No limitations for the disabled: Workplace-related assistive technologies are providing disabled employees with the tools to be more effective workers

Risk & Insurance, April 1, 2002 by Tom Starner

As the first blind employee at Earthlink, the large Internet service provider based in Atlanta, David Redman was a pioneer. But Redman says that without assistive technology (AT), he would not have had the opportunity to start work as a support specialist at Earthlink five years ago.

"Earthlink looked at my resume, tested, interviewed, and hired me," says Redman, whose wife, Margaret, also blind, has worked at Earthlink. "But before starting the job, both Earthlink and I brought in the different types of technology I would need. We were pretty much flying by seat of pants, but we figured out how to make it work." Within a few months of Redman's arrival, Earthlink had six blind people within its ranks.

In the ensuing years since the Redmans joined Earthlink, technology has continued to make advances in helping people with disabilities be even more effective employees in a wide range of jobs. From powerful screen readers to refreshable Braille terminals, from voice synthesizers to accessible Web sites and online forms, companies are creating, and smart ones are using, innovative technologies built on past successes. Simply stated, assistive technology works with a computer or operating system to accommodate specific disabilities.

"The state of assistive technology is really good right now," says Barry Honig, founder and president of Riskon, a New York City executive recruiting firm. Honig, who is blind, says that from the speech synthesis software he uses to the entire Windows accessibility environment, technology is creating a wide-open avenue to success. "With today's assistive technology, a disabled person has almost no limitations in terms of what he or she can do," he says. "Of course, they have to be hired first."

According to Joy Relton, who is blind and works as a systems analyst in Unisys Corp.'s Assistive Devices Lab, current statistics reveal that about 20 percent of the population is or will become disabled in their lives. With the baby boomers getting older, hearing and sight in the general population aren't expected to improve in the years ahead. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there currently are 54 million people with disabilities in the United States.

"We've become much more computer dependent today, and that's good for the disabled," says Relton, who regularly tests new workplace-related assistive technologies. "Companies need to realize that a larger percentage of employees and customers will be disabled, or employees and customers will have a family member who needs assistive technologies on the job."

To give the disabled a boost, in mid-June 2001, the federal government enacted Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. In a nutshell, Section 508 requires federal agencies begin their commitment to ensure that their Web sites, IT, and telecommunications equipment are accessible to users with disabilities. Even though Section 508 applies only to federal Web sites (not private sector sites), many experts believe that the law will drive increased AT in the private sector as well. For example, Web sites or portions of Web sites provided under contract to a federal agency must also comply. The stakes are high, as the federal market for technology vendors is $40 billion annually. Currently, there are about 167,000 federal employees with disabilities.

"It's a carrot-and-stick idea," says Relton. "If the federal government wants to buy, it has to meet these standards. So we at Unisys have to offer products that meet the standards."

Unisys isn't alone, as big name vendors such as Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Adobe, Compaq, and some not so large companies such as Crunchy Technologies, Hi/Software and others, are doing their best to remain government technology vendors of choice.

According to Mike Wagner, vice president of sales at iCan! Inc., a solutions and services company that, among other things, provides consulting to businesses looking to hire disabled workers, Microsoft has taken the clear-cut lead when it comes to assistive technology.

"The newest thing, and the only really big news, is Microsoft's latest operating system," Wagner says. "Microsoft continues to lead the way in accessibility. Without an accessible operating system, you can't build other products that will work."

Before the release of Microsoft's latest OS, Windows XP, AT users waited up to 18 months for devices and applications to support newly released operating systems. In the development of Windows XP, Microsoft worked with assistive technology vendors so that software such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, onscreen keyboards, and hardware such as one-handed keyboards and augmentative communication devices addressed a wide range of disabilities and were available when Windows XP hit the shelves.

Companies including Ai Squared, Dolphin Computer Access, Freedom Scientific Inc., GW Micro Inc., Interactive Solutions Inc., NXi Communications Inc., Tash Inc. and many others currently have, or soon will have, assistive technologies available that support Windows XP.