Communication and Information
Technology Resources
- Adaptive Technology
Resource Center
- Information on the use of adaptive technology, especially to ensure
that information technology is accessible.
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- American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than
103,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language,
and hearing scientists. ASHA's mission is to ensure that all people
with speech, language, and hearing disorders have access to quality services
to help them communicate more effectively.
- Bobby
- Bobby is a web-based public service offered by the Center for Applied Special Technology that
analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities as well as their
compatibility with various browsers.
- California State University
Northridge Center on Disabilities
- The CSUN Center on Disabilities sponsors annually a major conference
on technology and persons with disabilities.
- Center for Applied Special
Technology
- CAST is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses
technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities.
- COST 219
Information Resource Manager
- Information on telecommunications access from the COST 219 Committee,
headquartered in Norway.
- Department of
Defense Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program
- The CAP Office serves the Department of Defense by buying
accommodations to make computer and telecommunications systems accessible to employees
with disabilities; funding sign language interpreters, readers, and personal assistants
for employees attending long term training; providing expertise in solving accessibility
problems through the use of software, hardware, and other assistive technology; and
providing training and educational support. As of FY 2001, the CAP is also authorized to purchase assistive technology for agencies outside the Department of Defense -- particularly small agencies -- upon written request by the Agency Head.
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- Disability & Business
Technical Assistance Centers
- Funded by NIDRR, the Disability Business
Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) provide information, materials, technical assistance
and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employers, persons with
disabilities and other entities with responsibilities under the ADA. The national
toll-free number, 1-800-949-4232 V/TTY, automatically routes calls to the closest Center.
- Electronic Industries
Foundation
- EIF is the philanthropic sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance
(EIA), the national voice of over 2,100 U.S. high tech electronics companies. EIF has
produced the Resource Guide for Accessible Design of Consumer Electronics.
- Equal Access to Software
and Information
- This site specializes in information on access to electronic media
for persons with sight impairments. There are links to other sites with similar concerns,
including the Trace Center.
- European
Telecommunications Standards Institute
- The youngest of the three European standards making bodies,
recognized by the European Council of Ministers, ETSI was set up in 1988 to set standards
for Europe in telecommunications and the related fields of broadcasting and office
information technology.
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- Federal
Information Technology Accessibility Initiative
- The Federal Information Technology
Accessibility Initiative (FITAI) is an
interagency effort, coordinated by GSA, to offer technical assistance and to
provide an informal means of cooperation and sharing of information on
implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires
access to electronic and information technology in the Federal sector.
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- Gallaudet University
- Gallaudet is the world's only university for deaf and hard of hearing
undergraduate students. Graduate degree programs and continuing education courses are
available to deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students.
- General Services
Administration Center on Information Technology Accommodation
- GSA has developed guidelines for making HTML Web pages accessible.
- Inclusion of
Disabled and Elderly People in Telematics (INCLUDE)
- INCLUDE is a project to collect and disseminate information on
"user-centered design, user needs, standardization matters, and legislation"
regarding access to telecommunications.
- Infinitec, Inc.
- Infinitec is a non-profit corporation, working in cooperation with
United Cerebral Palsy Association, to provide information on assistive technology.
- Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
(ITTATC)
- ITTATC promotes the creation, use and dissemination of accessible telecommunications and information technology (IT) by providing technical assistance, training and information. Established in November
2000 by the Georgia Institute of Technology with funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR), the ITTATC will work with a broad constituency to:
collaborate with stakeholders to improve the awareness and availability of accessible IT and telecommunications products and
services; coordinate and create educational materials for diverse stakeholder groups that include designers, managers, marketers, purchasers, and consumers of IT and telecommunications products and
services; and disseminate information, training and resources to improve industry awareness, advance practical solutions, and create opportunities for innovation and change.
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- Infrared Data Association
(IrDA)
- IrDA sets standards for infrared data transmission, such as the
transmission of codes and data between a refreshable Braille machine and a
telecommunications device.
- International
Braille and Technology Center for the Blind
- A comprehensive evaluation, demonstration, and training technology center which contains over $2 million worth of speech and Braille technology.
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- International
Coalition of Access Engineers and Specialists
- ICAES is an organization of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, developing and deploying
communication and information technologies that are accessible to persons
with disabilities.
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- International Information
on Visual Disabilities.
- This web site is an information resource for professionals who work
in the field of visual disabilities. The site is designed as a worldwide resource and
provides information on devices, research and development, sources of funding for research
and agencies serving people who are blind.
- International Telecommunications
Union
- The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is an international
organization within which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom
networks and services.
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National
Center for Accessible Media
- NCAM is a project of WGBH, the Boston PBS station. It has developed
guidelines for making media, including Web pages, accessible and promotes use of the
web access symbol on accessible Web sites.
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- National Information Standards Organization
- NISO develops and promotes technical standards used in a wide variety of information
services, including file specifications for digital
talking books. NISO is a nonprofit association accredited as a standards developer by the American National Standards Institute, the national clearinghouse for voluntary standards development in the U.S.
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- Rehabilitation
Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)
- RESNA is an interdisciplinary association for the advancement of
rehabilitation and assistive technologies (AT).
- Telecommunications
Industry Association
- TIA is a trade organization of 625 member companies in the
communications and information technology industry, large and small companies which
provide communications materials, products, systems, distribution services and
professional services to the United States and countries around the world.
- Telematics
for Elderly and Disabled People (TIDE) Project
- TIDE is a research program of the European Commission to collect
information on access, especially to telecommunications.
- Trace
R&D Center
- The Trace Center has information on how to design equipment, World
Wide Web sites, information kiosks, etc. to be accessible.
- Underwriters
Laboratories
- Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit
product safety testing and certification organization. It has tested products for public
safety for more than a century. Each year, more than 14 billion UL Marks are applied to
products worldwide.
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- Usability.gov
- This site is designed to provide
current and accurate information on how to make Web sites and other user
interfaces more usable, accessible, and useful. Information is provided by
the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the federal government's principal
agency for cancer research. The site also links to a variety of quality Web
sites and resources on usability, accessibility, and related topics that
exist in the field.
- Wave
- The Wave is a free Web-based tool that helps users
identify page components that should be checked for accessibility.
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WGBH
National Center on Accessible Media
- NCAM is a project of WGBH, the Boston PBS station. It has developed
guidelines for making media, including Web pages, accessible and promotes use of the
web access symbol on accessible Web sites.
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- The W3C was founded in 1994 to develop common protocols for the
evolution of the World Wide Web. W3C is an international industry consortium, jointly
hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Computer Science
[MIT/LCS] in the United States; the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en
Automatique [INRIA] in Europe; and the Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus in Asia. W3C
recently announced the formation of the Web
Accessibility Initiative to develop access standards and protocols for the
Web.