Accessibility in the News — 4/19/19.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“The Verizon Accessibility Team works hard every single day to create an accessible experience for all of our customers and employees. This means ensuring our products and services are simple, easy-to-use, and effective. We are extremely proud to support Autism Awareness Month this April, and showcase the different products and services Verizon provides that can help make life a little easier, and a little less stressful for our customers and employees.”

― Fred Moltz, Chief Accessibility Officer, Verizon

Verizon Supports Autism Awareness Month

National News (U.S.)

Student Spotlight: Device helps children with physical disabilities

April 4, 2019 | Source: Rochester Institute of Technology

Cesar Borges, a fifth-year biomedical engineering student from Salvador, Brazil, and Kalie Lazarou, a fifth-year industrial and systems engineering student from Buffalo, N.Y., are part of a team working on the Overcomer, an assistive device that helps children with physical disabilities have a more inclusive playground experience. Borges and Lazarou are completing this project as part of a multidisciplinary senior design (MSD) team—a senior project that all engineering students need to complete before they graduate..

Introducing USWDS 2.0

April 8, 2019 | Source: United States Web Design System

Today, we’re launching U.S. Web Design System 2.0 (USWDS 2.0), a new foundation for the future of our design system. This new version was designed to make it easier for any project to integrate USWDS and use it to support your mission and the needs of your audience. USWDS is a library of code, tools, and guidance to help government teams design and build fast, accessible, mobile-friendly government websites backed by user research and modern best practices…

A Dark Comedy About Being Disabled? He’s in on the Joke

April 11, 2019 | Source: The New York Times & Huffington Post

The internet is a product of Ryan O’Connell, just as he is a product of the internet. “I’ve always looked at life through a LOL lens,” said the 32-year-old writer and creator of “Special,” a new Netflix series debuting Friday. He uses “LOL” (and other variations on the phrase) often, pronouncing it phonetically like the first syllable of “lollipop.” This is, as the influencers say, on-brand for O’Connell, who spent several years cultivating his voice as part of a wave of bloggers writing highly confessional personal essays…

Banning the plastic straw sucks for the disabled community

April 12, 2018 | Source: The Current

Unless you have been hiding under a fairly large rock, you have seen the internet set ablaze by individuals fighting against the use of single-use plastics, particularly plastic straws. But, banning of the plastic straw will disproportionately affect the disabled community, which relies on this ubiquitous technology to ensure their survival. Companies like American Airlines, Disney, Bon Appétit and Starbucks are set to phase out plastic straws over the coming years…

Disability Advocates promotes universal accessibility

April 12, 2019 | Source: Grand Rapids Business Journal

Disability Advocates of Kent County is promoting local change in conjunction with a worldwide movement for universal accessibility. Focusing on universal design — the design and composition of buildings and environments for accessibility by all — the movement focuses on how architects can work with building owners to create a more inclusive county. “The ADA is the floor, not the ceiling,” said Dave Bulkowski, executive director of Disability Advocates. “As some people like to say, the ADA is the worst you can do, legally. That bare minimum is not the target anymore.”…

Model Jillian Mercado: ‘Now I don’t do it for myself, I do it to hold the door for someone else’

April 12, 2019 | Source: Women In The World Media

When Jillian Mercado was a fashion-obsessed kid growing up in New York, one thing struck her as she pored through her beloved magazines – no one in the pages looked like her. “I think about me as a young child hoarding magazines and going where am I here? And not finding myself at all.” Mercado had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at 13 (“My recollection is of always being in a wheelchair”) and when she couldn’t see people who looked like her in the magazines she had at home, she’d buy others. She still couldn’t see herself…

While Far from a Knockout, the Southern District of New York Strikes a Blow for Businesses Facing Website Accessibility Lawsuits

April 12, 2019 | Source: Epstein Becker & Green

Hope for Business Operators With Website Accessibility Cases In New York?

April 15, 2019 | Source: Kelley Drye & Warren

It is no secret that businesses have long been awaiting a court decision that would help stem the surging tide of website accessibility cases – over a thousand of which have been filed in the Southern District of New York over the last two years. While the S.D.N.Y.’s recent decision dismissing a website accessibility complaint in Himelda Diaz v. Apple, Inc., 18-cv-07550 (LAP) (S.D.N.Y. March 28, 2019) may not have gone as far as businesses would have hoped, it is nonetheless an important victory…

Don’t let limited mobility discourage your travel bug

April 13, 2019 | Source: The Voice

Many people dream of someday retiring and seeing the world. Some save money for a big trip, while others spend hours on the internet researching travel sites and more. But what if your travel companion has limited mobility or other special needs? Does that mean you can’t add them to your travel plans? Does that mean putting off travel all together? Not necessarily, say travel experts. In most cases, traveling with limited mobility or a partner who has trouble walking means careful planning and looking at different travel options…

Developer settles claims HHP apartments not accessible

April 14, 2019 | Source: The Riverdale Press

It still seems achingly cryptic, whatever happened at Riverdale Parc. The seven-story, 55-unit multifamily complex at 2727 Henry Hudson Parkway in Spuyten Duyvil opened just a few years ago. But apparently, someone made some big mistakes when it comes to ensuring the rental building complies with accessibility requirements of the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination, including because of disability…

Faculty and Students Unite in Disability Rights Protest On Stony Brook Campus

April 14, 2019 | Source: Stony Brook Independent

The Peer Mental Health Alliance held a Disability Rights protest and march on campus, Wednesday April 10th during campus lifetime, to ensure that many of the swept-under-the-rug issues related to disability services provided by Stony Brook University, is finally heard loud and clear. The protest march started from the SAC Plaza with chants of “Disability rights are humans rights,” and ended with demands to the university administration, to follow the American Disability Act without cutting corners and sliding by…

GSA Testing Tool to Ensure Tech Projects Meet Accessibility Rules

April 15, 2019 | Source: Nextgov

Federal agencies are mandated by law to ensure any products or services offered—online or otherwise—are accessible to people with disabilities. By September, agencies will have access to a government-built artificial intelligence tool that ensures solicitations to buy or help build digital services include accessibility requirements. “It’s our government’s mission to ensure that the products that the government builds are accessible to those 16 million” Americans with disabilities, Marina Fox, program manager for the DotGov Domain Service at the General Services Administration…

Hospitality and Tourism Students Share Accessibility Tips with Industry Professionals

April 15, 2019 | Source: Tennessee Today

Students in a hospitality and tourism class at UT spent spring semester blending classroom learning with real-world experience to improve accessibility in Knoxville’s hospitality industry. Presenting to staff and management at the Crowne Plaza, Downtown Hilton Knoxville, and Greater Knoxville Hospitality Association in March and April, the students in Strategic Planning for the Hospitality and the Tourism Industry provided hospitality industry professionals with tips and strategies for better accommodating people with disabilities…

Increasing accessibility a ‘win-win’

April 15, 2019 | Source: Pilot Tribune

The Spencer ADA Council is offering advice to local businesses in the form of a website and training video aimed at increasing accessibility for persons with disabilities. “By leveling the playing field, it gives all people the opportunity to participate,” ADA Council member Stevie Shively said. “If your environment isn’t physically inviting or accessible, then the person can’t get there in the first place. If it is so challenging, it can be defeating. One of the things that Tom Rutt, ADA Council chairman, mentioned is the goal of business is to have customers.”…

A&M takes a step toward making accessible textbooks

April 15, 2019 | Source: The Battalion

Aggies that struggle with standard textbooks will get the resources they need to succeed. Texas A&M will join several universities to develop a shared system of their individual catalogues of accessible textbooks so that the colleges can give disabled students a wider variety of high-quality readings. The shared grant was awarded to A&M in March by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and established a project for a federated accessible textbook repository…

Concordia hosts a knowledge exchange forum on accessibility in digital learning environments

April 16, 2019 | Source: Concordia University News

Traditional ideas of what constitutes a normative learning environment are quickly becoming a thing of the past. For today’s universities to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, all options have to be considered — including questions of physical design and digital pedagogical tools for people with disabilities. With this in mind, Concordia is putting on a two-day knowledge exchange forum that will examine issues of accessibility and inclusivity in digital learning environments…

Many buildings at UMD aren’t accessible. This student made a 43-page report to track them.

April 16, 2019 | Source: The Diamondback

One night last September, Adith Thummalapalli showed up to the University of Maryland’s Kent Hall, excitedly toting a birthday card and a king-sized Kit-Kat bar. He had helped to plan this day for two weeks — a surprise 20th birthday party for one of his best friends. Before he left, Thummalapalli, who has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair, checked online and made sure that the dorm had a wheelchair symbol next to it — which indicates there are accessible rooms in the building…

Brookfield restaurant resolves happy hour dispute with disabled

April 16, 2019 | Source: Danbury News Times

An agreement has been reached that will allow people who use wheelchairs to enjoy Happy Hour specials at a Brookfield restaurant. John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said his office will issue a “Letter of Resolution” to Hacienda Don Manuel Restaurant in Brookfield to resolve allegations the restaurant was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. An ADA complaint was filed by a person with mobility disabilities alleging that Hacienda Don Manuel’s bar counter was not accessible to individuals in wheelchairs…

Travelers With Disabilities May Find Advantages in Using Travel Advisor Specialists

April 16, 2019 | Source: Skift

With one in four American adults classified as having a disability, travel advisors need to better understand these travelers. Being able to complete their bookings is not just a business necessity, it’s a legal requirement under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which demands equal treatment for travelers with disabilities. According to consultant and trainer Craig Kennedy of Disability Life Coaching, most travel advisors “have no idea what issues are faced or what the special needs of any disabled traveler are unless they have actually worked with a customer with a disability.”…

Workers with disabilities bring economic value to communities

April 16, 2019 | Source: HR Dive

Workers with disabilities provide substantial economic benefits to local communities, according to a study recently released by Melwood, an employer of people of differing abilities (the company’s preferred term for workers with disabilities). The Melwood Economic Impact Study includes 25 counties in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., where Melwood employed more than 1,200 workers of differing abilities. Melwood said its workers with disabilities earned about $27.7 million in wages and paid more than half its workforce’s $11.9 million in federal, state and local taxes in 2017…

Eliminating accessibility barriers promotes inclusion in worship

April 16, 2019 | Source: Church Executive Magazine

Separation of church and state has been an important pillar of our country since its inception. An individual’s freedom to explore his or her faith should be available to all who choose to cultivate a deeper sense of purpose in life and belonging within their communities. Often, this freedom is taken for granted, however, as it’s not fully understood that there is a large population of individuals unable to express their faith in the same way. They include our neighbors, our family, our friends…

‘Serial Plaintiffs’ Target New York City Galleries for Disability Act Violations, Some Dealers Are Settling—or Scrambling to Get Up to Code

April 17, 2019 | Source: artnet News

Several New York City art galleries have paid to settle lawsuits brought against them for allegedly violating the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act because their websites were not fully accessible to hearing or visually impaired persons. The galleries that settled the suits, including Howard Rehs, Mark Borghi Fine Art, Questroyal Fine Art. and around a half-dozen others, are bound by non-disclosure agreements, but artnet News has learned that the cost averaged about $15,000 per settlement and they’ve agreed to update their websites’ accessibility…

College Street Music Hall in New Haven will Increase Accessibility to Comply with ADA

April 17, 2019 | Source: HamletHub & WTNH & New Haven Register

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with the New Haven Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., which owns and operates College Street Music Hall (“CSMH”) in New Haven, to resolve allegations that CSMH was not operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). The U.S. Attorney’s Office opened an investigation after receiving a complaint from an individual regarding lack of accessibility at CSMH…

Built for Whom? Tracing Nashville’s Lack of Accessibility

April 18, 2019 | Source: Nashville Scene

When Raekwon the Chef and Ghostface Killah performed at Marathon Music Works in the summer of 2015, Dylan Brown couldn’t see much from the cramped wheelchair section. Separated from the main crowd by temporary barriers, Brown found the enclosure “a little awkward,” in part because a larger attendee in the tight space — like Brown, in a wheelchair — was “drunk and all over the place.” “It was a cluster up there,” he remembers. As someone who attended a lot of shows at the time, Brown was used to navigating Nashville’s music venues on wheels…

Coming to America

April 18, 2019 | Source: Momentum Magazine

People with MS who immigrate to the United States encounter new experiences surrounding their disease. Sara Qureshi had finished medical school in Pakistan in 2007 when her sister, Kiran Ali, woke up from a nap one day with double vision. Ali visited an ophthalmologist, who referred her to a neurologist. When the neurologist performed an MRI and concluded that Ali likely had multiple sclerosis, the sisters were dumbfounded. MS is so rare in Pakistan that neither of them knew anyone with the disease…

Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities

April 18, 2019 | Source: UW Today

About 3.6 million adults in the United States use a wheelchair to get around, according to census data. But unless you’re one of those people, you might not know how hard it is to get around your city. Project Sidewalk logoNow people can help map out accessibility here in Seattle. University of Washington researchers have led the development of Project Sidewalk, an online crowdsourcing game that lets anyone with an internet connection use Google Street View to virtually explore neighborhoods and label curb ramps, missing or rough sidewalks, obstacles and more…

True Accessibility for All: No Roadblocks, Please

April 18, 2019 | Source: Muscular Dystrophy News

Whenever the topic of accessibility comes up, you can bet there’ll be great passion. We all want the right to access and partake in everything beautiful in life, yet so much of the world is unreachable to those of us with disabilities. In this column, I introduce my alter ego, Sammy Eikahldit. He exists only in that other side of my brain, where I sometimes find myself in conversation. Sammy occasionally has useful insights into life. To be clear, Sammy is not real…

A Lawsuit of Another Stripe, Visit Florida’s Problems and an Office Space Shortage?

April 18, 2019 | Source: Boca

If you have wondered why Boca Raton stopped posting documents on its website, it’s because of a lawsuit the city settled this week. The plaintiff is Juan Carlos Gil. He lives in Miami, was born with cerebral palsy, is legally blind, and competes in marathons. Last September, Gil wrote to the city, seeking to “learn about the governmental functioning of the City of Boca Raton through the documents you provide within your site.” To further that education, Gil asked for all budget-related documents from 2015 to 2018 and all city commission agendas and backup materials from 2018 to 2018…

Wendy Lu Is A Proud Disabled Woman

April 18, 2019 | Source: Huffington Post (Video)

HuffPost journalist Wendy Lu was born with vocal cord paralysis and has always lived with a tracheostomy tube. While Wendy has used her voice to advocate for people with disabilities, she’s also mindful that the responsibility to champion the disability community rests on everyone’s shoulders…

Jack Fact — The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 466 million people globally that are deaf and hard of hearing.

Hit The Road Jack — Accessible Tour Guide Map Of Kawasaki Daishi Area- Accessible Japan

International News

86% of adults with autism are unemployed. This job fair aims to change that

April 9, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada

High school student Jacklyn Taccogna describes herself as determined, funny and meticulous when it comes to her work. But, she says, employers sometimes miss those qualities because they make assumptions about her autism. “‘Oh, you’re going to drag us down,’ or, ‘Oh, you must be too slow,'” she said, describing the attitudes of some potential employers. “I wish more companies were more … accepting of people with different abilities. Try to find strengths instead of weaknesses,” she said…

What Are The Expectations Of 80 Million Disabled Indians From 2019 Elections

April 11, 2019 | Source: India Times- India

With the ever-growing number of road accident cases, India has one of the biggest disabled population, anywhere in the world. According to some estimates, there are around 80 million people who are either born with disabilities or have become disabled due to accidents. But when it comes to providing basic amenities to the disabled community, India is way behind when compared to Europe and the US. Many believe that despite having such a large population, the disabled continue to be sidelined when it comes to policy making thus what they need often gets ignored…

Traveling wheelchair user applauds disability access in Cayman

April 11, 2019 | Source: Cayman 27- Cayman

One wheelchair-using traveler said Cayman stacks up well against other popular tourist destinations in terms of disability access. Jonathan “J” Appleby applauded those who went ‘above and beyond’ to make adjustments so he could enjoy the best that Cayman has to offer: including a helicopter ride. “Everyone I come across on the island has been superbly accommodating,” said Mr. Appleby. He told Cayman 27 he refuses to let his cerebral palsy slow him down…

Paralympics: IPC says Tokyo Games organizers must finish strong and deliver

April 13, 2019 | Source: Kyodo News Plus- Japan & The Japan Times

With 500 days to go until the 2020 Paralympic Games, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons says Tokyo organizers have made great strides but must remain focused on the goal to ensure the event lives up to its promise. Tokyo hit the 500-day Paralympic Games’ countdown mark Saturday, and organizers are highlighting the day with various activities to show that preparations are on track and anticipation is building for the event which opens on Aug. 25 and runs through Sept. 6…

District Magistrate orders undertaking accessibility audit of Srinagar schools

April 13, 2019 | Source: Kashmir Life- India & United News of India

District Magistrate Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Friday issued an order directing ten errant schools notified as polling stations in the district to immediately allow construction of ramps at their premises as part of the ECI-mandated Assured Minimum Facilities at polling stations. The order states the setting up of ramps for Persons with Disabilities or PwD voters at notified polling stations is mandated as per the directions of the Supreme Court with the aim to facilitate them in exercising their right to full and effective participation and inclusion in society…

Liverpool Street To King’s Cross Can Take 290% Longer For Wheelchair Users

April 13, 2019 | Source: Londonist- England

A journey on London transport from Liverpool Street station to King’s Cross station can take 290% longer for wheelchair users, a new report claims. Law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp asked five people with disabilities to track their commutes, and compare them with those of able-bodied Londoners — some of the results are pretty sobering. For Sarah, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is in an electric wheelchair, a commute from Liverpool Street station to King’s Cross station on a busy Monday morning, takes around 35 minutes, rather than the usual nine minutes for able-bodied passengers…

Calls for easier access to communication aids for disabled groups

April 13, 2019 | Source: TVNZ- New Zealand

There are calls for easier access to assistive technology that gives some disabled people a voice. Sophia Corlett, 10, is autistic and has been using a customised iPad with a communication app to communicate her needs, feelings and pains for the past seven months. “Recently Sophia broke her wrist and that’s always been one of my real concerns … that she wasn’t able to express herself and how she was feeling and especially a physical pain,” her mum Rebekah Corlett said…

Alberta election policy deep dive: Disability changes

April 13, 2019 | Source: Edmonton Journal- Canada

The UCP says it would remove a controversial IQ assessment for Alberta’s $853-million Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program should it win government, while the Alberta Party would back-fill benefits and introduce an Alberta Accessibility Act. Political parties don’t often create detailed disability platforms, but each has dedicated multiple pages of promises to persons with disabilities this election. The Alberta Liberal platform also included a page of disability program plans, including the appointment of an associate disability minister, but the NDP platform doesn’t mention the word “disability” at all…

Disability is a touchy subject, but we have to talk about it

April 14, 2019 | Source: Collingwood Today- Canada

Recently, an Alberta woman with an obvious physical disability was asked to leave a grocery store and not come back because she could not pack her own groceries quickly enough. According to the report on CBC’s Go Public, the checkout clerk said she was slowing down the line as she struggled to bag her groceries, and the store said no staff were available to help her. Presumably, neither were other patrons. This story is consistent with what many disabled people say they experience…

VisitScotland highlight accessible tourism

April 15, 2019 | Source: The Edinburgh Reporter- Scotland

VisitScotland invited two European accessible tour operators to come to Scotland to see for themselves what we can offer. There is a growth in demand for accessible travel and the European delegates found out for themselves about Scottish tourism products on the familiarisation trip. The trip lasted for three days after VisitScotland Expo last week and the delegates visited Royal Yacht Britannia, DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre, the Scotch Whisky Experience and Beach Wheelchairs in North Berwick on the east coast as well as other west coast locations…

Sudbury associations offering to help residents understand hearing loss

April 15, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada

The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Sudbury and Volunteer Sudbury want to help employers and people who work with volunteers understand the accessibility needs of people with hearing loss. Volunteer Sudbury will be hosting the training event on April 17, with Kim Scott, the executive director of CHHA Sudbury, who will be giving a presentation and will be available to answer any questions. “People need to learn how to communicate with them, a lot of people presume that things just have to be made louder and that’s not correct…

Indonesia Is Making Progress Towards Disabled-Friendly Elections

April 15, 2019 | Source: The News Lens International- Indonesia

Indonesia is home to a large population of disabled residents – approximately 11 million disabled people live in the archipelago country. While issues facing Indonesia’s disabled population have not been highlighted very much in the country’s presidential campaign, efforts have been made to ensure that disabled voters are accommodated at the polls on election day. Various institutions have reported different numbers on how many disabled people live in Indonesia…

Rangers FC first UK club to supply AI for visually impaired fans

April 15, 2019 | Source: Mobile Marketing Magazine- UK (Video)

Rangers FC is to provide an artificial intelligence solution for its partially sighted fans which will help fans read text, recognise faces and products during match days and on stadium tours. Fans will be able to borrow the wireless and wearable tech device OrCam MyEye 2 which will use artificial intelligence to track digital and print surfaces including smartphone and computer screens as well as newspapers, books and menus and feed back to the user via an audio description…

Education tech’s future: Accessibility

April 16, 2019 | Source: The Daily Star- Israel

For many, the word “accessibility” might call to mind wheelchair ramps, railings and elevators. But in the web-centered environment of today’s higher education, being able to access digital materials can be as important as being able to physically enter the classroom. Rima Kaddoura, who has been blind since she was 13 as a result of retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer, had experienced firsthand the obstacles to digital access while completing her bachelor’s degree in math and master’s degree in public health at the American University of Beirut…

“If a person cannot leave the apartment, he or she does not need an accessible Opera House”

April 16, 2019 | Source: EuroBelarus- Belarus

In Stoubcy, they talked about universal design and conducted pilot monitoring of two urban sites accessibility. We all need accessible environment. People with disabilities, elderly people, cyclists, pregnant women and people with prams, with umbrellas, people in shopping and on heels; even just tired and scattered people – many of us can be attributed to at least one of these categories. Any of these states creates for us physical challenges and difficulties for the movement…

CNIB brings accessibility app to Victoria Park in downtown Regina

April 16, 2019 | Source: CTV News- Canada

The Canadian National Institute to the Blind has brought a new accessibility program to Victoria Park and City Square Plaza. It’s the first city park in Canada to become BlindSquare enabled, CNIB says. BlindSquare technology gives information about businesses through an event app available for free. Information is shared through a voiceover, including business names, general layout, online menus and bathrooms. “For CNIB the goal of this project was to make downtown more accessible and inclusive for people with vision loss…

Accessible taxi drivers pushed to ‘boiling point’

April 16, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada

One of Ottawa’s first accessible taxi drivers says high costs and a lack of support from the city are prompting plate owners to give up on the business. Fourteen accessible taxi plates have recently been returned to the city by drivers who have decided to call it quits, according to Mahmut Mahmutoglu, a number verified Monday by the city. “Accessible drivers today are at a boiling point. They are really frustrated. They have been burdened so much that they’re all willing to drop these accessible plates en masse in front of the city and completely quit, get out of this business,” Mahmutoglu told CBC…

Oxford student launches new app which crowdsources information about venue accessibility

April 16, 2019 | Source: Cherwell Online & BBC- UK

Australian lawyer and entrepreneur Matthew Pierri created the app, SociAbility, in order to fill an “unmet need” in the disabled community. The app is intended make it easier for disabled people in finding out which pubs, cafes, bars, and restaurants are accessible. Pierri, who recently completed a Master of Public Policy at the University’s Blavatnik School of Government, based the idea from his own experiences as a wheelchair user in Oxford. He is the CEO and founder of the project…

STUC demands ‘urgent action’ to end major shortage of accessible housing for disabled Scots

April 16, 2019 | Source: CommonSpace- Scotland

Tens of thousands of disabled Scots lack access to suitable housing as Scotland lags behind other parts of the UK. THE Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) has demanded “urgent action” from local authorities to tackle the shortage in accessible housing. The call at the annual conference in Dundee comes after new figures showed Scotland lags behind other parts of the UK, both in terms of the construction of new accessible housing, and the provision of funds for the changing of existing housing stock to meet the requirements of residents…

New app-based project launches in Regina to help people with vision loss navigate downtown

April 16, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada & 620CKRM & Globalnews

Ashley Nemeth uses a service dog to help her get around and says she’s all too familiar with accessibility challenges in downtown Regina. “I avoided 12th Avenue at all costs because it’s shared space between traffic and pedestrians, but it’s all the same level,” said Nemeth, program lead for advocacy with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. “There’s no way for me to know — am I in the middle of the road where traffic should be, or am I where I’m safe?”…

It might not be an easy-access election for all: PwD activists

April 17, 2019 | Source: The New Indian Express- India

When Ummul Khair decided to select her candidate from the Electronic Voting Machine, she realised that the button to select to finalise her vote was too far to reach. Thus, the wheelchair user and advocate had to speak to officials about the issue and seek assistance before she was able to vote. According to ECI data, around two lakh voters with disability will not be able to vote in the 2019 elections due to inaccessible polling stations, said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, member of the Disability Rights Alliance Vaishnavi, in a Twitter thread…

Microsoft deal means more access for all Canadian public servants with disabilities, minister says

April 16, 2019 | Source: CBC & PRNewswire- Canada

The federal government has renewed a contract with Microsoft Canada that includes more digital communication tools for public servants with disabilities. Minister of Accessibility Carla Qualtrough made the announcement at Microsoft’s offices in Vancouver, saying the modern tools will allow for more information sharing, productivity and collaboration. Qualtrough, who is legally blind, says the seven-year agreement is part of the government’s procurement of software and services for all public servants and that about five per cent of the workforce of 410,000 people has a disability…

SC delivers landmark ruling on accessibility for people with special needs

April 18, 2019 | Source: News 1st- Sri Lanka

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court today determined failure to provide accessibility facilities for people with special needs to enter premises of various institutions, violates their fundamental rights. The Ministry of Social Empowerment & Welfare and 07 other Government Institutions were ordered to take immediate measures to provide the necessary facilities adhering to the Disabled Persons Accessibility Regulations passed in 2006…

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