Moore and Martin (2011) provide an illustration of challenges individuals with disabilities face in the USA. Politicians, officials, and business people claim they are committed to achieving the heist level of diversity. Nonetheless, people with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups who are often ignored and neglected. It is reported that almost 70% of people with disabilities were unemployed in 2009 (Moore & Martin, 2011). Clearly, this trend has to be changed.
Luckily, a number of organizations focus on the needs of disabled persons and their needs. For instance, the American Association of People with Disabilities is a non-profit organization that concentrates on the rights of people with disabilities. These people can address the organization for consultancy services as well as assistance in their fight for their rights. The Arizona Bridge to Independent Living is a national non-profit corporation that provides a variety of services for people with disabilities. The services include (but are not confined to) peer support, instructions on independent living skills, home modification, and self-advocacy. The Protection and Advocacy System is a national network of agencies that provide people with disabilities with consultancy services and assistance in accessing equal rights in public services as well as employment opportunities. Hire Heroes USA is a non-profit organization that provided services to veterans with disabilities aimed at assisting these people in landing good jobs. The National Organization on Disability is a national non-profit organization that concentrates on all aspects of the life of people with physical or mental impairment.
Apart from organizations working on providing services and support to people with disabilities, there are organizations concentrating on the development and provision of technology services to people with mental and physical impairments. For instance, the Alliance for Technology Access is a national non-profit organization that provides services and technology to help people with disabilities to accommodate the home, work environment with a specific focus on communication technologies. Interestingly, apart from providing services directly to people with disabilities, the American Foundation for the Blind collaborates with companies producing technologies for people with sight impairments to make their products more accessible. The Center for Accessible Technology is an organization that focuses on the use of computer technology by people with disabilities. The organization provides consultancy services to people with disabilities as well as companies that want to achieve true diversity by employing people with physical or mental impairments. The Infinite Potential Through Technology (also referred to as Infinitec) is an association focusing on providing services to increase access to technology for children with learning disabilities. The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication is an organization that concentrates on promoting innovations in technology aimed at improving the quality of life of people with speech impairments.
As seen from the case of Dr. Edwards, technology may help people with disabilities improve the quality of their life as the qualified educator was able to teach online as well as with the help of a voice synthesizer (Moore & Martin, 2011). Apart from voice synthesizers, a variety of devices can help people with disabilities to help them feel comfortable and complete their tasks at the working place. For instance, a keyguard can be a way-out for people who have issues with coordination as this device helps them strike the necessary key. Computer technology assists greatly. Thus, speech output systems can be used by people with sight impairments, and Braille keyboards are available to them to type.
Reference List
Moore, M.E., & Martin, C.L. (2011). Professor on wheels: A case of disability and diversity. In C. Harvey & M. Allard (Eds.), Understanding and managing diversity (pp. 158-165). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.