For the disabled, just getting online is a struggle

[Guest guest]

For the disabled, just getting online is a struggle

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While technology such as Lifeware Integra exists to help quadriplegia sufferers

like Jenifer Astorga use a computer, the real struggle for most disabled people

is getting Internet access at all.

Several recent reports tell a troubling story about Americans with disabilities:

While many would have no trouble using the Internet, a large percentage lack

access to it in the home.

Consider these contrasting numbers: 54 percent of American adults with

disabilities use the Internet, compared with 81 percent of those who do not

claim to have a disability, according to a report released this morning by the

Pew Research Center. Both the Pew study and another conducted last fall by the

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (available here in

PDF form), show that the problem starts at home.

" Households headed by someone with a disability were almost half as likely as

households headed by someone with no disability to have broadband Internet, "

says the NTIA report.

Yet the percentage of Americans who feel their disabilities keep them from going

online is smaller. According to Pew, 2 percent of the overall population, less

than 10 percent of the overall disabled population, say their affliction " makes

it harder or impossible for them to use the Internet. "

The studies show that there are two separate factors that digitally divide

Americans with disabilities from their non-disabled counterparts. While

accessibility of online content is a serious issue, the larger problem is

getting Internet service at home. In most cases, this comes down to economics.

" People with disabilities ... were older, with an average age of 63, compared to

48 among householders with no disability, " said the NTIA report. " People with

disabilities also had lower levels of household income and obtained less

education. Almost half of all householders with disabilities (45 percent) had

family incomes less than $25,000, compared to a fifth (19 percent) of the

population with no disability. "

The reasons are varied, said Stothers, deputy director of the The Center

for an Accessible Society. Not only can working be a problem, there is still a

lot of discrimination in the workforce against disabled people who may be

perceived to need more " help. " And many face a similar challenge in getting

quality education.

" Even when [disabled people] go through college, employment levels tend to be

lagging behind the general population, " said Stothers. In some cases they're

even dissuaded from joining the workforce for fear of losing government-funded

aid.

But disabled Americans who do not face economic hardships do tend to access the

Internet. " If they have the technology and access, then most of the people can

use it, " said Stothers.

Several major government initiatives are focused on closing the economic gap,

most particularly the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband

Plan, which works with telecoms to roll out network coverage to areas where it's

unavailable, and to offer acceptable prices to lower-income homes.

During a recent media appearance in Washington, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

remarked on his plan's recent progress. " For approximately 2.5 million

low-income households, " he said, " Comcast will make available high-speed

Internet for less than $10 a month, plus personal computers, netbooks or other

computer equipment at a price of less than $150. "

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, which is currently

being acquired by Comcast.)

Meanwhile, the NTIA is administering billions of dollars in grant money from the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Technology

Opportunities Program. While funding covers efforts to bridge the greater

digital divide, some money is earmarked specifically for programs to help

provide Internet access to people with disabilities. Efforts involve providing

discounted broadband and computers to people who are deaf or hard of hearing,

outfitting human-services facilities with the express intention of increasing

broadband access for disabled people, and upgrading libraries and other public

facilities to enhance broadband access for the disabled.

Accessibility matters

But just because the primary barrier to Internet access for disabled Americans

appears to be the lack of broadband at home, it's important to recognize that

millions of people — 2 percent of the entire online population, according to Pew

— still struggle once the connection is made.

For most, it's a visual or learning impairment that makes on-screen text

difficult or impossible to read. For others, it's hearing issues that require

better closed-captioning on Web video and other audible content. But for all of

these Americans, it's a frustration. andra Enders, senior policy analyst at

the Rural Institute at the University of Montana, likens it to a language

barrier.

" If you don't read Russian and all the sites are in Russian, you may be able to

get to them, but they won't make sense to you, " she said.

Recently, the U.S. government addressed this problem head-on. Congress passed

the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which President

Barack Obama signed into law on Oct. 10. Obama said the act will " make it easier

for people who are deaf, blind or live with a visual impairment to do what many

of us take for granted — from navigating a TV or DVD menu to sending an email on

a smart phone. "

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The act is intended to help Americans with disabilities " take advantage of the

technology our economy depends on, " said Obama. " And that's especially important

in today's economy, when every worker needs the necessary skills to compete for

the jobs of the future. "

But Enders argues that this problem shouldn't simply be considered something for

government to solve. Several million Americans in need constitutes a market that

should be addressed by large businesses and socially conscious entrepreneurs.

She cites Jim Fruchterman, president of Benetech. The revenue-driven non-profit

built Bookshare for readers with visual and learning disabilities, and is

currently moving into more challenging area of " image accessibility " — that is,

interpreting graphical representations for people who can't see them.

" You can definitely make a business case for this, " Enders said.