ALKHOBAR, 9 December 2003 — Impaired. Handicapped. Crippled. Disadvantaged. These are frightening words to many people. But the fact of the matter is that every one of us, if we live long enough, will earn a place among the disabled. According to Disability Persons International, there are more than 600 million people with disabilities worldwide. United Nations statistics indicate that 82 percent of people with disabilities are excluded from their communities by barriers of policy, environment and attitude.
While some may be born blind or deaf, we all tend to have a decrease in visual acuity and hearing ability as we age. Few individuals are born with paralysis of the limbs, but accidents and illness take their toll and after the early teenage years more and more people must learn to cope with paralytic disorders. Arthritis, strokes and tremors are just a few of the conditions that can result in physical disability, as people get older. Mental impairments are also a reality of life. Children are increasingly diagnosed with learning and developmental disabilities. Older adults too may face declining mental capabilities.
At a recent conference for educators held in Dhahran, a young teacher stood up and stated that she was desperate for someone to help her find ways to improve the quality of learning experiences available to her disabled students. Seated in the audience at the conference, I found it difficult to ignore such a plea. I have always believed that technology is a great enabler. Investigating the issue of education and the disabled, it came to my attention that Microsoft has been at the forefront of the accessible technology movement.
Accessible technology is technology that is flexible and adjustable to an individual’s visual, mobility, hearing, language and learning needs and can therefore be accessed by people regardless of their functional abilities. With the PC penetration rate rising in Saudi Arabia, more and more homes and schools are using Microsoft products on the desktop. This makes a powerful tool available to aid individuals with many different types of disabilities and impairments.
For more than a decade, Microsoft has been exploring and evolving accessibility solutions that are integrated with its products. This is in part a response to the company’s mission, “To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.” With this corporate commitment in mind, a trip to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington was warranted to meet Gary Moulton, a leader in the field of accessible technologies. Moulton is the product manager for US-Accessible Technology at Microsoft and one of the authors on the team that wrote the book — “Accessible Technology in Today’s Business.”
“In business school they teach you that you can only have two types of problems — a product problem or a market problem,” said Moulton. “When it comes to access to the personal computer we don’t have a product problem. No matter what an individual’s disability there is an access solution for that individual. Even if a person has only one muscle that he or she can voluntarily control, that disabled individual can use a personal computer like anybody else. Even people who are both deaf and blind can still use computers if they are aided by assistive technologies. So while we don’t have a product problem, we do have a marketing problem. The majority of people don’t know that these products exist. The notion that if you can’t use a monitor or a keyboard or a mouse you can’t use a PC is incorrect.”
Moulton pointed out that 80 percent of the disabled acquire that disability in the course of a lifetime. It is also important to look at not only specific disabilities but also at functional limitations that result from the aging process. Small text, low speaker volume and tiny keyboard keys may all cause problems as people age.
“The products are out there,” asserted Moulton, “and to a certain extent some utilities are already built into our operating systems. For example for someone with a mild impairment — increasing font size, changing contrast, etc. might be all that is required. We encourage people to take a look at the information on microsoft.com/enable to learn what increased functionality might already be available in our operating solutions and products.”
Microsoft.com/enable is an excellent resource for the disabled, their families, educators, businessmen and IT developers. Through microsoft.com/enable gain information on assistive technologies, products and resources for the disabled, step-by-step tutorials for using the accessibility features in Microsoft products, assistive technology guides by disability and case studies and articles. Users may also subscribe to the free e-newsletter, “Accessibility Update.” The entire section on assistive technology is also available in a text only version.
“There are 142 products on the microsoft.com/enable website now,” said Moulton. “We think by the time we are through examining all the products from around the world, we will be listing between 200 and 225 individual, distinctive assistive technology products.”
The future for those with disabilities should be even brighter as Microsoft improves its software to provide even more functionality to the disabled and manufacturers of assistive technology products. Microsoft has long supported the blind and visually impaired through a product feature called Microsoft Active Accessibility, which allows those with visual disabilities to use a PC that is Graphic User interfaced. Microsoft Active Accessibility also enables manufacturers of assistive technology products to make their products compatible with Microsoft products. Basic utilities within Microsoft products help individuals with disabilities to actually set up their technologies without outside assistance.
“The next step is UI automation which will remove more of the difficulty that assistive technology manufacturers have in building on top of an operating system or application,” said Moulton. “Assistive technology companies will then be able to concentrate on the user experience of the technology, making it easier to use. We believe that as a result of incorporating UI automation in our products the cost of the assistive technology devices and their time to market will both be reduced. We also believe this will jump start the further development of these technologies.”
To prepare for the introduction of UI automation, Microsoft has begun an international plan called Microsoft’s Assistive Technology Vendor program. Moulton is particularly interested in identifying companies, entities or individuals within Saudi Arabia and the Arab World that are working on or would like to work to develop assistive technology. Under the Assistive Technology Vendor program Microsoft invites interested groups or individuals to the Microsoft campus in Redmond for training on the tools and technologies that the company has under development in this area, with special insights on UI automation.
Microsoft has published two important books in the hopes of increasing the understanding and use of accessible technology. “Accessible Technology in Today’s Business” (ISBN 0-7356-1502-2) explores ways to empower workers of all abilities and ages in the workplace. The book explains how to meet the unique needs and preferences of employees with disabilities by teaming assistive technology products with Microsoft software. The book also gives examples of these solutions in action — on the job — through illuminating case studies. The publication is packed with practical tools and best practices. The traditional paper book is sold accompanied by an e-book on CD.
The second book, “Accessible Technology: A Guide for Educators,” (ISBN 0-7356-2022-9) shows how to empower students of all abilities. The book enables educators to discover how to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities by learning the assistive technology features integrated into Microsoft software. The book allows teachers to learn from the best practices of other educators and find additional resources to help in the implementation of accessibility solutions.
In a generous move, Microsoft Arabia has committed to the Arabic translation of “Accessible Technology: A Guide for Educators.” The translation should be complete within months at which time Microsoft Arabia plans to distribute the title to concerned educators. It is hoped that such a move will help thousands of students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia to better realize their full potential.
“What we have discovered is that our work in accessible technologies has made it easier for everyone to use Microsoft’s operating systems and applications,” said Moulton.
There are many new technologies not only to help the disabled in using IT but also to aid in all aspects of daily living. Moulton particularly recommended that anyone with an interest in new technologies for the disabled should take a look at the site assistivetech.net. The site was created by the Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) located in Atlanta, Georgia. The mission of assistivetech.net is to provide increased access to information on assistive technology devices and services as well as other community resources for people with disabilities and the general public.
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