Disability, Technology and Accessibility

In this episode, I interview David Banes, an experienced disability accessibility consultant, who has worked for many years in research and development and as a practitioner providing technology support to disabled people. I start with a discussion around the language used to talk about the notions of disability and impairment. Many people are unsure whether to use such terms as 'people with disabilities'; 'disabled people'; 'handicapped' and so on and we address this issue directly, pointing out that self-identification and identity are most important. We consider the political context in which language is used and how it changes over time, a topic of interest to socio-linguists and students alike. We then go on to consider the history of technological developments which have at first assisted and now provided inclusive access to communication technologies. We talk further about the importance of inclusive design so that emerging technologies take disabled people's needs into consideration as products are being conceived, so that they can use them accessibly and easily. This is commercially a far cheaper way of developing usable products for everyone, rather trying to retro-fit them after they have been released because some people have trouble using them. Although largely a visual medium not best suited to a podcast, David Banes also talks about his work with symbol systems which are providing communication access to millions of people around the world and how these should be developed in the cultural and linguistic communities in which they are to be used. We consider the role of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in supporting the communication needs of everyone, as well as wearable technologies, inclusive design for the future and the Internet of Things. David Banes is Director of David Banes Access and Inclusion Services and co-founder of Global symbols, having previously led assistive technology services in Europe and the Middle East. He now works across the globe including projects in Africa and South Asia to support access infrastructure from policy to practice. He has a special interest in emerging technologies and the impact upon people with a disability, including the use of AI to augment communication, emerging technologies and mobility and the use of innovation to build resilient AT and AAC services during the pandemic. David writes regularly on the tools and techniques and recent publications include emerging technologies and the impact on universal design for learning, economic return on investment in AT, and the potential impact of frugal innovation on provision of assistive products. He can be contacted via a range of social media including: Twitter@davebanesaccess Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebanesaccess/ Facebook www.facebook.com/accessandinclusion Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/Davebanesaccess/ YouTube www.youtube.com/davebanesaccess Medium https://davebanesaccess.medium.com/ Global Symbols Project https://globalsymbols.com/ Or via his websites www.davebanesaccess.org www.globalsymbols.com For more information on this podcast series or to discuss any of the matters raised in this particular episode, please contact me directly at [email protected]