Timeline

1600–1800 - Ear Trumpets

Ear trumpets are wide at one end to gather sound, narrow at the other to amplify. Ludwig Van Beethoven used an ear trumpet (Ludwig).

1808 - First Typewriter

The first typewriter is built by Pellegrino Turri to help a blind friend write legibly (History of accessible Technology).

1829 - Braille

Louis Braille invents the raised point alphabet that makes him a household name today. His method doesn't become well-known in the United States until more than 30 years after it is first taught at the St. Louis School for the Blind in 1860 (Disability rights timeline).

1886 - Punch cards

Herman Hollerith, who had a cognitive processing disability, implemented the idea of using punch cards to transport data from the 1890 census. He later founded the Tabulating Machine Company. In 1924, it became known as IBM (History of accessible Technology).

1892 - First Braille typewriter invented

Franklin Haven Hall invents the first braille typewriter. This helps speed up the rate at which braille is produced (Ludwig).

1916 - Electric Hearing Tester

At Bell Labs, Harvey Fletcher built the Western Electric Model 2A audiometer (History of accessible Technology).

1922 - Speech Synthesis

The first full electrical synthesis device was introduced by Stewart in 1922. The synthesizer had a buzzer as excitation and two resonant circuits to model the acoustic resonances of the vocal tract. The machine was able to generate single static vowel sounds with two lowest formants, but not any consonants or connected utterances. Same kind of synthesizer was made by Wagner. The device consisted of four electrical resonators connected in parallel and it was excited by a buzz-like source. The outputs of the four resonators were combined in the proper amplitudes to produce vowel spectra. In 1932 Japanese researchers Obata and Teshima discovered the third formant in vowels. The three first formants are generally considered to be enough for intelligible synthetic speech (Ludwig).

1934 - Q Girls Founded

Q Girls was founded by May Shaw – an all-female honor society designed to be a service-oriented organization which would help to meet the needs of visually impaired students at Michigan State University. The sophomore honor society played a key role in the successful enrollment of blind students by way of volunteerism aimed largely at helping MSU students who were blind with campus orientation, note taking, and reading. The Q Girls group was officially recognized by the University, and became known as Tower Guard. The Tower Guard Honor Society began reading textbooks and classroom materials to students who were blind (Fuller, 2019).

1934 - Readphon Talking Book

The Readphon Talking Book was invented. Due to licensing agreements with the publishers and authors’ unions, it was illegal for sighted people to listen to the audiobooks between 1934 and 1948 (History of accessible Technology).

1948 - Development of transistor hearing aids

Bell Laboratories introduces the transistor hearing aid (Stevens). Transistors were created to replace vacuum tubes; they were small, required less battery power and had less distortion and heat than their predecessor. These vacuum tubes were typically hot and fragile, so the transistor was the ideal replacement. The 1952 Sonotone 1010 used a transistor stage along with vacuum tubes, to extend battery life. The size of these transistors led to developments in miniature, carbon microphones. These microphones could be mounted on various items, even eyeglasses. In 1951, Raytheon manufactured the transistor and was one of the first companies to mass-produce transistors to throughout America. Raytheon realized that their hearing aid only lasted short-term and began to sell the vacuum-tube hearing aids again along with transistor hearing aids (Ludwig).
John Bardeed, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs invented the transistor to create more reliable, smaller, cheaper, more efficient hearing aids. They won the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics (History of accessible Technology).

1950 - Electric wheelchair developed

After World War II, demand for wheelchairs spiked. There were thousands of wounded veterans who needed mobility assistance. A Canadian, George Klein, saw the need and invented the electric wheelchair for veterans. The original design was a standard wheelchair with a motor added. Later designs had the motor and battery built into the chair under the seat. Additional developments in ergonomics, controls, comfort, and performance were created as new technologies were developed (Stevens).

1952–1956 - Behind the Ear Hearing Aids

Norman Krim, an engineer at Raytheon and the inventor of the previous subminiature vacuum tube technology, saw the potential application for transistors in hearing aids. By 1952, Krim was able to create junction transistors for hearing aid companies. The transistor not only enabled hearing aids to be made smaller; they could finally be worn either completely inside or behind the ear. The new hearing aids were so popular and successful that more than 200,000 transistor hearing aids were sold in 1953 alone. Zenith's first BTE (behind-the-ear) model hearing aid was the Diplomat, introduced in 1956. This four-transistor aid has an external receiver and microphone openings on both sides of the flesh-colored plastic case. This model also was available in light gray. The Diplomat weighed less than an ounce (Ludwig).

1961 - ANSI standards for Barrier Free Building

The American National Standard Institute, Inc. (ANSI) published American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings Accessible to, and Usable by, the Physically Handicapped (the A117.1 Barrier Free Standard). This landmark document, produced by the University of Illinois, became the basis for subsequent architectural access codes (Timeline of disability rights in the United States, 2023).

1962 - Ed Roberts Fights for Admission to University

Ed Roberts, a young man with polio, enrolls at the University of California, Berkeley. After his admission is rejected, he fights to get the decision overturned. His advocacy, along with that of Judy Huemann, inspires the Independent Living Movement and helps establish the first Center for Independent Living (CIL). Edward Roberts successfully sued to gain admission to the University of California, Berkeley, making him the first student with severe disabilities to attend that school (Timeline of disability rights in the United States, 2023).

1967 - MSU begins removing architectural barriers

MSU begins addressing architectural barrier removal for persons with physical disabilities in response to an organized disability movement and in order to comply with early State regulations (Barrier free access statement).

1971 - MSU Office of Special Programs

Office of Special Programs was established to offer services to disadvantaged students including handicapper students (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

1972 - ARPANET (precursor to internet) created by hearing impaired researcher

Vinton Cerf, who had a hearing impairment and was married to a deaf woman, developed host level protocols for ARPANET. He communicated with his wife through the computer using text, the precursor to e-mail (History of accessible Technology).

1972 - MSU advances in accessibility provisions

MSU established the Office of Programs for Handicapper Students (now the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities)—one of the first in the United States. Handicapped Service Program opens in Owen Graduate Hall East Study Lounge, Owen Hall was the first accessible residence hall at MSU. Judy K. Taylor is hired as a graduate assistant to coordinate the office. The first decade of disability services at MSU focused efforts on the needs of students with readily visible disabilities including mobility, blindness, and deafness, as these populations identified specific accommodation needs (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

1973 - First Handicapped Parking

Handicapped parking stickers were introduced in Washington, D.C (Timeline of disability rights in the United States, 2023).

1973 - Curb Cuts required in Michigan

Michigan’s Public Act 8 of 1973 – The Curb Cut Law becomes effective (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

1975 - First OCR

Ray Kurzweil created the Kurzweil Reading Machine and the first OCR technology and created one of the first CCD (charge coupled device) scanners (History of accessible Technology).

1977-78 - MSU removing physical barriers.

MSU begins work on a transition plan for the systematic removal of physical barriers with the first plan completed in the fall of 1978 (Barrier Free Access Statement).

1981 - MSU Audible Crosswalks

MSU receives a grant from the Telephone Pioneers of America to install the campus’ first two audible, pedestrian crossing signals to assist blind pedestrians (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

1986 - First Computer Screen Reader

Jim Thatcher created the first screen reader at IBM, called IBM Screen Reader (for DOS). At first it wasn’t trademarked because it was primarily for low vision staff members. He later created a Screen Reader/2 for graphical interface PCs (History of accessible Technology).

1987 - MSU Sign Language Interpreters

The first sign language interpreters were hired in 1987 by Judy Gentile; Donna Leahy and Kathleen Robertson (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Modeled after the Civil Rights Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law by, on July 26, 1990. The collective efforts of decades of advocacy passes the most comprehensive disability rights legislation in history. The law guarantees Americans with Disabilities unrestricted access to public buildings, equal opportunity in employment, equal access to government services and employment opportunities. The ADA is an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities. President George H.W. Bush signs landmark legislation prohibiting the discrimination of people with disabilities in all areas of public life including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The Americans with Disabilities Act became law, and it provided comprehensive civil rights protection for people with disabilities. Closely modeled after the Civil Rights Act and Section 504, the law was the most sweeping disability rights legislation in American history. It mandated that local, state, and federal governments and programs be accessible, that employers with more than 15 employees make "reasonable accommodations" for workers with disabilities and not discriminate against otherwise qualified workers with disabilities, and that public accommodations and commercial facilities make "reasonable modifications" to ensure access for disabled members of the public, and not discriminate against them. It also mandated provision of disabled-access toilet facilities in private buildings. (Provision of disabled-access toilet facilities was mandated in federal buildings by the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968). The ADA also required access in public transportation and communication. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is passed. This Act requires “civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications”. The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, this landmark civil rights legislation increases access and opportunity for people with disabilities across community life, including employment, public service, public accommodations, and telecommunication. The passage of the ADA prompted MSU to conduct a formal evaluation of its programs for accessibility to students, employees, and visitors. The passage of the ADA also brought about national, statewide and local changes in terminology encouraging new and consistent person-first language. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) where added to enforced the ADA (Timeline of disability rights in the United States, 2023).

1995 - First Microsoft OS with built in Accessibility

Microsoft issued Windows 95, the first time their OS had built in accessibility features, rather than as an add-on (History of accessible Technology.).

1998 - Section 508

An amendment to the Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, it requires federal organizations to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities that is equal to an employee without disabilities. Section 508 is added to the Rehabilitation Act, requiring that government agencies make their websites more accessible to people with disabilities. Some of these requirements include text descriptions of images, elimination of flashing colors, and regulations against changing a user’s preset contrast setting.

1999 - WCAG Standards

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released Web Content Accessibility guidelines (History of accessible Technology).

1999 - OPHS renamed to RCPD

The Office of Programs for Handicapper Students is renamed the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2000 - Windows onscreen keyboard and text-to-speach

Microsoft Windows 2000 released, with an on screen keyboard option and the ability to translate text to speech for illiterate or blind users (History of accessible Technology)

2002 - MSU celebrates World Usability Day

MSU’s first annual Usability & Accessibility Event in celebration of World Usability Day (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2003 - MSU's first Service Animal Policy

Development of the MSU Service Animal Policy for students and employees (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2004 - MSU RCPD staff help make accessible clothes dryer

Staff from RCPD facilitated a collaborative project resulting in the world’s first accessible talking Whirlpool clothes dryer. This project teamed senior electrical engineering students with RCPD staff, and Whirlpool Corporation resulted in a first-place MSU engineering design team award and additional interest from Whirlpool Corporation officials and a world-wide audience of others interested in accessible design. RCPD staff received an invitation from Whirlpool officials to develop a proposal to both help further develop this technology and extend its availability into the mainstream (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2005 - MSU Adapted Sports Festival

MSU held the first annual Adapted Sports Festival to promote awareness of recreational sports for persons with disabilities. People of all abilities and all ages competed in wheelchair hockey, wheelchair basketball, hand-cycling, power soccer, swimming, tennis, and weight training (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2010 - MSU Real-time captioning begins to be completed remotely.

Real-time captioning begins to be completed remotely. RCPD collaborated with Academic Technology Services to wirelessly connect the notebook computer of classroom users who are deaf or hard of hearing to a remote real-time captioner at the RCPD – a change from real-time captioners sitting immediately adjacent to the end user in the classroom (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2012 - Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

GAAD was established to reach out to creators of digital products (developers, designers or product innovators) and inspire them to make products accessible for all (Timeline of disability rights in the United States, 2023).

2014 - Digitized books for accessibilty is fair use.

Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, 755 F.3d 87 (2d Cir. 2014), was a copyright decision finding search and accessibility uses of digitized books to be fair use. The Authors Guild, other author organizations, and individual authors claimed that the HathiTrust Digital Library had infringed their copyrights through its use of books scanned by Google. A federal court ruled against the plaintiffs in October 2012, finding that HathiTrust's use was permissible under fair use. The plaintiffs appealed the decision to the Second Circuit, and were rebuffed in 2014. In an opinion by Barrington Daniels Parker, Jr., the Second Circuit largely affirmed the lower court's findings of fair use for accessibility and search, remanding only to consider whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue about library preservation copies. The remaining claims were settled on January 6, 2015 (Authors guild, Inc .v. Hathitrust, 2023).

2019–2020 - MSU Accessible Dining

MSU opens the new Thrive dinning facility in Owen Hall, providing students with allergen free dining options.(https://eatatstate.msu.edu/menu/Thrive%20at%20Owen (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2019–2020 - MSU Libraries Children's Collection

The MSU Libraries began to focus on adding children's and young adult books related to accessibility and disability to its children's collection. The children's collection is heavily utilized by students in the College of Education and focuses on diversity.

2020 - MSU Pictures in a Flash

RCPD purchased a Pictures In a Flash (PIAF) machine that provides high-contrast tactile diagrams (Founding to future: Our history of maximizing ability and opportunity).

2020 - MSU Accessible COVID-19 Response

MSU became first University in the state to declare a dramatic shift from in-person classes to virtual learning in response to a rapidly evolving global pandemic of Novel Coronavirus COVID-19. With only a few days of contingency planning, a range of “what if” scenarios was quickly operationalized into a full transition to online learning. Staff of the RCPD worked to both process the risks and innovate to provide solutions intent on ensuring students with disabilities would continue to receive needed supports and partnerships. RCPD has long been centered on technological advancement and thus had a head start on the tools needed for service continuity. Our business continuity plan and solid staff preparedness quickly allowed us to deploy remote telephony solutions and multiple text/audio-visual portals with Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Our captioning team were exemplars of readiness thanks to their multiple year head start on remote processes as they were leaders in innovating to provide remote captioning using a range of distance education tools for deaf students before that skill was essential. Our team packed up their technologies and went to work remotely on March 11 honoring the time-tested traditions of Spartans intent on solving the world’s toughest challenges (Hudson, 2020).

2022 - Giphy alt text

Announced in late December 2022, the alt text additions were intentionally human-written, circumnavigating problems many other sites have faced with auto-generated alt text, and improving the ability of screen readers to accurately describe visual media and read webpages or social feeds for users. Starting with 15 writers working on the first 1,000 GIFs, the team at Scribely began rolling out about 3,500 descriptions per week to chip away at "the ever-expanding GIF ocean," Scribely representatives shared in a summary of a presentation for the AccessU 2023 accessibility conference. "GIFs are an important part of our daily lives, thanks to their unique ability to convey ideas, emotions, and humor in ways that static images often can't. These looping videos move us to moments of joy and happiness. But without alt text, the moment is lost and excludes millions," said Caroline Desrosiers, founder and CEO of Scribely. "That's why this project with GIPHY is so monumental and necessary."

2023 - PlayStation accessibility

Sony announced it was making its PlayStation experience easier to navigate for users with disabilities by including obvious accessibility tags to all of its offered games. The tags include notes on relevant visual, audio, control, and gameplay features for each game. Early in the year, at the annual CES tech convention, Sony unveiled it was designing a new adaptive game controller, known as Project Leonardo, for PlayStation 5. The controller allows a user to customize its use and design features, as well as attach third-party accessibility accessories, to help players with limited motor control (Ortutay, 2023).

2023 - WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 included improvements in accessible navigation of webpages, input using accessible technology, consistency, authentication (eliminates CAPTCHAs!). To learn more about the new criteria added in WCAG 2.2 please visit the new web content accessibility guidelines.

Future - What do you think?