Leading up to our talk at the Bristol Tech Festival, CookiesHQ is celebrating accessibility in a series of articles that addresses (and educates) accessibility in tech products.
Find more information about our event and how to attend here.
This week, we listen to the community and learn about other peoples experiences with technical products.
“Using the internet is so important to connect with my family and friends. People just don’t seem to want to pick up the phone anymore! But it can be hard for me to understand the updates on social media sites and my eye-sight isn’t so good anymore. How can I keep up with these changes when I haven’t grown up with technology?”
“It would be good if you could change the colours on my iPad because I have eyesight problems and it would be good if you could make the text bigger. When you go on the app it would be good if I could tap on it to make it bigger so I can see what app I am choosing. Or maybe tell my iPad what to open?
I attended the Nadex conference in Birmingham and saw a tech product that would solve my problems: It had a large screen (easy for me to see), was adjustable for when I was in bed and was easy for me to use. But it was around £10,000! How can people with disabilities afford that if we are struggling to work?
Also it would be good when I go to a restaurant that I could order from my phone because I can’t go to the bar and reach the counter.”
I struggle with the amount of pressure/strength required to press or hold a button or switch when it comes to tech products. This and batteries in electric wheelchairs take an age to charge! Some companies should do more to make products more accessible, but I can imagine it’s difficult. One size fits all, or multiple versions of the same thing to cater for different disabilities?
In terms of useful technologies: Electric wheelchairs. Also, the humble mobile phone (and not just smartphones!). My independence would diminish greatly if I didn’t have a mobile.
“My daughter has severe learning difficulties meaning that she needs to have constant care. As her mother, I find it difficult to have a moment to myself and connect with my friends. It has been so useful to find apps or communities online where other people are going through the same thing as me. It made me feel less alone.”
