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The Importances of Creating Digital Opportunity For People With
Disabilities
THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING
DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
September 21, 2000
Access to computers, the Internet, and other information
and communications technologies are becoming increasingly important for full
participation in America's economic, political, and social life. If
technology is designed to be usable by people with disabilities, it can
increase their ability to participate in the workforce and lead independent
lives. Examples of technologies that empower people with disabilities
include:
"Screen readers" for people who are blind;
Voice recognition for people who cannot readily use a keyboard due to
physical disabilities;
Web sites that follow the guidelines of the Web Accessibility
Initiative;
Captioning of audio and video for people who are deaf and
hard-of-hearing;
Video description for people who are blind and visually-impaired;
and
Computers that can be operated by eye movement for people who are
unable to speak.
Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often on the wrong side of
the "digital divide," as reflected in rates of computer ownership and access to
the Internet. When information and communications technologies are not designed
to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, isolation from the
economic and social mainstream is intensified. The following statistics
illustrate the magnitude of the challenge.
There are 54 million Americans with disabilities
According to 1994-95 Census data, 54 million Americans had some level
of disability and 26 million have a disability identified as "severe." [Census
Bureau, Current Population Reports, "Americans with Disabilities: 1994-95,"
August 1997.]
People with disabilities are half as likely to have a computer as
people without disabilities
December 1998 Census data found that 23.9 percent of people with
disabilities had access to a computer at home, compared to 51.7 percent of
those without disabilities. [Department of Education, Disability Statistics
Abstract, "Disability and the Digital Divide," H. Stephen Kaye, July
2000.]
The Internet is more likely to improve the quality of life for adults
with disabilities than adults without disabilities
According to a recent poll, 48 percent of adults with disabilities
believe that the Internet has significantly improved their quality of life,
compared to just 27 percent of adults without disabilities. People with
disabilities report that the Internet allows them to be better informed and
more connected to the world around them, and that it puts them in touch with
people who have similar interests and experiences. [The Harris Poll #30, "How
the Internet is Improving the Lives of Americans With Disabilities," June 7,
2000.]
Only 31 percent of Americans with "severe" disabilities are
working
In 1997, 50.2 percent of the estimated 27.7 million Americans ages
21-64 with disabilities were employed. Of those 17.3 million Americans in this
age group with severe disabilities, employment reached only 31.1 percent.
Nationally, 78.3 percent of all Americans 21-64 were employed. ["Employment,
Earnings, and Disability – 1991/92, 1993/94, 1994/95 and 1997 Data From
the Survey of Income and Program Participation", John M. McNeil, Census Bureau,
June 2000.]
Roughly half of those with work disabilities earn less than $25,000
annually
51.0 percent of households with a disabled family member 15 years old
and over, have family incomes of below $25,000 per year, as compared to only
26.9 percent of households with no disabilities. [Census Bureau, 1997 Data from
the Survey of Income and Program Participation.]