Slide 1
Welcome the 2008 Accessible Technology Webinar Series
Accessible Technology 
And Employment
Monday May 19th
Reprint Permission Required 
Contact Janet at jpete@uic.edu (800) 949-4232
DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center

Slide 2
Accessible Technology 
in Employment & 
the Work Place
Anthony Tusler
AboutDisability
http://www.AboutDisability.com

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Today
•	Background issues & solutions
•	Benefits to employing people with disabilities
•	Accommodating the individual

Slide 4
Today
•	Corporate supports
•	Corporate processes
•	Leveraging the corporation
•	Regulations and guidelines

Slide 5
NOD 2004 Lou Harris Poll
•	Only 35 percent of people with disabilities employed full or part time, compared to 78 percent.
•	Three times as many live in poverty with annual household incomes below $15,000 (26 percent versus 9 percent).

http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=31

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Access basics
•	Seeing
•	Moving
•	Hearing
•	Thinking

Jim Tobias, Inclusive Technologies

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Laws
•	ADA, Title I
•	sec 508 of Disability Act
•	http://www.section508.gov
•	State codes & regulations

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Guidelines
•	WAI http://www.W3.org/WAI
•	CEN/CENELEC draft guidelines
PDF
•	Company policies
•	Vendors’ policies

Slide 9
Universal design
•	Center for Universal Design
http://design.ncsu.edu/cud/
•	Universal Design Education Online
http://www.udeducation.org/
•	Design for All Europe
http://www.designforalleurope.org/Design-for-All/

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People with disabilities in the workforce

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Benefits for employees
•	Productivity
•	Knowledge of work
•	Ability to contribute
•	Quality of work
•	Commitment
•	Self worth

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Benefits for employers
•	Hiring and retaining qualified workers
•	http://www.dol.gov/odep/

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Individual Accommodations
From ODEP Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/misc/job.htm

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Notify employees 

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Facilitate requests

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Analyze jobs

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Identify functional limitations 

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Determine potential accommodations 

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Determine reasonable solutions 

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Make the accommodation 

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Monitor effectiveness

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Collaborate 
	Teach how to provide useful feedback
	Just like test pilots

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Accommodation Resources

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Mentors

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Employee groups

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Accessibility champion

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Company 508 policies

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Vendor 
•	Accessibility Champion
•	Other customers
•	Small, proprietary systems are most problematic

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Additional resources
•	Department of Vocational Rehab
•	Local experts
•	Non-profit & for-profit agencies

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WWW resources
•	Microsoft Enable
•	Oracle
•	www.section508.gov
•	JAN, Job Accommodation Network
	& there’s always the CSUN Annual Conference

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Hiring & accommodation  process

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Advertising position

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Interviewing & selecting

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Offering job
•	Information about formal and informal accommodations
•	Provide request forms and process

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Training
•	Provide equipment and/or services if requested
•	Ask about learning style
•	Be proactive by observing potential needs & asking questions

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Supervising
•	Gauge usefulness of accommodation
•	Monitor ongoing use
•	Seek feedback
•	Set appropriate level of expectation—neither too high or low

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Performance evaluation
•	If 360° ask about provision of accommodations
•	Opportunity to provide feedback on employees’ use of accommodations
•	Set goals that include accommodations
•	Head, heart, stomach

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Regulations & guidelines
•	ADA, Title I
•	Diversity in the Workplace
•	508
•	Universal Design
•	WCAG 2.0
•	WAI

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Accessibility 
in the Organization

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Accessibility Champion’s Manual
	How to Create Disability Access to Technology:
Best Practices in Electronic & Information Technology Companies

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Profit
	Any process, procedure, accommodation, or action should contribute to the bottom line of the company.

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Accessibility Champion
•	Find someone with passion         
•	Use community organizing strategies
•	Learn about disability

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Value Disability & 
People with Disabilities
•	Include people with disabilities in all stages and steps
•	Be sophisticated about choosing consultants & informants
•	Guard against designing by mistaken assumption

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Recognize 
the Disability Market
•	Identify current, accurate statistics
•	Use current laws to motivate company
•	Tie access to mainstream

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Transform Your Company
•	Develop a strategic plan
•	Fit strategy to company culture, values, & structure
•	Hire people with disabilities

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Incorporate
Universal Design
	Universal design principles are compelling arguments for creating accessibility.

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Market, Market, Market
	Make sure you’re the people in your company or organization hears about accessibility, accommodations, and the progress being made 

Slide 48
Thank You
Anthony Tusler
AboutDisability
707 795-0515
ATusler@AboutDisability.com
http://www.AboutDisability.com 

Slide 49
Please Evaluate This Session!
formdesk.com/idealgroupinc/dbtac_evaluation_form_1 
Send Comments or Suggestions to 
Janet at jpete@uic.edu (800) 949-4232
DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center