Seniors facing an accessibility gap
Hello there! We the team at www.sterlingcreations.ca are pleased to bring you an editorial written by our president Donna J. Jodhan.
Seniors facing an accessibility gap
There is a very interesting yet concerning problem that seems to be deepening these days and I am referring to the accessibility gap being faced by our seniors at the present time. It appears that as more and more seniors begin to lose their vision they become less and less able to access information because of the following reasons.
1. They are unable to access the Internet because they either do not possess the technology to do so or simply because they do not know how to access the Internet. Many of these persons grew up in the pre-Internet era and accordingly they are very hesitant to try new technology.
2. Many of them no longer have sufficient vision to read the newspapers let alone read their own personal mail.
3. Many of them are extremely hesitant to learn new technology that may enable them to read their mail and newsprint.
4. Many of them are unable to read what they write. They did not need to use Braille while they were fully sighted and now they are finding it extremely difficult to adjust to learning Braille or using an accessible note taker.
5. Many of them face financial barriers when it comes to being able to learn and purchase new technology.
So in summary we have the following picture:
More and more persons losing their vision at a later age.
They are unable to access information for several reasons among them being; Inability to use modern technology, a hesitance to learn new technology, unable to afford to learn and purchase new technology.
As I see it, this problem is going to become more serious as time marches on and it may be time for us to work on a solution to find a way for our seniors to stay in touch with the rest of the world. The earlier we find a solution; the better it would be for all of us because we are all going to become seniors one day in the future and chances are that many of us will end up losing various degrees of vision.
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About Donna Jodhan
Donna Jodhan is an award winning blind author, advocate, sight loss coach, blogger, podcast commentator, and accessibility specialist.
