Week 4: Communication Impairments

For many of us, the World Wide Web has been an integral part of our lives for some time now. Between researching information to networking with friends and family; is it an integral and necessary tool for navigating arenas such as "education, employment, government, commerce, health care, social networking, and recreation," (Bryen et al., 2010, p. 21). It is not however, accessible to everyone. I am not referencing individuals who cannot afford a computer, or lack connectivity to the Internet, but rather those with communication impairments so severe, that navigating a mouse, trackpad, or keyboard is impossible. Bryen et al. discuss how activities and maneuvers that we take for granted "may be particularly difficult for those who utilize head pointers, joysticks, or switches because they cannot operate a mouse or trackball," (Bryen et al., 2010, p. 22). Even mouse emulation they explain is inefficient and inaccurate (Bryen et al., 2010, p. 22). In their study, they pilot a program called WebAAccess, which they describe as an overlay for typical websites that assign a two character alpha-numeric code to individual links on a webpage. Instead of "tabbing" through hundreds of options then, individuals can more quickly and efficiently navigate any website when they apply this overlay.

In my class room I have my students navigate websites like regentsprep.org or fafsa.gov, often to help teach and convey content. A program like WebAAccess would help students with communication impairments (and even fine motor impairments!) navigate the same sites as their peers. I would be very interested to try this program out for myself, to test its ease and intuitiveness.










References

Bryen, D., Heake, G., Semenuk, A., & Segal, M. (2010). Improving Web Access for Individuals who Rely on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. AAC: Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 26(1), 21-29. doi:10.3109/07434610903561654