Just been writing a piece for the Guardian in the UK on technology for people with disabilities - not the sort that helps people work around their condition, which is an excellent thing, but the stuff that levels the playing field a bit. So, for example, there's a video conferencing centre in London that has a signing service for deaf people so they don't get frozen out of what is after all an obvious visual medium.
All of which is fine and good but I detected an undercurrent with which I was less than comfortable - and frankly I'd be interested to hear whether it squares with other people's experience in here. A load of companies got in touch to talk about how their disabled workforces were doing really well because the Internet allowed them to work from home with all the adaptations and assistive technologies they needed.
OK. Good. But...
Is it really so virtuous to deal with the practical issues faced by people with disabilities are 'resolved' by leaving them at home? Is that where integration of all people regardless of race, creed, color or ability was heading - leave them at home, it's cheaper and less inconvenient?
I'd be very interested to hear the experience of any people with disabilities on this list. Has technology helped or hindered you in terms of getting out and meeting people?