Adaptive Technology Opens Doors for Disabled Workers
508 Ways the Federal Government Makes the Grade by Robin Levine, DCLnews Contributing Editor

Rapid advances in modern technology is more than just convenience, especially for people with disabilities. The possibility now exists for them to do things they've never before been able to do, things that many of us take for granted, simple things that enable participation in everyday life and in the workplace, to an extent never before possible. The federal government is taking a lead role in this revolution through Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

The statute requires that after June 21, 2001 all “Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.”  The standards apply to operating systems, software, web-based applications and information, telecommunications products, desktop and portable computers, video and multimedia products and self-contained products, such as the ones found in information kiosks.

More than that, Section 508 has encouraged developments in the marketplace and availability of products that will have a greater impact on much more than the federal government. In much the same way the space programs of the 60's and 70's spawned technologies that became spread far and wide, Section 508 will have a similar widespread impact.

Disabilities run across a spectrum of types. Who can be assisted by adaptive technology? Someone with color blindness who could have user control of style sheets to change the colors; a person with carpal tunnel syndrome could use keyboard equivalents for mouse-driven commands or speech recognition to replace the times when typing causes pain; an online student who is deaf could use captioned audio portions of multimedia files; a blind person could opt for the content printed out in Braille or could choose to listen to an audio of it; or a student with dyslexia would benefit from the use of supplemental graphics or multiple search options. Older person or someone with low vision could have the type magnified onscreen or hear an audio of it while someone with a cognitive disability could have the content provided in clear and simple language or have supplemental audio. Even someone with deaf-blindness seeking entertainment could benefit from user control of style sheets, accessible multimedia, device-independent access, labeled frames and appropriate table markup.

The federal government has taken the initiative to make electronic information accessible to disabled persons and numerous manufacturers and organizations are helping them achieve that aim. All companies seeking to do business with the federal government must comply with the standards. The federal government spent $37.6 billion on IT products during fiscal 1999, according to the Office of Management and Budget, which makes it one of the largest purchasers of IT products in the world. Manufacturers are adapting hardware, operating systems and software to meet the requirements of the federal government.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an organization of companies dedicated to improving the web, have been working on the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), that develops guidelines for the accessibility of websites, browsers and authoring tools. The guidelines point out that any changes made to accommodate people with disabilities can benefit web users who do not have disabilities.

The Computer Accommodation Program (CAP) is a civilian-run agency situated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio that is fully funded by the Department of Defense (DoD). “CAP,” says Project Leader Wayne Allen, “assists just the Air Force Material Command (AFMC) at this time but we are trying to branch out to other Air Force units.” Allen explains that the program lets people “try ‘em before you buy ‘em so when they go to the vendor they know what they’ll need.”

One popular program, Job Access with Speech (JAWS), Allen says “helps people with low vision magnify up to 18 times what is on the screen.” JAWS will also let people push a button to have the screen content read aloud to them or have it printed in Braille or high contrast colors. Explains Allen “some people can’t read the screen even if it’s 24 or 30 pitch but JAWS allows them to save it to a different file, upload or download.” Manufactured by Henter-Joyce, JAWS uses an integrated voice synthesizer and a computer's sound card to output the onscreen content to speakers. JAWS also outputs to refreshable Braille displays. According to the company’s website “this technology provides access to a wide variety of information, education, and job related applications to over 60,000 users worldwide.” CAP supplies JAWS and numerous other adaptive devices and ships all available products to employees of AFMC to try out for 30 days.

Microsoft Corporation is one of the companies that have made its products accessible. The company packaged assistive technology into its Windows 98 Control Panel with an Accessibility Options icon that allows the user to change the way the software interacts with the hardware. StickyKeys enables the use of the Shift, Control or Alt in one keystroke while FilterKeys ignores repeated keystrokes or slows the repeat rate and ToggleKeys allows the user to hear tones when pressing certain keys. There are also high color contrast options as well as the ability to turn the numeric pad into a key pointer and availability for alternative access to keyboard and mouse features.

Other companies such as systems integrators AMS and Science Applications International Corp. and consulting firms like Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. offer their federal clients a wide range of services from altering websites and computer systems to helping the federal agency choose the assistive devices needed to aid its employees.

In its present form, Section 508 allows federal workers to file complaints with the Department of Justice and sue the non-compliant agency. Dennis DeMolet, a professional marketing consultant to DCL has championed the rights of disabled persons and is an expert on the fine points and nuances of Section 508.  Disabled during his time as a Marine in Vietnam, he understands the difficulties persons with disabilities face during the normal course of a workday.

How does Section 508 help protect disabled workers? By ensuring that federal agencies provide those workers with the use of assistive technology. If a worker requests an accommodation, explains DeMolet “as soon as a boss says ‘no’ an employee automatically has a case.”  Many disabilities are non-visible to others and the law protects them, as well.

DeMolet outlined a case in private industry, which falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that, under Section 508, could be brought by a federal worker against his employer. A worker who was deaf in one ear needed a headset that cost $200. When the company denied the employee’s request for assistance to perform her job, she sued. The judge decided that it was not “unreasonable” for the company to spend the money in order to accommodate the worker and ordered it to do so.

DeMolet says that compliance to Section 508 is “open to interpretation and not stamped in red, white and blue.” The law, he explains, is  “very gray, very vague in a lot of cases.” One member of a federal agency told DeMolet that as long as their web server is compliant they have met the requirements in 508. DeMolet emphatically disagrees with that view. “Everything that goes with the web server, such as sound, graphics, visibility which are identified through tagging is subject to meeting the requirements.”

The commitment to accessible technology and the dissemination of information is, DeMolet explains, “where XML is so important. DCL has the capacity to help make those pages dynamic for people with disabilities.”

There are software programs that are adaptive to assistive devices. For example, Adobe Acrobat 5 allows PDF pages to be accessed by the disabled but requires plug-ins to be installed. Says DeMolet “Optical Character Recognition (OCR) will enable documents printed out to be read in Braille or be audible.”

DeMolet, who is impassioned on this subject, feels that “it’s all about accessibility to important information via cell-phone, pager, PDA, computers or in between.”

It’s an American story as old as warmed apple pie and ice cream: taking care of each other and making sure that even though technology changes at a rapid rate, that picket fence can be painted, red, white or blue to be enjoyed by everyone. Imparts DeMolet, “Every family has one or more disabled persons. We are all different and unique and need to adapt to our environment.” With 22 million Americans having computers in their homes and offices, all of us are part of history in the making.

For more information on Section 508, please click on the following links.

Related Articles and Links:

Official Section 508 Website

Government Computer News Section 508 Resource Center

Henter-Joyce (JAWS)

Computer Accommodation Program (CAP)

New Disability Standards Create Long-Term Opportunities

How People with Disabilities Use the Web

“Section 508 Compliance: Not a Simple YES or NO

fedmarket.com, June 22, 1001

“Compliance Countdown”

Federal Computer Week, May 21, 2001