The future of computer access.

In September 1982, the modern age of computer access for persons with disabilities dawned. The key event of this dawning was the publication of an article in Byte magazine describing the Adaptive-Firmware Card (AFC; Schwejda & Vanderheiden, 1982). Although individual programs existed that allowed control via game paddles and single switches before this date, the AFC article was the first exposure of the general computer-buying public to the idea that persons with disabilities might use the same computer programs as the rest of us. In this first attempt at general computer access, most of the methods of keyboard emulation that are used today were introduced and described. The original AFC included support for expanded and mini keyboards, Morse code, single-switch scanning, and simulation of game paddles. Nearly 2 decades later, the computer has evolved from the esoteric hobby of a few electronics advocates to a core communication technology of daily life. In the same time, we have added a few new techniques to the computer access range. Unfortunately, the majority of persons with physical or sensory limitations continue to find that computer access, although more sophisticated, is rarely more functional today than it was in its very early days. Are we doomed, then, to a world of marginal access for persons with physical and sensory limitations? Are we making any progress toward universal access?