Accessible IT Overview

What is Accessible IT?

Accessible information technology (IT) is technology that can be used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Each user is able to interact with the technology in ways that work best for him or her. Accessible technology is either directly accessible -- in other words, it is usable without assistive technology -- or it is compatible with standard assistive technology. Just as buildings that have ramps and elevators are accessible to wheelchair users, products that adhere to accessible design principles are usable by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. See our Accessible IT FAQ for more information and definitions relating to accessible IT.

Why is Accessible IT Important?

There are many benefits to accessible IT. Individuals with disabilities comprise a disproportionate percentage of low-income, unemployed, and impoverished Americans. A major contributor to this discrepancy is inaccessible design.

Traditionally, accessible design has been associated with the physical environment, such as school buildings, government building entrances, stadiums, classrooms, and trains, to list a few examples. When these facilities are designed inaccessibly, individuals with disabilities are denied equal access to education, public transportation, recreational activities, as well as many programs and services provided by government agencies. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has greatly improved access to the built environment for many individuals. The ADA Standards for Accessible Design now provide builders, architects, and other design professionals with standards that they can follow to integrate accessibility into their design.

Advances in Accessible Technology Since the Passage of the ADA

There have been tremendous advances in technology since the Americans with Disabilities Act brought accessibility into the public consciousness. Attention to accessible design in the 21st century must include both the built environment as well as the design of information technology. Accessible design is critical in the development of government websites, educational software, electronic documents, and information provided on the World Wide Web (see: What is Information Technology (IT)? for a more comprehensive list). When IT is designed inaccessibly, individuals with disabilities are denied equal access to education, public transportation, recreational activities, as well as many programs and services provided by government agencies. Fortunately, web designers, programmers, and technology vendors have accessibility guidelines and standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Section 508 Standards, that they can follow to integrate accessibility into their design.

Accessible IT Benefits Individuals with Disabilities

Accessible information technology can open up a world of opportunity to individuals with disabilities, or (if designed inaccessibly) it can present terrible barriers. Accessible educational software in K-12 and postsecondary schools provides students who have physical or mental impairments with tremendous tools for learning. These tools have the ability to greatly increase the achievement, productivity, and performance of all students. Accessible computer applications, electronic documents, and assistive technology (AT) in the workplace offer individuals with disabilities the possibility of attaining and excelling in many professions from which they have been largely excluded in the past. If designed accessibly, websites created by businesses can reach many more potential consumers, providing all individuals with an equal opportunity to benefit from their products and services.

Accessible IT Benefits Everyone

Accessible information technology not only benefits individuals with disabilities, but also provides improved access and useability for many other individuals. Let's take a moment to explore how accessible IT benefits everyone...

• Multi-sensory educational software allows teachers to cater instructional materials to the various learning styles of diverse students.
• A web designer who associates images with equivalent text provides websites with more searchable text for search engines.
• Webpages and software applications designed accessibly provide greater navigability and intuitive presentation of information for all users.
• Images accompanied by descriptive text (to aid blind and visually impaired users) also indicate what the image is meant to illustrate for sighted users.
• Captions that accompany multimedia files, distance learning courses, and teleconferences can be easily converted to archived transcripts.
• If images on a webpage are associated with equivalent text, they will be accessible to users with older web browsers and who have disabled graphics in their browser settings.

Do you Want Technical Assistance and Training on Accessible IT?

The New England ADA & Accessible IT Center is one of ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers that comprises a nation-wide infrastructure to support voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to encourage awareness, development, and procurement of accessible IT. The centers have a partnership with the National Center for Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) (http://www.washington.edu/accessit) to provide technical assistance and training to k-12 and postsecondary schools. Call us (800-949-4232) or email us (ADAinfo@AdaptiveEnvironments.org) to discuss training or technical assistance.

See Accessible IT FAQs to view our Frequently Asked Questions section about accessible information technology.