In 2006, Canada had approximately 4.4 million people with disabilities or approximately 14.3% of the total population. By 2036, the number of people with disability is expected to double to 8.7 million Canadians (approximately 20% of the population) [www.marsdd.com]. It is evident that, in the coming decades, accessibility and inclusive design will play a critical role in ensuring all members of society can participate to their full potential.
The Canadian government, particularly in the provincial government of Ontario, is at the forefront of accessibility awareness. Thanks to the groundbreaking legislation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which was introduced in 2005, organizations and businesses have been trying to remove barriers for people with disabilities to participate in their workplaces and communities.
To achieve the goal to eliminate accessibility barriers, the provincial government of Ontario has created a set of standards that organizations and businesses have to fully implement by 2025. These standards aim to ensure that all Ontarians can take part in everyday activities — such as working, studying, using public transportation, Internet access, and many other activities.
Ontario has a lot planned for the future of accessibility laws and standards, as seen above. However, standards aren’t always effective, since they usually just set a bare minimum without truly engaging the developers and designers, and can also fixate on technical specification rather than the full human experience. We decided to get a more in-depth picture of the future for accessibility by interviewing three experts.
90% of Canadians believe that people with disabilities are not fully included in society.*
We conducted three interviews hoping to get of glimpse of a more accessible future, from the perspective of three experts – a user, a developer, and a researcher. Each of them plays an important role in the design process, and we imagined that each would have a unique and insightful vision of what a more inclusive future would look like. We also hoped to gain insight on what exactly society lacked today in terms of accessibility, and how to fix these issues. While each expert came from a different background, we were surprised to find that they shared many ideas and had an overall positive outlook.
The Experts/Leaders
Kim Kilpatrick
Founder and Coordinator of GTT
The Experts/LeadersKim started Get Together with Technology (GTT) in 2011 and it has since spread to over 20 locations nationwide. It is a group which seeks to engage people with low vision and new forms of technology, such as mobile phones and tablets. They also are active within the research and development community, often providing feedback and advice on the accessibility of new products.
David Berman
Accessible Design Thinker, UN advisor on IT accessibility, GDC ethics chair.
David Berman has over 30 years of experience in inclusive design; He strongly believes we can include everyone, without tradeoffs. As an author (Do Good Design [Pearson, 2013]), expert speaker, and strategist, his work has brought him to over 50 countries. David is a high-level advisor to the United Nations on accessible web design thinking. He’s chair of the Carleton Access Network at Carleton U. He serves on the ISO committee for accessible PDA. https://davidberman.com/
Motjaba Ahmadi
Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
His research interests are in robotic analysis, design, and control; machine and biological locomotion; mechatronics, linear and nonlinear control; simulation, virtual reality, distributed and real-time control. And the application of those research is for: Robotic rehabilitation and assistive devices for human locomotion; Application of robotic systems to aerospace, aeronautics, flight simulators and wind tunnel testing; Robotic and mechatronic systems analysis and design for special applications.
Future of Accessible Design – Case Studies
Expert User’s Perspective: Kilpatrick’s vision of the future ranges from better training for store staff to using automation to help people with low vision to better navigate indoor spaces.
Developer’s Perspective: Berman’s vision is to work together to help society move forward and create a civilization.
Researcher’s Perspective: Amahdi’s vision of the future is an innovative perspective on future accessibility issues in relation to assistive devices technology.
Future Outlook
The purpose of these interviews was to identify similarities and differences in how a user, developer, and researcher conceptualize the future of accessibility. We found that despite their distinct backgrounds, the three experts came up with similar ideas, such as the importance of education and awareness, the multi-disciplinary nature of inclusive design, and the utility of automation going into the future. Another commonality was that many of these technologies and developments are not niche products, but in fact will benefit everyone. Finally, each interviewee seemed to be very positive, and hopeful that going into the future society will become much more accessible.
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN CASE STUDIES 