Media & Disability
Guide on media & disability
Glossary of Terms
Alternative Accessible Communication Formats
This term covers a variety of formats in which information may be made available to disabled people, primarily those with sensory impairments. Such formats include Braille, large print, audiocassette, computer disk, tactile drawings, email and texting.
Discrimination
Discrimination means treating people less favourably because of their disability (or race, gender, age, sexual orientation). Unlike other diversity legislation, positive discrimination in favour of disabled people is permitted in some countries.
Disability
Definitions of disability vary from country to country. Many definitions are based on a medical model of disability, for example:
“ A physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”
Unfortunately most definitions of disability do not take into consideration the social context or environment in which a person is living, and the attitudes they may encounter – all of which can be as disabling as an individual impairment.
Hearing Enhancement Systems
These are pieces of equipment of benefit to people who use hearing aids or who have a moderate degree of hearing loss, but do not benefit people who are profoundly deaf. There are three types: induction loop, infrared and radio.
Minicom
See Textphone
Reasonable Adjustments
The concept of reasonable adjustments means those steps which you might need to take to ensure that the impact of a disabled person’s disability or impairment is minimised. These might include pieces of equipment, for example, a differently shaped computer keyboard or mouse, special computer software, adjustable furniture, a personal assistant, flexibility on working hours, etc
Relay Service
When using a relay service, a telephone call is made with the help of an operator who types a hearing person’s words through to a deaf person’s textphone and then voices the deaf person’s typed response.
Textphone
A telephone that enables deaf people type to send messages. Special textphones are available for use with land lines. Sometimes a textphone is called a “minicom”. However, mobile phones are also now commonly used for sending text messages.