New World of Accessibility

In 1994-95, 58 percent of legally blind Americans 18 to 54 years old were unemployed, compared to 18 percent of 18 to 54 year olds with no serious impairments. The numbers are staggering, with the disparity being attributed, in part, to inadequate training in access technology and lack of awareness that technology exists to accommodate people who are blind.

According to “Vision Problems in the US,” blindness and vision impairment cost the federal government more than $4 billion annually in benefits and lost taxable income. Why does it have to be so bleak? We have products to accommodate for vision loss. Whether it is a screen reader, money reader, or book reader, we have the technology to improve the statistics.
 
In the 1960s, the only technology available was the Braille slate (which requires users to emboss Braille cells one dot at a time) and reel-to-reel tapes. Terry, who was born blind, was in primary school during this time. She learned to touch-type at eight years old and never mastered geography because, although tactile maps existed, they were not easy to use. “It wasn’t real to me so I wasn’t interested,” she says. She also remembers completing a master’s program years later; she would often type entire papers, not knowing the typewriter had run out of tape until she finished the assignment.
 
Today we have computers. We have products like the Talking Tactile Tablet, a viewer for audio/tactile materials, which lets users read maps and pictures by feeling the tactile display. The system speaks the description of the region being touched.
 
John, a small-business owner, recalls even as recently as a few years ago he could “take technology or leave it.” Today he can’t live without it. Clarence, who travels more than two weeks each month for business says, “The world opened up for (him),” when he was able to access the Internet. He can now buy a gift for his wife without going to the mall with her and asking her to look the other way when he makes his purchase.
 
Many people, who are blind, including Terry, John and Clarence, believe they have all the technology they need. Screen reading software like Window-Eyes and Jaws (which support all SAPI 4.x and 5.x compliant synthesizers) reads information on the computer. The software, which can be used with Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services, reads documents and tells the user information ranging from the active application to document name, time of day and icons on the desktop. This software makes it possible for blind users to access the same information as sighted users.
 
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