Technology Levels the Field

Help in Windows 2000

Aside from cofounding Able to Work, Microsoft builds into its software some functions intended to make the programs easier for people with disabilities to use.

Windows 2000 includes a Magnifier feature that can enlarge a part of the screen. Narrator is a text-to-speech utility that reads what's on the screen. Also, On-Screen Keyboard helps those with limited movement type using a pointing device.

These new features will help not only individuals with disabilities, but also their employers, says Gary Moulton, product manager for Microsoft's accessibility and disabilities group.

Businesses have asked Microsoft to accommodate people with disabilities in its software design and to urge PC vendors to make changes, Moulton says.

Getting jobs for people who have disabilities is another part of the struggle. But, he says, accessibility features open the door.

"Technology levels the playing field," Moulton says.

Technology may help people with disabilities get jobs, but the biggest obstacle is changing employers' attitudes, says Dr. William E. Kiernan, director of the Institute for Community Inclusion and author of Beyond Demographics: Strategic Responses to a Changing Workforce.

Kemp couldn't agree more.

He doesn't expect employers would have to buy special equipment for him, other than entrance ramps or wider doorways. But he still doesn't think he can get work.

"I think society as a whole discriminates against us," he says. "And while this [Able to Work] council means well, I don't think it will be of much help to people with disabilities until the attitude of society is changed."