Computer revolution: beyond automation to empowerment

Computers are transforming the job landscape for people with disabilities. Technology is creating opportunities, enabling people to do what used to be unthinkable. Devices that convert text to voice or braille for people with visual limitations or voice to text for those with hearing impairments--these are but a few examples of the computer's ability to empower.

Computers also have the potential to transform service delivery systems; create opportunities for rehabilitation agencies--public and private; and to reach beyond our most recent dreams. Computers can empower us to serve consumers in altogether unique ways, even to enlarge the very meaning of services and transform what it means to be a client.

From Paperwork to Peoplework. States are beginning to develop systems that automate the casework process, slashing the time counselors have to devote to paperwork, freeing them up to invest more in peoplework--face-to-face contact with clients; in cultivating relationships and advocating with employers and other significant constituencies in the community.

Electronic Communities. Electronic bulletin boards and electronic mail are making it possible for people with disabilities and service providers to network with one another, to talk about problems and solutions over a prolonged period of time, even though they are separated by thousands of miles. We glean some idea of how this technology transforms the life of a person with a severe disability from this poem written by Shirley Klein of West Virginia, a person who, because of cerebral palsy, has limited speech and mobility.

On these winged keys My soul soars past these unrelating walls To dance at digital windows That open to the world, And on my pixel panes Answering steps appear Keeping perfect time To life's communicational beat.

Self-Determination. Easy-to-use computer systems are coming on the market that offer software that cover such areas as vocational exploration, job searching, assistive technologies and labor market conditions. This means that people with disabilities will be empowered to assume greater control over their own rehabilitation by directly accessing and analyzing relevant information.

From Data to Information. Every year, RSA collects a large volume of data from the states in the R-911 and other data sources. It takes years for the states to receive analyses of these data. In addition, the analyses could provide a great deal more in the way of meaningful information. Getting more information in a timely manner out of the data we collect would empower VR administrators to do better policy analysis, planning and evaluation.

Recently, I formed a joint work group between RSA and the Rehabilitation Technology Association (RTA), a national organization that has grown out of the West Virginia Research and Training Center's work in information technology. RTA consists of state VR agencies, consumers and facilities seeking to explore the ramifications of information technology for rehabilitation. Here are some of the issues I have asked this joint work group to address:

* How can we in RSA improve the timeliness and meaningfulness of our reports back to the states from the R-911 and other data generated by the states? That is, how can we get more information from these data?

* What policies should RSA adopt to encourage the adoption of computers to automate and empower?

* How might reinvigorated programs of technical assistance and grants for innovation and expansion be applied to foster adoption of technology? How should curricula of rehabilitation counselor education programs be revised to make sure that graduates are technologically literate, i.e., sensitive to the empowering potential of technology?

* How do we begin to rethink rehabilitation in the Information Age? How do we go beyond automation--doing what we have always done, only faster--to empowerment? Peter Drucker, one of America's leading management authorities, says that as soon as an organization "takes te first tentative steps from data to information, its decision processes, management structure, and even the way its work gets done begin to be transformed." What does this mean in the context of rehabilitation?

In the public sector, there is growing recognition that computers can transform the way government relates to citizens. "Microchipping" away at the limits of government is how one observer put it. How can we "microchip" away at the limits of rehabilitation? How can we exploit the problem-solving potential of this technology so that solving the rehabilitation-related problems of people with disabilities becomes the central organizing principle for market-driven rehabilitation services?

Knowledge is power. Access to knowledge is empowering. The concept of accessibility takes on enriched meaning when we extend it beyond just physical or architectural accessibility to mean also accessibility to information and knowledge. Knowledge is our ultimate resource. Let's broaden our vision beyond the limited idea of computers as devices for automation and see them as instruments for empowerment of people with disabilities and the organizations who serve them.

COPYRIGHT 1990 U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group