- Apple has a new International Day of Persons with Disabilities video
- It's not your typical accessibility video
- It highlights a wide range of Apple accessibility features
They're not 'brave,' 'remarkable,' or 'inspirational,' but I think it's safe to say that the students with disabilities who participated in Apple's latest International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec 3) film produced an extraordinary and moving video, one that reminds us that they're just people, messy, wonderful people.
Throughout the video, which, naturally, highlights all the accessibility features Apple offers across its product line, including Magnifier in macOS, Braile Access, Assistive Touch on Apple Watch, Live Captions, and more, we see students using tools like gestures on the Apple Watch and Name Recognition (text alerts when the phone detects someone calling your name) to connect with other students and studies both inside and outsdie the classroom.
Despite the message, it's hard not to be moved by the often joyful moments contained in the video. These students with disabilities, ranging from vision to hearing and from mobility to missing limbs, sing, dance, navigate campus life, and demonstrate that they are not trying to be special but just want to do what everyone does. Taking advantage of Apple's accessibility tools certainly helps. But there's more to it than that.
While the video, directed by Kim Gehrig, is a strong reminder that none of these young people is trying to be inspirational, they are, perhaps, providing some examples of strong self-determination. The young woman who draws with an Apple Pencil on an iPad using her toes (see above) is doing what she loves and not trying to demonstrate a special capability, at least not one beyond her impressive drawing skills.
Accessibility tools are ultimately not about enhancing abilities; they are about ensuring that students like them can experience learning, creativity, and socialization in much the same way as students without disabilities.
It's a strong, uplifting, occasionally funny message and, perhaps, a depiction of the disabled that we have not seen before.
As they say in the video, "
“I’m only remarkable because everybody is.”
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