Disabilities Community and Tech Advocaccy

I blogged recently about my testimony at the NYC Committee on Technology in Government hearing on Open Data. After that hearing, I had a brief conversation about open source and handicapped accessibility which got me thinking about a few points. One of them was the strange lack of visible advocacy around technology coming from the disabilities community.

I realize that there may be a good deal of activity that flies below the radar, and the word visible to qualify my statement. But, it still seems strange to me. I've testified at a number of hearings related to technology, and attended a number of other hearings, and I don't recall a single advocate for any group with disabilities at any of them. In fact, at most (really all, if memory serves) of these hearings, if I didn't bring up the issue of handicapped access, no one did.

That's a real shame. After all, when I bring it up, it's not the focus of my testimony, just one point of several. Yet, technology - and how it is adopted and adapted by both private and public sector is a huge issue for people with disabilities. And, these hearings are part of the public record.

I'd really love some feedback on what the thinking on this is. Any takers?