National Disability Policy: A Progress Report - October 2016

SCOPE AND PURPOSE: The 2016 edition of this report, which fulfills NCD’s statutory mandate to report annually on the state of disability policy in key areas, focuses on how information and communication technology (ICT) continues to transform modern life, and the potential ICT and assistive technology (AT) holds for improving how people with disabilities live in the world. People with disabilities have a right to and need accessible technology that allows them to interact with others in the virtual landscape that is increasingly where Americans gather information, conduct business and reach out to friends and family in the same way they needed ramps and accessible physical spaces a generation ago. Additionally, AT can improve the lives of people with disabilities by increasing independence and providing a bridge to employment and opportunity. 

Technology that enables access to full opportunities of citizenship under the Constitution is a right. This report examines the efforts of policymakers, technology industry leaders, people with disabilities, and others to promote policies and practices that will lead to technology that can be used by all and offers policy recommendations to Congress, federal agencies, and industry that, if implemented, demonstrate an unwavering commitment to accessible ICT and AT.