As I cruised the aisles in the exhibit hall of the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2005 Conference, Showcasing Excellence in Assistive Technology, in Orlando, Florida, in January, I watched consumers with disabilities, special education teachers, school and government administrators, rehabilitation counselors, human resource managers, and people in the information technology fields clutch and seriously inspect the products. It was a scene I have witnessed many, many times over more than two decades in this field. Each time I see the exhilaration coming from people embracing these products, I marvel at their excitement and the hope they show and express in their faces and body movements.
“I know these products aren’t miracle products for people with disabilities. I see them as alternative communications tools,” an excited man with cerebral palsy typed on an augmentative communications device. He smiled as he typed his message and heard it.
“This product gives me a voice,” he said.
Another satisfied attendee, a hearing- impaired woman said, “The auditory tools here enhance voice speech frequencies and reduce background noise . . . and amplify an instructor’s voice for self-contained and inclusion classrooms.”
Special education teacher Connie Grimes, who teaches mathematics said, “I like the Virtual Pencil for students who are pencil impaired, such as blind, motor impaired or learning disabled.”
The Virtual Pencil is an educational software program that displays arithmetic and algebra problems visually and audibly, allowing the “pencil impaired” student to interact with the problem, going through each step while working toward a solution that the user (not the program or computer) arrives at. Help messages and tutoring are part of the program.
Other attendees with disabilities had similar comments when experimenting with Braille, low vision products, touch screens, switches, alternative keyboards, digital talking books, ergonomics products and training, Eyegaze software and eye tracking systems.
Other products included a hands-free solution for accessing and controlling a computer or communication device through the use of head movements, software providing an interactive solution for the deaf/hearing impaired and accessible technology that enables opportunities for people of all disabilities to achieve their goals.
There were hardware and software products for most disabilities. These products improve the lives of tens of millions of children and adults by eliminating communications barriers that historically prevented people with disabilities from being included in their communities. In some cases, these products are the great equalizers for people with disabilities.
Yet despite the benefits, the absence of these products in schools and in offices is a paramount concern to teachers and parents of children with disabilities and to adults with disabilities
Numerous special and regular education teachers told me they were frustrated, disillusioned and angry because the students requiring AT products do not have them. As a result, teachers and the parents of students with disabilities say these young people are not being given the educational opportunities they need to compete on an equal level with able-bodied students.
“Students with disabilities have an intellectual drive that matches and sometimes surpasses able-bodied students. Students with disabilities need these products, and teachers educating them need to be trained on them,” says Dr. Suzanne Martin, president of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Many states are cutting education budgets and are looking for the federal government to fund their special education programs through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The manufacturers are also frustrated with the lack of sales. Manufacturers of AT products tell me they are not selling enough of their products to schools to meet the needs of the numbers of children with disabilities
Working age adults with disabilities are not faring better. Four adults with disabilities told me they lacked jobs because they do not have access to assistive technology.
“I have been trying for nearly two years to persuade my company to employ people with disabilities. When I tell the finance department they may require assistive technology products, further discussion ceases,” says Alan Breckenridge, human resource manager. Other HR people who were with Breckenridge at the conference said they were in similar situations.
For students and adults with disabilities to advance, they need access to assistive technology products. To deny them access is to keep them unemployed, underemployed and reduced to a life of dependency on others. This situation is wrong and un-American, but can be reversed through activism. People with disabilities and others who care about equal opportunity need to let their governments, school boards and local employers know that the time for inclusion is now.
To learn more about ATIA visit www.atia.org.
John M. Williams has been writing about assistive technology for more than 25 years. A sample of his book Assistive Technologies: Creating a Universe of Opportunities for People with Disabilities can be seen at www.atn-ctcf.org.
For a funny look at hearing impairment read SWAP by Sam Moffie.