Remarks of Chairman Wheeler at Coleman Institute conference on Cognitive Disabilities and Technology

I’d like to use my remarks to bring you up to speed on what we’re doing at the Federal Communications Commission to address the challenges of Americans with cognitive disabilities.

We are at a time when digital technology – Internet Protocol, or “IP” technology – offers the greatest opportunity in history to use technology to attack challenges that have affected individuals since the beginning of time – including the 30 million Americans with cognitive disabilities. We are at an historical juncture. If we don’t do everything possible to harness this marvelous new technology revolution to attack the challenges of individuals with disabilities, then shame on us. One of the most important things that needs to happen is that accessibility needs to be baked into the development of mainstream consumer electronics and services. I said it before, but it bears repeating, access to the wonders of technology must be a forethought, not an afterthought. The FCC’s Disability Rights Office has also taken an in-depth look at communications technologies for people with cognitive disabilities, noting accessibility barriers and delineating steps we can take to ensure that our policies eliminate them. Today, I am proud to announce the release of the Commission’s very first White Paper on cognitive disabilities which discusses these issues and presents solutions for accessible information and communication technologies. The paper identifies three primary barriers. First, the lack of accessibility; and second, economic barriers, resulting from the lower incomes that are prevalent in this population. But – and I’m sure this is no surprise to you – we found something else that appears to be preventing the full utilization of emerging communications technologies. That is the lack of outreach to people with cognitive disabilities and their support networks about both their rights to accessible technologies and the availability of some communications technologies that can already improve their daily lives in significant ways...So here’s the bottom line. This is our time to make a difference.