90% of the people with some kind of disability use mobile phones regularly

This survey was carried out by the University of Deusto, sponsored by Movistar,in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Real Patronato de Discapacidad (Royal Trust for Disability) and the different associations of people with disabilities. Its aim was to identify areas for improvement in mobile phone use by this disability group, and to implement accessible ideas, services and applications thatcould help to improve their quality of life, thus contributing to their autonomy and integration. With this aim, a survey was conducted among 1,518 people all over Spain, among men and women aged between 15-63 with hearing (24%), physical (28%), intellectual (30%) and visual (18%) disabilities.

This study is framed within the Integral Plan for the disabled Accessible Telefónica, and it shows that the introduction of mobile phone use among people with hearing, physical and visual disabilities is 95%, very close to the national average (nearly over 100%). In the case of intellectual disabilities, its introduction is about 75%, although it has experienced the highest increase in the last few years. On the whole, it can be concluded that mobile phones are a useful tool that facilitate the everyday life of people with disabilities.

People with visual impairments favoured mobile phone use more than other disability groups: 65% of those surveyed with this disability reported that they used it every day, followed by those with some kind of physical (54%) and hearing (54%) disability.

People with visual and physical disabilities used the mobile phone regularly both to make phone calls and to write and send messages (64% and 79%, respectively). People with hearing disabilities reported that mobile phones were a way of communicating in a more simple way than through text messages (46%). On the contrary, people with intellectual disabilities usedit preferably to make calls (53%).

With regard to the identified improvements, there is a need for easy-to-use and intuitive terminals, the spread of supplementary instruments to facilitate the use of mobile phones for people with specific disabilities. In addition, advice and training should be provided regarding the capabilities of mobile phones to expand the communication possibilities for people and how to use them.