Curb cuts in the virtual community: telework and persons with disabilities

Curb cuts are the ramps set into sidewalks to make buildings more accessible to persons in wheelchairs. With forethought they are easy to install, they provide access for persons with physical impairments, and at the same time they may be used by able-bodied persons for pushing strollers, shopping carts, and the like. Just like curb cuts in the physical community, telework in the virtual community may be used to break down barriers of access for persons with disabilities. This paper addresses how and why telework may be used as a work-place accommodation. It takes as a point of illustration a program initiated by the U.S. Department of Defense to extend telecommuting arrangements to its employees with short- and long-term disabilities. Recommendations are given for how to represent the needs of persons with disabilities in the design of telework enabling technologies