The Coming Crisis
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- Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:38:52 -0400
Serotek Blog
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Coming Crisis
By Mike Calvo
Doom and Gloom! There, we got it out.
Actually this article is about hope and promise and a better life for everyone,
but the background is not very encouraging. And without the background, the
discussion doesn't make much sense.
Here's the basic premise. Vision loss and age are inextricably linked. There
are eight million visually-impaired people in the U.S. and 80% are age fifty or
greater. This shouldn't come as a big surprise. As we age our bodies
deteriorate and the eyes are specifically vulnerable to diseases like:
Macular degeneration
Diabetic Retinopathy
Glaucoma
Cataracts
Corneal opacity
The current assessment is that 800,000 people age 65 and older in the U.S. are
totally blind. By 2015 it will be 1.5 million and by 2030 it will be 2.4
million.
The cause is simply the aging of the population. As the "Baby Boomers" hit
retirement the graying population will increase dramatically and the prevalence
of blindness will likewise increase. We can and are making great strides in
attacking various causes of blindness, but we can't stop people from getting
older.
Certainly everyone knows this "graying" is occurring. From AARP to Social
Security there is a great deal of planning and marketing going on relative to
the sharp growth anticipated among the nation's elderly. But there has not been
a lot written about what this means to the nation's blind services structure.
For the most part, and in most states, different organizations manage issues
regarding the elderly and those pertaining to vocational rehab. But when it
comes to dealing with the newly blind, many of the issues are the same and the
resources in place are not sufficient to respond to the coming need.
As things stand today, seniors losing their vision are going to be hard-pressed
to maintain their independence. And this is a real shame because today, with
the availability of resources of all kinds over the Internet, there is no
reason for a blind person not to live independently. The digital lifestyle
means liberation for people with blindness and low vision and baby boomers,
like no aging group before them, are well versed in its benefits. Yet the
supporting agencies are not prepared to help them make this transition.
What are the benefits? Here's a list we've compiled:
Community: individuals can interact and share information and experiences with
other like-minded individuals at will
Awareness: The Internet provides nearly instant access to news and information
of all kinds. People using this source of information are significantly better
informed and aware of world events than those who do not have access.
Information: The Internet is the best single reference source for information
of all kinds. With the aid of a search engine, a user can access the vast
library of government publications plus an even larger library of private
information sources. There are few, if any, subjects that cannot be
successfully researched via the Internet.
Employment: Computer usage is virtually essential for any meaningful
employment in the modern world. Via the Internet, persons can not only be
employed but often work from their homes.
Entrepreneurial activities: The Internet makes it possible for any individual
to sell goods and/or services to a worldwide market.
Education: A computer and computer skills are essential for modern education.
Via the Internet, a person can pursue a wide range of educational opportunities
ranging from acquisition of technical skills to completing high school, to
acquiring a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and/or Ph.D. from accredited
online universities.
Entertainment: Via the computer and Internet one can enjoy virtually any
desired entertainment from described DVS's or downloads of popular movies to
thousands of Internet radio channels, to games of all types, and all manner of
hobby-related forums.
Health services: Self-care, healthy living programs, health coaching and
ask-the-doctor information is all available on the Web.
Shopping: From necessities to luxuries, one can buy anything via the Web, all
without leaving the comfort of one's home.
Finance: Online banking, investing, loans - almost any financial activity can
be carried out over the Web
Creative arts: Writing and music are two creative activities that the blind
can enjoy using digital technology.
Counseling: Online support groups are available for a wide range of issues
from grief-management to depression to cancer survival.
Spiritual: Whatever your path, the Web has resources to support you ranging
from virtually all conventional religions to a huge array of less conventional
spiritual paths.
The simple ability to stay connected to family and friends via e-mail is enough
to make being online worth it to most seniors. Add Internet-based telephone
services like Skype and people can stay connected to loved ones around the
world, for peanuts. But today, in the world of conventional assistive
technology, it costs the elderly person (or the supporting agency) several
thousand dollars and weeks or months of study - with all the necessary
transportation - just to be able to send and receive e-mail. That's insane.
And it's unnecessary.
Nationwide, blind services organizations march lockstep to the beat of
conventional screen reader technology. That is their sole solution to blind
accessibility and no matter the situation they apply it. As the saying goes,
"when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
But as good as conventional screen readers are, they are without exception
complex and difficult to learn. They are expensive and they require weeks or
months of training to achieve proficiency. Once proficient, a blind person can
do amazing things. But most elderly people or new users lack the core technical
skills to master conventional screen readers and agencies lack the resources to
purchase the high priced software and training required.
But in fact, for the cost of rehabilitating a single blind person with
conventional screen reader technology, an agency can deliver full accessibility
to four to six blind people who are not looking to become computer
professionals. Assuming a conventional screen reader cost about $1,000 and
requires about $3,000 in training for the user to achieve proficiency,
Serotek's System Access Mobile cost $499 and a user can be trained in about two
to ten hours. You do the math.
Moreover, using Serotek's RIM (Remote Incident Manager) or Remote Training and
Support the user can be trained over the Internet, with no need to travel and
take up class room space. The service agency can provide one-to-one, on-screen
tutoring with the trainer and the student both working from the comfort and
convenience of their own homes.
Logic would suggest that state agencies and local rehabilitation organizations
would welcome tools like System Access Mobile and RIM with open arms. With them
they can help more blind people for less money. How can they not be excited?
But logic doesn't take into account inertia. The entire organization is
structured for conventional screen readers. That's how budgets are developed;
that's where training skills are concentrated. There may even be a vague fear
that if it is that easy to give newly blind people accessibility, training jobs
will be in danger. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Even
with the six-fold (or greater) multiplier effect that System Access delivers,
the demand will continue to exceed the supply as the population ages.
Unfortunately, the person with the least say in this decision is the newly
blind person. He or she basically gets what's he or she is given as decided by
the professionals. The result is that people in need of accessibility tools are
hugely underserved. A mere handful of blind people (perhaps eight to ten) end
up with the ability to access the digital lifestyle out of every hundred or so
who need accessibility help. And that is extraordinarily costly. A blind person
without accessibility consumes far more resources in terms of personal care,
medical care, social services, and welfare than a blind person with full access
to the digital lifestyle. And, sadly, the person without access lives a much
more enclosed life and is more apt to fall prey to depression. Without
accessibility, blindness is a prison sentence; with it, it's a minor
inconvenience.
There is, of course, no incentive for the producers of conventional screen
reader technology to make their products less expensive and easier to learn.
This isn't a "free market" where they must compete head-to-head against
alternate solutions. Rather it's a captive market where the buyer has no
choice. The in-place infrastructure has a bias towards maintaining the status
quo, even at the expense of the nation's ever growing population of newly blind
elderly people. We on the outside can call for a level playing field, where
consumers can make their own informed choices, but those who have control of
the playing field have no interest in making this a fair contest.
At Serotek we believe that when you can't win through evolution, it's time to
start a revolution and we have one in the making. When an infrastructure does
not serve the people it was created to serve, it's time to look for ways to
make the infrastructure irrelevant. We have been pushing the technology
envelope for six years and our latest product, System Access to Go, available
directly over the Internet on demand, may be the catalyst for change.
We are working with a number of people who have the interest of the individual
blind person at heart. We are close to making an announcement that we believe
will simply change the way accessibility happens - to the benefit of all. We
invite you to stay tuned. But in the meantime, don't hesitate to rock the boat.
Change won't happen unless we work to make it happen. "Information without
accessibility is tyranny!" Where the heck is that tea?
Posted by Mike Calvo at 6:51 AM
http://blog.serotek.com/2007/10/coming-crisis.html
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