The three A’s of ICT and disability

Individuals with disabilities could achieve academic success and have careers on a par with non-disabled people if information and communication technologies were designed to take into account their needs equally with the able-bodied, according to researchers in Canada. The key is aiming for availability, affordability and accessibility, the team says.

Writing in a recent issue of the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, Maria Barile of the Adaptech Research Network, in Montreal, and colleagues there and at McGill University, explain that universal design of ICTs is a first step to reducing poverty and enhancing human rights for the disabled and the able-bodied. The researchers’ conclusions are based on Adaptech’s ten-year body of empirical studies in education and ICTs for post-secondary learners with disabilities.

Literacy in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is an absolute necessity for inclusion and full citizenship in the new knowledge-based economy, the team asserts. For individuals with disabilities, access to ICTs is often problematic because historically technology has not been designed for accessibility because the needs of the disabled were not acknowledged. As has been said before: technology for the non-disabled makes things easier, for people with disabilities it makes things possible. The team points out that making ICTs more equitable will raise academic standards, which in turn will reduce unemployment and poverty among the disabled; a poignant issue in Canada where people with disabilities are severely underemployed and where even those in work live below the poverty line.

Their analysis of the data leads to 9 principles that could help society achieve ICT equitability:

1. Equitable use – The design does not disadvantage or stigmatize any group of users.


2. Flexibility in use – The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.


3. Simple, intuitive use – Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.


4. Perceptible information – The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.


5. Tolerance for error – The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.


6. Low physical effort – The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue.


7. Size and space for approach and use – Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of the user’s body size, posture, or mobility.


8. A community of learners – The instructional environment promotes interaction and communication among students and between students and faculty.


9. Instructional climate – Instruction is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. High expectations are espoused for all.

Adhering to these principles in the universal design of ICTs will not stifle creativity nor productivity for the able-bodied but has the potential to make the three A’s of availability, affordability and accessibility a reality for people with disabilities.

“Enhancing human rights: computer and information technologies with access for all” in Int. J. Social and Humanistic Computing, vol 1, pp 396-407

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