Published 17 April 2023

18 min read

New assistive technologies are providing disabled people – most notably neurodivergent and low-vision consumers – with innovative, customisable tools to navigate physical and digital environments. We detail the sectors where such devices and services are expanding access and improving lives – from work and education to health – and highlight key opportunities for brands and employers across categories.

Digital Interfaces Augment Ability

Workspaces That Work for Everyone

Supporting Educational Needs

Assistive Tech’s Medi-Boost

While 77% of disabled Britons use smart devices to streamline everyday tasks, 48% say interacting with these can be challenging (Amazon, 2022). This usability gap underlines digital engagement, from web browsers to smartphone interfaces. Astute brands are adopting the perspective that “disability is a mismatch between person and environment” and integrating accessible software into mainstream products.

While 77% of disabled Britons use smart devices to streamline everyday tasks, 48% say interacting with these can be challenging (Amazon, 2022). This usability gap underlines digital engagement, from web browsers to smartphone interfaces. Astute brands are adopting the perspective that “disability is a mismatch between person and environment” and integrating accessible software into mainstream products.

Summary

Digital Interfaces Augment Ability

While 77% of disabled Britons use smart devices to streamline everyday tasks, 48% say interacting with these can be challenging (Amazon, 2022). This usability gap underlines digital engagement, from web browsers to smartphone interfaces. Astute brands are adopting the perspective that “disability is a mismatch between person and environment” and integrating accessible software into mainstream products.

Workspaces That Work for Everyone

Although tech-assisted remote work has enabled more people with disabilities to enter the workforce, they continue to be employed at lower rates than non-disabled individuals (see Key Stats). Across remote and in-person environments, tech can ensure workspaces better meet all employees’ needs, from literacy-supporting software to body-doubling services for productivity.

Supporting Educational Needs

Barriers to education mean that disabled people globally are half as likely as the general population to have completed advanced education (Ilo, 2022). To address this divide, tech companies are entering the classroom – from early childhood to university level – with support for everything from social skills to visual literacy.

Assistive Tech’s Medi-Boost

Research suggests many doctors are ill-equipped to serve people with disabilities, making the need for health-targeted assistive tools crucial for individual wellbeing. As consumers become more comfortable with tech-led interventions (thanks in part to the telehealth boom), companies are developing disability-specific remote monitoring tools for prevention, diagnosis and caregiving.

Technology's Adaptive Outlook: Disability Futures

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Offering access to over 350 consumer and cross-industry reports annually, Stylus Membership is your window to tomorrow’s most exciting opportunities.

We already arm more than 500 of the world’s most forward-thinking brands and agencies with the creative insights they need to make transformative business decisions.

We’d love to do the same for you.

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