20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the ADA has been described as the Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities by setting benchmarks for equal opportunity, participation, independence, self-sufficiency and economic empowerment.
In the spirit of the event, what follows are some recent links that bind the concepts of digital innovation with emerging barrier-free inclusive design. Enjoy:
- A 2010 gap survey of Americans with disabilities presents some interesting data. Among the findings are the 85% of adults without disabilities access the Internet, compared to 54% of adults with disabilities reporting the same. This represents a gap of 31 percentage points.
- The Department of Justice today published four advance notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRMs) in the Federal Register. The intention is to seek public comment on the following topics: Internet, film captioning/video descriptions, 911 emergency services and equipment/furniture.
- Dennis Lembree, creator of the fantastically awesome Accessible Twitter, pointed me in the direction of these Android accessibility standards. Great primer for those just starting out in mobile.
- Apple this week patented a “shape-shifting” device interface that translates a 2D screen to a three-dimensional spatial interface. The idea is to advance touchscreen technology to something more topographic and configurable. Can’t wait to see how this one plays out.
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