Second Life has drawn a lot of attention from accessibility circles this year and has been a hot topic of conversation across the blogsphere. While there are technical barriers of access for some groups of disabled people such as people with sight problems there are some huge benefits for others.
This video shows Judith, who has cerebral palsy, being interviewed about her Second Life experience by Roger Hudson and Russ who runs the Web Standards Group mailing list. Judith uses a head wand and keyboard to use a computer and spends a lot of time at Wheelies in SL, a club set up by Simon Walsh who also has cerebral palsy. In Simon’s own words, “Wheelies aims to make guests feel comfortable about disability as well as dancing and just plain having a good time”. I’ve spent a lot of time there myself hanging out with Simon listening to the resident DJ Cataplexia Numbers and other great acts who play live. You can even borrow a wheelchair from a line up just outside the front door.
View the Wheeling in Second Life video on YouTube and read the transcript on UI Access.
Thank you to Roger, Russ, Judith and Simon for this!
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