Agencies may also want to consider policies regarding assistive technology to prevent disability, e.g., adaptive keyboards, trackballs, large monitors, in certain types of repetitive jobs. If appropriate, staff from the agency's Affirmative Action office or Equal Opportunity office could be involved in the decision. In any event, if an agency does decide to install assistive technology, Chris Zenchenko is available to provide assistance with selection and installation, as time permits. We advise that agencies NOT adopt standard hardware and software for use by staff who have disabilities. Each person who has a disability has very unique needs and assistive technology must be tailored to meet those needs on an individual basis.
Standards defeat the objective of tailoring technology to meet unique needs.
Of course, agencies want to operate efficiently and want to support the minimum number of configurations. However, our position is that this is a concern of less importance than meeting the individual's needs. This document is in the public domain.