Date: Friday, December 6, 2013
Category: General
What is it like for people with intellectual disabilities to use web-based job tools, and how can this be made easier? RESNA's PEAT project is co-hosting a national online dialogue with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) during December 9-20, which will aim to answer these and other questions related to the "cognitive accessibility" of job-related information and communications technology.
Members of the public are invited to participate in the virtual dialogue by sharing their own technology experiences and submitting their ideas, comments and votes on potential solutions. Workers with intellectual disabilities, cognitive issues, and traumatic brain injury are particularly encouraged to participate.
While numerous accessibility standards exist to ensure that websites and online activities are accessible to people with physical or sensory disabilities, less attention is paid to the needs of workers with intellectual disabilities, cognitive issues, traumatic brain injuries or other disabilities that can make using the Internet challenging.
The upcoming dialogue, which is powered by leading-edge, accessible crowdsourcing tools, seeks to examine the accessibility challenges experienced by people with these disabilities and ways to make workplace-related technology more usable.
PEAT, the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology, is a multi-faceted initiative working to advance the employment, retention and career advancement of people with disabilities through the development, adoption and promotion of accessible technology. PEAT is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), and is managed by RESNA with partners Inclusive Techologies, Syracuse University's Burton Blatt Institute, and Concepts Communications, Inc. For more information, visit www.peatworks.org.
ASAN, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization run by and for Autistic people. ASAN's supporters includes Autistic adults and youth, cross-disability advocates, and non-autistic family members, professionals, educators and friends. ASAN was created to provide support and services to individuals on the autism spectrum while working to educate communities and improve public perceptions of autism. For more information, visit www.autisticadvocacy.org.
To register for and participate in the online dialogue, visit http://ASAN-PEATePolicyWorks.ideascale.com.