The expansion and growth of telecommunications technology is designed to make communicating over the telephone easier, faster, and more efficient. But this is not always the case for people with disabilities. Voice mail is inaccessible to deaf people.
Fax is inaccessible to people who are blind.
Interactive voice systems are inaccessible to people who can not use their arms. To promote accessible telecommunications, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has funded a Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Center on Universal Telecommunication Access. The four-year center began operation on September 1, 1995. In the first year of the project, United Cerebral Palsy Associations conducted a portion of the research. Systems Engineering Studies , in which a leading expert on telecommunications is synthesizing information about access issues, telecommunication technology trends, and government policy to present guidance on how to promote universally accessible approaches to new products and services.