>>>completes the form normally. The software is simple to install, says
>>>Sahlberg, requiring no special skill.
>>>How much does it cost for a business to make its forms electronic and
>>>accessible? FutureForms' fees start at $500 and can run up to a couple of
>>>thousand per form, depending on how complicated and long the documents are.
>>>In some cases, state rehabilitation agencies will share the cost of making
>>>forms accessible with the company that hires a client. For companies that
>>>want to use Verbal-Eyes with existing forms, licensing fees range from
>>>around $50 a form for 2 forms to $2.00 a form for 1,000 forms.
>>>Another technology helps those who have severe visual impairments or can't
>>>use a keyboard tap the Web. Everypath, a Santa Clara (Calif.)-based company
>>>will, for a monthly fee, convert the information on a company's Web site so
>>>it can be delivered by voice over an ordinary telephone. The company's fees
>>>range from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the amount of traffic and the
>>>number of pages. This is essentially the same technology that delivers Web
>>>information to mobile devices with tiny screens. To access a site that has
>>>been "Everypathed," the user dials a phone number and asks for the URL. The
>>>software calls up the site and responds: "What do you want?" The user
>>>specifies the information he or she needs, and a female voice "reads" it.
>>>By making Web-site information accessible over ordinary telephones, a
>>>company's services can reach millions of disabled people - potential
>>>clients, entrepreneurs, and employees. And the technology isn't only useful
>>>for the disabled. Voice capability also extends a site's reach to those who
>>>don't have PCs or don't have access to one at a given moment.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Williams writes a weekly column for Business Week Online on assistive
>>>technology. For information on assistive technology, write to him at
>>>[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> . You can also discuss these issues on
>>>BW Online's Assistive
>>>Tech Forum
>>>own businesses.
>>>
>>
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