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How to Create
Disability Access
to Technology
Best Practices in Electronic
and Information Technology
Companies
Anthony Tusler
World Institute on Disability

How to Create
Disability Access to Technology
Best Practices in Electronic and
Information Technology Companies
Anthony Tusler
World Institute on Disability
Oakland, California
Funded by a grant from the
California Consumer Protection Foundation
World Institute on Disability, Oakland, CA
www.WID.org
All Rights Reserved
How to Create Disability Access to Technology:
Best Practices in Electronic and
Information Technology Companies
by Anthony Tusler
(c) 2005 World Institute on Disability.
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 0-942799-02-X
Copies of this publication may be purchased for $12.00
from the World Institute on Disability by contacting:
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or
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Contents
Chapter 1
Developing Accessibility Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2
Accessibility Champions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3
Value Disability and People with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 4
Recognize the Disability Market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 5
Transform Your Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 6
Incorporate Accessibility and Universal Design . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . 27
Chapter 7
Market, Market, Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 8
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 9
Examples for Disability Advocates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 10
The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
iii

Introduction
This booklet is for you if:
* You want to make your technology company's products work
better for people with disabilities, and you want to pick up the
torch and become the company champion for creating accessible
products and services.
* You want to create a position for such an Accessibility Champion
at your company.
* Your company recognizes the disability market and wants to
serve it.
* Your company wants to respond to regulatory incentives or
pressures to create more disability access.
Chapter 1 presents the background and context that have led to
publication of this guide to developing accessible technology.
Chapters 2 through 7 are the "How To" chapters, offering insights
and examples from technology industry accessibility experts.
Chapter 8 profiles AOL, a company that the disability community
recognizes as outstanding in its efforts to provide accessible
technology, and Chapters 9 and 10 provide examples for
disability advocates and a look to the future of accessibility.
This booklet will not tell you how to make individual products
accessible. It is designed to help you transform your company into
one that consistently produces accessible products and services.
v

Chapter 1
Developing Accessibility Best Practices
Since the 1970s, the world-particularly the United States-
has experienced a profound change. People with disabilities, who
were once relegated to back rooms and second-class citizenship,
are now visible and have secured basic civil rights. Although much
work remains to be done, the built environment in particular has
radically changed to include assistive listening devices, curb cuts,
Braille, and more.
Meanwhile, the digital revolution has profoundly changed the ways
we access information, services, and goods. People with vision,
hearing, and mobility limitations once found computers moderately
simple to use, making it easier for them to improve their lives through
access to jobs, society, and citizenship. Unfortunately, that access is
being eroded by inaccessible interfaces and software. Whether it is the
increasing use of multimedia, which restricts people with visual or
hearing limitations, or the miniaturization of buttons and displays on
portable devices, which confounds people with dexterity limitations,
gaining access is increasingly intimidating, difficult, or impossible.
The resulting threat to disabled people's ability to earn a living,
communicate, be citizens, and participate in society is disquieting.
Dedicated to promoting the civil rights and full societal inclusion
of people with disabilities, the World Institute on Disability (WID)
is a nonprofit public policy center and an international leader and
advocate for increased accessibility to mainstream technology.
In 2002, WID held structured interviews and conversations with
knowledgeable industry and disability activist experts to discover
how leading electronic and information technology (E&IT)
companies are successfully making technology accessible, usable,
and valuable for people with disabilities.
1
The study and this resulting WID publication, How to Create
Disability Access to Technology, were funded by the California
Consumer Protection Foundation. The report cites best practices
distilled from the WID interviews and illustrates them with extensive,
anonymous examples. It reveals the experiences and lessons learned
by these technology industry experts, who are charged with being
internal advocates for disability access and concerns. We call them
Accessibility Champions. This review of best practices is intended to
encourage the technology industry and others to continue providing
accessible products and services. As the economic, social, and moral
incentives for disability access develop and become known, more
accessibility will be created.
One Accessibility Champion recommended that other Accessibility
Champions "find true north and follow it." There is social good and
profit to be found by including people with disabilities in the design,
testing, and marketing of electronic and information technology to
ensure accessibility and usability. That is the true north of this report.
What Is Access?
Although disability, as an inclusive term, is valuable when describing
the social condition of people with disabilities, "impairments" is a
better term for explaining specific access needs. There are five general
impairments that should be taken into account when designing
accessible products and services: mobility and dexterity; deafness
and hearing loss; blindness and low vision; perceptual and cognitive
limitations; and speech and language.
A good explanation of creating disability access to E&IT can be found
at the Web site of the Telecommunications Industry Association (see
Resources, page 61). TIA's "ACCESS-Resource Guide for Accessible
Design of Consumer Electronics" (http://www.tiaonline.org/access/
guide.html) explains accessible design:
The term accessible design refers to maximizing the number of
potential customers who can readily use a product. While no
product can be readily used by everyone, accessible design can
impact market size and market share through consideration of the
2 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Developing Accessibility Best Practices | 3
functional needs of all consumers, including those who experience
functional limitations as a result of aging or disabling conditions...
Accessible design also benefits individuals without functional
limitations. Features that make products useful for people with
disabilities and persons experiencing functional limitations normally
make them convenient for everyone else. Curb cuts and volume
controls on public telephones are examples of design features
originally intended for people with disabilities but frequently used
by everyone. Remote controls that can be operated without looking
at them will be appealing to anyone who likes to watch movies in
the dark, not just to the visually impaired.
Consider these examples of accessible E&IT product designs. A cell
phone's visual display or other visual output is large enough, with
enough contrast, so that people with low vision or in dim light could
read the information. An ATM uses voice prompts, increased size
of print, simple fonts, high contrast, labels with icons or graphics,
and progress displays to make it easier to use for someone with a
cognitive limitation.
Individuals with speech limitations may have difficulty using
products that require voice communication, such as a telephone or
other telecommunications systems. Designers of systems that require
voice input should consider providing alternate methods of control.
An advocate explained, "Accessibility is another aspect of bringing
the computer to the user-to anyone, at any time."
 From the Disability Perspective
At the core of this study is the belief that the participation of those
directly affected-that is, customers with disabilities-is essential to
making products that are useful. When designing products, people
often work from stereotypical and inaccurate beliefs about people
with disabilities; they try to "help the handicapped" by alleviating
the problems they imagine people with disabilities encounter.
Unfortunately, such products often miss the mark because their
4 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
designs are based on unexamined assumptions. Inquiry into the true
nature of accessibility needs must include the input of people with
disabilities. Otherwise, the solution does not solve the problem, and
the problem solvers contribute unwittingly to the loss of autonomy
and civil rights for people with disabilities.
In addition, this WID study focuses on environmental solutions
to accessibility issues. In the past, the more frequent approach to
accessibility was to devise technological fixes specifically tailored to
individual disabilities. A common example of this phenomenon is
the problem of a wheelchair user confronted with stairs. Individual
solutions generally cluster around either fixing the individual through
surgery and prosthetics or inventing a stair-climbing wheelchair. By
locating the problem in the limitations of people with disabilities,
rather than in the environment, the solutions place heavy demands
on the individual and are costly as well.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the individual approach was preeminent,
and as a result, many disabled people were excluded from schools,
jobs, and society in general because their disabilities were not easily
corrected by technology or the solutions were prohibitively expensive.
Even today, most people, including the experts, do not look beyond
these individual solutions.
A more useful perspective defines the stairs (which prevent access to
the environment) as the primary problem (see Resources, page 60).
The environmental solution for a wheelchair user who cannot climb
stairs is to build a ramp. Ultimately, this solution is more costeffective
and helps far more people, including parents with strollers,
people with injuries from sports or other accidents, seniors, and
delivery people.
Through the early 1970s, fixing the individual was the only solution
offered to people with disabilities. That changed with the advent of
the Independent Living Movement, also known as the Disability Rights
Movement (see Resources, page 60). Increasingly, lack of access was
defined as residing in the environment. From that shift in perspective
and from a new identity-seeing themselves as political activists
rather than passive recipients of charity-people with disabilities
began to look to the courts and the civil rights laws for assistance
with environmental access. They began using the same tools used
by other marginalized groups. The results have been the passage
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 255 of the 1996
Telecommunications Act, and Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation
Act, as well as lawsuits demanding access for people with disabilities
(see Resources, pages 61 and 62, for explanations of Section 255 and
Section 508).
This booklet highlights the environmental strategies used in the E&IT
industry because they do the most good for the greatest number of
people and have been the least documented.
What Is a Best Practice?
In one of the few best practices reports on disability, Timothy L. Jones
noted in 1993,
The fundamental idea is to create an approach for meeting the
[Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)] requirements that does
not compromise sound human resource policy but enhances it,
that does not thwart productivity but unleashes it, that does not
burden managers but empowers them. This is what characterizes
best practices under the ADA (see Resources, page 61).
Jones's comments on the ADA and employment reinforce WID's
belief that disability perspectives will make technology more usable
and accessible to both the disabled and the nondisabled, and therefore
more profitable for businesses.
For this research, we defined a best practice as a business
* Process,
* Procedure,
* System, or
* Perspective
Developing Accessibility Best Practices | 5
that results in increased accessibility and usability of E&IT for people
with disabilities (see Resources, pages 60 and 61).
Another criterion we used to validate a best practice was whether
parallel practices in other fields have resulted in accessibility. We also
investigated whether companies' practices and procedures included
culturally competent disability perspectives, that is, the views of
those directly affected-people with disabilities.
6 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Chapter 2
Accessibility Champions
To successfully bring accessibility to your company's products and
services, a central person or unit in the company must articulate
and advocate for disability access and inclusion across all its
divisions and activities. The term Accessibility Champion is rarely used
as an official title, but it is a useful descriptor for the person who has
this pivotal role. One person WID interviewed for this study described
himself as the Chief Accessibility Evangelist.
The Accessibility Champion's role is not to perform the work of
other departments but to act as a resource, cheerleader, and goad,
articulating the need to provide accessible solutions for all the
company's offerings. He or she must provide one consistent voice and
a clear vision for disability inclusion. Consistency and perseverance
will effect change.
The Accessibility Champion (AC) serves as a common point of contact
for accessibility issues, such as letters from customers regarding their
satisfaction with the accessibility of products. The position should
have high visibility and carry the authority to resolve accessibility
questions and concerns.
One AC explained: "The group [accessibility unit] works with all areas
to address concerns ranging from support networks to the availability
of adaptive equipment to the development of emergency evacuation
procedures. It is also a clearing house of information for people
with all types of disabilities, including visual, hearing, and
physical impairments."
One AC described his role as "empowering champions and
infecting people."
7
The ultimate goal is to incorporate accessibility so deeply into all
aspects of the company that there is no need for an AC, but until
accessibility becomes second nature, such an advocate will be needed.
Find someone with passion to be the Accessibility Champion.
Seek someone who is thoroughly knowledgeable and passionate about
accessibility to run the accessibility unit. One Accessibility Champion
said, "If you need to bring in someone with passion and groom that
person, plan and execute that transition."
Another AC said, "When you bring on an Accessibility Champion,
you need to hire someone with a disability so that person will bring
competence with the disability community. The person also needs
deep accessibility skills and a passion for access."
Use the Accessibility Champion to coordinate work between the
internal divisions and disability informants.
One Accessibility Champion said, "The Accessibility Champion
has to have close contact with the progress of product groups. The
champion knows when it is best to get them feedback from people
with disabilities." She went on to say, "The Accessibility Champion can
also coordinate that involvement and know who would be appropriate
to bring into a discussion."
Use the Accessibility Champion as a mediator and translator
between the advocacy groups and the company.
Frequently people in companies feel under siege when people with
disabilities begin to advocate for increased access. The Accessibility
Champion, by knowing the company and the disability communities,
can be an effective translator to each group of the other's concerns.
By mediating between the two groups, the AC can help them reach
effective solutions that meet the needs of both.
An AC cautioned, "If accessibility hinders the business, then it doesn't
work. Advocacy needs to flow with the business. Accessibility is about
8 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
collaboration. Both sides need to hear each other so that at the end
there is only one side."
The expression of anger often hinders listening. Company employees
will resist making changes if they feel they are the target of anger and
complaints. It helps if they understand why consumers might be angry,
and the AC helps them not take the anger too personally.
Be open to help from others in the company.
One Accessibility Champion said, "Help comes from all kinds of places
if your visibility is high enough." It is often surprising who will be an
ally within a company. Often it is an individual whose life has been
touched by a friend or family member with a disability. More rarely,
it is someone who can easily see the logic for providing increased
accessibility.
Learn about disability.
Most of the Accessibility Champions mentioned their need, throughout
their careers, to learn more about disability issues. A few of them
found it invaluable to participate in local disability groups. Generally,
they found that groups with political agendas rather than charitable
ones were the most useful and interesting.
Use community-organizing strategies to create change.
During the past ten years, a number of best-selling business books
have instructed managers about how to manage change and make
their organizations more efficient, effective, and profitable. From
Who Moved My Cheese? to The One-Minute Manager, there is a large
body of literature (as well as many other resources) that presents
ways to create change within organizations. However, the body
of knowledge about community organizing is often ignored in
corporations (see Resources, page 64). Although they address grassroots
causes, often with a social justice agenda, community-organizing
theory and strategies can easily be adapted for use in business.
One of the key tenets of community organizing is that people with
compelling ideas can create political change-it does not necessarily
Accessibility Champions | 9
10 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
take money. The use of coalitions to create changes in policy is a
community-organizing strategy that translates to the company.
Throughout the company are employees with disabilities or employees
who understand the need to create accessible products. There might
be an existing group for employees with disabilities or one can be
formed. These groups can be the foundation for a powerful coalition
to encourage policies in your company to create accessible products
and services.
Chapter 3
Value Disability and
People with Disabilities
Most people-disabled and nondisabled-are somewhat
disconcerted when they are asked to value disability, because
disability is perceived to be tragic and negative. But people
with disabilities often report that their lives have been enriched by
their experience. They dislike the poverty, exclusion, and hassle, but
recognize that disability is an inevitable aspect of being human and
growing older.
They know, as playwright Neil Marcus says, "Disability is not a 'brave
struggle' or 'courage in the face of adversity.' Disability is an art. It's an
ingenious way to live." The challenge of being successful, while having
a devalued identity, has led many people with disabilities to be skillful
problem solvers and consumers-making them valuable assets for
companies that wish to be successful.
Include people with disabilities at all stages of product life and
at each step of the design process.
"Disabled people are important in the product life cycle," said one
Accessibility Champion, and this theme was repeated in many of the
WID interviews. He explained, "Disabled people must be involved in
every step in the design process for the product to be successful."
Another AC added, "People with disabilities have been able to help
people in the company understand the processes of creating access.
They also reinforce the need for access." Yet another stated, "It is plain
suicide to go out without getting advice. You only have one chance to
make a positive impression on a customer."
11
In order to gain an accurate view of what your customers with
disabilities need, make use of knowledgeable people with disabilities.
Borrowing from the experiences of creating accessibility in the design
phase of new buildings, for example, include the users' input at the
beginning to avoid the unnecessary expense of redoing or adding
on later.
Use internal employee groups and external advisory committees
to understand the needs and concerns of the disability community.
Aware and knowledgeable people with disabilities-who can provide
invaluable information about the needs and desires of people with
disabilities-may be company employees, and they may be individuals
connected with local independent living centers, colleges and
universities, or local and national disability organizations, for
example (see Resources, page 63).
The advantage of asking for employee help is that employees know
the company and use its products. They have technology skills, are
conveniently located, and they already work for your company, so
nondisclosure and compensation issues have already been settled.
One Accessibility Champion commented, "The [internal] Task Force
has been assertive and helpful. It has been able to help people in
the company understand the processes of creating access. The Task
Force also reinforces the need for access by its visibility. A structured
approach was approved by management. The results were solid and
could be implemented-they were practical and concrete. We were
able to problem-solve with those who were doing the work."
Forming an external advisory group of people with disabilities also
has advantages. They can bring perspectives that you and the company
may not have considered. If you choose representatives from largemembership
disability organizations, they may later help publicize
your accessibility efforts and your products to their members.
12 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Use these groups effectively by making sure their tasks and goals are
clear. An AC stated, "Companies should be more systematic in their
use of informants/consultants from the disability communities."
In addition to advisory groups and task forces, develop a pool of
disabled people you can contact for advice and insights. Most people
with disabilities are so pleased to know that accessibility is being taken
seriously that they will willingly provide advice about improving
product or service design.
The deeper your Rolodex(r), the better you can help your company.
Be sophisticated about choosing your consultants and informants.
One Accessibility Champion mentioned a common mistake: "Many
companies don't know the difference between stakeholders and
constituents. They'll bring in advisors for policy and try to use
them for product testing."
People with disabilities vary in their skills and in their knowledge of
both their specific impairments and the issues of the larger disability
community. There is a relatively small group of disabled people who
are knowledgeable about and skilled at analyzing policy and making
recommendations to regulatory agencies and companies. They
understand the broad issues of the disability community, although
they may not be conversant with operating systems or the specifics
of the computer/human interface. There is a larger group that
understands the needs of people with disabilities, particularly in
the use of accessible E&IT. Finally, there are people with disabilities
who understand and can articulate their own needs. Each is useful
for a given task, be it advisory committee work, concept review, or
product testing.
As you begin to develop accessibility policies within your company,
be sure your disabled advisors have the broad vision and expertise you
need. Avoid people who represent themselves as disability experts but
take an individual, limited approach to disability. This individual focus
Value Disability and People with Disabilities | 13
hampers their ability to see the broader issues and potential strategies
for minimizing the effects of the environment on accessibility.
You can increase the value of your advisory group of disabled
employees by educating its members and yourself about the
background and breadth of disability and accessibility.
One company brings in disabled trainers to teach all its employees
about disability culture and disability issues. It believes that using
presenters who identify themselves as people with disabilities makes
for effective training. An AC at another company observed, "Knowing
and working with disabled people helps. Prejudices tend to melt away."
Guard against designing by mistaken assumption.
Many people harbor stereotypes and misconceptions about
disability-including those in engineering and marketing. Generally,
these are untested assumptions based on fears and myths about loss
of function and disfigurement. If people's incorrect assumptions
did not influence the conception, design, testing, and marketing of
products and services, there would be fewer problems. Unfortunately,
because of these assumptions, ill-conceived designs targeted at people
with disabilities are produced.
An accessibility futurist recommended using the design process that
airplane manufacturers use for cockpits. "Cockpit design works," he
said. "The engineers are forced to listen to the pilots." The pilots have
information about how the instruments and controls actually work.
They also understand their own functional limitations. He noted,
"Pilots have the personal and political muscle to demand input into
the designs. Pilots are also trained and become experts on what works.
Pilots have been trained to be good observers and to report on their
findings." People with disabilities should be acknowledged as having
the same level of expertise in their arena as pilots have in theirs.
They should also receive training to help them effectively report
their observations, just as pilots do.
14 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
The goal of including disabled people throughout all stages of
product development is to create a deep understanding of the needs
and concerns of disabled consumers, not to take product design and
marketing out of the hands of experts. When one industry disability
expert was asked how to ensure that the design process is successful,
he observed that superior design is not easy. It requires both an
understanding of the needs of people with disabilities and the skills
to create a solution that works. He said, "The designer needs to
learn from people with disabilities, but it is not always people with
disabilities who come up with the final solutions."
Include disability with other diversity efforts.
Most companies have units and initiatives dedicated to improving
diversity, both in the companies' employees and in their market
share. Generally, diversity includes addressing the assets and needs
of women and people of color. Frequently the lesbian, bisexual,
gay, and transgender communities are included as a diversity topic.
Rarely is disability included.
The global thinking of the Disability Rights Movement-or the
Independent Living movement, as it is also called (see Resources,
page 60)-has always supported self-determination, employment,
community participation, and citizenship for people with disabilities.
People in the contemporary Disability Rights Movement were inspired
and taught by the other liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s,
such as the African-American, Chicano, women's, and gay/lesbian
efforts. The hardest concept to convey about disability is this civil
rights perspective. Although some people's outlook is changing, the
thought that the problems of disability might also be due to systematic
discrimination and exclusion is a difficult leap of logic for many.
Companies need to take a broader view of disability, going beyond
accommodation and accessibility. They should examine what they do
for other diverse groups and do the same for people with disabilities.
For instance, if a company has a process for identifying people of
color in its workforce, it should have a process to identify people
Value Disability and People with Disabilities | 15
with disabilities. Currently, most companies identify employees with
disabilities only when those employees ask for accommodations.
People with disabilities have legitimate fears about their employers'
knowing they have an impairment or health condition. Nonetheless,
many in the company workforce would, if guaranteed anonymity,
identify themselves as people with disabilities. Because disability
status remains hidden, the stigma attached to disability persists.
When disability is viewed as an aspect of diversity, the models for
valuing the contributions of diverse groups can be extended to
disability.
One company's human resources department has a diversity unit
that includes disability. The company has sponsored events supporting
disability pride and conferences that include disability as a diversity
issue. The driving force has been the Accessibility Champion, who is
self-identified as a person with a disability and who has deep roots in
the disability community.
An AC urged, "Use diversity staff to create and present a curriculum
that includes disability. Employees need to be educated. The raising
of awareness and sensitivity is important."
Finding curriculum materials that present disability as a diversity
issue in the work setting is not easy. There are trainers who can assist
in writing curriculum and training material, but this is still a new
field. Ask your disability advisory group for recommendations for
appropriate local resources.
16 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Chapter 4
Recognize the Disability Market
Three major factors are gathering momentum to create an
unprecedented market force for making goods and services
accessible for people with disabilities: the existing population
of people with disabilities, an aging consumer and workforce base,
and disability rights laws. The number of adult Americans with
disabilities-currently more than 18 percent of us-is expected to
grow. By 2020, 80 million people will be over 65 and an estimated
51% will have disabilities (see Resources, page 59).
The demographics of the Baby Boom generation will help drive access
for decades to come. We know much of what will be needed. There
is every reason to begin planning and providing accessibility and
usability features today (AARP 2002; see Resources, page 59).
Too few businesses have recognized this emerging market, and
awakening their companies to the profits to be had in producing
accessible goods and services is one of the chief tasks of Accessibility
Champions. Unfortunately, few ACs report that they are gathering
statistics about their customers with disabilities. Such data is sorely
needed. As one AC noted, "People with disabilities are not just
somebody to help; they contribute to the bottom line."
Identify current, accurate statistics to help define the
disability market for your company.
The U.S. Census has increasingly accurate and useful information
about the number of people with disabilities. Its 2002 American
Community Survey (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/) is one of the
better sources for general demographic information. The bureau
has begun to tabulate disability within the last ten years and has a
range of disability statistics. Also valuable are the annotated statistical
resources in Disability Data Resources-1999 at the U.S. Department
17
of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (http://www.dol.gov/
odep/pubs/ek99/resources.htm). Finally, the National Organization
on Disability has a short Web section on resources for marketing to
people with disabilities (http://www.nod.org/marketing/index.cfm)
(see Resources, page 59).
Use current laws to motivate your company to create
accessible goods or services.
Morality can be legislated. Many companies once considered
accessibility the moral choice but not the wise choice. With the advent
of Section 255 of the 1998 Telecommunications Act and Section 508
of the Rehabilitation Act, such companies can follow their values and
make a profit. Many companies responded to Section 508 by hiring
Accessibility Champions (see Resources, page 61).
One company had already started to make its product accessible when
Section 255 went into effect. Even though its accessibility efforts were
beyond those mandated by Section 255, the existence of the federal
regulation helped the company implement the planned accessibility.
In another case, a company that had wanted to provide accessibility
but was not able to make a business case for it found that Section
508 provided an opportunity to both make a profit and fulfill its
corporate values. Those companies that had already begun to plan
for accessibility had an advantage when Section 508 became a reality.
At the same company, in the words of its AC, "Section 508 became
the carrot-the promise of sales. It was a reward for doing the right
thing."
Finally, in a third software company, an AC explained, "Demand from
customers for 508 compliance helped to get the accessibility started."
Demonstrate the profitability of access.
"Volume and profit are the motivators," stated one Accessibility
Champion. Creating profit is the most effective best practice.
For-profit companies exist to earn money for their owners and
18 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
stockholders, so for initiatives to be sustained within a company,
they must contribute to the bottom line.
ACs must demonstrate that accessible products can lead to increased
sales, a larger market, or relief from regulation and fines. The federal
government is the biggest customer for many software and hardware
manufacturers. When Section 508 required companies to make their
communications, services, and products accessible to people with
disabilities, the remarkable corporate response demonstrated how
effective the economic incentive for creating access can be.
According to Gregg Vanderheiden of the Trace Center, "Only one
factor, return on investment (or profit), results in [accessibility] in
any widespread or consistent fashion over time. Moreover, the return
on investment in accessibility must be perceived to be greater than
other possible investment of the same resources." (Vanderheiden and
Vanderheiden 2002). The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison was founded in 1971, and Trace has been a pioneer in the
field of technology and disability (see Resources, page 60).
Tie access to mainstream product needs.
One Accessibility Champion noted, "The primary marketplace is
the mainstream," meaning that most companies need to sell a large
volume of products to the broadly defined public to survive.
Although companies will readily concede the need for their products
to be easy to use, many E&IT products and services are confusing and
difficult to use. One tactic to improve accessibility for people with
disabilities is to tie accessibility to usability. Usability is the concept
that a product-computer, software, PDA, etc.-should be both useful
and usable for the intended audience.
People in the company who want better usability are potential allies.
Together you can argue, "If we have good usability, we sell more and
have fewer returns and better customer satisfaction."
"Good usability practices will make your products more usable for all,"
remarked one AC.
Recognize the Disability Market | 19

Chapter 5
Transform Your Company
The primary goal of everyone who wants to see his or her
company succeed with the disability market is to make
accessibility and disability awareness integral to all aspects
of the company. As one Accessibility Champion urged, "Try to
weave accessibility into the DNA of the company." Whether it is
in marketing, research and development, or product documentation,
the needs of the disability community should be included.
Update the company's mission, goals, and culture to include
accessibility and disability. The vision and values of the company
may implicitly include the needs of people with disabilities, but
that's not enough; make them explicit. Show senior management how
accessibility supports the company mission. Educate them when the
company's mission statement mentions accessibility, but company
practices do not reflect this commitment.
One school of thought believes it takes seven years of advocacy
for social change to occur. To value disability and accessibility is
a significant and profound change for a company. Some changes
can come quickly, but to transform the whole company to support
accessibility and disability diversity will take time and sustained
effort. Be persistent and have a plan.
Develop a strategic plan for building awareness and
implementing accessibility.
To help make your efforts successful, develop a plan showing the
changes needed to build awareness and implement accessibility in
your company. Strategic planning compels you to think about the
work that must be done and recognize the obstacles and opportunities
that lie ahead. Contemporary management literature has many
planning models to choose from.
21
Modify your strategy to fit the company's culture,
values, and structure.
Each company has its unique combination of values, ways of working,
and world view. It is important to understand what motivates
company leaders and middle managers and to make use of the way
change is instituted and formalized in your company. Some companies
closely follow written, formal guidelines, whereas others follow an
informal, unspoken set of rules. Strategies that work in one setting
can lead to resistance in another.
The environmental movement's phrase "Think globally, act locally"
applies to this aspect of accessibility work too. A key to making goods
and services accessible is to keep in mind the broadest view of the
corporation while implementing specific strategies. The goal is to
create sweeping change through strategic interventions.
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the Web standards-setting
organization World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) offers an example
of this concept at work in creating accessibility to E&IT. It adopted
the "Think globally, act locally" phrase in its recommendations
for strategies to improve usability and accessibility of Web sites
(http://www.w3.org/QA/2003/07/LocalAction). WAI's commitment
to lead the Web to its full potential includes promoting a high degree
of usability for people with disabilities (see Resources, page 61).
Involve senior management in accessibility efforts.
Many Accessibility Champions struggle to get support for accessibility.
One asked, "How do you put accessibility in a sustainable way into
the corporation? There has to be executive buy-in."
Senior management takes a longer view of the company's needs and
often values new markets and understands regulatory pressures. All
of these factors can lead senior managers to recognize the disability
market. One AC said, "They have the personal experience and value
good corporate stewardship. . . [and] are probably easier to sell than
mid-level managers."
22 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
One company created a well-publicized policy that outlined the
accessibility requirements for all its offerings. Upper management's
signing off on the policy, and the resulting publicity, helped all
employees see the importance of disability access.
Where a company's published goals state that "the customer comes
first," and the employees consider themselves "here to serve society,"
the AC was able to get philosophical buy-in from upper management
fairly easily.
Another company considers including accessibility in its products
to be a smart strategic move. Because its products are designed to
be usable, accessibility is just another aspect of usability. For this
company, the accessibility and usability of its products in "eyes-busyhands-
busy" environments can be an advantage for all customers.
One AC noted, "The disabled athletes we sponsored indirectly
influenced upper management." The senior management of the
company likes sports and athletes. When they saw disabled athletes
competing, it helped them see disability in a different way. The
example of disabled people being successful in pursuits management
valued encouraged upper management to continue supporting
disability issues.
Address accessibility efforts to all divisions of the company.
Recognize that you may need to develop a variety of approaches to
address accessibility needs in the different divisions of the company.
For instance, the marketing and production divisions will have
diverse goals and processes. Address each division's needs, assuring
that personnel know their concerns have been heard. At the same
time, state your core position clearly and accurately, making all your
approaches consistent.
Transform Your Company | 23
Pay particular attention to recruiting the marketing department.
In outlining the process for creating sustained accessibility at his
company, one Accessibility Champion explained, "The biggest
factor today is the marketing department. If they want accessibility,
it happens."
New software and hardware designs were once determined by
engineers, but over time, as the E&IT environment has become more
competitive, marketing departments have played an ever-larger role.
The challenge for ACs is to convince people in the marketing
department that accessibility has sales potential. Because people
with disabilities are mistakenly considered to be an insignificant
market, this can be difficult. When senior management directives
or government regulations are not in place, the most successful
arguments are ease of use and universal design (see Chapter 6,
page 27, and Resources, page 60).
Programmers and engineers are key.
Programmers and engineers also must understand accessibility. If they
feel they do not have the skills to design and build accessible software
or hardware, they can slow down or derail accessibility initiatives.
The accessibility task force at one company was able, in the words of
the Accessibility Champion, to "reach the hearts of people creating
access. One engineer went through all stages of disability-acceptance,
understanding, and eventual internalizing of the issues. Disability is
becoming part of the corporate culture."
Another AC reported: "I got nondisabled individuals who had technical
expertise, indoctrinated them in accessibility, and built momentum."
Develop accessibility expertise across the company
through education and training.
Begin by developing accessibility expertise with members of your
accessibility team and other allies for accessibility. Provide training
24 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
in universal design and accessibility (see Chapter 6, page 29, and
Resources, page 60). If key staff people are knowledgeable about
disability access, they will be more credible when they argue for
accessibility. One of the best resources to teach product design and
accessibility teams about "how to create commercially practical and
profitable products that are more accessible for people with disabilities,
as well as more usable by everyone" is the Trace Center Training
Program. Learn about it at http://www.tracecenter.org/training/.
Next, export accessibility into the core culture and business practices
of all departments.
One company's strategy was to send people from the accessibility unit
into different groups in the company to help with accessibility issues.
As the company has embraced accessibility and the different divisions
have become comfortable and skilled with creating access, the access
people act more and more as consultants to these groups.
Adapt the types and styles of training to the needs of the people you
are trying to reach. One Accessibility Champion explained, "Training
is specialized for different units-product development people receive
different training than the administrative unit."
Hire people with disabilities both in the accessibility unit
and elsewhere.
An Accessibility Champion from a company with an admirable record
of hiring people with disabilities said, "Having people with disabilities
on staff can be very helpful. We have people on staff both in the
accessibility unit and throughout the company. With the focus on
making our product accessible, the company as a whole has become
more aware. It is harder for HR people to avoid hiring a disabled
person if they know the work invested in making our products
accessible and the value placed on it."
Transform Your Company | 25
Use publicity and the court of public opinion
to influence the company.
Both negative and positive publicity can influence a company to
make short-term changes or implement a program. The long-term
sustainability of the changes or the program will depend on whether
or not they create profit or value. For example, a company values its
reputation, and accessibility can enhance reputation.
Develop strategies to sustain accessibility.
Accessibility Champions have employed a variety of strategies to make
accessibility and disability awareness important to their companies.
One AC fostered competition between divisions to help integrate
accessibility into his company's offerings by featuring its six products
with good accessibility in a brochure. All the divisions wanted their
products included in the next version, but to make that possible, they
had to add accessibility features to their products.
One company has used its procurement process (similar to Section
508) to promote access in other companies and reinforce it in its
own purchasing by making accessibility a component of contracts
with outside vendors. The AC warned, "The other companies will
scream to top management that they do not want accessibility to
be a requirement." This creates another opportunity to explain and
advocate to management for accessibility.
Another company used the need to create an internal Web site that
was also accessible to educate staff about the access needs of people
with disabilities. The AC said, "Talking about access isn't as helpful
as seeing it."
Accessibility efforts can get lost during corporate reorganizations.
One advocate has seen external disability advocates help maintain
continuity during such a transition. She said, "We are the Zip
drive for their institutional memory. Constituent groups can hold
the institutional memory on accessibility in the midst of mergers,
acquisitions, and reorganizations."
26 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Chapter 6
Incorporate Accessibility and
Universal Design
The designed world should work for everyone, including people
with disabilities. Design specifications for all new and revised
E&IT products should include requirements that the product
"be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible" (Mace 1997;
see Resources, page 60). This phrase is the core of the universal design
(UD) concept. According to North Carolina State University's Center
for Universal Design, "The intent of universal design is to simplify
life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built
environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or
no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities"
(Mace 1997). The Trace Center, at the University of Wisconsin
at Madison, has embraced UD for its work to make E&IT more
accessible to people with disabilities (see Resources, page 60). Both
centers have extensive resources on the UD concept and practical
suggestions for its implementation.
UD is a powerful tool to convince people within your company to
consider expanding the ease of use and accessibility of their products
and services. It also provides concrete examples and guidelines that
help ease the uncertainty of tackling a new subject.
A good example of UD implementation is Java. Java is a crossplatform
programming language that can be used to create everything
from a small animation on a Web site to a full-blown word processing
application. The American Foundation for the Blind gave Sun
Microsystems its Access Award in 2001 "for making accessibility an
integral part of the Java platform. The Java Accessibility API software
interface allows assistive technologies to communicate with programs
27
written in the Java programming language. This company guides its
efforts by its universal design philosophy-addressing the accessibility
needs of all people in the workplace."
Create an implementation plan.
Surprisingly, many companies do not know where to start to make
their products more accessible. Many feel that the process is too
huge, too complicated, and filled with too many unknowns to be
implemented. Create a task force to develop an implementation plan,
using existing, proven models. Consider W3C's WAI Web Accessibility
Project Implementation Outline (http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/
w3c-wai-eo/2001OctDec/att-0019/01-Implementation_plan.htm)
(see Resources, page 61). Although primarily designed for making Web
sites accessible, the strategies detailed at the site also apply to making
any aspect of your company's goods or services accessible.
Create clear documentation of accessibility features for
programmers and engineers.
Provide developers with clear instructions about what to do. One
Accessibility Champion suggested, "People want to do a good job, but
you have to let them know how. Give them guidelines. If they don't
know what to do, it creates fear and inefficiency."
An AC recommended: "Develop a set of guidelines specific to the
company that can be used to create access at all stages of design
implementation. The guidelines should include company policy,
suggestions, applicable government regulations, and industry
standards. Including examples, such as programming code, is helpful."
Develop an internal argument for including accessibility.
One Accessibility Champion noted, "You need a standard internal list
showing why access makes sense. This is for internal use. It keeps the
access needs in front of the people designing and creating products
and services."
28 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Incorporate Accessibility and Universal Design | 29
Integrate accessibility into the existing company practices.
To ensure that accessibility is included in the design of new products,
use checkpoints. Find out where checkpoints exist for other requirements
and work to have accessibility added. It is easier to piggyback
onto existing requirements than to set up entirely new processes
and personnel.
One Accessibility Champion's company uses "key success factors"
with appropriate checkpoints, supported by the organization,
"to ensure that accessibility and usability are built in."
Quality assurance procedures are one aspect of product review
in many companies. Accessibility is a similar issue. A number of
companies have added accessibility checks to their quality assurance
measures. Some companies house their accessibility units in the
quality assurance division because of the similarity of the work
and processes.

Chapter 7
Market, Market, Market
Creating access isn't enough. You must tell people about it. You
must market the accessibility of your products and services to
customers. Only as a result of effective marketing will accessible
products and services contribute to your company's profitability.
Inform your customers and potential customers with disabilities
about your accessibility efforts.
Forge an alliance with the marketing department and create a
marketing plan to reach out to the disability market segment. People
with disabilities make loyal customers for companies that meet their
needs. According to Jim Tobias of Inclusive Technologies, a New
Jersey organization that helps companies market to the disability
community, "Average consumers tell two people about products they're
satisfied with and five people about products they're dissatisfied with.
For consumers with disabilities (not the typical ones, but opinion
leaders), the corresponding numbers are four and nine" (personal
correspondence, unpublished research performed by Inclusive
Technologies, May 11, 2004).
Develop effective communication channels to reach people with
disabilities. One company uses an email newsletter targeted to
disabled customers and also reaches out through articles in its
mainstream community newsletter. The same company's Accessibility
Champion maintains personal contacts with advocacy groups. Most
companies also use their advisory groups to spread the word about
what they are doing to create improved access.
Many companies publicize the accessibility and usability of their
products, particularly in the beginning, by having a presence at,
or sponsoring, conferences that reach the various disability
31
constituencies, such as the National Federation of the Blind,
the National Association of the Deaf, and the CSUN International
Conference on Technology and People with Disabilities. Although the
attendance at these events is minor by comparison with the broader
market, the attendees are leaders in adopting products, setting trends,
and influencing many others.
Give customers a way to provide direct feedback on
accessibility needs and issues.
Customers are unhappy when they run into a glitch and have no
avenue for comment. They may abandon your product or company
forever, while satisfied customers will return. Always include a way
for users to contact an appropriate, responsive unit in your company
with comments, questions, and concerns about the accessible features
of software, hardware, or services and about your company's Web
site. It is valuable to hear directly from customers and to maintain
a relationship with them by providing contact information.
Understand the disabled market.
Some people with disabilities do not identify themselves as disabled.
The current marketing messages of "design for all," "technology for
everyone," and "universal access," for instance, appeal to such people
and to our desire for a world where disability will not be limiting.
Other people with disabilities take pride in their disability status
and see themselves as members of a civil rights group like any other.
According to the National Organization on Disability (NOD), "Among
the disabled population as a whole, 47% share a sense of common
identity with people with disabilities" (see Resources, page 59).
This group should be approached using disability pride messages.
One company has used its understanding of the political and social
needs of marginalized communities to advance disability concerns.
Its Web site and marketing materials explicitly address the disability
community as a desirable market. By affirming the positive aspects
of disability identity, this company encourages brand loyalty in its
disabled customers.
32 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Stick with core competencies when making
accessibility-marketing choices.
One Accessibility Champion said, "Stick with your core competencies
and take small, manageable steps." His company supports sports as a
corporate branding and promotion strategy. When the company was
approached to support disability sports, it saw that this was a potential
source of profit that would also generate a halo of goodwill.
According to the AC, "Because you only have one chance to get the
company's message across in advertising or [on] a Web site, the
message must be the intended one." Because the company stuck to its
core competency of sports, "It saved us all kinds of heartache because
sports are an arena we already know."
Be careful with images.
One manufacturer was very proud of an E&IT device that could easily
be used by wheelchair users. The photograph on the Web site and in
printed material showed a person in a wheelchair using the product.
The wheelchair was, unfortunately, a standard cheap hospital model-
useful only for occasional use, not for day-to-day mobility. Although
the equipment may have been accessible, the photo undermined the
potential buyer's belief in the company's understanding of disability
access and the needs of people with disabilities. Because the photo
showed a lack of sophistication about people with disabilities and
the disability market, it implied that the product might not be fully
accessible. If a company does not have people with disabilities on
staff or in a consultant role, this kind of error occurs all too often.
Use accessibility features as a selling point.
One technology company, aware of the aging workforce, markets the
accessibility features of its products specifically to small businesses.
These are businesses without full-time human resources or personnel
support workers, who would have responsibility for accommodating
a disabled worker and knowledge of how to do it. The company
makes it easier for these businesses to retain their employees who
have developed disabilities without having to bring in expensive
Market, Market, Market | 33
outside experts. Because many accommodations are low-cost and easy
to use if the information is available, the company adds value to its
product and provides a rationale for its continued use.
Use people with disabilities as your spokespersons on
disability issues.
A person with a disability will have more credibility when talking
about disability issues to external groups and in your marketing and
advertising programs. Such a person can be particularly valuable
within the company when someone must advocate for increased access
efforts that must be accomplished by other departments and divisions.
A nondisabled Accessibility Champion commented, "When a person
with a disability argues for a better interface or changed features, that
spokesperson is not as easily dismissed as a nondisabled one."
Be sure the spokesperson with disabilities is comfortable with his
or her public disability identity and skilled in the topic area. Putting
someone into the role just because that person has a visible disability
may harm your advocacy efforts. If you do not have a person with a
disability to lead the charge, do it yourself; disclose your nondisabled
status along with your commitment to accessibility. Often, nondisabled
allies of disability issues are reluctant to disclose their identity,
thinking it would be insensitive to people with disabilities. However,
by doing so you make explicit that everyone needs to work together to
make accessibility a reality.
Publicize accessibility efforts internally.
Many Accessibility Champions believe it is vital to regularly stimulate
internal attention to accessibility issues to assure that access continues
to be valued within the company. An AC urged, "Maintain a level
of activity in the background that keeps the issue of accessibility in
people's minds."
One AC's successful strategy for regularly publicizing accessibility
efforts includes regular employee bulletins highlighting efforts to
increase disability access for customers and employees.
34 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
At a company with an elaborate intranet for keeping employees
informed about internal activities, the AC uses the site to highlight
accessibility efforts through regularly updated stories and recommendations
about how to make products accessible. He urged, "Constantly
update it and archive everything. List program milestones."
Some of the best ways to deliver your message are simple and
inexpensive. A wallet-sized card giving key accessibility guidelines
has been very successful for one group. One advocate said, "You
don't have to be original. Distill, distill, repeat, repeat."
Develop and use a simple message.
Advocate for your cause by having an "elevator talk" based on your
accessibility unit's mission statement, ready at all times. When people
ask for a brief summary, or you talk to someone who has only seconds
to hear what you have to say, you must have a succinct, clear, and
compelling 15- to 30-second summary of your cause. This may make
all the difference in the world if you find yourself in an elevator with
the CEO of your company.
Develop plans and strategies that can maximize opportunities.
Be ready for opportunity. Crises, tragedies, lawsuits, or news stories
can create opportunities for implementing change if internal advocates
are prepared. For example, a 60 Minutes feature on the need for access
can make senior management receptive for a time. One Accessibility
Champion has achieved success by being "opportunistic about
internal publicity."
Institute rewards for good work.
It is important to recognize the people who have worked to bring
about better accessibility. The nature of the reward will depend on
the culture of the company and the form that rewards take in other
sectors. Public recognition for good work is almost always valued
by the person being honored.
Market, Market, Market | 35
Document the progress of your accessibility efforts.
Accessibility Champions frequently mentioned the value of a checklist
to measure the progress of accessibility efforts. If the company does
not provide the tools, such as monthly or annual department reports,
develop your own report to chart progress.
A frequent mistake is to focus only on the problems and on what
needs fixing without also recognizing and building on successes.
One AC said, "Have a list of accessibility program milestones that is
easily found and seen by employees." Another warned, "You need a list
showing where you are, so you don't backslide. Generate awareness
and then maintain it." He added, "Features get built in, but it's easy to
have them drop out of the next iteration if attention isn't paid. That's
why this list is important."
Another AC cautioned, "You can't sustain lip service. We have internal
accessibility scorecards to document our progress and problems. It's
how to go from superficial to real. You have something to report.
It helps to reconcile executives and middle management."
Yet another said, "Success is measured incrementally, version to
version. Each new product should be more accessible than the
one before."
36 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
37
Chapter 8
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example
AOL is generally regarded as doing an excellent job with its
efforts to address accessibility of its services. AOL's story
provides a helpful road map for how companies can
provide access.
What Happened at AOL
Introduction
During WID's research of best practices in the technology industry
AOL was often mentioned. People, particularly those in the disability
communities, commented on the good job AOL was doing to make
its offerings accessible to people with disabilities.
This case study is designed to show how a company became an
exemplar for making its product work for people with disabilities. It
is particularly noteworthy because, after the settlement of a lawsuit
filed by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in 1999, there
were no specific legal or regulatory pressures on AOL to make its
services accessible. WID talked to Debbie Fletter, AOL's first Director
of Accessibility, and her successor, Tom Wlodkowski, to see how
the company made changes and gained the respect of the disability
communities. We also sought out Curtis Chong, Director of Field
Operations and Access Technology for the Iowa Department for the
Blind and former Technology Director for the NFB, to find out his
current opinion of AOL's accessibility.
AOL and the Blind
In 1996, Curtis Chong began to pay attention to AOL. Friends and
colleagues with visual impairments were complaining about the AOL
interface and lack of access. The ubiquitous phrase "You've got mail!"
alerted blind and low vision users to a new email message just like
everyone else. Unfortunately, that was as far as those users could go;
they could not access the service to read their mail.
AOL's primary appeal was and continues to be its ease of use. While
many members of the blind community are early technology adopters
and very savvy when it comes to computers, the vast majority just
desire an easy way to communicate online. However, the steep learning
curve for a blind person to use screen reader software combined with
the natural learning curve required to use mass-market products, such
as Web browsers and email software, can often present a real challenge
to a blind user.
For example, studies show that it takes the average blind computer
user three times as long to make travel reservations via the Internet
than an equally proficient sighted counterpart. With this in mind,
it is essential that a collaborative effort exist between mainstream
companies and screen reader developers to ensure usability is
addressed to the best possible extent.
As AOL's popularity soared, members of the NFB continued to
approach Chong about the challenges blind users faced when trying
to use the service. In 1998, Chong contacted Steve Case, then CEO
of AOL, about the access issue and waited through 1999 without a
response from the company. In November 1999, the NFB decided to
file suit against AOL for lack of access, claming that the company was
not in compliance with the access requirements of the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
The Beginnings of Accessibility
While the press did not always correctly understand the issues
involved, the NFB lawsuit did receive widespread publicity and got
AOL's attention as well. According to Chong, AOL said to NFB, "We
gotta talk." Within six months, regular discussions were under way.
38 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example | 39
Meanwhile, AOL had been doing reconnaissance and preliminary work
on accessibility. This work began in February of 1999, seven months
before the NFB lawsuit was filed, and was spurred by an executive who
had flagged the need to pay attention to accessibility. AOL realized
that it did not have the internal resources required to make its service
accessible, so it sought outside expertise. In May of 1999, AOL quietly
approached the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), the
research and development arm of the Media Access Group at WGBH,
Boston, to review its software.
As AOL began to implement a strategy to address accessibility, AOL's
partnership with NCAM quickly moved beyond software reviews
to include meetings with senior executives, product managers, and
software designers and developers. No better partner could have
been found. NCAM, established in 1993, is an international leader in
accessible technology and policy. Its goal is to assure that the United
States media and technologies are fully accessible to people with
disabilities. It is based at WGBH, which developed captioning for deaf
and hard-of-hearing television viewers and video description for blind
and visually impaired audiences.
During the summer of 1999, AOL and NCAM were working to make
version 6.0 of AOL's software accessible. However, the companies
chose to remain quiet about their work until they had a more cohesive
accessibility plan in place for the launch of AOL 6.0. This silence
unwittingly contributed to the NFB suit. Chong said that NFB might
not have sued if someone from AOL had talked to his organization
or if NFB had known that AOL and NCAM were already working to
make 6.0 more accessible.
The Wake-Up Call
The NFB suit was a wake-up call to AOL. It no longer had the luxury
of working on accessibility without outside scrutiny. Although there
were no court decisions directing Internet companies to adhere to
the ADA, AOL was committed to making its service as accessible
as possible.
In July 2000, the lawsuit was settled before litigation. Part of the
settlement required AOL to adopt a corporate accessibility policy
that codified the company's commitment to accessibility. The AOL
accessibility policy is founded on three fundamental principles-
employee awareness, collaboration, and responsibility. According
to Tom Wlodkowski, AOL's current Director of Accessibility,
"Collaboration with the disability community has been, and continues
to be, a critical component of AOL's approach."
A significant example of AOL's commitment is a link to the
Accessibility Policy on the home pages of aol.com and the company's
corporate Web site. The direct URL to AOL's Accessibility Policy is
http://www.corp.aol.com/accessibility/inclusiveness.html.
AOL knew it needed advice and guidance from the outside. To that
end, it convened a group of 45 people, who represented a cross section
of disability groups, to provide guidance and strategic counsel from
the disability community. The purpose of this initial meeting was to
provide AOL management and staff with an opportunity to "meet
and greet, provide a tour of the company, extend the hand, and listen."
Groups represented in that initial committee included the NFB, the
American Foundation for the Blind, National Association of the
Deaf (NAD), Telecommunications for the Deaf, Easter Seals, and the
American Association of People with Disabilities.
The outcome of this meeting was the formation of the Accessibility
Advisory Committee (AAC), a cross-disability group comprising
a dozen technology experts and nationally renowned disability
advocates. One of the original members was Deborah Kaplan, WID's
current executive director. The AAC held its first meeting in May 2001.
One of the AAC's key roles has been to answer the question, "How is
AOL doing?" The group advises AOL on content and customer service
and helps measure the accessibility impact of general changes made
by AOL. AOL conducts annual in-person meetings with the AAC. In
the initial AAC meetings, AOL would give an overview of the current
state of accessibility at AOL and how it was working to develop new
40 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
solutions. The meetings have evolved over time to rely more heavily
on input from committee members with regard to the specific
technology needs of their own disability communities. AOL also set
and established criteria and parameters for the group's activities, so
the members know their roles and responsibilities.
People with disabilities have and continue to have a role in creating
and maintaining accessibility to AOL's products and services. Fletter
pointed out that the bulk of the AAC is made up of disabled people
and that their expertise, knowledge, and experience bring more value
to the group than any room full of PhDs. Additionally, one advantage
of the face-to-face meetings is that AOL's senior management and
product developers get to see passionate people with disabilities
who are committed to helping AOL meet the needs of the disability
communities.
By 2000, AOL had begun to establish credibility with the disability
communities. One of its first actions was to establish a Director of
Accessibility. The Director of Accessibility drives internal awareness,
sets requirements for products in development, and is the point of
contact for people with disabilities who have complaints or questions.
Fletter explained, "If you don't have a point of contact, people don't
get heard."
The liaison piece of this position is critical, particularly in large
companies like AOL. In 2000, AOL concentrated its accessibility
efforts on getting the service up to speed with standard accessibility
requirements. After that, it was able to go out and tell its story. One
channel was the AAC. Another was to sponsor and attend events in the
disability communities, such as the annual conferences of the National
Federation of the Blind and the National Association of the Deaf, and
the CSUN International Conference on Technology and Persons
with Disabilities.
Significant changes were made, and continue to be made, to AOL's
software and service to make them accessible to all people with
disabilities. Although the primary focus has been on access for people
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example | 41
with sensory impairments, AOL takes all disabilities into account.
The legacy AOL client software is now significantly more usable with
screen readers, select broadband content is now captioned, and new
products are designed with accessibility in mind from the beginning.
Chong notes, "They had a lot to learn and they learned fast." And
the process seems to be working to this day.
One of the reasons for AOL's success is its openness. Chong said,
"If AOL tells us something isn't going to work, we'll grumble, but
it will be OK." He appreciates that AOL "...levels with us."
Employee awareness, a component of the corporate policy mentioned
earlier, is also critical to the company's success. AOL launched "New
Sensations," an ongoing initiative designed to help employees to
understand their role in upholding corporate policy. The first internal
campaign was basic. "Throw away your mouse, close your eyes, cover
your ears." As part of the campaign, art displays created by individuals
with disabilities were exhibited throughout the AOL campus. There
were also assistive technology exhibits that helped to demystify
disability. One example was a foot mouse that was put on display.
Employees were encouraged to play with it to see how it worked.
Recent campaigns have featured speakers, such as Erik Weihenmayer,
the blind mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest, and disability
advocate Ted Kennedy, Jr. The awareness campaigns use strong
analogies to make the case for company employees to embrace
accessibility. Leveraging Erik Weihenmayer's involvement with the
2002 campaign, for example, inspirational tag lines were used like
"If a man who is blind can get to the top of Mt. Everest, he should
be able to get anywhere he wants on AOL."
According to Wlodkowski, "Product developers are a critical group
targeted by New Sensations. It's essential they understand their role,
so we can deliver on the commitments expressed in the company's
accessibility policy."
42 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
The Right Person in the Right Job
Fletter, AOL's first Accessibility Director, started working in AOL's
marketing department several years prior to the NFB lawsuit,
managing the Welcome screen. By the time the Accessibility Director
position was established, her tenure at AOL had made her well
connected in the company, and she knew how to navigate through
various departments to get pressing accessibility issues the attention
they deserved. As Fletter explained, "Being internal helps." She had the
internal knowledge, could call in favors, knew what buttons to push
when, and was likable.
According to Wlodkowski, "Debbie's strong knowledge of the
internal work environment and support from key executives were
two critical factors to rapid progress early on." He noted that timing
was important because the NFB lawsuit was pending. He said, "There
needed to be someone in the director position who knew where to
turn to put out the fires. Accessibility became established on many
fronts." When explaining her role in turning around AOL's accessibility
efforts, Fletter said that, although she hadn't lived the disability
experience herself, she had a passion for the issues involved.
When asked, "Is there a critical point in the process where disabled
people must be involved for accessibility to be successful?" Fletter
answered: "Every step of the way." She believes, "Accessibility is about
collaboration-both sides hearing each other so it becomes one side."
When Fletter decided to move on to another position at AOL, she
urged Tom Wlodkowski, then a project manager at WGBH's NCAM
to apply for the job. He was very knowledgeable about AOL through
his role at NCAM during the project to make the AOL service more
accessible. And he is blind. In the press release announcing his
appointment, an AOL senior executive said, "For the last three years,
he has played an integral role in helping make the AOL service easier
to use, more relevant, and more integrated in the daily lives of all of
our members." The press release went on to say, "Tom's experience has
positioned him at the intersection of technology and disability issues,
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example | 43
and he is the perfect person to ensure the company continues
to deliver on its commitment to accessibility."
It is important to note that the June 2002 transition was from
Fletter, a company insider whose passion for accessibility comes
from recognition of the problems, to Wlodkowski, whose passion
arises out of living with the problems and solutions. It is invaluable
to have more people with disabilities working on the issues of the
disability communities.
Wlodkowski noted that his disability identity is useful because he
believes it is "easier for a person on the other side of the table to say
no to you [about creating access] if you're able-bodied." He observed
that, although it takes more than passion and a disability identity
to be successful, having a "native understanding of it-the lived
environment-is invaluable."
AOL Today
AOL has made a complete turnaround in the opinion of the disability
communities. Curtis Chong, who originally supported the lawsuit
against AOL explained, "They promised a policy and they posted
it. NFB agreed to drop suit. Then they organized the Advisory
Committee. It wasn't overnight, but over time, AOL became the
complete opposite of what it was. Now, when they have something
new they'll come to us and get our opinion."
When the Director of Accessibility position was established, it was,
and still is, based in the Integrity Assurance department. The Integrity
Assurance department works to ensure that AOL's content and processes
adhere to the company's stated values. It made sense to add accessibility
to the list of issues that Integrity Assurance considers, such as parental
controls, kid safety, security, privacy, and advertising policies.
Wlodkowski is based in a department that has a consumer focus and
an understanding of accessibility issues. Wlodkowski said, "We're
embedded in the company." He explains that, as requirements for
44 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
new products are defined, he has an opportunity to offer input and
introduce accessibility-specific requirements as well. He has easy access
to the owners of the different AOL products. Wlodkowski explained,
"It's a fine balance. I don't stop projects; I work to make sure that it's
always improving." Both Fletter and Wlodkowski made the point, "If
accessibility hinders the business then it doesn't work."
Curtis Chong, who is now Director of Field Operations and Access
Technology for the Iowa Department for the Blind, commented on
how far AOL has come. He said, "Tom's working with NFB's National
Office to develop something that will work." Chong emphasized
Wlodkowski's value to AOL: "Tom's the best they could have picked.
He has integrity and he's knowledgeable." Chong further explained,
"Tom understands that it's a give and take between AOL and screen
reading software and the blind community, so that the blind get
something that will work."
Chong praised AOL "They have respect for their advisory committee,
and they use its time wisely." He is pleased with how AOL listens to
the committee and its current level of accessibility. He noted, "AOL
9.0 is now out. It works with JAWS and Window-Eyes. To do so, AOL
has had to change the way they format material they present." He
observed, "I'd love to have AOL just work, and they're getting closer
to that goal."
Technology is constantly changing. To stay ahead of the issues that
arise, Wlodkowski grapples with such questions as "How does
accessibility work in such a fast-paced environment, with so many
products in development and quick time to market?" "How do we
really get our teeth into this thing and ingrain accessibility into
the corporate culture?" and "How do we make it relevant to the
key people?"
He noted, "The average disabled consumer may not know all that's
going on, but we've made some pretty impressive progress in
five years."
Case Study: AOL Leads by Example | 45

Chapter 9
Examples for Disability Advocates
The preceding chapters are directed to companies that want
to improve accessibility of their E&IT products and services.
This chapter presents examples, many of them duplicates from
those earlier chapters, that can help external advocates in their efforts
to convince companies to improve.
Certainly, this report does not cover everything these advocates
should consider. However, these suggestions, identified during WID's
research and interviews, do provide perspectives on how external
advocates for better E&IT accessibility can influence companies.
The more advocates understand the forces supporting and impeding
accessibility change within companies, the more successful they
can be.
Use current, accurate statistics to make your case for accessibility.
Make the argument that the disability market is underserved and
there is potential profit in serving it. Most companies do not realize
the size of the disability community. The U.S. Census data includes
increasingly accurate and useful information about the number
of people with disabilities. Overall, as we have pointed out, 18.1%
of adults in the United States (37.7 million) identify themselves as
having a disability.
Learn the cultural norms and values of the group
you are trying to influence.
Both disabled advocates and design staff need to learn how to
communicate with each other. One experienced disability advocate
warned, "Advocates need to realize that if they express anger too
often-or in some cases ever-the design people will resist making
changes. Advocates need to let design staff know why there are
problems rather than just complaining."
47
If the opportunity arises, teach company employees why consumers
with disabilities are angry and try to persuade them not to take the
anger personally. Use the accessibility group as a mediator and coach
for both sides to develop positive outcomes.
Praise and acknowledge companies that are doing good work.
The same advocate went on to say, "It also helps their [disability
advocates'] cause to reward the positive things that companies do.
Let them know what works, so they'll continue with it."
Capitalize on the values of the company.
Companies have values beyond their desire for profit. Sometimes
such values are the way they differentiate themselves in a crowded,
competitive industry. They can portray their products as innovative,
useful, fashionable, or inexpensive. Whatever the value, there is usually
a corollary accessibility argument. For instance, one Accessibility
Champion was able to use the company's commitment to serve
society as a way to get management's buy-in to accessibility. For your
arguments for accessibility to be heard, tie them to the company's
professed values. Even if the company's real values differ from its
stated values, your argument will have more impact.
Research the outside forces-market, regulatory, buying
patterns-that influence a company and use them to make
your accessibility case.
The more you know about the forces affecting a company, the
more successful you will be in creating an effective plan to
implement change.
Develop plans and strategies that can maximize opportunities.
Be ready for opportunity. Crises, tragedies, lawsuits, or news stories
can create opportunities for implementing change. Example:
A 60 Minutes feature on the need for accessibility can make
senior management receptive for a short time.
48 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Know the best point for intervention in the development process.
Companies follow specific processes when they develop or upgrade
software and hardware. The exact process varies from company to
company and from industry to industry, but it is always present in
one form or another.
Because feedback is designed to be a part of the process, find the
opportunities to provide your perspective on the need for disability
access. One advocate took a class in the development cycle to better
understand how the process works.
Learn the language of business.
Every business segment has its own jargon. If you understand and are
familiar with the terms used in the E&IT industry, you will be able to
participate in discussions more effectively and you may make business
people a bit more comfortable with your perspectives on accessibility.
Ally with the Accessibility Champion.
Generally, a company's Accessibility Champion will have the same
values and goals that you have. It is always valuable to have ACs as
allies for your accessibility efforts. If they are skilled, they will find
ways to use your advocacy efforts effectively.
ACs will often have different strategies from advocates outside
the company. For maximum effectiveness, find ways to make your
strategies and activities support those of the AC.
Document your progress in creating access.
When you are advocating for change, it is easy to focus on the
next problem to be solved, barely remembering the last success or
failure. Track the success of your advocacy efforts. Change is usually
incremental and hard to see without taking a longer view.
Research the technology issues of your constituents.
The more you know about the problems your community faces, the
more you can make your arguments relevant and effective. Sometimes
Examples for Disability Advocates | 49
national disability groups do not know the difficulties people
with disabilities face at the state and local levels and vice versa.
It is important to find ways to stay current on national, regional,
and local issues.
Learn about the industry you are trying to influence.
One advocate bemoaned the lack of attention paid to increasing
technology accessibility when people advocate for increased disability
civil rights. "We need more people with disabilities who have formal
technical, management, and policy knowledge and experience so that
technology [advocacy] policy does not scare them off."
Form coalitions.
When advocating for increased accessibility, be aware of the needs of
all people with disabilities to avoid working at cross-purposes with
other disability groups. One danger arises when different disability
groups argue for different accessibility solutions, because each is
focusing on only one segment of the disabled population. Companies
can get to the point where they do not know whom to believe. Some
companies have used this lack of agreement as a rationale for inaction.
Advocacy is a political process that requires compromise and
negotiation without losing sight of the goal. The more groups can
act as a coalition with a single voice, the more effective the disability
community will be at driving technology accessibility.
Educate your members about disability and how to represent
disability needs effectively.
Too often disability advocates and the nondisabled mistakenly assume
that all people with disabilities are skilled at presenting disability access
needs to companies and public officials. Educate your group members
about the breadth of disability needs and the social/cultural issues
of disability.
Advocates and people recommended for spots on disability advisory
committees should have a background in the broader issues of the
disability communities in addition to their own areas of expertise.
50 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Arguing for a large, multifaceted group of people is more effective
in the long term than focusing on short-term fixes for a specific
disability. It may take study and research, but it will pay off by
making the spokesperson appear more believable and fair.
Train consumers in corporate culture and accessibility.
Train your group members to understand the accessibility issues
that will be most compelling to a company, so they can make their
arguments succinctly and effectively.
The challenge is to demonstrate to disability communities how
technology can provide unprecedented access and how the barriers
can be removed. A valuable resource on advocacy is Speak Out About
Inaccessible Information and Telecommunication Technology from the
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
(http://www.ittatc.org/news/displayArticle.cfm?articleID=1122)
(see Resources, page 62).
Continue to advocate for access during reorganizations,
acquisitions, and mergers.
During reorganizations and mergers, access and disability issues can be
pushed to a lower priority. Occasionally, key personnel and policies are
lost, leaving the company without the desire or means to create and
maintain accessible products and services.
"We are the Zip drive for their institutional memory," said one
advocate in explaining how disability groups can provide continuity
for a company's access issues.
In some instances, groups of people with disabilities have "held the
institutional memory" long enough that when the company became
sufficiently stable, accessibility issues could be addressed again with
little loss of progress.
Examples for Disability Advocates | 51
Consider disability to be another aspect of diversity.
Many companies recognize the potential of marketing to diverse
groups; however, the disability market is rarely seen to have any
similarities to African-American or Latino markets, for example.
Find opportunities to use the strategies and examples of other
diversity groups to persuade companies to recognize people with
disabilities as a potential market.
Develop and use a simple message with a simple vehicle.
One technique of advocating for your cause is to have an "elevator
talk" ready at all times. The idea is that people will ask you for a
brief summary, or you will talk to someone who has only seconds
to hear what you have to say. You need to have a succinct, clear, and
compelling 15- to 30-second summary of your cause. It could make all
the difference in the world if you happened to be riding in an elevator
with a potential ally in a company.
Persistence is the key.
Change takes time. Advocates need to have patience and determination
just as Accessibility Champions do. To value disability and accessibility
is a significant and profound change for a company. Some changes
may come quickly, but persuading the whole company to support
accessibility and disability diversity will take time and sustained effort.
52 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Chapter 10
The Future
What is the future of E&IT? If the past twenty years are any
indication, it will be a future of profound change. We will
rethink the role of technology and communication. It could
be an exciting time of even more access and opportunity for people
with disabilities. But the door to education, employment, and civic
involvement could also slam shut if accessibility is not built into the
core of the new technologies.
Just as we will rethink technology, we will see disability differently.
As young people with disabilities gain employment and aging Baby
Boomers delay retirement and acquire disabilities, they will challenge
our conceptions of how a worker should look and act.
 From the outset, Baby Boomers have demanded to be engaged and
influential in shaping their world. There is every reason to think that
they will continue to reshape the world to suit themselves as they gray
and experience disability.
People with disabilities have already changed the world. Witness
that mundane but important access feature, the curb cut. Curb
cuts, or curb ramps, make everyone's life easier. All sorts of wheeled
vehicles, from wheelchairs and baby strollers to rolling luggage and
delivery hand trucks, go easily from the sidewalk to the street and
back up again. All new construction includes curb cuts because they
are required by federal and local laws. Lobbying and advocacy by
disability groups forced the creation of these statutes because people
with disabilities argued that their civil rights were being abridged by
a lack of access. The unintended consequences of the creation of curb
cuts everywhere are legion, including faster, more efficient deliveries
and the use of rolling luggage. Curb cuts have also created a natural
crossroads where able-bodied and disabled people meet.
53
"Electronic curb cuts" promise equally extraordinary value. The access
that they give to the virtual world will mirror the access that curb cuts
have made in the built environment. Everyone will benefit.
As people with disabilities gain their civil rights and their place in
the work force, they are seen differently. Rather than being a liability,
people with disabilities are recognized as assets to society and to the
workplace. This will help people of the greater populace see themselves
and their own limitations more positively. This will be a profound shift
in a society inundated with images of thin, beautiful, young people.
As the E&IT industry matures, increased standardization of the
interface is likely. After all, most of the world has a consistently
assigned place for the brake, accelerator, and steering wheel. As
standardization of controls becomes common in E&IT, the standard
must be based in universal design to include a large percentage of
consumers. It is critical that the MP3 player, fax machine, and the
yet-to-be-invented gizmo have standardized buttons, switches, and
displays that are accessible. E&IT needs to be easy to use for everyone,
including people with disabilities.
Easy-to-use is the central idea of universal design (UD). Products
and environments should be usable by all people, to the greatest
extent possible, "without the need for adaptation or specialized
design." (See Resources, page 60.) Many designers create products
for people like themselves. Because they are young, able-bodied
engineers, their designs work for only a small subset of the general
population. For years, women have joked and complained about the
height of kitchen countertops, for example. Because the architects and
contractors were generally men and generally taller than women, they
designed and installed countertops that worked for them with little
regard for the end user.
The ranks of designers and marketers need to include a more diverse
group that will take into account the graying of America. E&IT
companies need more designers with disabilities. The design cycle
continues to be so focused on rushing new and revised products to
54 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
market that little or no time is spent developing thoughtful, effective
interfaces. Apple's MP3 player, the iPod,(r) is a rare and encouraging
exception. Its sleek industrial design and easy-to-use interface have
catapulted the iPod into market dominance. But Apple's competitors
are failing to leapfrog iPod's design to produce an even better interface.
The aging of America and the increase in disabilities will drive E&IT
manufacturers to pay more attention to universal design and to insure
ease of use for the greatest number of consumers. It will not work to
design and market products specifically for people with disabilities.
The marketing and distribution cost will be prohibitive.
The marketing departments of E&IT companies will demand easeof-
use from their engineers and designers. Marketing staff will develop
strategies and campaigns to sell easy-to-use, accessible products to
the broadest possible market-a market that includes the aging and
people with disabilities.
After all, older people and people with disabilities buy and use
products for the same reasons as young, able-bodied engineers do.
The desire to communicate, create, and be entertained is universal.
Companies that survive and prosper will pay attention to universal
needs of all.
The Future | 55

Bibliography
2000 National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey of Americans
with Disabilities. Sponsored by Aetna, Inc., and the JM Foundation;
conducted for the National Organization on Disability (2000). New York,
NY, Harris Interactive. Available at www.nod.org. A survey of 997 adults
with disabilities and 953 adults without disabilities conducted in May
and June 2000.
In Brief: Before the Boom: Trends in Long-Term Supportive Services for
Older Americans with Disabilities (2002). Retrieved May 3, 2004, from
AARP Web site: http://research.aarp.org/health/inb60_trends.html.
Jones, Timothy L. (1993). The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Review
of Best Practices, New York: American Management Association Membership
Publication Division.
Mace, Ron (1997). Definition. Retrieved May 3, 2004, from North
Carolina State University, Center for Universal Design Web site:
http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/univ_design/ud.htm.
Table 1. Characteristics of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population
by Age, Disability Status, and Type of Disability: 2000 (2003). Retrieved
May 3, 2004, from U.S. Census Bureau Web site: http://www.census.gov/
hhes/www/disable/disabstat2k/table1.html.
Vanderheiden, G. C., & Vanderheiden, K. R. (2002). Product Accessibility
and the Technology Industry. Minneapolis: 2002 RESNA Research
Symposium on Universal Design.
Bibliography | 57
Appendix
Methodology
It is hard to determine a best practice. The Interoperability Clearinghouse
Glossary of Terms, http://www.ichnet.org/glossary.htm, has this to say:
"Best practice-An activity or procedure that has produced outstanding
results in another situation and could be adapted to improve effectiveness,
efficiency, ecology, and/or innovativeness in another situation."
The difficulty lies in measuring "outstanding results." For this report, the
best practices are determined by an informal polling of industry thought
leaders and advocates and by the interviewees. The term best practice
continues to be used in business publications because it continues to
be useful.
Interviews
Twelve Accessibility Champions from large E&IT companies were
interviewed. They were selected from a longer list suggested by an
advisory group made up of industry representatives and disability
advocates. The advisory group suggested topics to investigate and
provided background and counsel on the issues of access to technology
for people with disabilities. Disability advocates were also interviewed
to provide external validation for the opinions and insights of the
Accessibility Champions.
An interview guide provided structure for the in-depth interviews.
The material from all of the interviews was analyzed and grouped
according to themes that emerged. Discrete best practices were
determined from the recurring themes.
58 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Resources
Statistics
People with Disabilities
The U.S. Census has increasingly accurate and useful information about
the number of people with disabilities. Its 2002 American Community
Survey (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/) is one of the better sources
for general demographic information. The bureau has begun to tabulate
disability within the last ten years and has a range of disability statistics
(http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp/saff/SAFFInfo.jsp?_pageId=tp4_disability).
September 26, 2004.
Also valuable are the annotated statistical resources in Disability Data
Resources-1999 at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability
Employment Policy (http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/ek99/resources.htm).
Marketing to People with Disabilities
The National Organization on Disability has a short Web section on
resources for marketing to people with disabilities (http://www.nod.org/
marketing/index.cfm). September 26, 2004.
Accessible Technology Use
The Microsoft Corporation hired Forrester Research to do extensive
research into the use of accessible technology. It is revealing to
discover how many people use access features. "Accessible Technology
in Computing-Examining Awareness, Use, and Future Potential"
(http://www.microsoft.com/enable/research/phase2.aspx). September
23, 2004.
The Aging Workforce
Microsoft has also posted the complete paper and excerpts of
"The Convergence of the Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology:
The implications for commerce, business, and policy." It has a broad
review of relevant statistics (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/
workforce.aspx). September 23, 2004.
59
Individual and Environmental Approaches to Disability
The "New Paradigm" of Disability, Accessible Society (http://www.
accessiblesociety.org/topics/demographics-identity/newparadigm.htm),
has an article about a more inclusive and political definition of disability.
Disability Rights Movement or Independent
Living Movement
Disability Social History
A timeline of disability history, which helps to explain the disability civil
rights movement, can be found at the Disability Social History Web site
(http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html).
Disability History Museum
The Disability History Museum (http://www.Disability Museum.org)
has an extensive collection in its library. Browse by subject and look
at "Advocacy."
The Disability Rights Movement, Smithsonian
The National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
mounted a first-ever exhibit of photographs and text commemorating
the Disability Rights Movement. The online version can be found at http:
//americanhistory.si.edu/disabilityrights/welcome.html.
New Paradigm of Disability Bibliograhy
The author's bibliography of books, publications, and electronic media
that explain the social/cultural model of disability can be found on the
Web site http://www.AboutDisability.com/bib.html.
Universal Design
The Center for Universal Design
An excellent overview of universal design principles can be found on
The Center for Universal Design Web site (http://www.design.ncsu.edu:
8120/cud/univ_design/princ_overview.htm).
Trace Center
The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin has a rich and detailed
Web site about technology and disability access. One of the components is a
guide to universal design (http://www.tracecenter.org/world/gen_ud.html).
60 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Telecommunications Industry Association
Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) "ACCESS-
Resource Guide for Accessible Design of Consumer Electronics"
(http://www.tiaonline.org/access/guide.html) explains accessible design.
W3C, Web Accessibility Initiative
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops common standards
to help bring uniformity to the Web. The Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI) at W3C works to make the Web accessible and usable by people
with disabilities (http://www.W3.org/WAI).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination
on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government,
public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and
telecommunications. The Department of Justice has the law, guides,
and other information about the ADA (http://www.usdoj.gov/
crt/ada/adahom1.htm).
Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act
Section 508 is a procurement requirement for federal agencies. It requires
that new purchases of information technology be accessible. According
to the Section 508 Web page, http://www.section508.gov:
In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require federal
agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible
to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an
individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily.
Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology,
to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and
to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these
goals. The law applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure,
maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section
508 (29 U.S.C. 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and
members of the public access to information that is comparable to
the access available to others.
Resources | 61
Section 508 creates an economic incentive for companies to make
their communications, services, and products accessible to people with
disabilities. It has been successful because the economic impact of not
adhering to its standards is so easily seen. The federal government is the
biggest customer for many software and hardware manufacturers. If these
companies were prohibited from selling to the government, the impact
would be quickly seen in their quarterly earnings statements.
The federal government has an extensive Web site devoted to Section 508
(http://www.Section508.gov).
Section 255 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act
Section 255 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act recommends that
companies include people with disabilities to identify barriers to
accessibility and usability. According to the FCC Web site "Where
the company conducts market research, product design, testing, pilot
demonstrations and product trials, it should include individuals with
disabilities in target populations of such activities." (Section 255, 2002)
It goes on to say, "Companies should work cooperatively with disabilityrelated
organizations." As a means to understanding your customer, this
is a key recommendation. Not only will the individual with a disability
be able to help your product become successful in a significant market
segment, but that person's advice will also improve usability for all.
Section 255: Telecommunications Access for People with Disabilities (2002).
Retrieved May 3, 2004, from Federal Communications Commission
Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/section255.html.
Advocacy for E&IT Access
Speak Out
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
(ITTATC) has produced a guide to E&IT advocacy, Speak Out. The
manual has extensive resources and citations for the disability advocate.
It can be found at the Web site http://www.ittatc.org/technical/speakout/
sp_print/index.html.
62 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Disability Organizations
American Association of People with Disabilities
AAPD is a national membership organization of people with disabilities.
It is becoming increasingly committed to technology access
(http://www.AAPD.com).
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
The CCD has a member Web page with a fairly complete list of national
disability organizations (http://www.c-c-d.org/members.htm).
National Council of Independent Living
NCIL is the national membership organization of independent living
centers (http://www.ncil.org). There is a directory of its members at
http://www.virtualcil.net/cils/.
National disability organizations with specific
technology expertise
The Alliance for Technology Access
A national group of centers, companies, and individuals supporting the
use of technology by people with disabilities (http://www.ATAAccess.org).
Gallaudet University
This Washington, DC university has lent its expertise to a number of
companies that want to make their products usable by people who are
deaf or hard of hearing (http://www.Gallaudet.edu).
RERCs
The National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research
funds Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs), many
of which have expertise with electronic and information technology
(http://www.ncddr.org/rpp/techaf/techdfdw/rerc/).
Resources | 63
World Institute on Disability
WID, the sponsor of this report, is a nonprofit public policy center,
dedicated to promoting the civil rights and full societal inclusion of
people with disabilities. WID (http://www.WID.org) has been at the
forefront of advocating for technology access for people with disabilities.
Its efforts led to enacting Sections 255 and 508.
Planning
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation has a diverse selection of publications
aimed at nonprofits. Its text, The Wilder Nonprofit Field Guide to Crafting
Effective Mission and Vision Statements, by Emil Angelica, is a useful
planning guide for advocacy organizations. Wilder Foundation,
919 Lafond Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55104-2198,
(651) 642-4000 (www.wilder.org/pubs/).
Community Organizing
Comm-Org
Comm-Org has an extensive Web site on community organizing. In
addition to a moderated listserv, there are also resources and historical
papers (http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/index.html).
Study Circles Resource Center
This Web site (http://www.studycircles.org) has resources and guides
for engaging community dialogue and problem solving to address social
and political issues.
64 | How to Create Disability Access to Technology
Acknowledgments
The leadership and staff of the World Institute on Disability
have been enormously supportive of the creation of this
report. Deborah Kaplan and Cara Galbraith, in particular,
provided inspiration, motivation, and support.
My wife, Lyndi Brown, provided emotional and editorial
help at every step. Carol Ewart made this document
understandable and readable. Neal Coddington and Anita
Sinclair provided early direction and guidance.
Thanks also go to the Key Advisors Committee: Judy Brewer,
Debbie Fletter, Lisa Harrison Burke, Steve Kohn, Jim Tobias,
and Laura Ruby.
Sponsors
The California Consumer Protection Fund funded
the research and writing of this report. The Verizon
Corporation has graciously funded the printing.
Additional copies of this booklet may be ordered
for $12.00 from:
WID Publications
510 16th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612 USA
(510) 763-4100
www.WID.org
65
vb
World Institute on Disability
Oakland, California USA