Audiovisual access systems for people with sensorial disabilities and their development in Uruguay

Abstract

Accessibility, which has historically been linked to the access of disabled persons to physical environments, also expands its scope to the field of information and communications. There are accessibility systems that help sensory disabled to the access to audiovisual content and other cultural products. These systems, developed for decades in USA and Europe, are subtitling and sign language for the deaf and hard of hearing, and audio description for the blind and low vision. This article describes how these systems work, what do they mean from a perspective of rights of persons with disabilities under the paradigm of Design for all, and reconstructs what experience has been developed in Uruguay.