The Mission of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Abilities Action Team is to ensure that people with disabilities can participate fully in the online community. We assist individuals, families, communities and organizations to harness the power of information and interactive communications as tools for overcoming the challenges that face them.

We accomplish this by promoting and encouraging the use of the internet as an information channel for and about disabilities. The online technology can be used to:

• increase public awareness of disability rights and issues.
• share current information about disabilities, treatment and coping
• break down barriers in communcation for people with disabilities.

For some people the online community removes the barriers of differentness -- in e-mail and in a chat room, everyone looks and speaks the same way. For others, barriers of access must be removed -- for example, people who are visually impaired need assistive technology such as screen readers to use the computer.

There are other barriers that keep people from participating in the online community. These barriers include motivation, limited financial resources, and lack of knowledge.

The Potomac KnowledgeWay Abilities Action Team is dedicated to showing people with disabilities the value and pleasure of online communication and helping them to overcome all obstacles so that they can be full participants.

Resources:

Disabilities Links These pages provide links to local resources and information regarding issues pertinent to the disability community in the Greater Washington region.

Current activities include:

• Maintaining and expanding the existing Regional Disabilities Resources Internet web pages
• Marketing of the aforementioned web pages via local disability related organizations, local media, and search directory/engine listings
• Communicating via e-mail discussion group
• Monthly meetings (user group format)
• Developing and delivering presentations to increase awareness

Discussions:

View the archives of the team's e-mail discussions.