Towards the Development of Guidance to Support Self-Employed Workers with Visual Impairments

Abstract

Self-employment provides a unique opportunity for a customized work experience that can be specialized for an individual's skills and career goals. In particular, individuals with disabilities benefit from the flexible and accessible work environment of self-employment. The number of self-employed workers with disabilities is a small portion of the population and the number of initiatives and resources available is inadequate. The gap between the availability of resources and the benefits of the career can be attributed to a lack of support, inaccessible technology, and societal expectations. The research described in this paper, aims to examine the experiences of self-employed workers with visual impairments and better understand the technologies, training and resources currently used, with a goal of supporting operations and interactions. Two proposed studies are described. The research aims to culminate in the development of guidance for designers and researchers interested in developing solutions to support self-employed workers with visual impairments.