Last October, United Spinal launched its Tech Access Initiative to reshape the conversation around disability and accessibility in the technology industry.
At the heart of this effort is United Spinal’s Tech Access Group, a diverse assemblage of members living with mobility disabilities who are passionate about explaining our community’s technology and accessibility needs.
Since launching, this group has devoted substantial hours of their time to subject-specific virtual conversations that highlight personal experiences, ideas for impact, and calls to action on topics like: AI, transportation technology, environmental controls/virtual assistants, computer and phone accessibility, and more. This month, TAG enthusiastically tackled an essential device in desperate need of innovation: wheelchairs.
Some of the Group’s key messages to our Tech Access Council and industry leading guests were:
- Wheelchairs are extensions of their users’ bodies, inextricable parts of their users’ public personas essential and keys to independence and community participation.
- While the world adopts “smart” technologies, wheelchair users are getting left behind as wheelchair manufacturers are constrained by outdated government and insurance policies that guide reimbursement for users.
- Integrating existing and developing technologies on-board wheelchairs could greatly improve users’ lives by serving as connected command centers and tools for improved, health, safety, and access for the full and active lives we seek.
The conversation was the start of a larger disruption of the wheelchair landscape that United Spinal is eager to champion alongside our wheelchair manufacturing industry and tech partners. The goal of this conversation was not only to share our ideas for future design, but also to drive awareness of a social injustice that is rarely understood by anyone who is not directly affected by a physical disability.
United Spinal is committed to getting wheelchair users access to technology that fully supports inclusion and connectivity. We asked our Tech Access Council of Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Teladoc, and Verizon as well as a key group of additional tech industry stakeholder guests for their thought leadership and support in helping us change this narrative. By raising awareness of our community’s needs and working to change key policies that leave our chairs antiquated, we can improve the lives of our members and the millions of people living with disabilities throughout the world.
Interested in helping to drive the future of wheelchairs? This effort requires emboldened idea sharing and support from across our community. Visit United Spinal’s Tech Access Initiative page to learn more.