Universal Access and Assistive Technology

Speech technologies have been a blessing to many people with disabilities. They have allowed people with severe physical impairments to do meaningful work, blind people to access computer technology, and people with speech impairments to communicate, for example. This chapter champions the concept of universal access — employing technologies in designs that serve both those with disabilities and those without. It also discusses the ways in which speech technologies are currently being used in assistive devices, and the problems associated with the current technology. Finally, the authors describe how methodologies and techniques from the disciplines of human-computer interaction (a.k.a. user interface design, usability engineering, and human factors engineering) can be used to better design applications to serve people with disabilities and the population at large.