by Emilie Schmeidler and Corinne Kirchner
(Copyright 2001, American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, April 2001, pp. 197-212. Reprinted with permission.)
(Editor’s Note: Because of space limitations, the article below was not reprinted in full; for the list of references, as well as tables and statistical formulae, please refer to the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness.)
The research reported here was conducted under a subcontract to the American Foundation for the Blind from the WGBH Educational Foundation; National Science Foundation Grant ESI- 9253447. Edward Cutler guided our selection of science-relevant questions. Fred Neurohr, Purvi Shah, and Drew Halfmann provided research assistance. Katharine Bond, Laurie Everett, Jaclyn Packer, Lawrence Scadden, Joel Snyder, and Karen Wolffe and anonymous JVIB reviewers made helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.
Accepted July 11, 2000.
Abstract: A television viewing experiment — preceded and followed by interviews about attitudes, usual television viewing patterns and demographics — was conducted with 111 legally blind adults who were convened in groups. The research examined the impact of watching television science programs with and without audio description. The experiment showed that respondents gained and retained more information from watching programs with description. Respondents reported that description makes programs more enjoyable, interesting, and informative; and that they are more comfortable talking with sighted people about programs that had been described.
The positive impact of added description was greater for the program with less narration in its original format.
Television programs and videos are increasingly important for education and popular culture; they are widely discussed at work, in school, and among friends and neighbors. People who are visually impaired (those who are blind or have low vision) watch television at about the same rate as does the general public (Packer and Kirchner, 1997). However, because much of the content is presented only visually, they have limited access to the programs. Access is increased through audio description, which adds precise, concise verbal descriptions of visual images —about people, objects, scenes, body language, facial expressions, sizes, and colors (Everett, 1994; Miers, 1998).
Over the past decade, since audio description began being broadcast on television, described videos and other venues have become more common. Nevertheless, because access to television programs remains limited, in August 2000 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules requiring five major networks in the top 25 markets to provide 50 hours of prime time or children’s programming with audio description. The FCC also required that emergency information be made more accessible to visually impaired viewers. These rules are scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2002. The public comments, FCC’s response to the comments, and the rule are available on the FCC’s web page (Disability Rights Group, 2001). However, some provisions of these rules are being protested and the composition of the FCC has changed with the new administration. Thus the issue may be reopened, and documenting evidence about the value of adding description continues to be important.
In 1993, the Informal Science Education Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the Descriptive Video Service (DVS) at the WGBH Educational Foundation a grant to add audio description to two science series and to evaluate the impact of the added description on visually impaired viewers. WGBH subcontracted with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) to conduct the research.
The central question for the evaluation was whether, in this informal learning context, adding description increased viewers’ learning of the programs’ science content. In addition, the study measured the participants’ psychological and social responses to audio description, as well as selected measures of television viewing more generally. This article summarizes the key results of that research; a more detailed report, including the study documents, is available (Schmeidler and Kirchner, 1996).
Method, Participants, Recruitment
The participants were recruited in the Boston area through public and private organizations with visually impaired clients, employees, or members. Recruitment began in 1994, when Boston- area chapters of the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind and the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind distributed to their mailing lists a letter on AFB letterhead. The letter explained the project briefly: that the study would be conducted by AFB and WGBH Educational Foundation, that it was funded by NSF, that it would involve going to WGBH (Boston’s Public Broadcasting Service station) for a three-hour session to watch television programs about science, and that only adults who were legally blind were eligible to participate. The letter deliberately made no mention of audio description. Interested people were invited to call a toll-free telephone number or return an enclosed postcard.
Over about eight months, 78 people indicated their interest in participating or requested more information. To recruit more participants, additional organizations were contacted in 1995, notices with a similar message were placed on dial-in telephone tape-information lines and were posted electronically on on-line services; also, the radio reading service carried a public service announcement. An additional 95 people responded to these communications. (The organizations contacted and a sample letter are listed in Schmeidler and Kirchner, 1996.)
In 1995, WGBH staff attempted to call the 173 potential respondents to ascertain their eligibility and to administer the first questionnaire. A total of 143 people completed this first interview. The WGBH staff then called these potential participants to schedule their attendance at one of the viewing sessions and to arrange transportation; 111 people attended the viewing sessions (described later). About a month or two after the viewing sessions, each participant was called for a follow-up telephone interview. All 111 people who attended the viewing sessions completed the follow-up interview. The length of time between the initial contact, the first interview, the viewing session, and the follow-up interview varied considerably because additional participants were recruited until a minimum of 100 people had attended the viewing sessions.
Characteristics
The participants, 61 percent of whom were women, ranged in age from 20 to 89; 38 percent of them lived alone. Of the 111, 31 percent had completed no more than high school; 24 percent had some college education, 22 percent had completed college, and 23 percent had post-college education. Two-fifths (39 percent) had been legally blind since birth; 12 percent became legally blind before age 20; 33 percent became legally blind between ages 20 and 49; 10 percent became legally blind between ages 50 and 69; and 6 percent became legally blind between ages 70 and 89. Of the 36 percent who reported that they had no usable vision, two-thirds had visual memories. Among the two-thirds who had usable vision, 26 percent did not rely at all on their vision to watch television, 31 percent relied on their vision a little, 12 percent relied on their vision a moderate amount, and 30 percent relied on their vision a great deal.
Other forms of involvement
In addition to being study participants, people who were visually impaired contributed to the research in formal and informal ways. Two formal focus groups discussed which issues should be explored and what procedures should be used. Participants in viewing-session pretests provided suggestions during their debriefing either as individuals or as informal focus groups. A former biology professor who is now blind served as the science consultant and was instrumental in formulating scientifically relevant content questions. People who were legally blind conducted some of the telephone and viewing-session interviews. More broadly, throughout the study, the discussions of the research at AFB and DVS included both blind and sighted people.
Television programs
Because this study was designed to examine the impact of description in two science series, one program was selected from each: “Orphans of Time” from the New Explorers series (hereafter called Program 1) and “Wild Dogs of Africa” from the Nature series (hereafter called Program 2). The series’ styles differ significantly. The New Explorers is fast paced; the narrator speaks with the scientists featured in the program, and the scientists talk with each other. Much is explained through dialogue or narration; there are only brief opportunities to add description.
In contrast, Nature has a single narrator and no other human voices. It contains longer segments with information conveyed by visual images without any verbal clues and hence provides more opportunities and more potential for description. Although the programs were not selected to highlight this difference, the contrast between them points to differences among programs that may be important. See Kuhn (1992) for an explicit discussion of the differences among several science series, including these two, and Frazier and Coutinho-Johnson (1995) for an account of their difficulty finding an appropriate video to which description could be added.
Research design
The study relied on extensive interviews both by telephone and at the 16 experimental viewing sessions. Most questions were forced choice, although a few were open ended. The initial telephone interview covered vision status, television viewing, and interest in science and television science programs, as well as demographic and social background. After each program at the viewing sessions, each participant answered questions about facts presented in that program and about his or her reactions to the program. In the follow-up telephone interviews, after a few factual questions about each of the two programs, the participants were asked about their television viewing at home and then more specifically about audio description.
Viewing session: Experimental conditions
The experimental component of the study took place during 16 viewing sessions. Each three-hour session began with a brief introduction to explain what would be happening and to set the participants at ease. All the groups saw Program 1 first; then each participant responded individually (in regular print, large print, braille, or by having someone read the questions and record the answers) to questions about the content and his or her response to the program. (This procedure contrasts with the procedure used by Katz and Turcotte, 1993, and Peli et al., 1996, in which the participants answered questions after brief segments of programs.) After a break with refreshments, the group saw the first half of Program 2 and answered questions based on this program. (The participants saw only a half hour of Program 2 to match the length of Program 1; Program 2 was cut when a meaningful segment of the program had been completed.) Finally, the participants were thanked for coming, reminded about the follow-up interview, and asked not to talk with other visually impaired people about the content of the programs or questions.
The experimental variation was that half the viewing sessions showed Program 1 with description and Program 2 without description, and the other half showed Program 1 without description and Program 2 with description. Everyone answered the same questions whether she or he had seen the version with or without description. Thus, each person served both as an experimental and as a control participant.
Potential bias. Controlling potential sources of bias is always a concern in research. A major issue is that if the participants think they know what the study is trying to show, they may respond, deliberately or inadvertently, in ways that conform to their expectations (Orne, 1962). This situation sets up a conflict: It is desirable not to tell participants about expected outcomes, while at the same time it is important not to deceive them.
To make this evaluation as impartial as possible, the researchers did not tell the participants that DVS was involved in the study or that the research question was whether adding description enhanced television viewing. Questions dealing explicitly with description were introduced only in the follow-up telephone interviews after the participants had answered all the questions about the specific programs. Any questions the participants previously asked about audio description were deflected. The participants appeared to be familiar with the norm that details of the study would not be discussed until they completed their part in it; they readily accepted assurances that all their questions would be answered at the conclusion of the final interview.
Participant protections. To test whether adding the verbal description of visual material conveyed more information than seeing the program without the additional descriptions, questions based specifically on the audio description were included. However, this method raised the concern that the participants were being set up to fail because they were unlikely to know information presented only visually in the program. To minimize any negative impacts, this issue was discussed explicitly in the focus groups and with the pretest participants, none of whom reported any discomfort.
In addition, before each program was shown and again before the questions were administered, the staff emphasized that the research was about how well the programs conveyed their messages, not how knowledgeable the participants were. The staff also said explicitly that “I don’t know” was as useful an answer to the factual questions as any other, since the research was assessing how effective the programs were.
Experimental results
Cognitive impacts
The participants in the experimental and control conditions were asked the same 34 questions about the content of the programs. For each program, almost half the questions were based on material presented both visually and with audio description. In response to each program, the experimental group (those who saw the described version) answered significantly more questions correctly than did the control group. For both programs, these differences are accounted for by the questions drawn from the audio description. For neither program was there a significant difference in the number of program-narration questions answered correctly by the experimental and control groups.
It is not surprising that some control participants answered some questions correctly, although the questions were based on visual material or descriptions they had not heard. At least four factors may account for this finding. First, although all the participants were legally blind, almost two-thirds of them had some usable vision and almost one-third reported that they relied a lot on their vision when watching television. Since the study attempted to replicate normal viewing conditions as nearly as possible, the participants were encouraged to sit wherever it was most comfortable for them so they could use their vision as they would at home. Second, for the two programs, a few participants (13 percent and 16 percent, respectively) reported that they had seen them previously. Third, the informational questions were developed with the study’s science consultant to identify scientific content; thus, the participants may have come to the programs with some knowledge of the topics. Finally, since the questions were in a forced-choice format, by chance alone, some correct answers were expected.
Approximately one to two months after they saw the programs, the participants were interviewed again by telephone. These interviews began with five questions referring to each program — two from the description and three from the narration. The Program 1 experimental and control groups showed no significant differences with regard to correct answers to either the narrated or the described questions. However, the Program 2 experimental group correctly answered significantly more of the questions derived from both the program narration and especially from the audio description.
The impact of adding description was great enough to be evident in individual questions. Taking both programs together, a total of 18 questions (14 from the viewing sessions plus 4 from the follow-up interview) were based on added descriptions. For 14 of the 18 questions, the experimental participants answered correctly significantly more often than did the control participants. In contrast, only 2 of 26 questions drawn from the program narration showed significant differences in correct answers.
Psychological impacts
During the viewing sessions, after the factual questions for each program, the participants were asked about their reactions to the programs. Six questions asked them to rate the programs on 10-point scales, anchored at each end with contrasting concepts: uninformative-informative; confusing-clear; frustrating-satisfying; bored-interested; not enjoy-did enjoy the program; not stimulate-did stimulate interest in science. Overall, the participants gave both programs high marks whether they were described or not: in fact, on each question about one-third (28 percent-44 percent) of the participants gave the highest possible rating. This distribution of scores created a “ceiling effect” that makes it difficult to show differences between the control and experimental groups.
The Program 1 ratings by the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly on any of these variables. In contrast, the experimental group rated Program 2 (which contained more description) as significantly more satisfying, informative, and clear than did the control group. The differences for the questions about whether the program was enjoyable and interesting were in the same direction, but did not reach statistical significance.
Social impacts
To tap the social dimension of television viewing, the researchers asked the participants how comfortable they would be talking about the programs with sighted friends and how many aspects of the programs would be difficult for them to discuss with sighted people. For Programs 1 and 2, 56 percent and 53 percent of the participants, respectively, said they would be very comfortable discussing them.
However, while only 9 percent of the participants said they would be somewhat or very uncomfortable discussing Program 1, 21 percent said they would be uncomfortable discussing Program 2. The responses of the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly with regard to Program 1. However, for Program 2, those who saw the described version indicated that they would be significantly more comfortable discussing the program with sighted friends. Similarly, for Program 1, the control and experimental participants reported no difference in the number of aspects that would be difficult for them to discuss with sighted people. However, for Program 2, the experimental group reported significantly fewer aspects that they would have difficulty discussing than did the control group. As with the participants’ evaluations discussed earlier, the differences in the participants’ level of comfort talking about the programs seem to reflect the differences in the styles when the programs were presented without description: Program 2 had more frequent lengthy periods in which information was presented with only minimal auditory clues.
Attitudes toward television viewing and description
Stepping back from these two specific programs, the survey portion of the study asked selected questions about television viewing in general and description in particular. As was noted earlier, questions about description were asked only in the follow-up interview, after all the questions about the two programs.
Social context of television viewing
For many participants, watching television is a relatively solitary affair. Although only 38 percent of the participants lived alone, 67 percent watched television alone most or all of the time. The overwhelming majority of participants (93 percent) thought that when they watched television, they missed information that is available to sighted people.
Although the participants often watched television alone, 81 percent watched with others at least some of the time. Of those who ever watched with others, 80 percent reported that someone described what was happening at least some of the time. Virtually all these people said that such descriptions helped them both understand and enjoy the programs (96 percent and 99 percent, respectively). Thus, these participants strongly indicated that informal description enhanced their television viewing. However, much of the time — because they are watching alone or because no one is describing for them — people with visual impairments do not get descriptions that would help them understand and enjoy television programs.
Familiarity with audio description
Although 89 percent of the participants said they had heard of description, relatively few reported extensive experience with it. Twenty-five percent said they had never experienced it before this study, and 14 percent were uncertain whether they had experienced it before. Among the 61 percent who had been exposed to audio description, 78 percent reported only a little experience with it, and 22 percent reported a lot of experience with it. Prior experience was fairly evenly distributed among television only (40 percent); other settings, such as museums, theater, or home videos (31 percent); and both kinds of settings (28 percent).
Reactions to described television
In the follow-up interviews, the participants responded that audio description is enjoyable, interesting, and informative (85 percent, 95 percent, and 96 percent, respectively). When asked whether audio description is confusing or boring, 78 percent and 87 percent, respectively, said it is not. When asked whether description repeats information they could have figured out for themselves, 63 percent reported that it does not, 32 percent said that it does, and 5 percent said that it makes no difference. Therefore, looking at these six questions together, overall the participants said that audio description enhanced their viewing appreciably.
Each participant was also asked whether having television programs described makes him or her more comfortable talking about the program with sighted people. About three-quarters of the participants (73 percent) said that description makes them considerably or a lot more comfortable talking about television programs with sighted people. In follow-up questions, 66 percent said that having programs described makes a big difference in their ability to talk about the program, and 50 percent said it makes a big difference in the questions they ask, while only 11 percent and 7 percent, respectively, said it makes no difference.
Following these three questions, an open-ended question asked whether having a program described made a difference in any other ways. Most of those who responded emphasized that description helped them understand the programs better or gave them more confidence, as in the following examples:
I would like to be able to go into more detail about things and get a better understanding of all aspects.
If I’m unsure of events in the program, I feel awkward trying to pretend I do.
[I’m] able to understand what’s going on — able to share. [I] need more help without description.
In addition, some participants pointed to specific aspects of programs or particular social settings in which description especially mattered to them:
It would make a big difference regarding charts and graphs, also to discuss some actions.
I might misconstrue. I usually hold back about talking about action scenes because I might be wrong.
I mostly talk [about television programs] with my children, and description makes me a lot more comfortable.
The study’s strengths and limitations
Sample
The size of the sample (111 people), its diversity (degree of vision loss; demographic characteristics, such as age and education; and prior exposure to described television programs), as well as the fact that all the people who attended the viewing sessions also completed the final telephone interviews, are important strengths. That the participants were not a random sample of the visually impaired population is both a strength and a weakness. Strategic subgroups — such as people who were blind since birth or totally blind — were better represented than they would have been in a random sample. However, because this was not a random sample, the results cannot be generalized to all visually impaired people. In addition, that all the participants volunteered to take part may have introduced a bias into the sample.
Involvement by legally blind persons
The research design was modified significantly in response to advice from people with visual impairments. For example, the first formal focus group objected to the initial plan in which a control group would have watched the two programs (1 1/2 hours) without description; in response, the design was changed so that each person served as a control for only one half-hour session. In addition, blind and visually impaired people assisted in conducting interviews. However, one important limitation was that blind and visually impaired people were not involved systematically in the analysis in which they might have suggested corrections, alternative interpretations, or additional analyses to clarify findings.
Standardization
Because the study required multiple viewing sessions and relied heavily on volunteers, several features were designed to make the sessions and interviews as uniform as feasible. The surveys and viewing sessions used structured questions. Interviewers were trained and given written instructions for each question. In addition, written instructions and a script for the viewing sessions were provided. Given the assurance that each participant was treated the same way except for the experimental variation, differences in outcomes may be attributed to this experimental variation with more confidence.
However, the study relied on many different volunteers, especially to administer the questionnaires at the viewing sessions. In addition, the physical arrangements for the viewing sessions were adapted to the different venues. These arrangements added flexibility, but meant that there were slight uncontrolled differences in the procedures.
The cognitive, psychological, and social measures pertaining to the programs were collected in an experiment, but not a rigorously controlled one. As a practical necessity, the participants watched the programs in groups, although they answered the questions individually. The participants may have affected one another although every effort was made to keep overt influences to a minimum. Scheduling viewing sessions was difficult because of the participants’ schedules and transportation constraints; as a result, the participants were assigned to conditions (which program they saw with description) according to when they attended, rather than according to random or matched-pair criteria, which would have been more desirable for making comparisons between the groups.
Reducing bias
Although efforts were made to reduce potential biasing factors, it was not feasible to eliminate all the sources. Considerable care was given to identify the study with NSF, AFB, and WGBH and not to draw attention to description until after the participants had responded to both programs. Despite these efforts, some participants may have associated the study or WGBH with DVS; if so, this association may have influenced their responses. The study did not investigate whether the participants made any connection with DVS. This bias is not relevant in comparing the control and experimental groups, but it is potentially relevant when generalizing attitudes toward description in general.
Since the participants all were from the Boston area and were recruited through organizations of or for people with visual impairments, they were more likely than the visually impaired population as a whole to be aware of DVS and description. Although the DVS mailing list was not used to recruit participants, a check after the study showed that 43 participants appeared on that list. Furthermore, from incidental comments made during the viewing sessions, it was clear that some participants were disappointed when one of the programs did not contain description.
Program style and order
The research staff anticipated that the experimental and control groups would differ more when watching the program that contained less narration and when watching a program without description after having watched one with description. Ideally, the study would have had four treatments to vary independently which program was shown first and whether or not the program was described. However, with only approximately 100 participants, four treatments would have produced small subgroups (especially for cross tabulations that included other variables, such as vision or age).
Since the purpose of the study was to demonstrate whether adding description did make a difference, the decision was made to show everyone Program 1 first, but to vary whether Program 1 or Program 2 included description. In this study, adding description enhanced both programs, but made much more of a difference in Program 2 (which included much more audio description) than Program 1.
However, since everyone saw Program 1 first, it is not possible to separate the effects of the order in which they saw the programs from the effects of the different styles of the programs.
Preference for description
Since the participants expressed such a positive evaluation of description in response to these general questions, one might expect that their responses to the described and non-described versions would have differed more sharply than they did. At least three factors may account for this seeming inconsistency. Two factors discussed earlier are that in Program 1 the opportunities for adding description were limited, and that the ceiling effect (strongly positive responses whether or not the programs were described) limited the possibility of showing significant differences.
The third factor is that although the two sets of questions asked about the same dimensions (enjoyment, interest, clarity, and so forth), they were not identical. The questions in the viewing session asked about the specific program the participants had just watched; thus all facets of the program’s substance and style may have entered into the participants’ ratings. In contrast, the questions asked several weeks later explicitly focused the participants on differences, if any, that description makes in television programs in general — not in the specific programs used in the viewing session.
Future research
This research was designed to examine whether adding description to television science programs enhanced their use by people who were legally blind and, specifically, whether description increased informal science learning. The study documented that adding description to these two programs significantly increased the factual information the participants learned and enhanced the participants’ evaluation of the programs and their level of comfort in discussing the programs with sighted people. These findings suggest wide benefits from adding description. Further research is needed to explore how widely applicable these findings are: to whom do they apply, under what conditions, and to what extent? Thus, future research needs to investigate the following research questions:
1. Does adding audio description enhance viewing for people with different demographic or social characteristics or different amounts of usable vision? This study included legally blind adults aged 20-89, some of whom were totally blind and some of whom had considerable usable vision, and some of whom had other impairments. The participants also had different amounts of prior familiarity with description and watched different amounts of television. In Great Britain, AUDETEL (using different programs, description process, and equipment to receive the programs) found differences in understanding and enjoyment by age, intelligence, and the amount of television the participants usually watched (Carmichael and Rabbitt, 1993a, 1993b, 1993c). Future studies need to examine systematically whether personal characteristics systematically influence responses to description.
Other areas for research include the use of audio description by people other than those with visual impairments. The AUDETEL studies (AUDETEL, 1995, 1997; Carmichael and Rabbitt, 1993 a, 1993b, 1993c; McKivragan, 1995; Rabbitt and Carmichael, 1994; RNIB, 1998) examined the impact on older people. Additional research is needed on other populations. People with certain learning disabilities may benefit from the added information that directs their attention to salient features. People who are learning English may also benefit from hearing as well as seeing the programs. Some sighted people value audio description (F. Ryan, a sighted educator of blind and visually impaired children, who has a blind family member, personal communication, 1999). Furthermore, sighted people may make use of description when viewing is not possible, such as when they are driving (J. Snyder, program officer, National Endowment for the Arts, personal communication, 1999).
2. Under what conditions does adding audio description enhance instruction? This study focused on informal learning. Television programs and videos are used for explicitly educational purposes in schools, workplaces, and public places (such as on airlines for safety instructions). Additional research needs to address whether these videos, which are designed to instruct, convey their messages more effectively with added description.
3. Does adding audio description have psychological benefits? The participants in this study said that audio description makes programs more interesting, informative, and enjoyable. Advocates of audio description point to both direct and indirect psychological benefits. Visually impaired people report feeling more confident that they are capturing the entire picture when they know more details, as in the following comment:
As a partially sighted person, audio description works for me on three levels. First, the precise, concise and descriptive commentary confirms what I think I have seen. Second, it gives me a quick word about what I am about to see. Third, it tells me what is going on that I can’t see at all. In other words, I get the whole picture as it happens. (Vivian, 1992, p. 393)
As a result, people who are visually impaired may be more motivated to pursue interests they saw portrayed. They may feel equal to sighted people because they have the same access to the programs or videos. These factors may enhance their self-esteem. Further research is needed to examine these issues systematically.
4. Does audio description increase social participation? In addition to examining whether audio description conveys information, research needs to address whether it enhances participation in social activities. For instance, are children with visual impairments better able to interact with their classmates in relation to materials presented with audio description? Does audio description enable family members to share the experience more comfortably? For people of all ages, does audio description increase their interaction with sighted peers? With casual acquaintances?
5. What are the long-term consequences of adding audio description? This study looked minimally at the recall of program details two months later; it did not inquire about increased interest in science-related activities, since it would be unrealistic to expect that viewing a single program would result in measurable difference. However, more extensive access to audio description may well have a measurable effect, such as going to museums more frequently, taking up new hobbies, or attending classes.
Discussion
Anecdotes about the benefits of adding description abound. Individuals recount the dramatic difference they experienced when they saw a described program or performance for the first time. They speak of the emotional impact of feeling that they are now, finally, able to have the same experience as everyone else:
My first experience with DVS (R) was very emotional. I found myself pacing the floor in tearful disbelief. It was like somebody had opened a door into a new world, in which I was able to see with my ears what most people see with their eyes. (Quoted in Cronin and King, 1990, p. 505)
I felt I had really seen the movie and could laugh right along with everyone else, not five minutes later after someone had taken the time to explain it all to me. (Quoted in Packer, 1995, p. 3, from comments received by DVS)
Television programs and videos are widely used to convey information formally, especially in schools and the workplace. Videos increasingly are used for instructional materials: for home appliances, learning skills (like computer programs), medical procedures, or providing airplane safety instructions. Such programs need to be designed so that all the pertinent information is fully accessible, preferably by including sufficient audio description when the program is produced originally. If they are not so designed, audio description should be added to convey the instructions more effectively. Teachers and vocational counselors, as well as consumers, need to advocate for increased accessibility for all informational materials.
In addition to providing useful information, television programs and videos are an important source of shared popular culture — discussed in lunchrooms and at parties. Because television programs and videos are visual media, people who are visually impaired do not get full access to them without description. Thus, they miss out on the “social cement” such programs provide, as these comments illustrate:
When my co-workers discuss TV, for the most part I cannot participate, and I’d really like to, but cannot do so without DVS services. (Quoted in Packer, 1995, p. 4, from comments received by DVS)
My son, who is 14, has always been the only blind kid in his school, and he has always felt excluded when other kids talked about their favorite movies or television show. (Howard Nixon, quoted in Ellis, 1991, p. 15)
As this study has documented, people who are visually impaired are more comfortable talking with sighted people about programs that have been described. Fuller access means being able to share equally and so is likely to enhance peer relationships.
For children, audio description provides an avenue for acquiring knowledge that sighted children are likely to learn incidentally. Description can convey body language and facial expressions, styles of clothing or cars. Understanding what is being conveyed visually can help children learn and reinforce their social skills:
Visually impaired children often have difficulty equating body language and facial expressions with specific emotions. By hearing a description of a gesture, for example linking an arched eyebrow to skepticism, he gets direct feedback about what that gesture means. This makes it easier to teach children what facial expressions or body language is appropriate in a variety of settings. (Kathleen M. Huebner, quoted in Ellis, 1991, p. 17)
Informal description by others who are watching the programs clearly enhanced television viewing for almost all the people who experienced it. On the positive side, this informal description may provide some social interaction; moreover, those who are explaining the program can tailor their comments to their friends’ or relatives’ interests. However, on the negative side, having to describe — or needing someone to describe — may be an unwelcome distraction or burden. Programs that include audio description free viewers who cannot see everything from depending on other people to fill in accounts of crucial actions and significant details, as this comment indicates:
I stopped going to the theater when my vision worsened. The constant whispering of descriptions seemed to annoy people and embarrassed me. Audio description lets me know what people are wearing and what the sets look like — without having to worry about bothering anyone else. I’d love to see the same kind of service on network television. (Alice Rutkowsky, quoted in Ellis, 1991, p. 13)
Furthermore, the description is available whether or not anyone else is watching the program — an important advantage, since as was mentioned earlier, much television watching is solitary.
More broadly, description is used in an array of venues: not only television programs, videos, and movies, but live events, such as plays, ballets, parades, festivals, and significant public events like the Presidential inauguration, as well as in other settings, such as museums, galleries, and nature walks. Each of these venues has its own character and purpose and presents different challenges for description. Each in its own way provides access to information and opportunities so that visually impaired people can participate fully in society.