Accessible social media and apps give a voice to people with disabilities

What are the apps widely used by the differently-abled individuals? Foremost; how do Social apps bring about a change in the life of a differently-abled? Can we identify the independence evolved through a social app/media?
With the evolution of technology, the society has been able to come a long way. This has also allowed the society to be more inclusive for people with disabilities. We are able to identify the possibility of staying connected and technologically apprised by the means of installing apps and creating a platform. Moreover, social networks have greatly influenced the disabled community in academic, social, entertainment and business approaches. Key accessibility features of phones, computers and social media have allowed people with disabilities to stay connected and informed.

Accessibility features of smartphones such as the iPhone has allowed visually impaired individuals to navigate the screens as well as apps. Voice Over and Speech to text features allow those with visual impairments, for example, to read social media posts as well as create posts themselves. The Assistive Touch feature allows those with motor skill impairments to use the simple tapping gesture instead of other gestures. All these features are essential in the use social media usage of individuals with disabilities.
It is vital for the differently-abled individuals to stay current with the systematics of social media by identifying their purpose, recognizing the value they can present to their lives and gaining knowledge about how the apps work. In today’s world, we are all quite advanced with our understanding of social media and the ways of connecting with the outside world. Dr Scott Hoiller, a project manager at Media Access Australia concludes the following on the benefits of social media specifically for people with disabilities:
“The common element between all of these scenarios is participation: regardless of whether social media is used for activism, entertainment or obtaining pizza discounts, it is vital that consumers with disabilities are able to participate in the benefits that social media can provide.”
In other words, social media has taken over the world and is the driving force of success for many disabled individuals. Brian Solis; a digital analyst, speaker and author quotes:
“Social media spark a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.” These movements and change are things that people with disabilities can participate in, all thanks to the accessibility features that have been built in to smartphones and apps.

Historically, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular amongst people with disabilities as it allows two-way communication without hassle, enables fast access in making calls both video and audio and allows sharing documents on various group chats quite easily. All these features make up a usable, accessible platform for the differently-abled individuals as the application can be easily installed. This has presented the disabled population with an opportunity to access educational materials and news.
On a lighter note, WhatsApp also helps in creating a friendly and healthy environment for people with disabilities, with its new updates such as the ability to update pictorial status, create/manage group chats and the ability to handle WhatsApp on your laptop/PC through WhatsApp WEB.

Furthermore, the second-best option for great assistance for people with disabilities is Facebook. The application not only allows direct contact with the peers but has a tremendous influence on the users altogether. Provides a platform for the differently-abled by creating an online community that permits in expressing virtual empathy, acquiring freedom of speech, boosting optimism within peers and the desire for participation. All these aspects help empower these individuals, giving them a voice and in turn, self-confidence. In addition, Facebook is committed in giving the best experience to the differently-abled individuals by introducing new platforms such as the new Facebook app on iOS which can track voice overs between news feed and individual stories, the use of artificial intelligence to help blind individuals see Facebook through an Automatic Alt Text and the Dynamic Type (larger text) which enables text enlargement for the visually challenged individuals.

According to the Journal of computer-mediated communication (2014), disabled individuals tend to use Facebook as much as others do, meaning that they primarily use it to stay connected with their peers online. This grants the disabled users the potential to gain independence, be innovative and contribute to creating awareness about the needs and issues of their community. In fact, there are numerous pages that facilitate people to obtain support online. The Facebook community of disabled individuals can be easily explored through various pages such as This is what disability looks like, International Disability Alliance, Disabled People’s International (DPI), National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled(NCPEDP) and so forth. Through Facebook, many differently-abled individuals have succeeded in finding their voices.

“No matter what, you’re always able to do anything. Never give up,” says Owen, who has a bone condition called arthrogryposis. A Facebook page; Special Books by Special Kids (SBSK), founded by a former teacher, Chris Ulmer; gives access to children like Owen, who wanted to share their stories and create awareness about their diagnosis.
The founder, Chris Ulmer says: “The students in my class were amazing. They were funny, engaging and charismatic,”
“But the rest of our neighborhood didn’t really understand them. Nobody valued them. I wanted to show off these individuals and help them show the world what they had to offer.”

In summary, individuals from the disabled community have been able to successfully integrate themselves in to the online community through social apps that have been made usable through accessibility features. These social apps play a vital role in formulating a better place for them to engage with others in their community, voice their opinions and concerns, and spark conversations. Nonetheless, improved innovations can definitely allow a vast number of disabled users to have accessibilities to the outside world in a tractable manner.
Reference Links:
http://www.bangthetable.com/sociability-social-media-for-people-with-a-disability/ — http://www.bangthetable.com/
https://www.intelligenthq.com/marketing/6-quotes-brian-solis-connected-marketeer/ — https://www.intelligenthq.com/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcc4.12059/pdf — http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
http://www.bbc.com/news/education-39380539 — http://www.bbc.com/news

