Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies: Key Policy Issues, Barriers and Opportunities for People with Disabilities

While wireless communication and other information linked technologies have rapidly achieved widespread levels of adoption, a significant array of stakeholder groups have been effectively excluded, not by as much by active intent as by inadvertent oversight and lack of awareness. Many of these technologies routinely used by the general population are frequently inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Barriers to the use of these technologies by people with varying disabilities may be subtle and unintentional, but never the less very real. This paper presents preliminary results of policy research designed to develop a framework for assessing the status quo, developing inclusive policy initiatives, and evaluating the efficacy of the research approach.