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Truly inclusive technology

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Accessibility

Cath Everett ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 29 Oct 2006 16:17 GMT

According to the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey 2005, while 9 percent of UK adults aged between 16 and 24 are currently covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), this figure increases to 44 percent in the 50 to retirement age category. The report also indicates that some 6.8 million disabled people or 19 percent of the working population are of working age, although today only about 50 percent are in employment.

Bill Fine, principal consultant at AbilityNet, a charity that provides a range of services to help disabled people exploit computers and the internet more effectively, believes that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

"We think of the issue as a disability triangle with three sections. The point at the top covers severe impairment. There are relatively few people in there, but it's extremely important and has a disproportionate effect on organisations' image and morale. So if you get it right, the company will have a good image. If you get it wrong, you're in the newspapers," he explains.

The middle segment includes people not protected under the DDA, but who suffer pain and discomfort due to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or repetitive strain injury, says Fine. It also incorporates those with particular conditions such as red and green colour blindness. "This can be very limiting and threatens over time to become more so," he says.

The final section of the triangle, meanwhile relates to the healthy majority, but this is not to say that their potential future requirements should not be considered. "If people are doing more than they're able to give, they might be fine today, but it's like crossing the road without looking. You're safe until a car hits you, and that applies to things like banging away at a typewriter for too long," warns Fine.

This all means that inclusion is an issue IT managers need increasingly to be aware of, not least for risk management purposes. In legal terms, the key legislation in this area to date comprises the DDA, which was passed in 1995 and requires organisations to make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate the needs of people covered by it.

In 2005, however, the Act was updated to include the Discrimination and Equality Duty (DED), which becomes active in December 2006. Although it applies only to public authorities, the DED makes it their duty to be proactive and anticipate the requirements of people with special needs, which includes delivering accessible IT systems.