Technology for Disabled Folks
Electronic Design: July 21, 1997 - page 48K

The Electronics Industries Foundation (EIF) and Inclusive Technologies have
received grants from the Dole Foundation for the Employment of People With
Disabilities and the Telecommunications Funding Partnership for People With
Disabilities to give the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) usable
marketing data about consumers with disabilities. The audience for the data
are member companies of the EIA. The survey is expected to be completed, and
available to the industry in the near future. 

Project results also are expected to provide useful information about the
impact of functional limitations on the use of consumer electronics,
including telecommunications equipment, by disabled persons. 

The project team will extract the information from a US Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) survey released last fall and a follow-up study that
was released this past April. The report will incorporate demographic
findings from both the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research Center on Disability Statistics. 

These sources hold a wealth of information on more than 20,000 Americans who
live at home and describe themselves as having some kind of disability. The
data includes the types of disabilities they have, the kinds of limitations
they experience, and the everyday activities in which they take part. EIF and
Inclusive Technologies will extract, analyze, and put the information, for
the first time, into the kind of market segmentation format the industry can
use to help design new products. 

An advisory group of representatives from the electronics and
telecommunications industries, along with the federal agencies that will be
providing the data, will help the study team identify the points that the
industry must focus on, and package them as useful information. The results
are expected to be published and disseminated to the entire industry upon
completion in the Fall. 

EIF is the philanthropic sector of the Electronic Industries Association, the
major trade organization of electronics manufacturers in the United States.
It performs public service work for the association through education, skills
development, training, and the creation of opportunities for physically
challenged individuals. One of the major goals of the foundation is to link
the design of consumer electronics with the needs of persons with functional
limitations. 

Inclusive Technologies is a consulting firm that provides market research and
analytic services in the fields of telecommunications and information
technology, focusing on disabled and elderly veterans. 

For more information on the joint project, or to obtain the results, contact
the EIF, 2500 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201-3834; 703/907-7500; fax
703/907-7501, or Inclusive Technologies, 334 Main St., Suite 141, Matawan, NJ
07747; 908/441-0831; fax 908/441-0832.