More Than Ironic: Accessible Technology, Inaccessible Content

AHEAD, the Association on Higher Education and Disability, has an excellent position statement on fair use and accessible texts for students with disabilities.

Today’s technology, fueled by digital files, provides far more effective, efficient, independent access to text resources. It would be the ultimate irony to conclude that students can have access to the technology that can provide access but not to the electronic files for use with the technology.

The AHEAD statement necessarily focuses on students with print disabilities. It should apply to all people with print disabilities across the lifespan, regardless of student status. Anyone who deals with this paradoxical barrier will think of it as more than ironic.