By Abbrianna MacGregor
Fall 2016 Intern
New technologies are continuously
being developed and brought to market. All the better for the public, right? It
depends. For leading mobile phone manufacturers, it is crucial to keep all demographics
in mind—particularly those with disabilities.
Nearly one in five of the world’s
population lives with some kind of recognized disability. My grandma, who
suffered from Parkinson’s disease, could never operate a mobile phone due to
her severe motor dysfunction. She purchased one in case of an emergency, but
had to ask her grandchildren to dial the numbers and read the screen for her. For
modern technology to avoid becoming an obstacle for many, it must be accessible
to those with disabilities. The effort the technology industry is channeling
toward this cause is evident.
Mobile operating systems are
constantly adapting their technologies to make interacting with their phones a
bit easier for people like my grandma. Features such as Siri, Dictation and
Voiceover are just a handful
of the many tools iOS devices implement to provide headache-free usage for users,
regardless of ability. Similarly, many Android devices offer features
such as text-to-speech, haptic feedback, adjustable targets on touchscreens and
various other attributes that are equally beneficial.
Features like Safari Reader on iOS
devices remove visual distractions, thus making it easier for those with
attention deficit disorders or autism to focus on one task. Google Chrome for Android
offers readability options to remove content such as ads, sidebars and pop-ups
from the page. Users can zero in on content without fear of being sidetracked
by ads. These features are also helpful to those with visual or motor
impairments. Eliminating unwanted content removes the stress from the manual
process of exiting out of or avoiding the extra content.
It can be a difficult choice for people
with disabilities to find a phone with features best tailored to their needs.
The Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) has a website that allows users to easily compare
varying phone features. These resources can definitely help, but concerns
persist despite the recent effort directed at making more accessible products
available.
Many place their focus on
continually adding new features, but some users with disabilities actually want
the opposite. A phone with only basic features would satisfy the needs of many,
but they’re becoming increasingly rare. The efforts of major companies and
manufacturers are definitely appreciated. Nonetheless, progress must continue
for mobile phones to include options that are universally accessible.
Did You Know?
Duke Medicine and Duke University, as
part of a new study called Autism & Beyond, have developed an app that utilizes
video technology to examine children. The purpose of this mobile technology is
to evaluate the emotions and behavior of children between the ages of one and
six, and indicate if a child may have autism or mental heath issues.
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