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Ergonomic, split keyboard. In 2000, the United States Census counted 49.7 million people with some type of long-lasting condition or disability, or nearly one in five people. The nation's population is also aging, and by 2030, Americans 65 and older are expected to comprise more than 20 percent of the population. These figures reflect a large number of individuals with mild to severe visual, hearing, mobility, speech, cognitive or social function disabilities.
Today's information technology can be a powerful asset for people with disabilties, offering a variety of resources for independent living. For example, the Internet has become a tremendous aid in accessing information and conducting transactions. The City and County of Denver and other local, state, and federal governments are using the Web to offer programs and services in a more timely and interactive way.
E-government functions are often more convenient for citizen and business customers, while enabling governments to keep delivery and administration costs low. These online city halls provide a central meeting ground, fostering greater citizen participation and leading to a more informed and inclusive community.
New and innovative assistive technologies are being developed every day to help empower people with disabilities to communicate more freely and access the Web more easily. Some of these devices include speakerphones, TTY (text) phones, Braille printers, refreshable Braille displays, screen readers and magnifiers, alternative input devices and keyboards, and speech recognition software.
However, these tools can be very specialized, and they do not always present information and content to the user in the way that a Web developer may desire. If a Web developer makes assumptions about the abilities of end-users or the equipment at their disposal, they will ultimately produce a design that cannot be interpreted by some of these technologies.
An inaccessible Web site is a frustrating divider between isolation and social integration, presenting a potential barrier to people with disabilities just as a poorly-designed building might prevent some from entering.
Just as with accessible architectural elements such as curb cuts and doors that can open automatically, when accessible features are built into Web pages, Web sites are more convenient and more available to everyone.
Accessible Web sites are those that are designed to be device-independent so that they present information in a manner which ensures access by a diverse audience. Accessible design puts an organization in a good position to deliver resources and services through whatever technology the audience chooses, including cellular phones, personal data assistants (PDAs), voice access services, and assistive technologies. This not only addresses the needs of users now, but it sets the foundation for being flexible and adaptive to the needs of users as technology changes in the future.
