Those who fall between the cracks: the case of the deaf-blind

1. Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability(Baku, Azerbaijan, 9 November 2012) Those who fall between the cracks: the case of the deaf-blind Professor Arun Mehta President, Bapsi arun.mehta@bapsi.org

2. IT is revolutionary for the disabled Professor Stephen Hawking can only press one button, but technology allowed him to become a great scientist and author However, those without access to computers and the Internet are still living in the dark ages, e.g. those who are deaf-blind, but cannot afford devices costing thousands of dollars

3. Technology for the deaf-blind Old: refreshable Braille, where mechanical pins go in and out, that the user reads with her fingers (cost: > US$ 2000) New: Bapsi developed a free app for Android smart phones: PocketSMS uses vibration and Morse code – short duration vibrate represents a dot, a longer duration one a dash – allows users to read SMS, Wikipedia (under development)… User types using a Qwerty keypad or a gesture recognition soft keyboard (e.g. Graffiti) Android phone with Qwerty keypad costs $150

4. Problems of the deaf-blind: not just technology The census in India does not count them There are half a million deaf-blind children in India, but not one in Delhi’s schools Many of the deaf-blind have Congenital Rubella Syndrome, including additional problems, e.g. mental retardation If you have not learnt your abcd, there is not much you can do with a texting app

5. Focusing on those who fall between the cracks There needs to be a comprehensive map of the chronically information poor: those with no hope of getting on the infohighway Addressing their access needs will require a team with medical, technological, pedagogic, and occupational expertise Universal access will remain an empty slogan unless we do this