Wendy Chisholm, a Web accessibility specialist for the World Wide Web Consortium, writes about Innovative Design Inspired by Accessibility. I love this quote, “There are many examples of disability inspiring innovation. Take the curb cut, those dips in sidewalks created for people using wheelchairs. They’re used by rollerbladers, stroller-pushers, bicyclists, and rolly-bag toters.” It goes to show that sometimes innovations for people with disabilities leads to use beyond its original extent.

Take closed-captionioning for example. It helps people like me know what the hey people are talking about in movies and TV shows. Another use for captioning is for those learning English as a second language and helping young children become readers. Boy, I hope they come up with captioned radio some day. Now, I would not drive and “watch” radio, of course. But when Paul drives, I can enjoy the songs and DJ talk with him.

The Web provides unprecedented access to information for people with disabilities. People who are blind no longer wait for 25 pounds of braille to be printed and delivered or for a volunteer to read. People who have difficulty moving in physical space can easily attend classes. Those who find it hard to read the labels on products or have trouble getting oriented in grocery stores (whose layouts change frequently) can shop using Web sites with images and search features.