Introduction - Equity of Access: Adaptive Technology - The Research Center on Computing & Society

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Frances S. Grodzinsky

ABSTRACT: In this age of information technology, it is morally imperative that equal access to information via computer systems be afforded to people with disabilities. This paper addresses the problems that computer technology poses for students with disabilities and discusses what is needed to ensure equity of access, particularly in a university environment.

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Introduction

English language dictionaries define accessible as easy to approach, enter, speak with, or use.(1) For the forty million Americans with disabilities,(2) and those who will develop disabilities as they age, access takes on a special meaning. It is the key to an independent and “normal” lifestyle. Since 1973, laws have been enacted in the United States to facilitate accessibility for persons with disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act mandated that all federally funded agencies meet certain physically accessible standards in general and that they provide “reasonable accommodation” for employees with disabilities, including work-site modification, job modification, or other action to overcome physical or other disability-related barriers in the workplace. Section 508 addresses the appropriate accommodation in terms of technology. It requires that all federally funded agencies and their contractors provide access to computers for all employees with disabilities who need it, and specifies the types of access needed.(3)

In 1975, the Federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act guaranteed children with disabilities the right to free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.(4) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which addressed employment, transportation, public accommodation (e.g., theaters and rest rooms), and telecommunications, removed physical barriers to accessibility.(5) In the United States, therefore, people with disabilities can now be hired for jobs for which they are qualified, travel by public transportation, and enter buildings to work. Because we are in the information age, however, a person’s livelihood often depends on familiarity with and ability to use a computer.

Philip Brey, in his article titled “The Politics of Computer Systems and the Ethics of Design,”(6) asks: “What are the new issues concerning social morality posed by Information Technology?” One of those issues is that of equal access to computing systems. Although we have lowered street curbs, put in ramps, and made public transportation accessible to people with disabilities, we have lagged behind in adaptive accommodations for computer systems. Why? I think that the swiftness of the computer revolution and the impact that it has had on society were unanticipated. Designers of computer systems were so eager to move into the mainstream, where the return on investment was obvious, that they ignored a segment of prospective users: those with disabilities. For example, at a recent Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) exhibition, only two of approximately one hundred exhibits presented devices for persons with disabilities. When questioned about the lack of adaptive interfaces for certain software products, the vendors usually replied that no one had even considered this group of users. Ellen Barton, in her article “Interpreting the Discourse of Technology,” affirms that “integration of technology most often functions to maintain existing levels of power and authority.”(7) It is a serious moral problem when computer technology developers ignore the very group who can be empowered most by such technology.

According to the theory of justice of John Rawls, the notion of justice is usually understood as implying that individuals should not be advantaged or disadvantaged unfairly or undeservedly. This implies, among other things, that society should not promote the unfair distribution of “primary goods,” that is, those that are prerequisite to carrying out life’s plan.(6) I agree with Brey’s assessment that, in this age of information technology, access to information via computer systems is quickly achieving the status of a primary good. Brey argues, therefore, that it is morally imperative that both computer systems and their surrounding social structures should be arranged to facilitate equal access.(6)

Because universities receive federal funding, they are obligated by law not to discriminate against people with disabilities. “Reasonable accommodation” in computer training that occurs at the university, unfortunately, often is interpreted to mean assisted learning, not adaptive technology. I would argue that, at present, students who are physically challenged and those with learning disabilities are not being afforded an equal education if they are not given access to computers which meet their needs, namely, those that use the latest adaptive technology. Such technology, which permits equity of access, has helped to reassure people with disabilities that they can attempt a university education with minimal accommodation in most major courses of study. It can empower such students and improve their self-image and quality of life by preparing them to take their place in the work force in the age of information technology. As Norman Coombs, in his article “Liberation Technology,” asserts: “Today more and more of the disadvantaged are asking for empowerment so they can help themselves. They want freedom to compete with the rest of society on a more nearly even playing field.”(8) Given the growing importance of access to computer systems, there is a moral imperative for a society, and by extension a university, to ensure that all of its citizens are given the opportunity to have such access.(6) This paper addresses the problems that computer technology poses for students with disabilities and discusses what is needed to ensure equity of access, particularly in a university environment.

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