Identifying Who Is Likely to Benefit from the Use of Accessible Technology

The main goal of this study was to identify the number of individuals who could potentially benefit from the use of accessible technology. The study was designed to identify individuals who have physical or cognitive difficulties or impairments that restrict their performance of daily tasks and determine who could most likely benefit from using accessible technology. The study identified individuals who considered themselves to have an impairment as well as those who did not but did report having difficulty performing daily tasks. This approach allowed the study to capture information about individuals who "self-identify" as having a disability or impairment as well as individuals who have difficulty with certain tasks but who do not identify themselves as having a disability or impairment.

The study consisted of a nationwide survey conducted by phone and mail. Participants were asked a range of questions designed to assess a variety of difficulties and impairments and degrees of severity to determine how they may impact the individual's use of computers.

The survey covered the five types of difficulties and impairments that would most likely impact computer use: visual, dexterity, hearing, speech, and cognitive.2 For each type of difficulty and impairment, the survey contained the following types of questions:

  • Difficulties with daily tasks to identify individuals who have difficulty performing daily tasks in each of the five types of difficulties and impairments.
  • Direct questions about impairments to assess the proportion of the population who self-identify as having an impairment.
  • Direct questions about impact on employment to allow individuals to communicate their assessment of the restrictions imposed by an impairment.

Participants were also asked a range of lifestyle and demographic questions. For more information about the study's methodology, see Appendix A: Methodology.

Defining Who Is Likely to Benefit from the Use of Accessible Technology

Based on answers to the survey questions, survey respondents were placed into one of the following three groups according to the likelihood of benefiting from the use of accessible technology:

  • Not likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to no or minimal difficulties or impairments. This group includes:
    • Individuals who had trouble performing two or fewer daily tasks in a difficulty/impairment type only some of the time or who never had trouble with any assessed task.
    • Individuals who did not self-identify as having any type of impairment or report having a difficulty or impairment that impacts employment.
  • Likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to mild difficulties or impairments. This group includes:
    • Individuals who self-identified as having a difficulty/impairment that did not limit their employment and daily life.
    • Individuals who reported difficulty with more than one daily task3 within a particular difficulty/impairment type some or most of the time.

    Examples of mild difficulties and impairments include being slightly hard of hearing or having difficulty hearing conversation some, but not most, of the time and experiencing pain in hands, arms, or wrists that limits activities some, but not most, of the time. These individuals are likely to benefit from the ability to customize accessibility options built into software such as increasing font size, turning up volume on computers, and using keyboard shortcuts instead of a mouse.

  • Very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to severe difficulties or impairments. This group includes:
    • Individuals who reported having an impairment that limits employment.
    • Individuals who reported difficulty with all of the tasks within a difficulty/impairment type some of the time and report having an impairment.
    • Individuals who reported difficulty with most of the tasks within a difficulty/impairment type most of the time.

Examples of severe difficulties and impairments include being blind or deaf, experiencing pain in the hands, arms, or wrists that limits activities most of the time, and having non-correctable vision problems that cause difficulty performing many vision-related tasks. These individuals are likely to benefit both from using the accessibility options built into software (as described above) as well as specialty assistive technology software and hardware designed for specific difficulties and impairments (such as screen readers and voice recognition software).

Individuals Likely to Benefit from the Use of Accessible Technology

Figure 1 correlates the degree of severity of difficulties with the three groups of likelihood to benefit from the use of accessible technology—not likely, likely, and very likely:

  • Individuals who did not have difficulties or impairments, or who have only minimal difficulties, are not likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology.
  • Individuals who have mild or severe difficulties or impairments are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology.

Figure 1: Incidence of Difficulties and Likelihood to Benefit from the Use of Accessible Technology

Figure 1 includes a pie chart showing adults age 18 and older and the likelihood to benefit from the use of accessible technology. 25% are very likely to benefit due to severe difficulties; 37% are likely to benefit due to mild difficulties; 37% are not likely to benefit due to no or minimal difficulties.

The remainder of this report focuses on the two groups of individuals who are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology.

Next page: Findings About Working-Age Adults

2 Cognitive difficulties and impairments refer to an inability to appropriately respond to information presentd by sight and sound.

3 To ensure a conservative estimate, those who only reported some difficulty with one daily task in an impairment type were not included.

(A Research Report Commissioned by Microsoft Corporation and Conducted by Forrester Research, Inc., in 2003)


Study Contents
  1. Overview
  2. Identifying Who Is Likely to Benefit
  3. Findings About Working-Age Adults
  4. Findings About Computer Users
  5. The Aging US Population and Impact On Computer Use
  6. Summary
  7. Appendix