Microsoft is Working to Meet the Technology Needs of People with Multiple Sclerosis

In March 2007, Microsoft joined forces with The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals to create the MS Technology Collaborative. This new alliance is committed to understanding the needs of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and helping to provide access to the technology and resources they need to stay connected to their communities and to make more informed choices about how they manage their MS and live their lives.

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 1, 2007 — As someone who has lived with MS for more than 25 years, I was particularly interested in contributing the collective knowledge of the accessibility group at Microsoft to help people with MS discover the many ways accessible and assistive technology can empower them and enhance their lives.

MS is a neurological disease that affects approximately 400,000 people in the United States alone. There is no cure for MS, and every hour another new case is diagnosed. MS symptoms may include fatigue, vision problems, tingling or numbness, poor balance, loss of coordination, or memory lapses—and their frequency and severity are unpredictable.

Accessible Technology Addresses the Changing Symptoms of MS

As a global leader in technology and a founding member of the MS Technology Collaborative, Microsoft is committed to helping people with MS understand the options and explore the opportunities that accessible technology can provide. I consider MS an ideal condition to help demonstrate the powerful benefits of using accessible technology to overcome or accommodate a wide range of disabilities and impairments.

How people experience MS can change frequently. MS may affect a person's hands one month and their vision the next, and the severity of those symptoms can change rapidly. Because MS is an ever-changing condition, the use of adaptive and accessible technology by people with MS offers an even more profound benefit than with many other illnesses and injuries.

Working with MS and Accessible Technology

According to a recent study, forty-nine percent of the people with MS are currently employed, and nearly 40 percent of those said technology makes it possible for them to keep working despite their disease.

At some point during their careers, 44 percent of people in the study changed their employment status as a result of MS symptoms, either switching from full-time to part-time work or leaving their jobs altogether. Yet very few of those people took advantage of technology adaptations that might have given them the choice to keep working full-time. Only 12 percent asked their employers for more ergonomic equipment, tools and furniture, and only 5 percent requested changes to the technology they were using.

The decision to reduce work hours or stop working due to illness is a very personal decision, and it is important that such a decision be well-informed. No one should have to make such a difficult decision unless they have all the information and are ready to make an educated decision. If AT were more widely recognized as a tool for people with MS, it might give more people with MS employment options they did not realize they had.

When you are living with MS, vision or dexterity can deteriorate within days during an MS flare, but if a person is armed with the knowledge about AT, it can minimize the effects on their lives. For me, learning about accessible technology was like emergency preparedness. I tell people that they should be armed with information about what is available, just in case.

As a group, people with MS are certainly not averse to technology. Ninety-three percent use computers and 91 percent use cell phones, compared to 80 percent and 69 percent respectively for the general U.S. adult population. But, this group of tech-savvy people is not using AT that might help them remain independent, keep working, and perform everyday tasks more easily. That's a striking contrast.

According to the research study, the single biggest obstacle to the wider adoption of AT by people with MS is lack of good information. Fortunately, in Bayer and the NMSS, Microsoft has found two committed partners who want to provide better information for people with MS, and to help them embrace technology as a powerful and effective tool. I'm personally committed to working on this partnership and raising awareness about AT to others with MS.