Last Friday morning, representatives from industry, government, and the disability community, gathered in our nation’s Capitol building in Washington, DC, for Apps4Access!  In honor of the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and with support from AT&T, the Committee on Disability Power & Pride hosted a demonstration expo and panel discussion of how innovative technologies are improving accessibility.

So why are “apps” so important to the disability community?  Paul Schroeder of the American Foundation for the Blind explained that the entire world is talking about apps and people with disabilities also want to participate in this revolution.  Furthermore, these apps are often incredibly useful.  Panelists from organizations like American Association of People with Disabilities, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Alzheimer’s Association, added that apps are being used for things like speech to text, calendar reminders, visual communication, and so much more.  These apps benefit not only the consumers themselves, but also families, businesses, and others, seeking to improve interaction and communication with the disability community.

NextGenWeb will be posting footage of the panel in its entirety, but in the meanwhile, check out these interviews with leaders in the world of accessibility innovation, including a demo of the latest in Braille technology.

Karen Peltz Strauss – Deputy Chief of the Consumer Information Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Anita Aaron of the World Institute on Disability (WID) and Susan Mazrui of AT&T

Demo of the Alva Braille Controller from President and Founder of Flying Blind, LLC, Larry Lewis Jr.

Brian Fontes, PhD, the Chief Executive Officer for the National Emergency Number Association

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