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Accessible Tech Enables Possibilities across Multiple Disabilities

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Accessibility in the News—11/03/17.

Abstract Letter "A" hangs from ceiling. Accessible technologies is making this perceptible to the blind. Microassist Accessibility in the News. Photo: Unsplash

This issue: A journalist paralyzed for more than twenty years uses a high-tech exoskeleton to walk, new glasses enable a man born without optic nerves to read the abundance of text in his environment, and accessible computer applications provide a voice to a young college author and presenter with cerebral palsy.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“I’m great at several things and broken in none.”

— Kerry Magro

National News (U.S.)

Students Question ADA Accessibility on UTRGV Campus

October  19, 2017   |  Source: KRGV  |  ADA, Building/Facilities Access, Inclusion  |  Texas

A student claims a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus was holding classes in at least one building not structurally in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. CHANNEL 5 NEWS discovered that although the building does not have an elevator, it doesn’t mean the school is breaking the rules. Although schools are expected to comply with all ADA requirements, construction or making architectural improvements aren’t required to if the school can bring the student access to the class in a different way. Some students CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke with at the UTRGV Brownsville campus still don’t think it’s fair…

Mitigate Risks as ADA Suits Mount

October  27, 2017   |  Source: Credit Union Times (Subscription)  |  ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility

The number of credit unions hit with lawsuits in recent weeks over the accessibility of their websites continued to climb into double digits, and experts warned that even more credit unions could become targets if they don’t get up to speed on the issue. The suits center around claims that credit unions’ websites violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability for equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations in places of public accommodation. The Department of Justice’s ADA website states that discrimination includes failing to modify policies, practices or procedures to make things accessible, unless doing so would create an undue burden…

What an Aging Attendee Population Means for Meetings

October  27, 2017   |  Source: Associations Now  |  Aging, Awareness, Inclusion

People are living and working longer, so it’s likely that you have some meeting attendees who are older. Here are some implications to consider as you plan and execute events for an aging population. A few months ago, I was having lunch with my Oma in the restaurant at her senior living community. As you might expect of any grandparent with a grandchild visiting, she took me around to “show me off” (her words, not mine) to her friends and neighbors. Toward the end of our meal, a woman, who was using a walker, came up to our table and introduced herself. She immediately began telling my Oma how upset she was. She shared that she had just come from a meeting that was held in a space that didn’t accommodate her walker very well…

Blind artist Carmen Papalia addresses accessibility through art and activism

October  27, 2017   |  Source: The Bowdoin Orient  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Arts/Entertainment, Advocacy

Although Carmen Papalia lost the use of his vision, he does not identify as blind. “I feel that word doesn’t serve me,” he said. “I often think of myself as a non-visual learner—someone who just made a choice to shift the value from the visual to the non-visual … I’d rather describe myself in relation to my learning style and my approach to learning than refer to a word that kind of means, ‘lack of preparedness or awareness.’ You just have to synonyms for the word ‘blind,’ and you get a long list of negative associations.” Papalia, a Vancouver-based “social practice artist and disability activist,” delivered a lecture about his work at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) on October 19…

CMU plans to improve handicap access on campus

October  27, 2017   |  Source: The Criterion  |  Mobility, Accessible Design, Building/Facilities Access  |  Colorado

Since the issue of handicap access was first brought up last month, the facilities department on campus has been working with Vice President of Student Services John Marshall to make ––––Colorado Mesa University’s campus more friendly to handicapped students. The university is already as up to date as possible as far as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws are concerned, but some students still struggle where the university has slipped through the cracks, such as accessibility to restrooms. Currently, the university is focusing specifically on how campus restrooms can be made more accessible to handicapped students. CMU has begun by looking for the most accessible restroom in each building…

Me and my robotic suit

October  27, 2017   |  Source: Reuters  |  Innovation, Mobility, Assistive Technology

I dream of walking every other night. The dreams aren’t bitter. They’re charged with hope. It was this hope that led me to California to take part in clinical trials for a powered exoskeleton that is designed to help paralysed people like me walk again. I’ve been using a wheelchair for the past 21 years after one day in May 1996 during what was supposed to be an idyllic vacation on the Greek island of Poros. One moment I was on a cliff cranking up a rented scooter, still shaking the salty Aegean water off my hair after a swim. The next moment I was on the rocky beach five metres below, on my back. I realized I couldn’t move my legs…

The strange reason deaf children aren’t taught sign language

October  27, 2017   |  Source: Mic  |  Parenting, Deaf/Hearing Impairment, Awareness

Imagine living without a first language. That’s the case for many deaf children in the United States who suffer from “language deprivation,” a condition that could affect them for life. It’s when kids miss the critical period — which begins to taper off around age 5 — to develop the mental scaffolding that helps the brain understand language. If deaf children are not taught how to sign during this time, they may never learn any language to fluency. There’s no citable research on the number of deaf individuals at risk for language deprivation, but Naomi Caselli, an assistant professor of deaf studies at Boston University, is “willing to say it’s a majority.”…

DOT enters into agreements to increase accessible airport kiosks, mobile websites for individuals with disabilities

October  30, 2017   |  Source: Transportation Today  |  Travel, Digital Accessibility, Transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced it has entered into agreements with Alaska Airlines/Virgin America and Spirit Airlines to expand the availability of airport kiosks accessible to individuals with disabilities. DOT also announced an agreement with All Nippon Airways, the largest airline in Japan, to make the airline’s mobile website accessible for individuals with disabilities. Under the agreement, Spirit Airlines said it would make at least 50 percent of its kiosks at U.S. airports accessible by Dec. 31, 2017. Additionally, Alaska Airlines/Virgin America agreed to ensure that at least 50 percent of its kiosks at U.S. airports were accessible to passengers with disabilities by Dec. 31, 2019…

Redesigned website targets prospective students

October  30, 2017   |  Source: The Wichitan  |  Digital Accessibility, Higher Education, Accessible Design

The MSU website has a new look — an updated design that is sure to catch the eye of any prospective student, active student or parent that stumbles upon mwsu.edu. The website was redesigned to be easier to use, more pleasing to the eye and an overall much cleaner look, according to Matt Shirey, webmaster, and Julie Gaynor, director of marketing and public information. “My main role would be writing code here at MSU. I’ve been writing code for five years here, but I first started writing code in 2006,” Shirey said. The last time they redesigned the website was five years ago when Shirey first accepted a job here…

Justin promotes inclusivity with technology as his voice

October  30, 2017   |  Source: Microsoft (Audio Description Version)  |  Higher Education, Inclusion, Assistive Technology

A college student with athetoid cerebral palsy uses Microsoft Word and his communication device to promote inclusivity and inspire others to do the same.

APRIL NGUYEN vs NEW RELEASE DVD- Blind Accessibility Class Action Over DVD Kiosks Dismissed

October  30, 2017   |  Source: Law.com  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Lawsuits/Litigation, ADA  |  Pennsylvania

A federal judge has thrown out a prospective class action filed on behalf of blind and visually-impaired people against the owners of DVD rental kiosks. The plaintiff claimed that the kiosks’ touch-screen format was inaccessible to the blind and visually impaired, thus limiting their ability to rent movies. Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted New Release DVD’s motion to dismiss on the basis that the kiosks are not “places of public accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Seeing a difference, new technology OrCam MyEye gives the blind freedom

October  30, 2017   |  Source: ABC2 News  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Innovation, Disability Rights

Walking into work Friday morning, Jake Schmude didn’t notice the gorgeous sunrise. He didn’t see the door handle, in fact, he didn’t see anything at all. Schmude said in his own words, his stark reality, “I’ve been blind since birth I have no optic nerves.” As a young man his family pushed him with an ultimatum, “you might be blind, but you’re still going to have to take care of yourself and you’re still going to have to live. The other choice is to sit in a house all day and do nothing and go to a group home,” after a long pause he said, “Well that was no real choice at all for me.”…

Claire’s, Carnival Hit With Blind Access Suits Over Websites

October  30, 2017   |  Source: Law360 (Subscription)  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility

Two more blind access lawsuits were filed Monday in Florida alleging the websites of both mall jewelry and accessories retailer Claire’s Stores Inc. and cruise company Carnival Corp. are inaccessible to the visually impaired who use screen-reading software to read website content. Andres Gomez, a blind Miami-Dade County resident, filed the two suits in federal court, claiming that both companies are violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to make sure their websites are accessible to the visually impaired. By not making their sites accessible…

Looking out for the little guy: City to help mom-and-pops meet accessibility codes after series of suits

October  31, 2017   |  Source: Brooklyn Paper  |  Parenting, Lawsuits/Litigation, ADA

City officials launched a new program to protect small-business owners from lawsuits after an attorney representing a disabled resident sued more than a dozen Park Slope mom-and-pop shops for violating a federal accessibility law, the nabe’s councilman announced on Friday. Proprietors can now invite experts from the Department of Small Business Services to their shops, where they will check for compliance issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act — which requires businesses meet certain standards in order to serve the disabled — and recommend fixes that may save owners thousands in legal fees and other penalties, according to a rep for the mayor’s office…

Over 60 legislators support CUNA call for website ADA guidance

October  31, 2017   |  Source: CUinsight.com  |  ADA, Digital Accessibility, Government

61 bipartisan members of Congress have written to the Department of Justice requesting guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) pertains to websites. CUNA and its league partners urged Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) to support credit union efforts to address ambiguities in website accessibility requirements that are spurring frivolous class action litigation. “The DOJ began considering developing regulations to address website ADA issues over seven years ago but never completed the process, leaving an absence of clear standards…

Smart Cities for All Digital Inclusion Maturity Model launch

October  31, 2017   |  Source: Education Diary  |  Inclusion, Digital Accessibility, Disability Rights

On Tuesday the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) and World Enabled announced that their Smart Cities for All (SC4A) global initiative will develop a new tool to assess and benchmark digital inclusion and ICT accessibility in smart cities. The Smart Cities for All Digital Inclusion Maturity Model will become the first maturity model targeted specifically at digital accessibility and inclusion in Smart City programs worldwide. The new SC4A Maturity Model is being developed to help cities clearly evaluate their progress towards achieving ICT accessibility and digital inclusion across a broad range of functions that are important to all cities, e.g. communications, procurement, training, and standards…

Vision-Aid Hosts Conference on Technology and Visually-Impaired

October 31, 2017    |  Source: India New England  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Non-profit, Technology

Vision-Aid, a non-profit organization in its pursuit to bring about awareness, technologies and low cost solutions for the visually impaired, held a conference on technology and visually-impaired.  Chieko Asakawa was the keynote speaker at the 2017 Boston Accessibility Conference at IBM Innovation Center in Cambridge, MA, in early October. Asakawa, who has been instrumental in furthering accessibility, research and development for three decades for the blind, spoke about Cognitive Assistant for the Blind.  A series of pioneering technologies generated under Asakawa’s leadership have significantly contributed in advancing information accessibility, including groundbreaking work in digital Braille and voice Web browser…

Five apartment complexes cited for not being accessible to everyone

October  31, 2017   |  Source: KMOV.com  |  Housing, Discrimination, Building/Facilities Access

The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council recently filed complaints against five new apartment complexes in the Metro area for violations of the Fair Housing Act. EHOC executive director Will Jordan told News 4 that the failure to meet construction requirements on accessibility prohibits someone with a disability from living at the apartment complexes. “They’re clear violations, and since 1991 that’s been the law,” said Jordan. The apartment complexes that were cited are Bramblett Hill Apartments in O’Fallon, River Crossing Apartments in St. Charles, Pinecrest Apartments in Dardenne Prairie, Vance Station Apartment Homes in Valley Park and Bridgewater Cove Apartments in south St. Louis County…

Website Accessibility—the Emerging Trend Under the ADA

November 1, 2017   |  Source: Law.com  |  Digital Accessibility, ADA, Awareness

There is an emerging trend toward federal judges siding with plaintiffs in website accessibility cases under the ADA. On June 13, in what is believed to be the first case to go to trial on the issue, a judge in the Southern District of Florida in Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. ruled that the lack of accessibility of supermarket chain Winn-Dixie’s website violated a visually impaired man’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act because 90 percent of the tabs and the search box on Winn-Dixie’s website did not work with screen reader software for the visually impaired, and the plaintiff had been on 500-600 other websites that actually work with the software…

Benetech Secures US Department of Education Award to Enable All Students to Read

November 1, 2017   |  Source: GlobeNewswire  |  Education, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Inclusion

Benetech, the leading software for social good nonprofit, today announced a five-year award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, to expand and improve access to books for students who read differently due to blindness, low vision, a physical disability, or dyslexia. Bookshare, the largest online library of accessible books, along with training and support, will remain free for all U.S. school districts, schools, educators, and their qualified students. “Access to knowledge through reading is a basic human right and a critical step on the path to economic, educational, and social development,” said Brad Turner, VP of Global Literacy, Benetech…

How PR firms need to navigate website compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act

November 1, 2017   |  Source: PRWeek  |  Digital Accessibility, ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation

PR firms increasingly develop content and websites for their clients’ programs, products, and services. It is also common for PR firms to enter into client agreements in which they are asked by their clients to “comply with all laws.” A prior column explained that this seemingly innocuous provision may leave PR firms open to liability for failure to comply to unforeseen and unspecified laws. This article provides another example of an unforeseen source of potential liability for PR firms. There have been a flood of lawsuits in recent years brought by individual plaintiffs, the class action bar, and the federal regulators alleging that consumer-facing websites do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Digital inclusion a key to government modernization

November 1, 2017   |  Source: FederalNewsRadio.com  |  Inclusion, Digital Accessibility, Government

As federal agencies modernize their enterprises, they must ensure that their technology and communications are accessible to all. By some estimates there are more than 1 billion people in the world who have a disability, whether permanent or temporary, including visual, mobility, hearing, cognitive, speech and neural. So, as agencies look to modernize through information technology for mobility, security, compliance and agility, they can also look to Microsoft to help support accessibility. In the past, many federal employees with disabilities felt that accessibility in technology was a “bolt-on” instead of a “built-in.” Today, the high-tech industry is using an inclusive design approach to create new, accessible cloud services…

Wirth vs. Teach For America: Whistleblower fired for reporting web accessibility issues

October  31, 2017   |  Source: Campins Benham-Baker  |  Digital Accessibility, Inclusion, Awareness, Advocacy

On October 31, 2017, Campins Benham-Baker filed a federal lawsuit against the nation’s largest education nonprofit Teach For America (TFA). Former Director of Content Strategy Lisanne Wirth was wrongfully terminated in January 2016 in retaliation for reporting to the TFA leadership team that the TeachForAmerica.org website was not accessible for people with disabilities.  After Harvard and M.I.T. were sued for inaccessible videos in June 2015, Wirth became concerned about TFA’s own compliance with web accessibility. She then realized TFA was talking about civil rights, diversity & inclusion, special education, and their Diverse Learners Initiative on pages that could not be used by people with disabilities…

A chance to end the 35-year quest for an accessible entrance to the old library

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Harvard Press  |  Accessible Design, ADA, Building/Facilities Access  |  Massachusetts

In December 2014, personnel from the Massachusetts Office on Disability visited the old library to evaluate the building for temporary use as town offices. Their report addressed four key barriers as defined in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines, including the slope of the ramp, which was “as high as 12 percent in some places.” The report said that the office on disability “strongly encourages the town to do a full ADA review of the existing conditions and make the necessary modifications in order to make this space accessible to persons with disabilities before moving public services into the building.” The report also mentioned the scope of an earlier renovation to the building that likely triggered compliance with MAAB regulations…

Observations on Polling Place Accessibility and Related Federal Guidance

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Government Accountability Office  |  Government, Voting/Elections, Inclusion

GAO examined a nongeneralizable sample of 178 polling places during early in-person voting and on Election Day 2016. At these polling places, GAO examined a number of features outside and inside the voting area. Outside the voting area, GAO was able to examine features at all 178 polling places and found that 60 percent (107) had one or more potential impediments. The most common were steep ramps located outside buildings, lack of signs indicating accessible paths, and poor parking or path surfaces (see figure)…

Research Matters: Toilet Room Grab Bars

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Healthcare Design  |  Accessible Design, ADA, Awareness

A 2017 study by Su Jin Lee and colleagues looks at accessibility standards and offers findings that suggest how alternative grab bar configurations can improve toilet transfers. When designing for accessibility, one of the first considerations that comes to mind is the grab bar. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Standards have specific requirements for the configuration of grab bars around toilets in public facilities. Contrary to popular belief, studies have shown that configurations that meet these standards do not adequately support toilet transfers for the majority of people who use them. A slip or fall during a toilet transfer can lead to injury, hospitalization, or even death…

McDonalds, Grubhub, Kmart settle ADA class actions over website, app accessibility for the blind

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Cook County Record  |  ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility

Three class action lawsuits against McDonald’s, Grubhub and Kmart, alleging those companies’ apps and websites violated federal disability law because they were not easily accessible to the blind have been settled in recent days, according to Chicago federal court records. Since Oct. 11, those companies have reached deals to end the cases brought by three plaintiffs, all represented by the same lawyers, associated with attorneys Marc E. Dann and Rusty Payton with the firm of DannLaw, in Chicago. On Oct. 27, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah signed off on an order declaring the case brought against Oak Brook-based McDonald’s by Dann on behalf of named plaintiff Sean Gorecki had been settled.

Barriers still keep disabled voters from polls

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Investigate Reporting Workshop  |  Discrimination, Voting/Elections, Awareness

Nearly 28 years since the passing of the American’s with Disabilities Act, some polling places and voting systems still are not accessible. The Government Accountability Office released a report today based on its review of polling places and stations in the 2016 election. It gathered data for 178 polling places and found that 60 percent had barriers, including “steep ramps located outside buildings, lack of signs indicating accessible paths, and poor parking or path surfaces.” The Help America Vote Act of 2002 required, among other things, that polling places be accessible and have at least one accessible voting machine…

Jack Fact — Each year, millions of people with disabilities want to travel more and do so independently. In 2015 North American travelers with disabilities spent $17.3 billion on travel, according to estimates by The Open Doors Organization, compared to $13.6 billion in 2002. With the onslaught of retiring baby boomers that number will increase significantly.

International News

 Senate asked to ensure compliance of LGUs with accessibility law for PWDs

October  27, 2017   |  Source: GMA News & The Manila Times- Philippines

Senator Leila de Lima has called for a legislative inquiry on the compliance of local government units (LGUs) with accessibility laws for persons with disabilities (PWDs). De Lima filed Senate Resolution 534 on October 25 directing the appropriate committee to conduct an inquiry on the implementation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 344, otherwise known as the Accessibility Law, and Republic Act No. 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons. “For the sake of our countrymen with disabilities, there is need to examine the level of implementation and enforcement of B.P. 344 and to look into possible corrective legislation to ensure that it is adequately enforced,” De Lima said…

Canadian universities sign off on pledge to greater diversity, accessibility

October  26, 2017   |  Source: Surrey Now-Leader- Canada

Canadian universities have done a great job making their campuses more accessible for students with disabilities, but now have to turn more attention to helping those students get jobs, one of Canada’s leading disability advocates told a room full of university presidents Wednesday. Rick Hansen, a former paralympian whose foundation is devoted to making the world a more accessible place, spoke to the presidents in Ottawa on Wednesday, just before they voted to make a public commitment to seven principles of diversity…

Significant Increase in Students Receiving Third-Level Disability Funding Since 2007

October  27, 2017   |  Source: The University Times- Ireland

A review published today by the government reveals a significant increase in the number of beneficiaries of a fund for students with disabilities over the last 10 years. From 2007 to 2014, the number of students benefitting from the Fund for Students with Disabilities leapt from 3,500 to over 10,000. Figures released recently by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for the 2016/17 academic year show a continuation of this trend, with over 12,000 student beneficiaries. Marking the first formal external review of the fund, the Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, and the Minister for State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, welcomed the results…

Changes will regulate how new facilities are built

October  27, 2017   |  Source: The Beacon Herald- Canada

Future city-owned buildings and facilities are a step closer to become a bit more accessible for people with disabilities. Pending formal approval from council, the city’s planning and heritage sub-committee voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of approving new accessibility guidelines, which will regulate how new city facilities are built, as well as any renovation projects done to properties currently owned by the city. The city has been working on the document, last updated in 2004, for the last two years. Since last reviewed, the province has made some adjustments to its own accessibility act and has included a number of requirements cities and municipalities have to follow, explained Derek Pigozzo, the city’s chief building official…

A day to remind all of the need for ramps on roads

October  27, 2017   |  Source: Khaleej Times- India

Twenty-seven-year-old Shobhika was diagnosed with a rare inherited degenerative disorder when she was at the threshold of her teens. At 14, she became wheelchair bound as the incurable disease affected her nervous system, muscles and heart. When she joined university, she needed to travel by metro which turned out to be quite a struggle as most of the footpaths/sidewalks were not wheelchair accessible and this is when she launched her CDA-approved organisation, Wings of Angelz, to create awareness about wheelchair accessibility. This week Shobhika along with 25 volunteers organised the group’s fifth Ramp Day wherein they asked the public to join them in identifying places that do not have wheelchair access…

Zayed University weaves ideal ambience for students of determination

October  28, 2017   |  Source: Gulf Today- United Arab Emirates & Khaleej Times- UAE

Omar Abdallah Al Hashimi, a Zayed University student who suffers from visual impairment, has urged “students of determination” to enrol in Zayed University to enjoy a comfortable educational journey. Currently in his second year at the College of Communication and Media Sciences, Al Hashimi represents the Department of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at the higher education and career exhibition, Najah, which took place from Oct 25-27, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). “I dream of becoming a radio station host to guide, through my channel, people of determination to the latest activities and events they can confidently attend. After all, we are part of the society,” he said…

VisitEngland and VisitScotland Launch Accessibility Guides

October  29, 2017   |  Source: Global Accessibility News

With more than half of people with access requirements avoiding going to new places if they can’t find information about accessibility, VisitEngland and VisitScotland have formed a unique partnership to help businesses tap into the lucrative Accessible Tourism market. The national tourism organisations have launched a new, free to use website for the easy production and publication of Accessibility Guides. An Accessibility Guide is produced by tourism operators to provide potential visitors with important accessibility information about their venue and service…

Ghana receives support for inclusiveness campaign

October  29, 2017   |  Source: GhanaWeb

Voice of People with Disability Ghana – VOICE Ghana, a disability rights, advocacy and capacity building organization has received funding from Ford Foundation for a two-year campaign to promote “inclusiveness of physical community projects” for persons with disability.  The $270,000 dollar project is also expected to help address injustices such as social stigma, discrimination and widespread exclusion suffered by persons with disability.  Mr Francis Asong, Executive Director, VOICE-Ghana said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fully implement Persons with Disability Act, 2006, (Act 715) inspired his outfit to embark on the campaign in 15 districts in the Volta region…

Darts club at York takes progressive step to make Darts accessible for all

October  29, 2017   |  Source: Nouse- UK

In a bid to make Darts more accessible, inclusive and integrated for all, the University of York’s Darts Club recently bought a specialised stand to allow players in a wheelchair to compete against standing players – the only Darts club in the UK with the apparatus. The club’s President – Mark Curran – hopes that the decision to buy the stand allowing for wheelchair players to play darts against non-wheelchair players, might encourage more darts clubs to eventually follow suit in order to achieve “total integration, with no separation” for the sport on a national scale…

‘No one wants to accept the disabled pound’: shoppers on poor retail accessibility

October  30, 2017   |  Source: The Guardian- UK

A new shop had opened at Rushden Lakes and I thought it presented a positive, fresh shopping opportunity. When it came to trying on clothing I discovered the entrance to the changing rooms was blocked by a concession stand. My wheelchair couldn’t fit through so I had to nudge some displays out of the way. When I eventually reached the changing rooms, I was told there wasn’t a disabled cubicle and I should go back across the shop floor to one in the lingerie section. I refused so I decided to put any embarrassment aside and got undressed in full view because the door wouldn’t close around my wheelchair. It’s a disaster with fixed door cubicles which have no room to swing a cat or a wheelchair! The simple adjustment of having curtains would have made this much easier…

Ryerson’s new learning centre gets failing grade for accessibility

October  30, 2017   |  Source: CityNews- Canada

Ryerson’s new state-of-the-art Student Learning Centre is less than three years old but it’s already receiving a failing grade when it comes to accessibility. According to David Lepofsky, a lawyer and the chair for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Alliance, the building presents barriers with its zig-zag ramps, slanted pillars and the angled railings – to name a few problems. “It’s especially shocking that a building with this many accessibility problems actually won an architecture award from the Canadian Architect Magazine,” Lepofsky explained…

Tips on how to make Halloween more accessible for children with autism

October  30, 2017   |  Source: Globalnews- Canada & CBC- Canada

Halloween is the time of year when kids dress up and go door to door trading in a trick for a treat. But for children with disabilities or those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, this time of year can be difficult, even stressful. Experts say there are many things families can do to make their home more accessible and Halloween more inclusive to all children. Global News spoke to Dr. Melanie Penner, a clinician investigator and developmental pediatrician at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto…

‘You can’t fix what you don’t know’: What I learned about accessibility

October  30, 2017   |  Source: CBC- Canada

I still have much to learn, but the people I’ve met through Access Denied, an in-depth series about accessibility in Newfoundland and Labrador, have been patient teachers. I didn’t know why one person might wheel their own wheelchair while another person would use a motorized chair operated with a joystick. OK, it’s worse than simply not knowing the different reasons for their use. Somewhere along the way, I concocted a vague, unexamined notion that people in power chairs wanted or needed to travel further or faster than people who use their arms to get their chairs in motion…

Rama Devi hostel push for disabled

October  31, 2017   |  Source: The Telegraph- India

The Rama Devi Women’s University will open a hostel for differently-abled students as it inches towards the goal of an accessible campus. The 50-seat hostel will have all facilities necessary for the physically challenged, including ramps, toilets with lowered water fountains and urinals, sinks and other restroom features and power doors. It will have a kitchen with dining facility and a dedicated cook. A matron and security guards would be engaged to look after the facilities. “We all have a responsibility to provide access and a welcoming environment for everyone on the campus. We need to make sure that access is provided for students with disabilities and that their needs are being met. It is a university-wide responsibility,” said the vice-chancellor Padmaja Mishra…

Uber launches new category for differently-abled riders, expands Premier & more

October  31, 2017   |  Source: MediaNama.com- India

Online cab hailing company Uber has launched of two new products – uberACCESS and uberASSIST starting with Bangalore to address commute requirements of senior citizens and those with accessibility needs. uberACCESS vehicles are rear-entry, which means that riders face forward when they’re travelling, unlike other wheelchair-accessible vehicles which require riders to face sideways or backwards. All uberACCESS vehicles have four-point tie-down straps, which are used to secure the wheelchair to the floor to ensure it stays put during the trip…

Mada to launch new programmes for the elderly

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Gulf Times- Qatar & The Peninsula Qatar

The elderly in Qatar stand to gain from Mada’s (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre) ‘guides to ageing and technology’, scheduled to be launched on November 12 and 28 with the aim of improving their quality of life, it has been announced. Mada policy expert Ahmed Habib said yesterday that the new programmes would guide the elderly in using technology more effectively, further helping them live independently. “We recognised that as we grow older, we may lose our vision, our hearing, our ability to move independently, many of the same principles that apply to people with disabilities (PWDs) will also apply to ageing,” Habib said.

Where are disability rights in the political agenda?

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Disability Horizons- UK

Where are disability rights in the political agenda?

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Whether you care for politics or not, it was impossible to escape the copious press coverage that followed the party conference circuit a few weeks ago. And whilst it was the chanting of Corbyn’s supporters, May’s ‘throat-gate’ and fake P45 that grabbed the most headlines, the messages put forward by the leader’s speeches were far more revealing. Party conference leader’s speeches allow the leader to lay out their stall – to make boasts about what has been done and promises of they will still to do. With speech lengths averaging an hour, you’d expect them to be all-encompassing. They can’t, of course, be exhaustive, by any means. But you would expect a fair representation of society as a whole…

Mada gives 60 disabled people training in IT

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Gulf Times- Qatar

Mada (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre) is working with a group of 60 people with disabilities (PWDs) this year to train and enhance their information, communication and technology skills. These skills can be used by PWDs to have a competitive chance of finding a job and pursuing their careers, Mada policy expert Ahmed Habib said during a media interaction. “We have a very large programme that we just launched this year, the idea was for us to partner with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, to work with a group of young Qataris,” he said. “By the end of the year hopefully these 60 people will then be upskilled through our programme.”…

Let’s make accessible travel a reality

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Amadeus- Worldwide

More than two billion people around the world have accessibility needs due to disability, temporary or permanent, or accessibility challenges because of old age. It is a well-known fact that people with disabilities struggle when they want to travel, both before and during their trips, and that many of their needs are not being met by the service providers of the travel industry or by the public sector in the case of public transport. Our new report Voyage of discovery: Working towards inclusive and accessible travel for all, finds that inaccurate or incomplete information is the biggest barrier to accessible travel, followed by the lack of skilled customer service…

A click to make Egyptian streets accessible: Helm Foundation

November 2, 2017   |  Source: Egypt Today

Helm Foundation has launched a social media fundraising campaign, starring Egyptian actors Menna Shalaby and Ahmed Malek, to make the surroundings of Cairo University accessible for persons with disabilities. The campaign invites social media users to interact with a video, directed by Amr Salama, and each interaction generates donations for installing ramps and tactile blocks on sidewalks for the visually impaired, renovating Faisal and Cairo University metro stations and building a bus station around Cairo University…

All Dutch train stations now accessible for the visually impaired

November 2, 2017   |  Source: IamExpat- Netherlands

For the last three years, ProRail, The Eye Association Netherlands (Oogvereniging) and more than 200 Dutch municipalities have worked together to make Dutch train stations accessible to the 350.000 blind or partially sighted people in the Netherlands. On Tuesday, October 31, the task, costing around thirty million euros, was completed. In order to make NS stations accessible to the blind and partially sighted, more than 90 kilometres of visible and perceptible guidelines have been installed in 410 train stations. The guidelines will ensure that visually impaired people do not lose their way…

Web Accessibility Directive: Norway’s choice

November 3, 2017   |  Source: Funka- Norway

How is Norway going to transpose the new EU-regulations on web accessibility when the existing legislation has a broader scope? Funka has participated in the public hearing and written a formal response. Norway is not part of the European Union, still most EU-legislation is transposed into national regulations, as part of the EEA and EFTA agreements. The current Norwegian legislation on web accessibility covers private as well as public sector and thereby has a broader scope than the upcoming EU-regulations. On the other hand, the Norwegian law is not covering all WCAG 2.0 AA success criteria…

Editor’s note: This edition of Accessibility in the News was originally published following the initial activity in the Gil v. Winn-Dixie case.  The case is back in the headlines following the decision of an appeal filed on behalf of Winn-Dixie.  For the latest news around the case, and other news on legal activity around the Americans with Disabilities Act, visit our Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition archives.

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Our digital and web accessibility services cover

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One of our three industry blogs, Microassist’s Digital Accessibility Digest is the “umbrella” for much of our accessibility content. It features commentary, guidance, curated news, and event information.Accessibility in the News is a regular feature of the Digital Accessibility Digest.

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