Editing Disability (section)

===== Assistive technology =====
{{Main|Assistive technology}}
[[Assistive technology]] is a generic term for devices and modifications (for a person or within a society) that help overcome or remove a disability. The first recorded example of the use of a [[prosthesis]] dates to at least 1800 BC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Disability Social History Project&nbsp;– Timeline |url=http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901075055/http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2012 |publisher=Disabilityhistory.org}}</ref> The [[wheelchair]] dates from the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Cooper, Rory A |title=An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering |author2=Hisaichi Ohnabe |author3=Douglas A. Hobson |publisher=CRC Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4200-1249-1 |page=131}}</ref> The [[curb cut]] is a related structural innovation. Other examples are [[standing frames]], text [[telephones]], accessible [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboards]], [[large print]], [[braille]], and [[speech recognition]] [[software]]. Disabled people often develop adaptations which can be personal (e.g. strategies to suppress tics in public) or community (e.g. [[sign language]] in d/Deaf communities).

As the [[personal computer]] has become more ubiquitous, various organizations have formed to [[software development|develop software]] and [[computer hardware|hardware]] to make computers more accessible for disabled people. Some software and hardware, such as [[Voice Finger]], [[Freedom Scientific]]'s ''[[JAWS (screen reader)|JAWS]]'', the Free and Open Source alternative ''[[Orca (assistive technology)|Orca]]'' etc. have been specifically designed for disabled people while other software and hardware, such as [[Nuance Communications|Nuance]]'s [[Dragon NaturallySpeaking]], were not developed specifically for disabled people, but can be used to increase accessibility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unh.edu/diversity-inclusion/student-accessibility|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408025058/http://www.unh.edu/disabilityservices/dragon-naturally-speaking|url-status=dead|title=Student Accessibility Services: Dragon Naturally Speaking|archivedate=April 8, 2015|website=University of New Hampshire}}</ref> The [[LOMAK]] keyboard was designed in New Zealand specifically for persons with disabilities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sobh |first=Tarek |url=https://archive.org/details/innovationsadvan00sobh_587 |title=Innovations and Advanced Techniques in Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering |publisher=Springer |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4020-6268-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/innovationsadvan00sobh_587/page/n190 176] |url-access=limited}}</ref>
The World Wide Web consortium recognized a need for International Standards for Web Accessibility for persons with disabilities and created the [[Web Accessibility Initiative]] (WAI).<ref>{{cite web |title=Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) |url=http://www.w3.org/WAI/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904094012/http://www.w3.org/WAI/ |archive-date=September 4, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2013 |publisher=W3C}}</ref> As at Dec 2012 the standard is WCAG 2.0 (WCAG = Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).<ref>{{cite web |title=Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 |url=http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218045254/http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013 |publisher=W3C}}</ref>