Making Computers Accessible by Petrick Elizabeth R

Author:Petrick, Elizabeth R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2015-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988

As the disability rights movement surged forward, newly energized by a population of college-aged adults with disabilities who had grown up reaping the benefits of disability rights legislation from the 1970s, activists and proponents within the federal government pushed for the passage of two significant pieces of legislation: the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (Tech Act) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Tech Act is not included in most histories of the disability rights movement. It was smaller and more specifically focused than the ADA, dealing only with assistive technology for people with disabilities. It offered grants to states to get technology to people who might need it. The Tech Act may also receive less notice because it was uncontroversial and passed through Congress quickly and with bipartisan support. However, it was a vital piece of legislation for disability-and-technology advocates, who frequently wrote about it in their own materials. It provided federal funding to programs that helped connect people with disabilities and assistive technologies to benefit them. It also allowed groups, such as the ATA, to work directly with government agencies and receive funding for larger projects. The Tech Act promoted accessible technology through its system of dissemination, providing resources and information for organizations that worked with users.

In Congress, those who supported the Tech Act were usually people who had personal connections with disability rights. Tom Harkin, the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on the Handicapped, introduced the bill. Harkin, whose brother was deaf, was a major proponent of disability rights and the only U.S. senator proficient in American Sign Language. He described the passage of the Tech Act: “Following two days of testimony on how technology has already helped the disabled to lead productive lives, it became clear that America needs a comprehensive, responsive, and coordinated system to stimulate new developments and make them accessible and affordable to disabled people.”15 The Tech Act created this new system of technological development and accessibility by encouraging and funding programs at the state level that provided assistive technology and training for people with disabilities. The bill defined assistive technology as any device “that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.”16 These devices included off-the-shelf and customized technologies.

Disability rights legislation passed during the 1960s and 1970s made the argument that technology provides access to social participation for people with disabilities and that technological accommodations are necessary for equal opportunities in society. The Tech Act followed in the footsteps of these earlier laws and was based on findings that technology was a necessary part of people’s lives and, in particular, enabled people with disabilities to

(A) have greater control over their own lives;

(B) participate in and contribute more fully to activities in their home, school, and work environments, and in their communities;

(C) interact to a greater extent with nondisabled individuals; and

(D) otherwise benefit from opportunities that are taken for granted by individuals who do not have disabilities.

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