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Re: Government subsidies, was The cost of accessibility

for

From: E.J. Zufelt
Date: Oct 5, 2010 9:51PM

Better yet. Why not send those subsidies to opensource AT developers so that people around the world can have Free access to quality assistive technology?


Everett Zufelt
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On 2010-10-05, at 11:38 PM, Bevi Chagnon | PubCom wrote:

> I often wonder if a two-pronged approached to accessibility might give the
> best results for all stakeholders, both A.T. users and those of us who
> develop information technology products (websites, office documents, PDFs,
> multimedia, etc.).
>
> First prong is, of course, what we discuss here: making our websites and
> other information accessible to A.T. users.
>
> But what if government grants or other funding could go directly to A.T.
> users to subsidize their technologies?
>
> As a teacher and developer with many clients, family members, and friends
> with various disabilities, I run into 2 situations that undermine my best
> efforts to make my products accessible:
>
> 1) Most of the disabled people I know do not have the money to keep their
> software and hardware A.T. up to date, and therefore, don't have the best
> tools for their needs.
>
> 2) Most of them also haven't had sufficient training in how to use the A.T.
> that they do have, so they end up stumbling through a website that actually
> is accessible.
>
> Here in the U.S., for example, our Medicare program subsidizes wheelchairs
> and motorized scooters for our disabled citizens.
>
> Why can't we have a similar program of subsidies for computer A.T. too? That
> sure would make my developer life a lot easier! <grin>
>
> --Bevi Chagnon
>
> : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
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> Bevi Chagnon | PubCom | <EMAIL REMOVED> | 301-585-8805
> Government publishing specialists, trainers, consultants | print, press,
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