Using ICT for freedom

When I was asked by the Global Disability Innovation Hub to join a panel for their INPACT project exploring the importance of ICT (information communication technology) for disabled people it gave me a chance to reflect on how much I use technology and why I think it is really important for the disabled community.

Let’s start by talking about what ICT is. In this blog we’ll be thinking about it in the broadest possible terms, including the equipment people are using, those adaptions that make it accessible and the software that is used to access information.

Check out the complex map below of what ICT for educational assessment could include!

By Paily, M.U. - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

How I use ICT

I have been using a wheelchair for the last 17 years. It’s the best piece of assistive technology I could ask for. The freedom and independence it gives me is probably unfathomable to a lot who see it as a hindrance. Consider the alternative of me not having a wheelchair leaving me anchored to the ground and it becomes clear why my wheelchair is so important.

My wheelchair allows me to get to the places that I want to go. Having the skills to get around means that I can navigate most environments with confidence. But like most people, I don’t rely on just one piece of assistive technology.

ICT is so ingrained in our daily lives that it can be easy to forget just how reliant we are on it. Some of the websites we visit or apps we use are playing a fundamental part of daily living, they also however have the potential to play a disproportionately positive role in the lives of disabled people, acting as a tool that improves navigating an inaccessible world.

As a wheelchair user, there are things that are going to be situations that lack of access makes more difficult and time consuming. I’m not going to be given any more time in the day, so I want tools to make processes easier.

Everyday technology

ICT wakes me up every morning when my alarm plays the music that I’ve programmed. The alarm has been set depending on what I have in my calendar for the day. I’ll be using my calendar to find out where my next meeting is located (which could be virtual) and using Google maps to find the accessible route on public transport to get there. Maybe I will need to find an accessible restaurant to eat at on the way. All the time posting on social media about my day.

Whether it’s travel (both domestic and international), shopping, entertainment, education or research into whether certain activities are going to be accessible, the ability to access the information and services that I need is something that I rely heavily on IT for.

Bringing a community together

One more point that I feel needs to be highlighted is the way ICT can connect the disabled community. When I’m out in the community, ignoring the times when I’m connecting with specific disability related work, it is very rare that I see another wheelchair user let alone get the opportunity to speak to them. But technology can open up a new line of communication to a peer community that are dealing with similar situations that we are.

Whether it’s how to repair something on my wheelchair that I haven’t done before or if it’s looking at a new venue that I plan on visiting, I’m much more likely to take advice from another wheelchair user and have confidence in what they are telling me will be useful in whatever it is that I’m trying to achieve.

ICT play a crucial role in bringing a community together and supporting people who are feeling isolated. That’s why when I set up my social enterprise, The Wheelchair Skills College, in order to take wheelchair skills out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible, I set up a website and social media channels to give wheelchair users access to information and skills that they could use.

Future of ICT

More recently, I co-authored a paper that explored learning wheelchair skills through immersive visual learning. Using motion trackers, we mapped out the movements when practising wheelchair skills and used them to build a virtual exoskeleton. This technology has various applications, my favourite of which is that a user could overlay an avatar of their choice onto the exoskeleton so they can see someone who represents them, maybe themselves, demonstrating how the skills are done.

But accessing the information that can make life easier isn’t always that simple. The digital divide means that while some disabled people are able to remove access barriers by using this equipment, the chance to use these tools are not available to everyone.

Working is different charities over the last 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of access issues caused by software or hardware that isn’t compatible with user needs, whether it be the physical build of the equipment or a programme with an overly complicated user interface.

As a wheelchair user, I’m still waiting for something that means I can use my phone while I’m pushing my wheelchair. Improvements in wireless technology means that using air pods make it possible to take calls, but what about all the other visual features that I want to access on my phone. I want ways to access all the other features on my phone on the move, instead of stopping to look at my phone before moving on again.

Digital divide

There is still a long way to go to to remove the digital divide and the experiences that I’ve talked about are personal experiences and not reflective of the breadth or depth of the full divide when people are prevented from using technology through lack of funds to access the equipment, knowledge on how to use it or the physical accessibility of it.

When I look at the inaccessibility in the world of ICT, I see a plethora of missed opportunities. If companies were to create a fully inclusive design process where people with lived experience are included at every stage of the process, using their lived experience to include accessible features from the inception of an idea, it would ensure the production of a higher quality product that serves a larger market.

The value of what lived experience can bring to the design process needs to be recognised and budgeted for accordingly. It’s unreasonable to expect disabled people to give their expertise for no remuneration when the product and in turn the company will benefit from their input. While there are organisations that recognise and pay for these expertise, often it isn’t entered as a line on the budget when costing product development.

How would making the design process more inclusive impact everyday life? We have seen so many times that when you make things more accessible it benefits wider society beyond those people who have access needs. So when you make these changes you create more access for disabled and non-disabled people alike.