Technology & Products, United Spinal Updates

United Spinal’s Tech Access Expands its Role as Leading Voice for Accessible Technology and Inclusive Design

Two years after its formation, United Spinal Association’s Tech Access Group is proud to welcome a cohort of nine new members, announce the formation of a Tech Access Testers Group, and launch a new monthly series, TechTalks.

The Tech Access Group (TAG) falls under United Spinal’s Tech Access Initiative, a groundbreaking collaboration that brings together United Spinal Association’s membership and community partners to ensure accessible technology is inclusive to everyone, including wheelchair users.

“Technology is integrated into all parts of our lives. However, when disabled people do not have access to technology, it creates inequities, and they are left behind; our program is to help ensure that does not happen,” said Erin Taylor, program coordinator at United Spinal Association.

Comprised entirely of people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), TAG works closely with Silicon Valley, automotive and telecom industry leaders on United Spinal’s Tech Access Council to fulfill its mission. TAG’s newest members hail from academia, law, social services and nonprofits, and the start-up world, representing every region of the continental United States.
woman in wheelchair in kitchen looking at smart device

Edward Mitchell, a disability community leader from Jackson, Tenn. and new TAG member, remarked, “It is my hope that the Tech Access Group will help break down barriers by offering tech companies a wide range of individuals with disabilities to seek out for their knowledge and lived experiences. We are diverse in education, race, and geographical location, and our experiences are a wealth of untapped knowledge.”

“Being a minority within a minority myself, an African American male with a spinal cord injury, it’s important for me to keep my skills honed. For too long, we have been left in the rear view. Thanks to United Spinal, I am now a part of a think tank of individuals with disabilities, helping to demonstrate to companies why our opinions matter in the research and development phase,” Mitchell continued.

The increasing urgency of the need to cross the digital divide that has historically excluded people with mobility disabilities, as well as the opportunities that have emerged with the rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, have guided United Spinal’s immediate priorities with TAG.

United Spinal’s orientation is to strengthen TAG as a community-building initiative and create more opportunities on the ground for United Spinal members to make their voices heard via consumer feedback and partnership at the level of R&D and production.

As United Spinal works with tech companies to recognize the need for and the importance of tech being accessible, it is also working on creating a community. TAG recently formalized its participation in focus groups and testing, which has been a central area of its work, by launching a Tech Access Testers Group. The Testers Group is made up of wheelchair users from over 30 states and strives to make more tech accessible by not only testing products, but also participating in panels and forums about the importance of accessibility, as well as industry surveys.

The program has also started offering TechTalks, a monthly collaboration space where members share their experiences with and pool their collective knowledge about technology in order to strengthen their abilities as both users and advocates. The talks are hosted by United Spinal and TAG member Rhonel Cinous. TechTalks covers topics related to the accessible technology people with mobility disabilities employ in everyday life.

“I keep hearing from members that when they become disabled, their relationship with tech changes. They may have considered themselves ‘tech-savvy’ before, but now they are learning to use assistive technology for their independence,” added Taylor. “We want to find a way to support people through the learning process, so we came up with monthly TechTalks to give space for people to share about types of technology, low tech and high tech, the pain points of the inaccessibility, and also how assistive technology has helped foster independence.”

We encourage anyone who wants to be a part of our Tech Access Initiative to please get involved, whether you are new to tech, a pro, or somewhere in between, you are welcome and you have a place to learn and be with community.

For more information on the Tech Access Group and Tech Access Initiative, please visit https://unitedspinal.org/tech-access-initiative/