New technologies have historically been designed with an ableist lens, ignoring or excluding the more than 1 billion people disabled globally. For product design to become more inclusive and equitable, it should follow the organizing principle of disability justice movements: nothing about us without us. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the design and testing of technologies intended to meet their needs not only enhances general user experience, but generates new insights for product optimization. This is an example of the “curb-cut effect,” illuminating how accessibility features benefit users far beyond the target audience.
Bringing together diverse disability communities, this session showcases two innovative products funded by grants from Ability Central, the only foundation focused exclusively on communication disabilities. It includes demonstrations of assistive technologies created to broaden people’s opportunities to learn.
The panel will include developers and users from Peerbots and from YouDescribe:
Peerbots is a research-backed, open-source digital puppet that creates engaging interactions for people of all ages. It can be used to provide educational services in both in-person and virtual settings.
YouDescribe is a free, web-based platform for adding audio descriptions to YouTube content, making videos accessible to people experiencing blindness or low vision. YouDescribe is currently developing a text-to-speech version with AI-generated audio description prompts.
Participants will see product demonstrations and can ask the product developers and actual users questions about their experiences. They will also engage in a conversation about the importance of technology in inclusive and accessible education for students with disabilities across the globe. Finally, participants will explore the “curb-cut effect” and the principles of inclusive design, with a specific focus on how they can incorporate people with communication disabilities in developing innovative and accessible technologies that meet all our needs.