Curb Cuts and Carbon Paper
Another in a series of Microsoft essays describes how innovative technologies can help people with disabilities surmount the challenges they face every day.
When a chime sounds to signal that an elevator car has arrived, few of us realize that we’re taking advantage of a technology originally developed to give people with disabilities extra time to reach the door before it closes. In fact, many technologies that were first designed to assist people with disabilities were later widely adopted because of their value to everyone. Carbon paper was first developed for blind and partially sighted clerks who could not tell when their quill pens ran out of ink. The typewriter was invented for a countess who was blind. Curb cuts, first created for people using wheelchairs, are now used by everyone from cyclists to parents with strollers.
People with disabilities have also been early adopters of technology that was not specifically designed for accessibility. For example, vibrating pagers were developed primarily for people who work in noisy environments, but have been widely adopted by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Technology can make life easier for everyone. But for people with disabilities it can mean the difference between employment and unemployment, between staying home and venturing out, and between a life of exclusion and one of community. Further, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report, more than 70 percent of us will acquire a disability of some kind by the time we reach the age of 75, making technology a crucial factor in maintaining our quality of life as we grow older.
July 26 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When it was passed, the ADA was described as the most comprehensive civil-rights legislation ever enacted for people with disabilities. It promised enforceable standards prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. But while we should applaud the many advances society has made to comply with the provisions of the ADA, we must also recognize that we have a long way to go before people with disabilities enjoy a world of true equality and accessibility.
A majority of Americans with disabilities believe that their lives have changed for the better during this past decade. They feel that access to public facilities, public attitudes toward people with disabilities, media portrayals of people with disabilities, access to public transportation, and quality of life have all improved. But at the same time, they are still significantly disadvantaged when it comes to education, employment and income, among other areas of daily life.
Computer technology can help surmount some of these challenges. According to a recent poll by the National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive, 48 percent of people with disabilities who are online say the Internet has significantly improved their quality of life, compared with 27 percent of people who are not disabled. The Internet helps them stay informed and connected, and get in touch with others who share their experiences. PCs that can speak, offer enhanced visual feedback, be used without a mouse, or otherwise be adapted can help enhance the ability to participate in the workplace and in the community. Both at work and school, well-designed accessible PC-based productivity and learning tools can be helpful in creating an environment that is more inclusive and empowering for everyone, disabled or not.
There is a great opportunity for the high-tech industry—and the private sector in general—to provide leadership and innovation in pursuing the goals established by the ADA. Ideally, people with disabilities should have easy and consistent access to all types of technology. Well-thought-out accessible design can transform major challenges into routine daily activities. Mainstream technology should accommodate the widest spectrum of users, and manufacturers should strive to make their products compatible with assistive technology. Our common goal should be for each new version of a product to be more accessible than the last.
At Microsoft, we have worked hard to make our products and services accessible. For example, among many other accessibility features, Windows 2000 has an "on-screen keyboard" that enables people with mobility impairments to type by using a pointing device or joystick, and a text-to-speech feature that can read aloud to people who are blind or have low vision.
Technology has the potential to enhance the communications, productivity and creativity of every one of us at home, work and school, and to help us participate fully in all that society has to offer. Only when everyone is able to make their greatest contribution—free from physical, social and economic barriers—will we have achieved true equality.
