Key issues to consider when designing for people with disabilities - Essay Example

‘People with disabilities have historically been marginalised in education, employment and community living’ (Key, 2001). This sector must be recognized as having potential to success, hand in hand with the rest of the population and having the ability of contributing substantially to the overall development of the society and nation as a whole. The rapid advancement of technology has facilitated a wide ranging scope of enabling the people with disability, giving them a strong platform to prove that they are not disabled but differently abled persons, under different circumstances, whose potential when fully exploited, can make a visible impact on the socio-economic scenario of the nation.

The various enabling factors, facilitated by the emerging technologies, especially in the field of computers and information technology, have proved a milestone in the lives of the people with disabilities. They have restored the faith in the vast potential that was hitherto hidden and provided them with a means to achieve socio-economic independence, giving them self respect and a future to look forward to. It is therefore, no wonder that computers have been considered as one of the most important inventions of the century.

Sensitization is a very important tool in creating appropriate atmosphere that would promote and inculcate the concept of equality and an innate sense of expectation from this sector as is the normal practice. To achieve this objective, necessity of the hour is designing a computer system that would promote the cause of enabling the persons with disability so that they can gain self respect by becoming financially independent. Hence the key issues that must be taken into account while designing and developing the system constitute very important aspect of the system itself.

The following issues may be considered as highly relevant to the design and development of computer system which would