Accessibility

Made by:
Verônica Camisão

Report from the Digital Workshop of Accessibility

“The Universal Design aims at answering the biggest possible range of people, planning spaces and appropriate dimensions for interaction, ranging and using general products, independently of size, positioning or mobility of the user; recognize and respect the physical and sensorial diversity among people and the changes for which the body goes through from childhood to oldness.

The surroundings can give emphasis to a disability or make it irrelevant. A non-slippery floor for old people, a double handrail for the children, a slope for the wheelchair, a clear visual planning for the auditive disabled, can benefit everyone.”

The Workshop’s Context

The group was mainly constituted by architects and education professionals from Belém, Brasília, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, São Luís, São Paulo and Teresina.

They all attended the presentations during the event and the experiments about Inclusive Education. After that, the group met to discuss the cases presented and other issues about accessibilities in general. The following questions defined by the organizing committee were presented to the group as reflection and discussion topics:

1. Do you think the presented project is really an inclusive education project, in terms of accessibility?
2. How could we improve this experience?
3. If it was up to you to decide, what measures would you take to change the project?

Some questions were considered of main importance for the accessibility development in general, especially in the search of inclusive education.

We will now enumerate these items and issues observed by the participants. It will be followed by the proposals given by the group.

Observance of the Universal Design Concept

Diagnostic

• Nowadays, in some cities, when a school begins a building repair, the fitting for accessibility is immediately introduced, however most of the times the repairs are not made to comply with everyone. Limited fitting is performed; slopes and toilets are most of the times the best improvements achieved. Another important aspect is keeping the access with quality: its maintenance.
• The solutions for accessible transportation are restrictive and local, addressed only to users with disabilities, limiting the freedom of movement and the inclusion. The projects for public transportation in most cities are not considered in terms of global accessibility yet.

Proposals

• Search for the school suitable planning, guided by this concept, attending to the biggest range of needs of different pupils must be considered as a requirement. It shall be followed by the study of special solutions with some particularity when needed.
• Follow the principles of Universal Design in all architecture, urbanization, design and computer graphics projects, securing the embracing and quality of projects and improvements.

Accessibility and Training of Technicians

Diagnostic

• In many cases, when we talk about accessibility, the slope is the only issue that is taken into account. In other cases there is the will to make it right, the investments in the buildings are made, and however we end up with unusable adaptations, due to the lack of technical quality of the projects: slopes too sharp, slippery floors, inaccessible toilets. As an example, the city councils do not usually look for the proper technical advice for their projects and work.
• In the case of public and school transportation, the implemented solutions to accessibility don’t usually satisfy the people who really need them. There is a controversy about the new bus with lift, recently implemented in several cities that do not solve the accessibility problems in a suitable way.
• In most architecture faculties in Brazil the issue of accessibility is not part of the curriculum. Teachers themselves offer resistance to its inclusion: it is not considered a relevant issue and/or the teachers don’t feel secure because they don’t have the knowledge about the subject and therefore they are unable to teach it.

Proposals

• Invest in the awareness, information and training of architecture, engineering, design and graphic computation professionals for the development and diffusion of Universal Design concepts.
• Assure the use of qualified professionals which develop the process of implementation of Universal Design.
• Give professionals the proper formation about Universal Design, beginning in university.

Public Policies

Diagnostic

Surroundings and construction

• In the case of the educational surroundings and its constructions, the accessibility is being developed around the need that results from the process of inclusion. However each school is part of a city and its services. The urbanistic surroundings usually present barriers and lack of public transportation with adequate accessibility. So, even when the building is accessible, there are difficulties to get there.
• Many times the accessibility is not part of a project due to the lack of communication between the different areas of knowledge. If these areas were connected it would be easier to implement the suitability and have a bigger profit from time and public resources.

Transportation

• The accessibility to the public transportation is an important and complex issue due to the necessity of investments and the present poor background structure. There is a strong opposition of the investors to the accessibility resolutions.

Digital Technology

• There have been investments in programs to the implementation of computers and complete networks in some city councils. Nevertheless they don’t attend the basic principles of digital accessibility. Technologies like the narrator (loud reader), and other specific software to help people with disabilities are not usually foreseen in anyway.

Proposals

• Implement an integrated politic for accessibility, promoting the interface between different sectors of Federal, State and City Council Governments and their departments, rewarding the several areas like urbanism, construction, transportation and technology, looking for the creation of complementary actions.
• Structure the direct exchange between the secretaries of each City Council and the State Government. It is absolutely necessary that the projects of the different areas meet and agree with each others.

Support Program to the Recording and Systematization

Diagnostic

• We perceive little tradition on the record of data from experiments about accessibility, as well as inclusive education. It is also notorious the weakness in systematization of the recorded data. There is data available that is not easily accessed and correctly organized.

Proposal

• Stimulate programs for the developed experiments information record and systematization. As many actions are unique or supported by personal initiative, recording those events will permit its continuity.

The Importance of Creating a Way of Continuity of the Action in Favor of Accessibility

Diagnostic

• In general the “production of accessibility”, whether in equipments, constructions or fitting is very rudimental in terms of products or projects. The achievements are limited in their embracement and cost. Many improvements are made empirically and in an improvised way.

Proposal

• Think in the big benefits, fittings and technology production, compatible with the revealed numbers in big cities. The production must be less rudimental and more systematic. It must be structured and easier to achieve, acting directly in the implementation.

Diffusion

Diagnostic

• In many cities the people don’t know the actions developed and implemented in favor of accessibilities, from the urban ways fitting, like the existence of special transportation in schools of special education. It is also unknown their importance and need, weakening the results. For example, the disable special allocated parking spaces are not respected.

Proposals

• Promote campaigns in the media, with the media: defusing what is being made and putting people aware of its importance.
• Develop campaigns informing the media, getting close to the media.

Exchange of Actions and Experiments

Diagnostic

• There is no exchange. There is a lack of inclusion and accessibility experiments communication. There are teachers’ testimonies from all over Brazil saying they are looking for inclusion but they don’t have the information and don’t feel capable.

Proposal

• Promote the diffusion at different levels:

• publication of experiments, using paper and internet sites;
• workshops and seminars with education and accessibility professionals;
• build a link between all City Council Secretaries;
• assure that the specific material about special needs is distributed to all schools.

Promote Partnerships

Diagnostic

• There are events that were organized based on personal interests, which would have been more profitable if integrated with the technical knowledge and the public services.

Proposals

• Work together with the ONG’s / Government /Community, creating indicators based on these experiments, with the purpose of growing the events number.
• Emphasize the universities social function and stimulate its importance before real problems.

Considerations

The physical adaptations in schools are usually promoted by a particular student’s specific needs. The buildings are fitted to suite these students particular characteristics. With the inclusive education experience, as well as the presence growth of students with different needs, the demand for accessibility will develop until it is an absolute need.

In several cases, when fitting work is performed in the building, it does not obey the technical rules and minimum standards needed to make the changes efficient. This behavior turns up to be inadequate, despite the money and time spent with the improvement. It is of extreme importance that future professionals receive these concepts regularly during its university training. For that it is absolutely necessary the instruction of university teachers in the issue, since in their majority they don’t feel motivated due to the lack of knowledge in the area.

It was noticed some initiatives were incoherent and the lack of communication between Government secretaries generated a loss of time, money and quality in the improvement of accessibilities. We can not consider a project of a school to be inclusive if the environment, the means to get to that school are not present in a suitable way.

The experiments exchange between the several sections was considered absolutely essential. It was noted the population lack of information about the concepts of accessibility and disability, as well as about what is being developed regarding these subjects, the media diffusion and the ideas and experiments exchange.

The consensual understanding of the Workshop group, gathered by the inclusion, architecture and accessibility concepts, revealed a significant conceptual similarity, as well as a presumption of a good school as being for everyone, without restrictions. A good architecture necessarily includes accessibility.

Report of the Digital Accessibility Workshop

From 28th of April to the 4th of May 2003.

The Workshop’s Context

With the aim of extending the discussion to the outer limits of the event that took place in Rio de Janeiro on the 24th, 25th and 26th of March 2003, the workshop “Inclusive Education in Brazil - Present Diagnostic and Future Challenges”, the World Bank in a partnership with Cnotinfor, from Portugal, established an open list to everyone willing to contribute to the development of the subject.

The Digital Accessibility Workshop gathered experts in the areas of accessibility, computer science, communication, education, pedagogical material developers and assistive technology, with professionals, government and civil society representatives.

The digital accessibility was one of the most discussed themes. This is partially due to the method used in the Forum and to the freedom given to the participants, since most of them who interacted in the discussion were professionals with expertise in the area and/or people with visual disabilities that were frequent users of computers and the Web, along with the interest that the subject arises in the area. Moreover, aiming at creating a profitable discussion there were special guest participants, issue experts, including some from foreign countries. The subject of accessibility concept diffusion was very well-attended, generating several argumentations about strategies and ways of growing the inclusion.

The following report is presented trying to include the diversity of the subjects discussed by the list of participants and their different points of view. The subjects presented were divided by topics and after that a compilation of the several proposals for each one.

Introduction

When a student with disabilities is received in an education environment, with physical and sensorial barriers that prevent him from the simple access to the classroom, or the autonomous text reading, it is established a strong cause to social exclusion, and there will not be a real inclusion, based only on the dedication and good will of teachers and employees, even with an enormous effort to accomplish it. It is necessary that the infra-structures of the teaching environment are consistent with the principles of inclusion, being a mirror of the respect for these students, through the attention given to the buildings, technology and equipments capable of receiving them in a careful to their differences developed environment.

When we analyze the Inclusive Education by the accessibility point of view, we are essentially studying the following issues:

• the environment: the way the student goes through to get to school, the streets, and the means of transportation;
• the school building;
• the classroom and its furniture;
• the didactic material;
• the computer science equipment;
• the technical help needed.

During this Digital Workshop, some points were more discussed as an answer to the spontaneous participants’ interest, justifying the bigger detail on some issues that we will present now on the report.

The Physical Aspects: Environment and Construction

Diagnostic

• Despite the several progresses, the physical space of our cities is still an important contributor to the social exclusion.
• The accessible school is of no use if the student with disabilities can not get there. Due to inappropriate urban ways, steep streets and public transportation, the student with reduced mobility is many times prevented from the access to education.
• It is notorious the government attention growth about the physical accessibility in schools and urban ways issues, especially in big cities.
• In several developed countries digital systems are already in use, that eases the location and orientation of blind people through the streets.

Proposals

• Demand the observance of the Brazilian Constitution, of the federal laws 10.048/00 and 10.098/00, and of all the Brazilian Association of Standards and Techniques rules, especially NBR 9050/94, that warrants the architects the legal orientation to work towards the inclusive environment.
• Stimulate suitable urbanistic city council laws and construction rules according to the demands of accessibility.
• Create an organization composed by architects, pedagogues, communication and computer science people, etc. to evaluate, contribute and train on accessibility in education issue with respect to all knowledge areas.
• Include in a progressive way the scientific knowledge on accessibility to the information and communication technologies in the curriculum of the technological degrees, namely the engineers.
• Stimulate the applied research and the advanced training in the areas of accessibility and rehabilitation technologies.
• Promote the improvement and application of new technologies to more inclusive and low cost solutions than the ones traditionally applied, including the usage of automatic signaling for the orientation of blind people.

Didactic Material

Diagnostic

• Apart from written material, there are other didactic elements that need to be available in accessible ways to everyone.
• In basic education for blind people it is absolutely necessary to have good quality Braille and Soroba Calculation. Good quality Braille is an encouragement, while bad quality Braille is intimidating.
• It is much faster to ear using loud voice reading equipment than read in Braille, for the case of students after the second degree; moreover it is a lot easier.

Proposals

• All didactic material created by the Education Ministry must be accessible.
• Structure a department that is responsible for diffusing the principles of Universal Design, and that take care of the availability and all didactic material elaboration in an accessible way to everyone, and in some cases, to the specific needs according to the type of disability.

Didactic Schoolbook and Literature

Diagnostic

• When we refer to written material, the accessibility demands a special attention to blind people that can be solved using the presentation of special forms like Braille, audio tapes and digital formats.
• The inaccessibility of schoolbooks is very harmful, since blind people are dependent of someone else’s time to read and perform the proposed tasks on that moment, becoming unable to make the proposed tasks to the remind of the students.
• The process of transcribing books to Braille is something very demanding and laborious, since in most cases needs to be scanned and corrected, or even digitized and adapted to subsequent Braille printing.
• In most cases the digital book – used for printing in Braille – is already available to the publisher, but he refuses to make it available even to governmental agencies.
• It is very big the number of students with visual disabilities that give up university degrees due to the didactic material inaccessibility. Most universities do not show any initiative to prevent this fact from happening.

Proposals

• Increase in a progressive way the didactic material accessibility using digital format.
• Prepare laws that put the publisher under the obligation of sharing their books in an accessible way to people with visual disabilities, to government agencies and recognized entities, preferably in a digital format.
• Create a unique way of distributing didactic material and literature in digital format, which assure the respect for the copyright owner as well as the right of access of people with disabilities to culture. To achieve this it is necessary to establish a copyright management system and to grant the reproduction by alternate means.

Digital Accessibility

About the Equipments

Diagnostic

• Most schools have to deal with limited budgets, which make any equipment welcome, leaving the accessibility issues to a lower level.

Proposal

• Demand that all equipment used in schools and training centers obey the technical standards of accessibility and that all users who need technical help can count on it.

About Internet / Web

Diagnostic

• Most of the times, searching for contents of interest to their education, students with special needs find barriers that cannot be transposed.
• Brazil has invested in politics of e-Gov and public administration accessible to the populations.
• The option for special double versions of sites for blind people is questionable, since most of the times they are limited to the text, and they are not updated with the some regularity as the primary site.
• Create a unique version of the site that is accessible to all is a faster and lower cost solution than to create two versions.
• Due to the inadequate formation of the responsible professionals for the site development, the double version is the option that is offered most of the times.
• In the case of newspapers, the text only version is well accepted by blind people.
• It is very important that companies know that they will grow their profits if they have their sites accessible.
• The number of sites that show concern with accessibility is growing, but it is also growing the number of those which present the sign of accessibility quality without accomplishing the required rules and standards. This is mainly due to the misunderstanding of the lines of direction by the site developers.

Recommendations

To ease the non-restrictive access to the internet contents the following conditions must be observed:

• sites must be accessible;
• the adopted communication tools must have quality and its handling must be simple;
• the information must have quality and interest;
• the access to computers must be eased (as an individual, in schools, computer sites, public places, etc.);
• there must be trained instructors, preferably having disabilities themselves.

Proposals

• Make available in an accessible way the internet contents with pedagogic interest or that are useful for education, including the ones that are related to research centres, museums, libraries, etc.
• Demand the accessibility to every site created by education institutions or related to the Education and Culture Ministry.
• Forward to education institutions or related to the Education and Culture Ministry, a guide with the lines of direction to the construction of sites and structure a way of superintendence.
• Structure a way of giving quality certification and warrant the minimum accessibility in the Web.
• When it is not possible to make a site accessible, build another one that is. It must not be adopted the option of doubling in text mode.
• Forward to the press, with special attention to the newspapers, the recommendation of developing websites that obey the basic lines of direction for the accessibility implementation.
• Using the ABNT – Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (Brazilian Association for Technical Standards), develop the technical standards for digital accessibility as a base for the legislation and advice of professionals.

About the Electronic Learning Platforms

Diagnostic

• All over the world the number of electronic learning platforms to the implementation of remote teaching is growing, as well as the support to formal courses, however almost all of them present barriers that make them unusable by people with certain disabilities. There are international lines of direction for these platforms but most of the professionals are not able to apply them.

Proposals

• Invest in the diffusion and formation on digital accessibility.
• Structure the organization to supervise the site accessibility, including the necessary tools to study accessibility and the professional training of capable people to this kind of supervision.
• Public administration must demand that all education institutions that wish to offer on-line courses develop its work using certified platforms that offer the minimum guaranties of accessibility.

About the Teachers’ Training

Diagnostic

• The introduction of new technologies interferes with teaching methodology and with computer sciences. Students usually have less difficulty in the area than teachers.
• There are difficulties in the adoption of new technologies by the teachers that may delay the process of digital inclusion.

• Teachers must know and correctly use:

• the tools (computers, software, internet, etc.);
• technical help that may be needed by students;
• electronic learning platforms.

Proposals

• Include in a progressive way the scientific and accessibility technologies for people with disabilities in the curriculum of the teachers and education trainers. Give the Universities the technologic resources to support these initiatives.
• Structure the organization responsible for the promotion of information technologies apprenticeship.

Communication

In shows, events, cinema, TV, information, poster, programmes, warnings and advertisement.

Diagnostic

• To attend a movie or a show, blind people need an guide to describe the visual environment, read the subtitles and narrate the scenes.
• Blind people are put apart of the information that is in the environment and is presented using visual communication.
• Most of the times it is difficult for blind people to find where are positioned in the environment the information they are searching for. It is uncomfortable to read long texts in Braille when they are hanging on a wall.
• Most of the times most ministry laws and other official documents involving accessibility in communication are not accessible to the oral deaf that don’t use the Brazilian language of signs (LIBRAS).

Proposals

• Promote the people with disabilities themselves as the subject of communication to make their participation suffer less distortion.
• Elaborate tables, menus and other information in Braille, as long as they may be distributed for handling.
• Include the standards C-03 of the accessibility commission in communications of the ABNT, with the same level of opportunities for the “Use of LIBRAS” and the “Use of stenotype”;

• Clarify the real education needs of oral deaf regarding the communication and information technology, offering money and technical support to the development of technical standards, which can promote the accessibility to communication, knowledge and information to deaf people.

Lighting

Diagnostic

• The technical standards of illumination usually quantify the lighting parameters of spaces according to the use they are intended to, however the most important concerning accessibility is the quality and not the quantity o light.
• The adequate illumination is an item of primary importance to the communication of deaf people.

Proposals

• In the ABNT accessibility technical standards revision, include the illumination as an accessibility parameter, avoiding the communication barriers due to illumination.

Lack of Knowledge of the Inclusion Concepts, Accessibility and its Influence

Diagnostic

• Many times the requirements for physical accessibility are satisfied, but the lack of knowledge ends up destroying its results, like for example the accessible toilets that are used as store-rooms or end up always closed.
• The media professionals that due to the strategic activity performed could help in the process of inclusion are not informed about disability and incapability as issues for inclusion.
• The media introduce people with special needs in two different ways: the one that needs help and a friendly cooperation, or the amazing one.
• Most universities and faculties of the country do not have enough teachers/researchers working in Special Education; moreover they do not have the perspective of inclusion. The small quantity of research developed is revealed only in the scientific field.
• In general at universities there is no knowledge and no resulting appropriate interest by the teachers and managers to the practice of real inclusion, except for some university access exams. In the case of initiatives and research centres for accessibility that are developed in some universities, it was observed a significant progress on the involvement of students.
• In most of the events, congresses, conferences and meetings, the minimum rules of accessibility are not fulfilled, in a way to allow the appropriate participation of people with disabilities, even when these events are public interest issues. The first big barrier to have accessible environment is the lack of knowledge.

Proposals

• Diffuse in an exhaustive way the concepts of inclusion and accessibility so that they can be part of all community knowledge.
• Give the teachers the principles of the necessary adaptation to physical, environmental and pedagogic resources, even to those that still don’t have students with special needs in the class, foreseeing the moment in which those students will arrive the classes and will find them with the adequate environment.
• Develop instruments and manuals that make possible to each school, class, seminar, etc., ensure its degree of accessibility to people with physical, visual and auditive disabilities, spread and diffused in a public utility campaign.
• Keep up with universities, mainly with technological degrees: engineers, architecture, computer science, industrial design, etc. to consolidate the inclusion of contents and subjects about accessibility.
• Stimulate the exchange between universities, government and non government organizations and associations that are developing state of the art work that can be suitable for everyone.
• Promote the issue “inclusive university” through meetings and events intended for university managers, that is, university principals, headmasters, degree coordinators, department presidents and professors.
• Bring about campaigns to widely spread with the hotel sector the organizing of events besides universities (that usually organize their own events) with some basic lines of direction about what is important to be available to make the activities ready for the participation of people with disabilities, at the same level of comfort and safety as the remainder of the present people. There must be free access to all public spaces used, material available in Braille, a LIBRAS translator, transportation to the place of the event, etc.

Immediate Action of the Forum

It was presented at the XVII Brazilian Congress of Architects a motion elaborated by architects that participated in the Inclusive Education Forum, which was approved with acclamation and unanimity in the closing session of the congress, in Riocentro, in the city of Rio de Janeiro at the 3rd of May 2003. The motion renewed the commitment of the architects to the accomplishment of the principles of Universal Design and to the existent proposal “Por uma Arquitectura sem Barreiras” (For an Architecture without barriers), approved by the same congress in São Paulo in its XIII edition.

Considerations

With the introduction of the concept of Inclusive Education, we hope that the education institutions from now on receive a bigger number of students which present different ways of communicate, move, learn, write, play; and we hope the institutions, teachers, didactic material, environment and furniture are appropriate to receive them. However, this is not the reality we find in our country. We have big changes to accomplish, that are already in progress.

One of the causes to the lack of knowledge by the education and manager professionals about the equipments and technologies that may help the inclusion of disable students is due to the fact that these students are separately being taken care of in special institutions. As long as the users are present, their needs will be recognized and introduced as other demands.

It is especially important to warrant that the education institutions available contents in the internet are accessible to people with disabilities. Build accessible sites is more than obeying standards to accomplish disability people needs; it is an improvement to all users.

The accessibility is essential to the inclusion of all people in the information and knowledge society at all levels. We should count on the adequate ways of spreading the concepts of inclusion, accessibility and disability as important allies in this process. It is fundamental the knowledge development of the society on these issues to achieve the desired progress.

Addresses and Information Regarding Accessibility

Some addresses and information regarding accessibility pointed out in the Forum.

Digital Accessibility: equipments, Internet, web

Resume of the Spanish Accessibility Rules http://www.cettico.fi.upm.es/aenor/

Accessibility plans of the Electronic and Computation Nucleus – NCE of UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro

MOTRIX: http://intervox.nce.ufrj.br/motrix/

DOSVOX: http://caec.nce.ufrj.br/~dosvox/principal.html

SACI network, of Information about Disability and Digital Inclusion www.saci.org.br

Recommendations for accessibility of internet http://www.acesso.umic.pcm.gov.pt/ and http://www.sidar.org

Accessibility lines of direction in e-learning platforms http://www.imsproject.org/accessibility/accessiblevers/index.html

European Consortium to the certification and adaptation of technical rules common to the countries: http://www.euroaccessibility.org

Digital System to the orientation using sound signals

http://www.inclusiondigital.net/ponen/ticssign/overview.html, presented at the IV Sesión de Enlace sobre Accesibilidad al Medio Físico, organized by the Real Patronato

Digital availability of literature

In the United States an on-line system: www.bookshare.org, to which the people with visual disabilities has to present a medical certificate confirming the incapacity level to be able to access the digital book given by the publisher.

Technical Information to the Fitting of Residential Buildings

"Manual para Acessibilidade dos Prédios Residenciais da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro", FUNLAR, CVI-Rio and IBAM. Can be asked to FUNLAR: www.rio.rj.gov.br/funlar. It is in phase of production to be digitally available at FUNLAR.

Comunication for the Media

"Manual da Mídia Legal", by ONG School of People, UERJ and Public Ministry. Can be downloaded from escoladegente.org.br and is also freely distributed. You can ask for it to escoladegente@attglobal.net, to Marina Maria. The Manual is also available in Braille.

Didactic Material

Catalogs of technical help with study and leisure materials designed after the needs of people with disabilities: http://www.ceapat.org/catalogo produced by the Centro Estatal de Autonomía Personal y Ayudas Técnicas (CEAPAT): http://www.ceapat.org/, from Spain.

Technical Rules of Accessibility of UNIT – Uruguay

Available at the site: www.unit.org.uy

Technical Rules of Accessibility of ABNT under development

From the rules under development by the study commission “Acessibilidade na Comunicação” (CB 40) (basic texts that will give the contents to the future technical rules) we point out:

• General standard of signaling and communication
• Use of Braille
• Use of LIBRAS
• Touch floor
• Equipments for self serving bank
• Deaf telephone
• WEB accessibility
• Software accessibility
• Television subtitles as a General Communication Rule