So after reading what I have had to say so far, you are convinced that you want to help make a difference to Ubuntu's accessibility, and now your chomping at the bit to get involved. Below I will go through a few ways you can help out. Note you are welcome to help out as much or as little as you like, but if you wish to give help, it will be gladly and warmly accepted.

Join the Ubuntu Accessibility mailing list.(1) This list is reasonably low traffic, and users often ask questions, or for assistance. Many members of the Linux accessibility community read the list, and will answer questions where they can. If you know something about accessibility, it would be great if you could help answer any questions that may pop up.

Test and file bugs against accessibility packages in Ubuntu, as a member of the Ubuntu Accessibility Team, using Launchpad(2), Ubuntu's bug tracker. The only way the software we use in Ubuntu gets better, is if users file bugs to report problems. A developer or a bug triager will then do their best to look into the problem, and take appropriate action.

Help triaging bugs that others have filed. There are many bugs that need attention, not the least accessibility bugs, and the more people there are to look over them, the more bugs can be attended to, and dealt with. You don't have to be a developer to help triage bugs, you just have to have an understanding on how packages work, what information is required for developers to attend to the bug, and the appropriate status to mark the bug. If you want to help triage bugs, a more detailed explanation can easily be given to you at a later date.

Feature planning an implementation. If you have a cool new accessibility feature you would like to see added to the next Ubuntu release, this is your chance to jump in and have your voice heard. If you are also willing to help implement the feature, it means there is a much higher chance that the feature will be included. This is a great way to get involved with helping to maintain packages, see below.

Help maintain accessibility packages in the Ubuntu archive. This is where you can really get your hands dirty, and have direct influence on exactly what happens with accessibility programs in Ubuntu. Once you have proven yourself capable of working without someone having to check your work, you can eventually gain upload rights to the Ubuntu archive, starting with universe and multiverse, and progress from there should you choose to do so. The Masters Of The Universe (MOTU)(3) is the best place to go to start, but I am willing to personally work with anybody who wants to work on accessibility software packaging.

So thats all there is to it. Getting involved with the Ubuntu accessibility community is very easy, and there is something for everyone to do, whether you have a lot of time, or only a few hours a week to give to the project.

If you are knowledgable in accessibility technologies for people with motor disabilities, low vision disabilities (magnification/high contrast themes) and deafness, we would like to hear from you in particular, as expertise in these areas is currently severely lacking, at least on the Ubuntu accessibility team. However everybody, regardless of skill set/knowledge is most welcome to join.

I really hope we can form a strong, and productive team, to continue to develop Ubuntu and Linux's accessibility, and raise awareness in the disabled community of its existance as a free alternative. I feel that with an operating system and suite of applications that are accessible out of the box, for the cost of the computer hardware alone, we can bring disabled people much better opportunities in life, than they have had in the past, and they could ever hope to have if they had to fork out for expensive proprietary solutions. Yes, I know there are big gaps in some areas of accessibility technologies for people with disabilities but a a community, not just for Ubuntu, but for Linux in general, we can do our part to close these gaps, and finally be able to give people a choice.

So lets get to work, and give disabled people the chances and independence they have always deserved!

Links:
(1) https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
(2) http://launchpad.net/~accessibility
(3) http://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU