Deafblind Slate 'Senseless' Tech
From: BBC News - 06/27/2005
By: Geoff Adams-Spink

A new survey conducted by the British charity Sense polled the deafblind
community and found that nearly half of the respondents reported trouble
using common technologies such as remote controls, mobile phones, and washing
machines. Common complaints highlighted the ongoing reduction in the size of
phones and the small print of instruction manuals, both of which pose
difficulties for the blind, as well as inattentive service when shopping for
electronics. While the deafblind are a relatively small group, their insight
offers the potential for a broader application to the much larger community
of those afflicted with only one of the conditions, according to Lucy
Drescher and Nick Southern, authors of the report. "Technology that works
well for them will also work well for millions of people with either hearing
or sight impairments." Citing the increase in this demographic brought on by
an aging population, Sense endorsed simple steps such as canvassing the
deafblind community for design advice, incorporating assisting tools such as
larger buttons and prominent color contrasts, and placing larger, easier to
read screens on devices such as mobile phones. 

Read the entire article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4619769.stm

Links:
Campaign for recognition of deafblindness in Europe
http://www.deafblindinternational.org/recog/campineuro.htm

Sense
http://www.sense.org.uk/

Senseless Technology!
http://www.sense.org.uk/campaignnews/news/latest/senselesstech.htm