Press Release October 27, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
eSight Members Tell What Employers
Need to Know About Adaptive Technology
(New York City, NY - October 27, 2006) The members of eSight Careers Network have collaborated online to provide employers with a quick reference about how adaptive technology helps them function as productive employees in today's mainstream workplaces.
As an October 2006 National Disability Employment Awareness Month initiative, the eSight Networking Forum asked participants during the month what they thought employers needed to know how adaptive technology has changed the way they live and work.
See "Advances in Adaptive Technology: What eSight Members Say Employers Need to Know," a summary article about the discussion.
The article includes personal stories from eSight members about the progress they've seen in adaptive technology and the challenges they face in showing employers how they can function with the aid of that technology in the workplace.
A third section of the article provides a list of 27 resources which trace the development of adaptive technology (particularly for those with visual impairments) and show the range of adaptive technologies and services available today.
During the last 30 years (and especially during the last 15), advances in adaptive technology have created greater opportunities for people with disabilities to communicate, learn, participate and work so they can live independently.
Peter, for instance, a business consultant and one of the eSight members who participated in the October discussion, points out, "Assistive technology has exponentially increased my productivity."
Helen, another participant, writes:
"Adaptive technology has torn down many of the barriers to the workplace and, with the advent of assistive devices such as talking microwaves and thermometers for the home, people with disabilities can live and work more independently."
Yet, in the U.S., employment among people with visual impairments is just over 30 percent, a level which hasn't changed much since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990.
Here's how Liz, another eSight member, reacts to that employment statistic:
"The world doesn't adapt to us; we adapt to the world, and so we have to get better at talking about our strengths and weaknesses and what adaptive technology we'll need and how it works and how it can fit into an employer's situation."
She offers this specific suggestion:
"Now that computer flat screens are less expensive and JAWS or ZoomText can be built into computers (including laptops), visually impaired and blind people need to take the initiative and show employers during job interviews that being limited in sight doesn't have to limit their employability for work."
The full discussion about how adaptive technology has changed lives is available on eSight Networking Forum.
The Associated Blind, Inc., a 68-year-old non-profit organization, has been providing members of eSight Careers Network opportunities to collaborate on disability employment issues through accessible online discussions and resource building since October 2000.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Source: The Associated Blind, Inc.
Contact: Nancy O'Connell
Tel: (+1) 212 683-4950
E-mail: MemberServices@eSight.org Online community:
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