United States Assistive Technology Act of 1998 Essay

United States Assistive Technology Act of 1998 - Essay Example The third issue concerns the protection, coordination and promotion of the established program within the stated jurisdiction. In addition, since funding may be susceptible to abuse, the act establishes the checks and balances of ensuring proper management and use of availed funds. The 1998 act is majorly concerned with the provision of technical support for the persons with disability in the country so that they are able to perform their tasks and efficiently dispose off their daily activities. This is based on the fact that with new technology the disabled should not be left behind, but accorded the best alternatives of handling tasks through the facilitation of information dissemination and training programs for other personnel related to the program. The act also calls for coordination between the federal government and states agencies for the implementation of this program. Since the area of educational facilities and learning materials was the most affected, the act was mainly facilitated by the federal department of education (Watson, 2007). Persons with disabilities in the country have long been faced with challenges for the access of physical infrastructure like buildings besides not being able to access certain services like proper education. With the advancement in technology, it has been a challenge for the physically disabled to cope with innovation. The act is, therefore, established to take advantage of modern technology to enhance and support activities of th e disabled and reverse the trend where new technology poses a challenge to most disabled individuals. The policy maker was concerned because technological change is also a major driver for economic development of the country. For instance, it is notable that in the education sector alone, about over 10% of the enrolled undergraduates as of the year 2004 were disabled (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005). The political motives and implications behind this program were varied. As a key component, the act serves the purposes of ensuring that the right of equitable access to facilities and services by the disabled members of the population is guaranteed. The policy implications is that the program required that the institutions of learning and other sector administrators develop appropriate frameworks for the facilitation of the assisted programs for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Engineering designs for the various information and technology tools are also to b e designed taking into account the usability of these individuals. The act also requires equal representation of all the stakeholders related to the issues of the assistive technology as composed in the advisory council of the act. The process of establishing this act can be traced back to the year 1987 when there was push for the establishment of policy in the aid of assisting the persons with disability to competently cope with the new technology. The following year, therefore, congress enacted an act to be able to ensure this objective. However, in the recognition that the first act was majorly based on the provision of disability friendly structures and building plans and provision of basic aid materials and implements such as wheel chairs, there was need for review especially to capture the area of technological assistance. It is in the light of