Meloncon, Lisa. (Ed.). (2013).

Rhetorical Accessability: At the Intersection of

Technical Communication and Disability Studies. Amityville, NY. Baywood. 249 pp
(with index). $91.40. ISBN 9780895037893
Reviewed by Melissa Lamaffar, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC USA
Formatted for Journal of Business and Technical Communication
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), approximately 18.7% of civilian
noninstitutionalized U.S. citizens have a disability, and with more than $200 billion
in discretionary spending power, they are significant force in the US marketplace.
Consequently, accessibility is becoming an increasingly prominent issue in the field
of technical communication and Meloncons book titled Rhetorical Accessability: At
the Intersection of Technical Communication and Disability Studies delves into the
topic providing a solid foundation in which both practicing technical communicators
and educators can explore the subject matter. Explored through a social
constructionist frame work using Burkean rhetoric, this book attempts to discuss the
ways rhetoric and accessibility intersect in disability studies, as well as approach
the common theoretical grounds technical communication and disability studies are
built upon.
The first two chapters approach technical communication and disability studies from
a design perspective by looking at two distinct user types, autistic users and low
literacy users. Each of these types of users present challenges and opportunities in
terms of design from a technical perspective. In Chapter 1 Elmore discusses how
autistic users are often dismissed in terms of design, and if they are considered at
all, it is from an object-centered rather than a user-centered viewpoint.

However,

by approaching with a presumption of competence she found that that some of

the research literature included evidence that autistic users are able to innovate
solutions for problems and express opinions about new technologies (p.15). In
discussing low literacy users the authors explored not only those who may have
reading issues due to physical and neurological challenges, but those who may have
literacy issues due to cultural, educational or even temporal factors, such as
fatigue. The chapter then goes on to examine not only the types of methodologies
employed in disability studies, but coping strategies employed by low literacy users
which allows for recommendations of guidelines that designers can use to create
more accessible documentation.
In Chapter 3 the focus moves on to explore the concept of technological
embodiment, in which Melecon finds that the concept itself often erases the
differences between the able-bodied and disabled, by focusing on the dispersion of
embodiment through the use of various technologies. She states that our
experiences, whether our bodies are disabled or not, are relationships between
bodies and things and between bodies and technologies. Viewed through a posthuman framework, this chapter offers a theory of technological embodiments with
the aim to put the body back into technical communication. Gutsell and Hulgin, in
discussing the supercrip metaphor, use a social constructionist approach to examine
how notions of disability and the inherent concept of normalcy are created and
can be recreated through the language system. The all too common practice of
elevating a persons accomplishments by seeing them as occurring in spite of a
disability was identified and criticized by disability activists through the supercrip
metaphor. The supercrip metaphor in particular acts as a preliminary point for
understanding language and the representation of disabilities within our culture,
and in examining this metaphor the authors allow us to see how prominent the pity

notion is within our culture in discussions of disability, particularly in light of existing

social norms. These concepts of rhetoric are expanded upon in discussing narrative
self-representations of people with disabilities and chronic diseases, as Lora Arduser
found, these primary narratives often challenge the more prominent narratives
apparent in the medical community and media, and in doing so empower people
living with disabilities in a way they cannot be achieved through secondary
narratives. From a disability studies perspective, paying attention to and
understanding counter-narratives helps lessen the stigma associated with particular
illnesses and disabilities.
The next section moves away from the theoretical towards a more applied approach
in addressing the needs of populations with varying needs, as Elizabeth Pass
discusses the methodology she employs in teaching accessibility to web design
students, she encourages her students to consider not only permanent but temporal
disabilities in trying to create functional design. These ideas are later addressed
and examined by considering a specific population, that of visually impaired
learners. In addressing the specific needs of visually impaired students in online
writing classes, the author provided practical guidelines for online writing
instructors to consider in course development. As the authors suggest, the current
state of inaccessibility is related to how accessibility is defined in terms of leveling
the playing field. When one defines accessibility as special treatment, this
exclusionary worldview inevitably to a failure to address accessibility issues in
practical sense.
The final section of the book focuses on web standards, accessibility and legal and
financial imperatives which drive the landscape, and in doing so they assert the
importance of bringing perspectives from disability studies to technical accessibility

discourse. However, as the authors of these chapters note, perspectives are not
globalized, rather it must be acknowledged that disability is defined and understood
in different ways throughout the developed and developing world.

In exploring the

legal and policy drivers for accessible web content, not only is the need for
document accessibility addressed, but also the standards against which compliance
is measured. In considering the accessibility of government services, the cost of
providing alternatives, and the broader benefits of accessibility included in design,
the author is able to focus on the implications for technical communicators, not only
for end-users but for the organizations for whom the content is developed. For
accessibility compliance not only affects the public sector, but the private as well
and has far reaching consequences in terms of employment, consumer spending
and job growth. However it is not only the legal and regulatory drivers which are
assessed in this section, but the ethical question of why we should do it is framed
within the fairness guideline, and it is this guideline which opens up a space for the
technical communicator to reflect upon the multiple stakeholders who are affected
in accessibility design. As Lisa Pappas so eloquently states Out of respect for the
diversity of our information consumers, technical communicators must conduct
research to ensure new barriers are not created (p. 215). While not comprehensive
in nature, the final chapter provides information in regards to guidelines and tools
technical communicators can use in ensuring guidelines are met and the needs of
all are considered.
The uniqueness of this book is in its totality, exploring accessibility not only from a
theoretical but an applied perspective as well. By exploring accessibility in
disability studies technical communicators are able to not only understand and
supersede the rhetoric surrounding disability studies, but to ensure greater

accessibility in terms of design and content. Each chapter within this tome is able
to stand alone or contribute to the whole, and in doing so a solid resource has been
created which provides practical guidelines, as well as suggestions for
methodologies in further studies on the matter.

References

US Census Bureau. (2012.) Americans with Disabilities: 2010 Household Economic

Studies, Retrieved
from http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p70-131.pdf