HCI and Users With Disabilities
Alistair D N Edwards
- Department of Computer Science
- University of York
- York
- England
- YO1 5DD
- phone: +44 1904 432775
- email: alistair@minster.york.ac.uk
Keywords
Disability, design-for-all, adapted interfaces, legislation, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Summary
If you think of interfaces you have designed or built, how well do users who are blind get on with accessing them? What about people who cannot use keyboards, because of a manual impairment? If you have never asked these questions, perhaps you should. If for no other reason, legislation now exists which requires that suppliers of computer equipment must be able to demonstrate that it can be used by people with disabilities. The purpose of this SIG will be to bring together people asking those sorts of questions with those who have been trying to answer them.
CHI has a good record of sponsoring events related to users with disabilities (panels, tutorials, papers); CHI attendees have a bad record for turning up to them. However, it is no longer tenable to assume that the needs of users with disabilities will be catered for by someone else; 'design for all' must be taken literally.
CHI '96 is going to be a particularly good opportunity to address these questions since it is being held back-to-back with the ACM Assets Conference on Assistive Technologies. The SIG will foster cross-over between the group.
Issues
- Can designing for users with special needs improve designs for all users?
- How can interface designers find out about how to make their interfaces more accessible to people with disabilities?
- Are there mainstream techniques and principles which can be applied to improve the design of adapted interfaces?
- How does one convince a commercial company that it should expend resources in accommodating a small minority of potential users?
- What are the implications of legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act?
- Will developments in multi-modal interfaces erect new barriers or provide new opportunities?
- What are the roles of organizations such as ACM and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)?
Format
It is assumed that there will be a pool of expertise within the attendees. The leader's role will therefore be as a chair, to catalyse discussion. Those taking part who so consent will be included in a list to be circulated to all attendees so that there will be scope for following up and keeping in touch beyond the conference.
