Creating Opportunity Through Accessible Technology and Resources

While accessibility resources can be plentiful, there is often a gap in accessing that information — and that is where Ability Central comes in. As a nonprofit advancing communication access, digital inclusion and opportunity for people who are disabled and neurodivergent, Ability Central works to remove barriers to information, technology, employment and community participation through accessible digital resources, partnerships and innovation-driven programs.

At the center of this work is the Ability Central Resource Library, a free accessible digital platform designed to help people with disabilities and their families more easily find trusted information, services and support. In 2025 alone, the library reached more than 211,000 users across 217 countries and territories, connecting individuals to more than 5000 disability-related organizations and resources.

Beyond information access, Ability Central has expanded its virtual programming with a focus on workforce readiness, financial literacy, leadership and communication skills. With accessible features like live captioning and ASL interpretation, all participants are included in the conversation. As technology continues to play a critical role in education, employment and daily living, the nonprofit is working to ensure the disabled community is not left behind.

Griffen Stapp, executive director of Ability Central and member of CTA’s Accessibility and AgeTech Working Group, is grateful to CTA and the CTA Foundation for keeping accessible technology part of the conversation.

Enabling Independent Living Through Smarter Technology

By 2050, the number of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to grow from 58 million to 82 million. At the same time, 81% of U.S. adults believe it is important to be able to age in place, while 63% believe preparation for aging in place should begin before age 50. Vista Supports is helping make independent living and aging in place more possible.

Vista Supports serves Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) providers, Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) agencies, home care providers and organizations supporting aging in place. Operating on an open platform, its flagship offerings — Vista Link and Vista Enterprise — are designed with capability, not dependency, in mind. The company is addressing a growing gap where providers often face workforce shortages, underfunded mandates and limited practical expertise in enabling technology.

Vista Link, the company’s cloud-based enabling technology platform, centralizes technology assessment, device integration, outcome monitoring and care team coordination. The platform uses a framework that matches individuals with the right technology based on their assessed needs and how they want to live.

Using touchless radar and sensing technology, individuals can maintain privacy without the need for cameras. Built-in AI capabilities gather critical information and trigger alerts when assistance may be needed. Through daily reporting, caregivers and families gain a clearer picture of how a person is doing over time.

Vista Link is supported by Vista Enterprise — the human infrastructure behind the platform — ensuring users always have a trusted touchpoint for support and coordination.

Reimagining Navigation Through Accessibility-First Design

GoodMaps, a global indoor navigation and digital mapping company, helps people navigate complex spaces — starting with those who cannot rely on visual signage or static maps. Born out of the American Printing House for the Blind, GoodMaps uses LiDAR scanning and computer vision to deliver highly accurate indoor positioning on a standard smartphone without the need for beacons, Wi-Fi fingerprinting, QR codes or installed hardware.

Navigation options include the GoodMaps app, a web browser experience and a Studio CMS that allows venue teams to manage routes, points of interest and accessibility profiles from a single data layer.

The platform has been integrated across airports, rail stations and civic venues to support independent, profile-aware journeys for blind and low-vision travelers, wheelchair users, neurodivergent passengers and many more. The same technology also helps first-time visitors, families and frequent flyers move more confidently through busy transportation hubs.

In 2025, GoodMaps was selected as a winner in Airports for Innovation’s “Seamless Travel Experience” challenge. As part of the initiative, four airports chose to pilot GoodMaps to support more seamless and inclusive passenger journeys.

In these pilots, a blind passenger can step off a train, open GoodMaps and receive spoken, step-by-step guidance from the station concourse to their gate, with automatic rerouting if a lift is out of service or a route is closed. A family traveling through a terminal for the first time can use a simple web link on their phones — with no app download required — to find security checkpoints, pharmacies and food options in their preferred language.

Airport teams use the same platform to adjust points of interest and routes through an easy-to-use management hub. The A4I program demonstrated how accessibility-first design can improve the travel experience for many different passenger groups.

Evelyn Tichenor, VP of Sales and Partnerships at GoodMaps, shared that CTA membership has supported the company’s growth through collaborative conversations and educational opportunities.