Disabled Can Increase Employment Opportunities With Assistive Technology
Among the people who benefit most from innovative online technologies are the disabled. The profoundly deaf can communicate as easily by email as the general population. People with mobility problems can without difficulty conference via Skype or other video service. But according to one estimate, only half of people with disabilities have adopted broadband.
This non-adoption affects more than just personal communication. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics information, people with disabilities have approximately double the rate of unemployment as do Americans overall.
There have been recent efforts to close the gap. One year ago, said one report, President Obama "offered a variety of solutions, including "virtual" workspaces, underscoring the importance of broadband-enabled technologies to connecting people with disabilities to new job opportunities."
Broadband Expanded also noted that there are technologies being developed to assist the severely disabled. "One notable example is Tobii eye-control technology, which allows a person to control an electronic device using only their eyes."
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