Action Items and Policy Issuse for Consideration: Final Report

摘要

This report considers ways to promote accessible design within the software and hardware development community, especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) industries as it relates to the employment of persons with disabilities. The need for this effort was driven by the results of the August 2010 Developer's Survey on Accessibility, a joint project of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA), a division of the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA). The objective of the survey was to gain a better understanding of the connections between technology development, its practitioners and the realization of accessible technology. The survey highlighted a significant number of obstacles that face the development community in achieving accessible products and applications which have a direct result in employment success for persons with disabilities. The survey of 433 respondents represented a total population of 48,000 Developers from diverse organizations internationally. Skill levels related to accessibility development amongst the general population of Developers was acknowledged as low. The following issues were identified as contributing to the low level of skill and lack of implementation of uniform, universally accessible technology: Lack of organizational commitment, Lack of access to consistent, reliable information, Lack of education/training, Lack of testing tools. This feedback highlighted an urgent need to remove these obstacles.