Welcome to ATechnews.com Assistive Technology News introduces this exciting new web site featuring articles written by award winning columnist John Williams. Mr. Williams has been writing about disability issues since 1978 and coined the phrase "Assistive Technology". Also featured are articles written by guest columnists and introductions to new technologies that provide our readers with additional insight into the field of Assistive Technology.
Future Articles:
Augmentative Communication Products
Travel Opportunities for People with Disabilities
What opportunities does the web offer people with disabilities?
This Weeks Guest Article: Challenges for Assistive Technology
by Gorka Eizmendi & Jose Miguel Azkoitia
Exploring the Universe of Opportunities for People with Disabilities
ATechnews.com will feature new products being introduced by manufacturers to assist people with disabilities.
For information on advertising your new products contact sponsor@atechnews.com
John Williams' Speaking Engagements
John Williams is a keynote speaker at the 9th
European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in
Europe AAATE 2007 to be held in San Sebastian, Spain on October 3rd,
4th and 5th. This bi-annual conference is the major event of the AAATE, European sister association of RESNA. This 9th edition will look to Challenges for Assistive Technology in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. http://www.fatronik.com/aaate2007
POETA Provides Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities
By John M. Williams
Two years ago, a hemispheric program in Latin America was launched with Microsoft through its Unlimited Potential Program to introduce technology and job-training centers for marginalized persons throughout Latin America.
Called POETA (Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technologies in the Americas) and using adaptive technologies, the job centers provide training to persons with disabilities and other marginalized populations in the use of office related software, such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint and other programs, along with job readiness skills.
POETA was created by the Trust for the Americas (www.trustfortheamericas.org).The Trust for the Americas fosters partnerships among corporations, foundations, governmental bodies, and academic institutions in the Americas. The Trust's mission reflects the central goals of the Organization of American States (www.oas.org) and mobilizes resources to confront extreme poverty and to promote democracy through actions that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
The program provides on-site training and support to people with disabilities in the use of information technology, and it brings the private sector, governments and civil society together with the goal of creating long-term positive change throughout the region.
Through a combination of Information and Communication Technologies and adaptive technologies, POETA provides persons with disabilities, who in many cases were stay at home individuals, the skills and the opportunity to apply for a job, therefore giving them independence and often improving the lives of their families.
In 2004, The Trust for the Americas, with Microsoft funds and the Unlimited Potential Program, launched a pilot program in Guatemala. Nearly 300 people with disabilities were trained. According to David Rojas, director of POETA, some of the people were hired and others started their businesses. Twenty-five local businesses were involved in the program and provided employment.
As a result of the success, a total of 12 programs were launched in Argentina, Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama.
In each community, POETA has four activities:
1.Establishing centers to train people with disabilities and for the centers to serve as an after hour community center, providing Internet access and additional skills training for the larger community.
2.Job readiness and job placement training. Attendees are taught to write resumes, ho to dress and how to address issues often faced by people with disabilities in the workplace.
3.Awareness campaign that informs and educates employers on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities.
4.Job placement. The centers actively seek employment for the trainees.
Each center is equipped with a basic Assistive Technology kit that included, but is not limited to the following: trackballs, adaptive keyboards (Intellikeys), voice recognition software and JAWS (Job Accommodation with Speech).
The UP Curriculum lasts approximately 118 hours. This, however, does not take into consideration the number of hours a student might spent on practice sessions and/or the program’s job readiness component, which last approximately 10 hours.
This calculation also depends on the beneficiaries’ disability. For example, a blind student might take longer to complete the program’s curriculum as he or she will need to get acquainted with Jaws.
The amount of technical assistance available depends on the resources available and the center’s
target population. The centers target physically and mentally disabled adults and youths.
POETA tries to provide those centers specializing on visual disabilities with a Braille printer, scanner and speech software. In addition, the trainers use Microsoft’s accessibility options, such as its magnifier, color contrasts, keyboard controls, on-screen keyboard and other features.
Job Placement
Job placement is one of the program’s biggest challenges. Unemployment rates on Latin America are high, even for people with college degrees. Unfortunately, many of the program’s beneficiaries do not have access to higher education and the information technology training they receive at the centers is sometimes not enough to get them a job. Knowing this, the program’s developers added modules such as entrepreneurship, leadership and English and literature to enhance the program’s curriculum and to increase the participants’ chances of employment.
Many of the participants are hired at supermarkets, hotels, call centers and retail stores as cashiers, receptionists, administrative assistants and teachers, according to Rojas.
The OAS estimates there are more than 80 million people with disabilities in all of Latin America. Many, many people in Latin America are disabled because of the civil wars and mines.
The POETA network consists of 33 centers in 11 countries. Rojas says before the end of 2007, there will be 49 centers in 17 Latin American countries and the Caribbean. Being an optimist he says by the end of 2008 there will be 69 centers in 19 countries.
“We also provide job placement assistance and micro-enterprise planning capacity,” said Rojas.
In off-hours, the centers are used by the local community for access to the Internet and other uses. “We believe this partnership between the Trust and Microsoft will have a long lasting impact on the communities they serve and we hope to have at least one POETA center in every country in the hemisphere by 2010, said Program Coordinator Rene Leon of POETA.
Other POETA donors are Chevron. Conoco Phillips, Daimler Chrysler, Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala, Hewlett Packard, RCN, Siemens and TACA.
RadioShack Announces Point of Sale, Web Site Initiative for Customers with Visual Impairments
In a move praised by state and national blindness organizations, RadioShack (NYSE:RSH) announced it has undertaken a nationwide initiative to improve services for RadioShack’s customers with visual impairments. RadioShack will install new point of sale equipment with tactile keypads to protect the privacy and security of visually impaired shoppers and will make improvements to its web site that will benefit visually impaired shoppers and other customers with disabilities.
The announcement is the result of collaboration between RadioShack and major blindness organizations including the American Foundation for the Blind, American Council of the Blind, and California Council of the Blind. Point of Sale Improvements
It is anticipated that by the end of September 2007, every RadioShack store will have the new device, which is designed to protect the financial privacy of blind and visually impaired shoppers. The devices, manufactured by Ingenico (www.ingenico.com), have tactile keys arranged like a standard telephone keypad and plug easily into existing point of sale payment terminals. The new units will allow RadioShack shoppers, who have difficulty reading information on a touch screen, to privately and independently enter their PIN, telephone number, and other confidential information.
Blind community representatives praised RadioShack’s plan to upgrade its point of sale devices. “Point of sale devices must have tactile keys so blind people do not have to share their PIN with strangers,” explainedMelanie Brunson, executive director of the American Council of the Blind. “Today’s announcement, and the collaboration that led to it, demonstrates RadioShack’s understanding of this fact and its strong commitment to blind and visually impaired customers.”
Web Site Access
The initiative includes RadioShack’s commitment to design www.RadioShack.com in accordance with guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (w3c) (www.w3.org/wai). The guidelines, which do not affect the content or look and feel of a Web site, ensure that web sites are accessible to persons with a wide range of disabilities. The guidelines are of particular benefit to blind computer users who use screen reader or magnification technology on their computers and who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.
"Web site accessibility is of critical importance to both the blind community and to people with disabilities generally,” said Paul Schroeder, vice president, programs and policy group of the American Foundation for the Blind.“We applaud RadioShack's leadership role in committing to address the accessibility of its web site, thereby improving the browsing and shopping experience for a broad range of on-line shoppers."
“The program announced today is one way we can help customers who are blind or visually impaired enjoy a better shopping experience in their neighborhood RadioShack stores as well as on www.RadioShack.com and complements our on-going efforts to improve the shopping experience of all our customers with disabilities,” said Frank Espinoza, vice president–store operations of RadioShack Corporation. “RadioShack would like to thank the American Council of the Blind, the California Council of the Blind, and the American Foundation for the Blind, for their cooperation and expertise in making RadioShack a better place to shop for our customers with disabilities.”
RadioShack Corporation
RadioShack Corporation has a presence through more than 6,000 company-operated stores and dealer outlets in the United States, over 100 RadioShack locations in Mexico and nearly 800 wireless phone kiosks. For more information on RadioShack Corporation, or to purchase items online, visit www.radioshack.com.
ACB and CCB
American Council of the Blind is a national consumer-based advocacy organization working on behalf of blind and visually impaired Americans throughout the country, with members organized through seventy state and special interest affiliates.
California Council of the Blind is the California affiliate of the ACB, and is a statewide membership organization, with 40 local chapters and statewide special interest associations. ACB and CCB are dedicated to improving the quality of life, equality of opportunity and independence of all people who have visual impairments. Their members and affiliated organizations have a long history of commitment to the advancement of policies and programs which will enhance independence for people who are blind and visually impaired. More information about ACB and CCB can be found by visiting www.acb.org and http://www.ccbnet.org/.
AFB
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. For more information visit us online at www.afb.org.
U.S. Supreme Court Boosts Parents’ Authority
B y John M. Williams
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision that sent shock waves through the educational community, gave parents greater say in guaranteeing the needs of their children’s special needs are met.
In a ruling on Winkelman v. Parma City School District, the court ruled that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 94-142)(IDEA),that ensures children a free appropriate public education, gives rights to parents. Parents may represent themselves in federal court when disputes arise between the school district and themselves on what is the best policy for educating the child.
Six justices joined Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the opinion. Kennedy wrote, "It is not a novel proposition to say that parents have a recognized legal interest in the education and upbringing of their child."
The case resulted from the efforts of Jeff and Sandee Winkelman who sued the Parma, Ohio school district on behalf of their son Jeff who is autistic. The Winkelman’s stressed that they could not afford a lawyer to pursue their dispute with the school board over its decision that their son’s needs could be met in a public school.
Federal courts allow people to represent themselves, but not others – without the aid of a lawyer.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit dismissed the Winkelman's case on behalf of their son since they lacked a lawyer. The Supreme Court reversed the decision.
The 7 justices stated that a comprehensive reading of IDEA emphatically states that parents have rights at each stage of the process and therefore they can represent themselves in a federal court.
"The parents enjoy enforceable rights at the administrative stage and it is inconsistent with the statutory scheme to bar them from continuing to assert these rights in federal court," Kennedy wrote.
How are school officials dealing with this decision? School officials, who wanted to remain anonymous, told me, "It could be a Pandora’s box, or it could be a sniffle."
In other words, they are adopting a wait and see position.
Parents buoyed by the decision are considering their options and there may or may not be an avalanche to be their own lawyers.
"Despite this ruling, it’s a difficult decision to be the lawyer of your disabled school age child," a parent of a child with a disability told me.
Stuttering in a Fluency World
by John Williams
Recently a friend said to me, "John,
you must have dealt with your stuttering well because you are the most
talkative man I have ever met."
There are situation in which I am talkative. I am mindful of
the. And yet, there are situations in which I am also silent that
people think I am embarrassed to speak because I stutter. They
are wrong.
I do not like to stutter. It is embarrassing, and the more I
stutter the more physically tired I become. Fluency reverses the
negative physical affects of stuttering. Still, when I am silent,
in most circumstances, I am silent because I am listening,
learning and I have not thought of anything meaningful to say.
Still stuttering in a fluency world makes me stand out. People
still look at me strangely when I stutter. Some people still
ignore me. Some people praise me for being courageous. Some
people do not know how to react, and some people still try to finish
words or sentences for me. Finishing words or sentences for me is
a no, no, and I politely tell people I can speak for myself. And
so, as a person who stutters I live in a world of somes.
Having stuttered for close to 55 years, I can survive in a world with
people responding to me differently from the way they respond to others
who do not stutter.
I prefer being fluent because I can speak more. By being fluent,
others can speak more. By being fluent, people do not stare at
me. By being fluent, I have more energy and people listen to me.
I have strived for fluency for five and a half decades, and I have had
speech therapy many, many times. Sometimes, it has worked
temporarily. Reflecting upon the various therapies i was either
too immature to do the required therapy outside of the class or the
therapy was too outrageous that I could not bring myself to do it.
An example of an outrageous therapy was swinging my arms forward and
backward and simultaneously speaking in a rhythm. Another therapy
was speaking to a rhythm to the beat of my finger.
And yet, I have had success in using technology to give me fluency, not all the time, but most times.
Two years ago, I was reintroduced to the SpeechEasy (www.speecheasy.com).
I use it often, especially when I am doing an interview in person or by
telephone. It has made a major difference in my life.
The SpeechEasy is small and inconspicuous and easy to be used outside
of clinical environments. The philosophy behind the SpeechEasy
is based on a natural phenomenon called the "choral effect." The
"choral effect" occurs when people who stutter speak or sing in unison
with others and their stuttering is dramatically reduced or even
eliminated. This "choral effect" has been well documented for
decades; however it is only recently that scientists have been able to
recreate it in a small, wearable device for stuttering treatment that
can be used in everyday life.
SpeechEasy fluency devices are worn similar to a hearing aid, using
Altered Auditory Feedback. However, unlike hearing aids, rather
than amplify sound, SpeechEasy devices use a system of Altered
Auditory Feedback (AAF) to recreate and optimize the choral
effect. What this means is that when I wear a SpeechEasy device
and speak, my words are digitally replayed in my ear with a very slight
delay and frequency modification. As a result, the brain
perceives that it is speaking in unison with another person. This
perception of "speaking in unison" creates the "choral effect:, thus
becoming a stuttering treatment that can reduce or even eliminate
stuttering.
When I wear the SpeechEasy, people ask me, "how long have I been deaf?"
When I tell them I am not deaf, but I am wearing a fluency device and
then explain its benefits, I usually hear, "Good for you." I know
they mean it.
As part of the therapy, every morning and evening I read out loud for
10 minutes. I wear my SpeechEasy during this process. I
find this time relaxing and physically and psychologically uplifting.
My SpeechEasy has to be cleaned nightly I do it carefully.
My SpeechEasy runs on batteries. Each battery lasts about 50
hours, and I buy hearing aid batteries in packs of four for under $5.
My biggest problem with the SpeechEasy is too often I forget to take it with me. When I forget it, I am the loser.
The SpeechEasy works for me. I am grateful for it and for the fluency it gives me.
What Can They Do?
By John M. Williams
Ralph Waldo Emerson was noted for telling his students, "Don’t tell me what I know, tell me what I don’t know."
I urge employers to be guided by this rule when considering hiring an individual with a disability.
The infinite question employers asked me is, "What can an employee with a disability do?"
This is an easy, three-part question to answer.
The first step I say is read the biographies of John Milton (blind), Aristotle (speech-impaired), Ludwig von Beethoven (deaf), Greg Louganis (learning disabled), FDR (wheelchair user), Carly Simon, James Earl Jones, Annie Glenn, and James Stewart (stuttering), artist Frida Kahla (polio), Richard Branson, John Cambers, Charles Schwab (all learning disabled), Abraham Lincoln (manic depressive), singer Cher (learning disability), Dr. Frank G. Bowe (deaf), Joan of Arc (epilepsy), Vinton Cerf (hearing-impaired), Stephen Hawking (ALS) and Helen Keller (deaf-blind). This finite list can easily become infinite.
I tell employers that every century and every generation produces people with disabilities who excel. They acquit themselves because they have the ability, determination and discipline. Imagine how poorer the world would be without the successes of Aristotle, Milton, Lincoln, James Earl Jones, John Chambers, Helen Keller and others. History, I say, spends more time discussing the accomplishments of people with disabilities than their disabilities. And so, it is the person you must see, not the disability, when considering hiring a person with a disability.
Secondly, I say, imagine a world in which you are interviewing for a job you know you can do. And the person interviewing you has a disability. What is your response to being told, "Even though you have the ability, I won’t hire you because you don’t have a disability."
What are your reactions? Anger! Pain! Bitterness! You don’t want to experience that situation, so why put others through it?
The third part is discover the benefits of Information Technology to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act is a driving force in hardware and software accessible to people with disabilities. Microsoft’s VISTA has accessible features that allow individuals with disabilities to use it. Hewlett Packard, Canon USA, Adobe, IBM, Nokia, Verizon, and other manufacturers are building accessible features into their products. These products make employees with disabilities more productive and more efficient. These products tear down information walls that historically have prevented people with disabilities from being employed.
IT and Assistive Technologies equalize employment opportunities for employees with disabilities. Such technologies allow people with disabilities to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, teachers, entrepreneurs, hardware and software developers, nurses, telephone operators, accountants, engineers.
There are multiple resources available to employers to learn more about people with disabilities. They are the National Organization on Disability (www.nod.org), the American Association of People with Disabilities (www.appd-dc.org), Job Accommodation Network (www.jan.wvu.edu/www.jan.wvu.edu/) and the Office of Disabiliy Employment Policy (http://www.dol.gov/index.htm).
To learn more about Assistive technology products visit the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s web site www.atia.org).
John M. Williams has been writing about disability issues for 29 years. He coined the phrase Assistive Technology. He has written more then 1,500 articles on disability issues and is the author of "Assistive Technologies: Expanding a Universe of Opportunities for People with Disabilities."
USCRI Assists Refugees with Disabilities
by John Williams
According to Dawn Blankenship, program officer, Refugees with Disabilities, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (http://www.uscr.org/article.aspx?id=1438),
"In recent years there has been an increase in the number of newly
arrived refugees with disabilities resettled in communities throughout
the U.S."
Most refugees originate from areas where armed conflict, disease and
malnutrition are common, thereby making them more susceptible to
acquiring a disability.
For refugees born with a disability, treatment, services and access to
assistive technology to increase their capacity to participate fully in
life is frequently not available in their country of origin.
Newly arrived refugees with disabilities need information and services
related to living and working with their disabilities, however they are
challenged by such barriers as differences in culture and language,
lack of knowledge at the local resettlement agency, and a communication
gap between those individuals working in refugee resettlement and
mainstream disability programs and services.
Concerned about this trend and its implications to the futures of
refugees with disabilities, last year, USCRI established the Disabled
Refugees Program, with funding from the Office of Refugee Resettlement,
to address the needs of this population and those serving them.
In addition, the program seeks to bridge the gap between refugee
service providers and mainstream disability service providers and
advocates.
Blankenship says, "Accessing services such as employment or vocational
training, medical care and state and federal benefits programs can be
challenging for refugees with disabilities or care givers who are
unfamiliar with services available benefits.
The Disabled Refugees Program enhances refugees with disabilities understanding of their rights and available benefits.
The program seeks to enhance services to refugees with disabilities by:
increasing refugees' access to culturally
appropriate information related to disabilities. This activity
includes understanding benefits programs and accessing services to
increase their independence (e.g. rehabilitation services, special
education, mental health services and independent living skills.);
conducting outreach beyond the USCRI network to include all resettlement sites serving refugees with disabilities;
increasing refugee resettlement organizations and
promote dialogue with the refugee resettlements to improve service
provision and access for refugees with disabilities.
USCRI strengthens resettlement agencies and service providers capacity to serve all disabled refugees by:
surveying USCRI network of resettlement
organizations and collecting data on prevalence and frequency of
particular types of disabilities, needs of clients with disabilities
and current practices among service providers;
investigating, compiling and producing resources and disseminating these among local resettlement sites; and
providing technical assistance to help refugee
service providers enhance community orientation and case management for
refugee with disabilities.
USCRI obtained figures from the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) on the medical
conditions, disabilities arriving between FY2003-to-2006 were: 1,490
identified as having a mobility challenge, 221 had a visible
disability, 453 were blind, 147 had a speech impediment, 52 had a
communication disability, 300 were deaf and 89 were identified as being
learning disabled. The total is 2,732.
The results included individuals identified as deaf and blind, but
individuals identified as having vision or hearing loss were excluded
because USCRI did not know the extent that their disabilities impact
their lives.
Still, USCRI believes the reported numbers of refugees with
disabilities is low, therefore it is likely that health providers will
identify more refugees with disabilities post arrival. In fact,
PRM anticipates resettling 60,000 refugees in 2007. Up to a
minimum of 6,000 may have a disability, serious medical or mental
health issue when applying the estimate that 10% of the population has
a disability.
USCRI is developing resource guides, including one with information on
assistive technology products, for providers and refugees to ensure
that refugees with disabilities receive the support and services to
address their needs and promote their integration into their new
communities.
The Calls Keep Coming: The Anger Keeps Boiling
by John Williams
President George Bush, the Pentagon, Congress, Veterans Administration
and the American people know that the health care system for veterans
returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is broken into thousands of
pieces. The urgency required to pressure Congress to crack the
whip to fix the system appears fading. Despite the president's
promise to veterans several weeks ago during a visit to Walter Reed
Hospital to correct the problem, the problems are mounting, the anger
keeps boiling and the calls keep coming.
I am told there are three areas of rehabilitation challenging the
health care system for our veterans: physical rehabilitation
(prosthetics), cognitive (including mental health) and sensory.
On the surface, veterans appear to receive better care when it comes to
providing them with physical rehabilitation, rather than receiving
treatment for cognitive and sensory disabilities. Still the
quality care, according to veterans and family members I have spoken
to, for physical rehabilitation also is not where it could be,
especially when veterans leave major metropolitan area that have better
VA hospitals and better trained staff.
In the last three weeks, as I have for nearly three years, I have
received calls from people looking for information on assistive
technology products in the low vision, hard-of-hearing, cognitive and
speech areas. Veterans and their families are still complaining
that the therapists and counselors they are working with lack
information on the assistive technology products they think they
need. The seekers want action. They want their lives
back. Veterans, men and women with disabilities, believe AT
products can help them feel "whole again".
Recent calls from therapists/counselors looking for information to help
their patients with disabilities. They asked my, what is out
there? Surprise. Surprise! The therapists did not
even know who would pay for the AT products they needed by their
clients. I directed the callers to the Assistive Technology
Industry Association (www.atia.org) and to organization such as American Foundation for the Blind (www.afb.org), National Federation for the Blind (www.nfb.org), American Speech Language Hearing Association (www.asha.org), National Association of the Deaf (www.nad.org/), Easter Seals (www.easterseals.org/) and other organizations working on disability issues.
People, who contacted the organizations that I suggested, called me and thanked me for my assistance.
The wars in the Middle East are increasing the numbers of people with
disabilities here and there. The VA, Pentagon, DOD and agencies
working with veterans with disabilities need help. ATIA and
national and local organizations working on behalf of people with
disabilities should offer their expertise in the areas of assistive
technology, counseling and employment. Congress should
appropriated money to pay for this expertise.
The Pentagon, DOD, VA should also set up an international database on
AT manufacturers and market it. Does anyone want to give odds on
whether these agencies can afford it? We owe it also to people in
Iraq and Afghanistan fighting with us to guarantee they have access to
information on AT products.
It is important that the country give our veterans the best treatment
so they can feel whole again. We need to make access happen now
and not years and maybe decades from now.
My fellow Americans: are you listening?
UN Signs Treaty to Benefit People with Disabilities Worldwide
by John Williams
NY, NY - Opportunities for people with
disabilities and for assistive technology manufacturers were recently
provided an impetus to improve worldwide.
Last month at the United Nations' headquarters during a Convention on
the Rights of Personas with Disabilities, 86 member states and the
European Community signed a treaty to improve the lives of the world's
estimated 650 million people with disabilities.
The Convention outlaws discrimination against persona with disabilities
in all areas of life, including employment, education, health services,
transportation and access to justice.
Forty-five countries signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention,
which will give individuals recourse to an expert committee on the
rights of persons with disabilities when all national options have been
exhausted.
For assistive technology manufacturers hungering to expand their
markets, the treaty calls for member to provide accessible information
to persona with disabilities about mobility aids, devices and assistive
technologies, including new technologies, as well as other forms of
assistance, support services and facilities.
The treaty defines "reasonable accommodations" as necessary and
appropriate modification and adjustments, not imposing a significant
undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure persona with
disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It also defines "universal design" as the design of products,
environments and services to be useable by all people, to the greatest
extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized
design. It further states that "universal design" shall not
exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persona with
disabilities where this is needed.
The treaty requires that public spaces and buildings be accessible to
persona with disabilities, and calls for improvements to information
and communications infrastructure.
World Opinion
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told a press
briefing in New York that the drive and commitment of the disability
community was the greatest impetus behind the treaty's content and
relatively rapid adoption.
Yannis Vardakastanis of the International Disability Caucus called the
Convention "a very drastic paradigm shift in the way the international
community looks at disability."
He said the pact should bring real changes in the daily lives of people
living with disabilities, helping to take away the discrimination,
exclusion and obstacles they routinely face.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told a ceremony at UN
Headquarters in New York that "in three short years, the Convention
went from dream to reality" to become the first human rights treaty of
the century.
She added that fewer than 50 nations currently have specific
legislation protecting people with disabilities. "I know we can
do better," she said.
Addressing the same gathering, General Assembly President Sheikha Haya
Rashed Al Khalifa described the adoption of the Convention as "a
historic event not only for person with disabilities, but also for the
promotion of the human rights agenda at the Untied Nations."
UN Deputy Secretay-General Asha-Rose Migiro said when he delivered his remarks opening the signature portion of the convention.
"of course, ratification has to be followed by vigorous implementation
and oversight at the national and local levels. Only then will
the real benefits of this legislation be felt by millions of persons
with disabilities through the world. Only then will our own
high expectations prove truly justified."
The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly last December.
The treaty marks a sea of change in t the perception of persona with
disabilities, with an emphasis on empowering people to play a greater
role in decisions that affect them.
The Convention dies not call on budget-strapped governments to pay for
things they cannot afford. But it sets out minimum measures to
respect basic human dignity, as well as longer-term goals to achieve
full integration.
Twenty countries must ratify the Convention before it enters into
force, and United Nations officials believe that number can be reached
during 2007.
