Publication > Newsletter > Newsletter 16 > ICT and Information Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

ICT and Information Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities have been struggling to access information; visually impaired persons are unable to access print materials, hearing impaired persons have problems communicating with others, and mobility impairment persons have difficulty in going out to get information.

However, promotion of information accessibility as well as development of assistive devices has made information access easier for persons with disabilities. Especially, information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide variety of opportunities for persons with disabilities to access information.

On the other hand, the majority of persons with disabilities especially in rural area of the Asia and the Pacific have been excluded from ICT development, even though there are great potential benefits for them.

In Asia and the Pacific, opportunities of using Internet have been rapidly expanded. According to the Internet World Stats (www. internetworldstats.com), Internet users in Asia have been increased almost 232.8 % from the year 2000 to 2005. In Thailand, users increased to 266%, and in Indonesia, almost 800% has been increased in the same period. Now more than 8 % of the population in Indonesia has access to the Internet. ICT shall continuously develop and provide benefits to the people in Asia and the Pacific.

Under this situation, APCD is promoting ICT and information accessibility for all, especially persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific because APCD believes ICT is one of the significant tools to empower persons with disability and promote social participation. Benefits of ICT should be equally distributed.

APCD has made intensive efforts to raise ICT and information accessibility for persons with disabilities through its training program. APCD also provides an accessible website and publishes a quarterly newsletter, "empowerment" for information sharing with APCD Focal points and Associate Organizations, and for public awareness of disability issues in the region. Disability country profiles as well as regional news are the main contents.

ICT and Information Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities - from a hearing impaired person's perspective

by Mr. Muhammad Akram

Mr. Muhammad Akram The importance of information is so obvious to live a better life, to make informed decisions, and nowadays there are many ways to be informed about almost everything; information dissemination is so fast that the huge world becomes a global village. Radio, TV channels, newspapers and the Internet are considered the main source of information. But are these sources accessible?

As member of the deaf community, I'd like to pinpoint some of the barriers that do not let hearing impaired people access information. Obviously, radio is totally inaccessible for the hearing impaired and we can not do anything in this regard; TV channels are great means of entertainment, information and education, but TV channels also are not accessible for the hearing impaired. But, we can make TV channels accessible for the deaf community unlike the radio.

Two possible ways to make TV channels access for the hearing impaired are:

Captioning (displaying text as an alternative of voice)
Interpreting (translating voice into sign language)

The 2nd option is one of the best for the hearing impaired community. Captionings benefit only those who can read and understand a spoken language. The websites on Internet are another great means of information, education and entertainment. If we care a few things, we can make the websites more accessible for the hearing impaired community.

For a hearing impaired person, the great barrier is language, and spoken language is not the first language. The native language for hearing impaired is sign language. It is suggested that the website be made more accessible using clear and simple language and adding content related images. This not only helps hearing impaired people but also others when the text is in English and their first language is not English.

With internet becoming more popular, more websites have started using videos. If there is no caption or alternate text, these videos are not accessible for hearing impaired people.

It is the same with flash movies/ animations. I received an e-card in which two characters were saying something about being hearing impaired but I wasn't able to understand anything. I believe it's just a matter of awareness; technically, it's not hard to add an alternative text.

ICT and Information Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities - from a visually impaired person's perspective

by Mr. Wiraman Niyomphol

Mr. Wiraman Niyomphol We all know that ICT affects all of the society these days. It is hard to avoid the use of computers and various software applications, searching for information via Internet, or using a mobile phone. Technology is advancing all the time. How does a visually impaired person access information like a sighted person and keep up with these changes?

The fact that the visually impaired cannot see information on the computer screen or read printed documents is a typical barrier. Thanks to advancement in the field of assistive technology for the visually impaired, we can now enjoy almost full access to information available. Since we cannot use our eyes to read, we have to rely on other senses such as listening to audio information and reading Braille with our fingers. How can these senses be used to help us access information electronically?

The first and most popular solution is to use speech technology to help in reading information. A special type of software called Screen Reader is generally used to do this task by interfacing with an existing operating system and sending speech output to the sound card. When the Screen Reader is loaded onto a computer, the visually impaired can hear what was typed from the keyboard and messages from the computer screen will be verbalized. The visually impaired should be taught how to touch type so that it is not necessary to have special Braille labels on the keyboard. While navigating through information such as documents or web pages, text can be spoken by characters, words, lines, or larger portions such as paragraphs or the whole document. The visual impaired can go through Windows desktop, start the menu, jump into all the applications and review information shown on the screen. We can use Word, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Excel, PowerPoint and whatever other applications that are installed on that computer.

Instead of using a Screen Reader, a low vision person can use Screen Magnification software to enlarge the text on the screen. In addition to a Screen Reader, a visual impaired person can use a Braille display attached to the computer to provide refreshable Braille access while using speech. Braille translation software and Braille printer are used to produce a Braille hardcopy of documents. Special font and point size can be selected to print documents in larger size for a low vision person. A commercially available scanner used with optical character recognition software can read printed text. Special software loaded to a mobile phone allows full control of various options of the phone. While most of these technologies are made for the visual impaired person, many low vision persons who believe in these techniques do take advantage of available technologies also.

As we move forward, more visual impaired and low vision persons in the region should be given the opportunities to use these technologies by providing equipment with proper consultation and training. While we enjoy access to information mostly in English, efforts should be made to research, modify or adapt these technologies for the use in different local languages. This is a big challenge to achieve equal access of information in all languages for different levels of visual impairment and low vision persons.

Principles of Assistive Technology for Persons with Disabilities

Assistive Technology Device: any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. It can only enhance basic skills, it cannot replace them.

Example of Assistive Devices for Persons with Visual Impairments

Altair for Windows: Altair: is a free software designed for blind, low vision or deaf-blind users, which has text editor, mailer and browser with speech synthesizer and output to Braille displays.
(Please see http://www.normanet.ne.jp/~altair)
Screen Reader: JAWS: With its internal software speech synthesizer and the computer's sound card, information from the screen is read aloud, providing technology to access a wide variety of information, education and job related applications.
(Please see: http://www.freedomscientific.com/
fs_products/software_jaws.asp)
DAISY Digital Talking Book (DTB): A new style of reading book for persons with print disabilities an accessible multimedia talking book developed by the DAISY Consortium.
(Please see: http://www.daisy.org/, http://www.daisy-for-all.org/ )

APCD Activities on ICT Training

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in widening the opportunities of persons with disabilities' lives to access equal participation in social activities. APCD, with its objective to empower persons with disabilities and create a barrier-free society through the use of ICT, implements 3 ICT training courses including:

Accessible Web-based Information Networking introducing the skills of creating and developing accessible and informative websites, which contribute to APCD's regional information networking.
ICT for All: Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) for persons with print disability promoting the concept of DAISY technology and teaching how to produce multimedia talking books with the DAISY format and
ICT for Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) training trainers in computer operation for VIPs with assistive devices/software to be able to design and teach appropriate computer training for VIPs.

Through these 3 ICT courses, APCD has developed more than 100 human resources from developing countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. ICT accessibility and literacy are greatly and effectively promoted by those trained participants.

Significant examples of APCD's former training participants are:

The Philippines: National Council for the Welfare of the Disabled Persons is fully promoting information accessibility through a series of local and national workshops on an accessible website, in which more than 70 webmasters were trained. Resource for the Blind, Philippine Printing House for the Blind, and Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation for, Interrelation, and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired are also promoting information accessibility through DAISY production.
Pakistan: Pakistan Association of the Deaf organized an Assistive Devices and ICT Accessibility Seminar in July in Pakistan. There were more than 60 representatives from Disabled Peoples' Organizations (DPO) in Karachi learning and raising public awareness on information accessibility and networking.
Fiji: UNESCO and Fiji Disabled People Association organized a workshop on Assistive Devices and Information Accessibility in collaboration with United Blind Persons, National Council for Disabled Persons and APCD. There were representatives of DPO from 7 Pacific Islands.
Cambodia and Thailand: Krousar Thmey, Association of the Blind in Cambodia and Christian Foundation of the Blind in Thailand are providing computer training for visually impaired persons and students.
Viet Nam: DAISY books have been widely produced by Sao Mai Computer Center for the Blind and Vocational Training Center for the Blind.

Information and ICT Accessibility - Regional and International Movement

by Mr. Monthian Buntan

Introduction:

In many recent speeches and papers, I often stress the importance of information as a key to knowledge, knowledge as a key to power and power as the ultimate factor of anything to be achieved by any human being. However, in the case of persons with disabilities, the matter of access to information has not always been enjoyed like non-disabled persons. For example, it took over a hundred years for Braille to be accepted, and sign languages have struggled even more so just to be recognized by the society. Why are we bothering to mention ICT accessibility here when basic information accessibility needs cannot even be achieved?

Challenging and Overcoming Misconceptions:

Before the global community can address the issue of ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities and move forward effectively to achieve the ideal goal of an "inclusive information society", several fundamental concepts must be well understood and accepted. The following are just key concepts:

Access to information and communications by persons with disabilities must be fully respected as a human right to freedom of expression. (ICCPR, art. 19)
ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities is good for all members in society, including but not limited to the elderly, young children, indigenous people who may speak languages with or without scripts, and is technologically achieveable now by following the universal design principle and the use of assistive technologies.
All stakeholders within the information society must share the responsibility of making ICTs accessible to all including persons with disabilities.
ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities makes social, political and economic sense and enhances sustainable development of human society.

How has the world dealt with ICT Accessibility?

Until 1983 when the World Program of Action was declared by the United Nations, there was no clear evidence that the issue of ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities received any attention at the international level. ICT accessibility enjoyed a clear recognition in Rule 5 of the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 1993).

Regional Movement in Asia and the Pacific

The importance of accessibility of information and communication was widely recognized in the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) as 12 Areas of Concern; No. 3 Information and No. 5 Accessibility and Communication.

In this Decade, establishment of a national resource centre with an accessible information and database was clearly targeted. Besides, establishment of standardized indigenous sign languages, and availability of reading material in Braille, large print, computer disk, audio cassette and other suitable formats for people who have difficulty in reading regular print were also recognized as a target.
(See more details at: http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/disability/decade/index.asp)

In the second Decade of Disabled Persons (2003- 2012), access to information and communication, including information, communication and assistive technologies was identified as one of the 7 priority areas.

As targets of the Biwako Millennium Framework (BMF), which is the policy framework of the 2nd Decade, it is mentioned that persons with disabilities should have at least the same rate of access to Internet; Governments should adopt ICT accessibility guidelines for persons with disabilities; and Governments should develop and coordinate a standardized sign language, finger Braille, and tactile sign language.
(See more details at: http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/disability/index.asp)

Combining the Strength within the Disability

Communities with Greater Support from Outside: Until recently, the matter of ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities has been known only among people in the disability field, while the rest within the soon-to-become the information society remain largely ignorant about this matter.

There are two important events at the international level, taking place for information accessibility for persons with disabilities. These two events are different in nature, one, the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, being the first disability-related international law, and the other, the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), serving as a guiding principle of the whole world

The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This convention, once completed, adopted and ratified, will serve as a global mandate upon member states of the United Nations to undertake measures to ensure that persons with disabilities will enjoy the human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others. So far, the matter of ICT accessibility has been included in the preamble, general state obligations and has a separate article on its own from the first to the latest draft of the Convention.
(http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable)

The World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)

The first phase of the WSIS, in Geneva, Switzerland from 10-12 December 2003, has come up with two documents: 1)Declaration of Principles and 2) Plan of Action. The WSIS documents are the first mainstream (outside disability-specific) global documents which include disability-related text. In these two documents, there are many references to persons with disabilities, such as universal design and the use of assistive technologies, special requirements of persons with disabilities in ICT capacity building, web accessibility standard, etc.

The second phase, which was held from 16-18 November 2005 in Tunis, Republic of Tunisia, came up with two documents in which disability-related text appears, 1) Tunis Commitment and 2) Tunis Declaration on Information Society for Persons with Disabilities.
(See more details at http://www.itu.int/wsis)

During both phases of WSIS, there were disability specific events called "Global Forum on Disability" which came up with the "Geneva Declaration on Inclusive Information Society" for the Geneva phase and "Tunis Declaration on Information Society for Persons with Disabilities", available for downloading at the www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/index_e.html.

It is with my firm belief that a good strategic approach of linking these events will help combine the strength of the thematic convention, which is a legal binding instrument at the international level to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, with greater and wider support of disability-need issues concerning ICT accessibility in the WSIS documents which will be widely recognized, supported and implemented by society at large.

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