Accessibility in the News — 3/15/19.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“When we say we want to build for everyone – we mean it. Accessibility is written into our mission statement and core to our values as a company. We don’t think a problem is solved until we’ve solved it for everyone. Technology’s great promise is to give everyone the same power to achieve their goals. As long as there are barriers for some, there’s still work to be done.” — Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

National News (U.S.)

Flying Tips for Wheelchair Users, From Wheelchair Users

March 8, 2019 | Source: New York Times

People often say that traveling is all about the journey and not the destination, but for wheelchair users, navigating air travel is often more of an adventure than they would like. Rolling through large crowded airports, hauling luggage, waiting in long lines, receiving a pat down, being strapped into a tiny aisle chair and then sitting for hours unable to move is exhausting. We’ve learned that the best way to circumvent some of the inevitable issues is to know what to expect, and prepare accordingly…

One Gonzaga student’s experience with disability on campus

March 8, 2019 | Source: Bulletin

Junior Makenna Presnell is like other Gonzaga students. She studies for tests, eats at the COG and talks with friends. But Presnell said she doesn’t want to be seen as just another GU student. She was born with cerebral palsy, a lifelong disorder which affects the brain’s ability to communicate with other parts of the body. It’s because of this she doesn’t want to be treated like everyone else. She wants the university and her fellow students to start treating her like who she is: a GU student with a disability…

Practical Strategies for Defending ADA Website Accessibility Claims

March 8, 2019 | Source: New York Law Journal

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)-based discrimination claims alleging inaccessibility of business websites have exploded onto the scene over the last several years as one of the latest entrants into the so-called “drive by” (or, in this case, “surf by”) ADA litigation trend. Thousands of these claims, usually involving visually impaired persons, were filed nationwide in 2018, primarily in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania, with more than 1,500 cases clogging the dockets of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Every business with a consumer-facing website is at risk…

Four Things I Learned When I Started Thinking about Museum Accessibility

March 8, 2019 | Source: American Alliance of Museums

I first started working with the Disabilities community in 2011. Over the years, I’ve worked with individuals of all ages in their homes, at their jobs, and in their communities. The state I live in, Rhode Island, has had to radically restructure the way it cares for older teens and adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD), from a network of segregated day facilities to a model of community integration, after the Department of Justice found the old practices violated the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Mom alleges NDSU arena broke law in denying her a chair to sit beside disabled daughter

March 10, 2019 | Source: NFORUM

Tammy DeSautel takes her daughter Macy Stuart to all kinds of community events. Basketball games are their favorite, because Stuart loves to watch her cousin play. They went to see him in the Eastern Dakota Conference tournament at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, or SHAC, on the North Dakota State University campus on March 2. DeSautel asked for a chair so she could sit next to her daughter in her wheelchair. A staff member said he’d have to ask a supervisor…

Utah study finds most K-12 websites difficult to use for disabled community

March 10, 2018 | Source: Deseret News

In the 21st century, navigating a school’s website is an essential part of education. But a new study from BYU and Utah State University says certain web issues are alienating the U.S. disabled community. The study found that more than 95 percent of U.S. K-12 school websites had errors that made the page difficult for a person with a disability to use. Examples of these issues listed in the study anecdotally include no video transcript or caption options for a hard of hearing student, or text size formatting options for a visually impaired student or parent…

Flying tips for wheelchair users, from wheelchair users

March 9, 2018 | Source: TODAY

People often say that travelling is all about the journey and not the destination, but for wheelchair users, navigating air travel is often more of an adventure than they would like. Rolling through large crowded airports, hauling luggage, waiting in long lines, receiving a pat down, being strapped into a tiny aisle chair and then sitting for hours unable to move is exhausting. We’ve learned that the best way to circumvent some of the inevitable issues is to know what to expect, and prepare accordingly…

Canvas working towards full accessibility for students

March 10, 2019 | Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian

Colorado State University students are all too familiar with Canvas, the learning management system faculty and staff use for courses and grading. But how accessible is it? Canvas has many options for students. Users have the option to color code their courses for organization or aesthetic, click and drag to rearrange their classes, download the app to check grades, read through assignments or receive messages from teachers and professors. Some instructors opt to use different learning management systems like Writing Studio. Others choose to avoid Canvas completely…

Clicks ‘n Tricks: Domino’s forced to open eyes to blind customers

March 11, 2019 | Source: MarkLives.com

Mid-January 2019, a US appeals court ruled that Domino’s Pizza needed to make its website and app accessible to blind people. While the judgement is great news for the blind (and those suffering other afflictions which make it hard to use the internet), it presents a number of challenges and conundrums for marketers. The case was brought by a blind customer who struggled to change pizza toppings, apply discount coupons and complete a purchase using the company’s iPhone app…

NAFCU urges Justice Department to address ADA website issue

March 11, 2019 | Source: Credit Union Journal

Representatives from the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions and some credit unions met with the Department of Justice to discuss the ongoing legal battle over the Americans with Disabilities Act and its applicability to websites. In the past 18 months, numerous credit unions have been hit with lawsuits alleging their websites violated the ADA. Credit unions have struggled with what accommodations they should provide on their websites and mobile apps…

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign recognized for disability accommodations- Daily Illini

The University was recently recognized as the second best college for students with physical disabilities by College Magazine. According to the publication, the 10 schools that made the list were judged on the basis of their accessible dorms, classrooms and transportation. The schools also get the entire campus involved by advocating for awareness and inclusion for students with physical disabilities. Zain Bando, freshman in Media, uses a wheelchair. He said the University deserves the recognition…

Brooklyn Students Construct Wheelchair Accessible Desk For Their Classmate

March 12, 2019 | Source: CBS New York

A group of junior high school students are working on a very special assignment for their classmates in wheelchairs. The project started as a way to enter a local competition, but has turned into so much more. The Wheelchair Warriors from Dyker Heights Intermediate School are a group of eighth graders designing and building a special desk for their classmate Maria Pizzo. Her wheelchair can’t fit under a regular desk. When Maria comes into class her paraprofessional, Peggy Chevalier, needs to move a desk even when it’s in place…

Will Alexa help blind clients with their accounts?

March 11, 2019 | Source: Financial Planning

Financial advisor Brice Carter was meeting with a client who had lost nearly all vision in a stroke a few years ago. Sitting there on her coffee table was an Alexa. He asked her what she thought of using the voice assistant device to listen to her account balances. “Her face lit up. She was super excited about it,” Carter says. Carter got the idea after attending the TD Ameritrade LINC conference in February. The custodian announced a new Alexa skill for advisors and their clients, enabling them to listen to updates such as account balances, positions and market briefings…

CUNA partnership with Federation of the Blind seeks to increase access

March 11, 2019 | Source: CUNA News

CUNA has been working with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to find solutions to issues surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and NFB President Mark Riccobono addressed the audience Monday at the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference. Credit unions around the country are being hit with lawsuits alleging noncompliance with the ADA, but the ADA does not have specific accessibility requirements for websites…

Holy Cross settles lawsuit over website accessibility for blind users

March 12, 2019 | Source: Worcester Telegram

The College of the Holy Cross has reached a settlement with a New York man who sued the college, saying its website was not accessible to visually impaired users like himself, court records show. A filing on March 7 in U.S. District Court in the New York Southern District, where Jason Camacho lodged his complaint in November, said the sides “have a settlement, in principle,” and requested the judge dismiss the case. The court ordered the case closed on Monday…

Justice Department reaches agreement with Harris County to ensure polling place accessibility for disabled voters

March 12, 2019 Source:Texas Tribune

Harris County on Tuesday agreed to make its voting locations more accessible to people with disabilities, settling a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice in which the federal agency alleged that the county was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 2016 lawsuit alleged many of Harris County’s more than 750 voting places had architectural barriers — like steep ramps or gaps in walkways— that made them inaccessible to voters with mobility or vision disabilities. Under the settlement, Harris County will have to change its current voting program to comply with the ADA…

Long Beach holds public hearings for residents to have their say in improving ADA accessibility

March 12, 2019 | Source: Press- Telegram

Long Beach has a long list of fixes to make for all of its public facilities to be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But before the city gets to work on that, it’s looking for input from the disability community to help prioritize them. That was the message during a meeting on Tuesday, March 12, where Long Beach’s Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Disabilities heard from consultants who analyzed 1,215 miles of sidewalk and 12,091 curb ramps in the city for a report on its ADA compliance…

Top 36 Web Accessibility Resources for Digital Marketing Companies

March 13, 2019 | Source: Search Engine Journal

Many experienced search marketers added usability testing to their site audits. Still, they may be unprepared when they learn of clients facing ADA website accessibility lawsuits. Where do they find accessibility resources and testing tools? Why should marketers care about website accessibility? Who is responsible for the accessibility of websites and apps?…

Lawsuit: Chicago homeless shelters lack accessibility

March 13, 2019 | Source: Fairfield Citizen

A Chicago woman is suing the city, claiming that some of its homeless shelters are illegally unable to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Laura Martin on Monday contends that Chicago has violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, the Chicago Tribune reported. Martin became homeless in 2017 after a relative she was staying with moved into a nursing home, the lawsuit states…

Reevaluating accessibility at Williams: Calling for a transformation in the College’s practices

March 13, 2019 | Source: The Williams Record

On Feb. 19, President Mandel sent out a campus-wide email in response to the Hollander memorials. In the email, Maud claimed to support the aims of the students, but also expressed the need to disassemble the memorial due to violations of fire code and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This call for accessibility was a large part of why students were so willing to remove the memorial; they respected the right that every community member has to access a space, physical and otherwise…

Voting Technology: The Innovations Set To Revolutionize Us Elections

March 13, 2019 | Source: Voices

To no one’s surprise, the U.S. presidential election is the most widely followed of any country on the planet. What is surprising is it also has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the developed world. A large factor contributing to the low voter turnout is the inaccessibility of voting information and physical polling stations. According to a Metova survey of over 1,000 connected citizens, 67% of the citizens who didn’t vote in the last presidential election would have if they could have voted on a mobile device…

What the Frankenstein Ballet Can Teach Us about Disability Studies

March 13, 2019 | Source: Bowdoin News

Many of us might be familiar with Mary Shelley’s legendary gothic thriller, Frankenstein. The story of an unhinged scientist and an experiment gone horribly wrong is regarded as a lesson in the dangers of intellectual arrogance and the ruthless pursuit of knowledge. But, said Professor of English and Bioethics Rosemarie Garland-Thomson of Emory University, Frankenstein is also a fable about how society treats people with disabilities…

Credit Unions Push DOJ for ADA Guidance

March 13, 2019 | Source: Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Financial institutions need help, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) told newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General William Barr, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide clear guidance on how it believes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to website accessibility. The lack of clarity about whether the statute applies to websites (and if so, how) has been a problem for credit unions for years, the organization said, with dozens of lawsuits negatively impacting their ability to serve their communities…

Smithsonian museum visitors in DC who are visually impaired can benefit from this new tech

March 13, 2019 | Source: Technical.ly

Smithsonian museums are becoming more accessible in D.C. with the implementation of new tech for the visually impaired. Smithsonian museum visitors who are blind or have low vision can now access an app that uses their smartphone cameras or special glasses to provide wayfinding information coupled with on-demand verbal descriptions of everything from individual objects to entire exhibitions. California-based Aira, the app curator, uses artificial intelligence to help people with vision loss live independently…

Grant Paves Way For Disability Access To Textbooks

March 13, 2019 | Source: Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is one of seven institutions named in a $1 million grant to develop a federated repository of accessible instructional materials for college students and faculty with disabilities through a collaboration with the Texas A&M Department of Disability Services and the Texas A&M University Libraries. Since fall 2014, Disability Services has addressed the rising demand of a nearly 300 percent increase in requests for accessible textbooks by students who cannot access traditional print materials, including students with visual, learning and physical disabilities…

Next steps for Pekin accessibility lawsuit, city denies fault

March 14, 2019 | Source: Week (Video)

After three months of silence, Pekin City leadership are denying allegations of breaking several disability laws. Among the complaints, a lack of wheelchair accessibility throughout the city. 25 News Reporter Lauren Melendez has been digging deeper into the case for months and explains the plaintiffs argue the lawsuit is about mobility, not money. To be clear, none of the seven plaintiffs would receive a dime if the city admitted fault. Now that it’s clear from their class-action response, 25 News is investigating what happens next…

Forget Diversity, Hire Competitors

March 14, 2019 | Source: Forbes

If this blog were to have a title, it could be Dis Affection. This would reflect the discomfort of a society trying to grapple with the conundrum of people with disabilities who are—finally—loose in a world neither designed nor prepared for them. And it also contains my own affection for the great personal gain that has come with the slow departure of my vision. There are a great many issues in the realm of accessibility that the Americans with Disabilities Act simply cannot cover…

Aging in Place and the Housing Crunch

March 13, 2019 | Source: The Corvallis Advocate

As more seniors choose to age and receive care in their own homes, demand for accessible housing will likely increase. Whether due to cost of managed care, long waitlists in managed care facilities, or personal preference, the number of available houses suitable for a wide range of abilities may not meet aging Boomers’ needs. Having as many accessibility features available as possible can help seniors adapt to changes in health, stay in their homes, and remain part of our community…

Judge says MTA broke ADA elevator statutes

March 14, 2019 | Source: Queens Chronicle

A federal judge ruled last week that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority discriminated against handicapped residents when it failed to include elevators among massive renovations that were made to a Bronx subway station over nine months from late 2013 to early 2014. What remains to be seen is how the ruling is applied in the future. In an 11-page opinion issued March 5, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos found that renovations to the Middletown Road subway station…

The real victims of the college admissions scams are people with disabilities

March 14, 2019 | Source: Washington Post

The experiences of 57 million Americans with disabilities are not just costumes to wear to get preboarding access to a plane or extended time on a test. Accessing those rights could become a lot harder now, thanks to well-heeled parents who are charged in a scheme to abuse disability accommodations in order to fake their children’s scores on college admissions exams. The ugliness of this alleged scam is even more apparent when we consider how expensive it is to have a real disability…

Jack Fact — According to World Health Organization, globally it is estimated that more than 70 million people of the global population are in need of a wheelchair.

Hit The Road Jack — Greek beaches receive upgrades to become accessible to everyone

International News

‘New Gate’ To Jerusalem’s Old City Opens, Accessible For The Disabled

March 6, 2019 | Source: The Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem just completed NIS 11 million of renovations on the New Gate entrance into the Old City, which has been transformed into a “symbolic gateway of social equality, a pioneering breakthrough in the world of accessibility in historical sites in Israel and abroad,” said Yitzhak Sabato, director of the National Insurance Institute. On Tuesday, city leaders gathered to cut the ribbon on the new gate, which the city hopes will become a major entrance gate for tourists and visitors to the Old City…

#EAA – Accessibility: Making products and services in the EU easier to use

March 6, 2019 | Source: EU Reporter

Parliament and EU Council negotiators have reached an agreement on a European Accessibility Act (EAA). The new rules are a step towards a fairer and more inclusive Europe and should improve the daily lives of the elderly and people with disabilities across the EU. The agreement will still need to be approved by MEPs and the Council before the legislation can enter into force. More than 80 million people live with disabilities in the EU and many have difficulties using everyday products, such as smartphones, computers, e-books, and encounter problems in accessing key services via ticket machines or ATMs…

Tech solution gives Blackpool an accessibility boost

March 8, 2019 | Source: Access and Mobility Professional- England

A new mobile app has launched that gives users accessibility information about attractions, parks, restaurants, shops and transport in Blackpool. AccessAble has worked alongside VisitBlackpool and Blackpool Council for more than a decade to ensure that people with a disability can get the best possible experience during their visit. The new app, which is available free, covers 180 venues in the resort. The app provides Detailed Access Guides to tens of thousands of places across the UK and Ireland…

One-stop centre for 2000 govt services

March 8, 2019 | Source: The Independent- Bangladesh

To bring all digital services provided by the government on one platform, the government has decided to implement the “Eksheba-Sarkar” information infrastructure by 2021. This unified platform will provide around 2,000 digital services and a user would be able to avail them like from a one-stop centre. Talking to The Independent, Anir Chaudhury, policy advisor to the Access to Information (A2I) project of the Prime Minister’s Office, said this initiative would take Bangladesh to a truly digital era…

Ontario nowhere near goal of full accessibility by 2025, review finds

March 8, 2019 | Source: Sault Online- Canada & 102.1 the Edge & The Star & Ontario

The accessibility law that took effect in Ontario 14 years ago and has served as a blueprint for similar legislation in other parts of Canada has fallen well short of its goals and continues to leave disabled residents facing daily, “soul-crushing” barriers, a former lieutenant governor has found. David Onley, a wheelchair user tasked with reviewing the implementation of Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, delivered a withering indictment of nearly all aspects of the law in a report quietly tabled in the provincial legislature this week…

Parliament: Heritage institutions and museums to be audited for accessibility

March 9, 2019 | Source: The Straits Times- India

Museums and heritage institutions in Singapore will be audited this year to ensure that they are accessible to elderly people and users with disabilities, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said in Parliament yesterday. Museums such as Changi Chapel and Museum, Reflections at Bukit Chandu, Peranakan Museum and Singapore Philatelic Museum are already undergoing revamps that will equip them with wheelchair-friendly access, such as wider passageways and lifts, as well as other amenities, such as more nursing rooms and toilets for people with disabilities…

Blindness MIRACLE cure: Experts in huge breakthrough with ‘God molecule’ psychedelic drug

March 10, 2019 | Source: Daily Star- UK

A revolutionary project aims to discover whether psychedelic drugs can help people whose brains are unable to form mental images. The project, led by Dr David Luke at the University of Greenwich, will look to find out whether powerful mind-altering substances can offer a cure. Experts carrying out the study are focusing on Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) — the most psychedelic drug in the world. David said: “The initial study seeks to explore whether psychedelics, such as DMT, can induce mental imagery in blind people…

Israel’s RightHear orients visually impaired at McDonald’s

March 10, 2019 | Source: ISRAEL 21c & From the Grapevine

An Israeli application already helping people with visual impairments to find their way through 1,000 large venues such as malls and airports is now providing audio orientation to Israelis in their local McDonald’s restaurant. “When we started, we were thinking of large complex environments like malls and airports because this is where sighted people usually get lost,” says Idan Meir, cofounder and CEO of RightHear in Ra’anana. “But we learned from user feedback that even small environments can be difficult for the blind or people with other orientation challenges. We realized we could create an impact there as well.”…

Canada: Federal Accessibility Legislation One Step Closer To Law

March 11, 2019 | Source: Mondaq News Alerts- Canada

The Accessible Canada Act (Act), first introduced in June 2018 in Bill C-81, is now being considered by the Senate, and could soon be law. The purpose of the Act is to make Canada’s federal sector barrier-free. If enacted, it will apply to federally-regulated entities like banks, telecommunication companies, transportation companies, and the Government of Canada. It will not apply to certain businesses in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, or Nunavut. It will apply to the areas of:…

Pubs and bars considered least accessible venues

March 11, 2019 | Source: Morning Advertiser- UK

Pubs and bars are believed to be the venues with the worst accessibility, according to research from a charity. Charity Euan’s Guide has released its annual survey on venues’ disabled accessibility. The survey asked 903 disabled people, their families and friends for their opinions on accessibility at public venues including museums, cafés and outdoor spaces…

UK airport continues to embrace new technology to improve aviation accessibility

March 11, 2019 | Source: THIIS- Scotland

Edinburgh Airport, Scotland’s busiest airport, is trialling a new mobile ordering service for passengers with reduced mobility, enabling individuals to order and have food and beverages from eateries in the airport’s departure lounge delivered to them. Using the FetchyFox platform, staff at the airport will be able to ask passengers with reduced mobility if they would like to order food from outlets in the departure lounge. Explaining how the service works, Anthony Payne, Enterprise Applications Manager at Edinburgh Airport, said…

Statement from Minister on the proposed accessibility regulations for the national transportation network

March 11, 2019 | Source: Benzinga- Canada & Markets Insider

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, today issued the following statement: “Every day, millions of Canadians across the country rely on transportation to get around – whether it’s to go on vacation, get to work or to visit family. However, we know that barriers to accessible transportation continue to prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating in society and having dignified independence…

A look at TTC Accessibility Through The Eyes of A Rider Who Uses Two Canes

March 10, 2019 | Source: AODA- Canada

Jessica Geboers steps off a busy subway car at College station, a cane in each hand, and confronts her first obstacle: two flights of stairs, 10 stairs each. The stairwell is narrow and passengers headed down the stairs stop to give her the room she needs to make her way up. On this day, at rush hour, a bottleneck forms in seconds. Jessica Geboers, 29, credits the TTC for trying when it comes to accessibility. “A good number of stations are accessible, but not as many as should be or could be,” she says…

WWWorries? Inventor of Web laments coming-of-age woes

March 11, 2019 | Source: Washington Post- Switzerland & Stuff & BBC

The inventor of the World Wide Web knows his revolutionary innovation is coming of age, and doesn’t always like what he sees: state-sponsored hacking, online harassment, hate speech and misinformation among the ills of its “digital adolescence.” Tim Berners-Lee issued a cri-de-coeur letter and spoke to a few reporters Monday on the eve of the 30-year anniversary of his first paper with an outline of what would become the web — a first step toward transforming countless lives and the global economy…

Canada looking for input on making travel network most accessible in the world

March 11, 2019 | Source: CTV News- Canada & Globalnews

The federal government is asking for input on how to make Canada’s travel network the most accessible in the world for all passengers, including people with physical and mental disabilities. It has published a new set of regulations for the public to view and consult on in the Canada Gazette, the federal government’s official newsletter. There, people can leave comments for the Canadian Transportation Agency, who said they will update the proposed changes based on public feedback…

Kerala launches first phase of Accessible India Campaign

March 12, 2019 | Source: NewzHook- India

The government of Kerala has been taking some important steps to promote inclusion, be it at the workplace, in tourism and education. In 2018, the government launched the Barrier Free Tourism Project that aims to make over 100 tourist locations across the state accessible and disabled-friendly. Last week, the government completed the first phase of this project and now state capital Thiruvananthapuram is all set to be made accessible for disabled people under the Accessible India Campaign…

Inclusive Kyiv: Situation with disability accessibility in Ukrainian capital

March 12, 2019 | Source: 112 International- Ukraine

According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ukraine undertakes to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities without any discrimination on the basis of disability. In particular, to take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized by an international treaty. However, what the situation with the implementation of the Convention today actually is, can be analyzed on the example of the capital, namely its convenience for various population groups…

Learning to cope with limited mobility and vision challenges

March 12, 2019 | Source: Lethbridge Herald- Canada

The City of Lethbridge is inviting the community and stakeholders to learn about the Mobility Accessibility Master Plan they have been developing for the last couple years, as well as taking part in a vision-loss and mobility simulation, to help put in perspective the challenges of living with mobility and visual disabilities. Five years ago, the City started looking at ways it was handling mobility and accessibility issues and found it needed to develop a more strategic approach to rectifying these issues…

How a little wooden ramp reshaped an Ontario city

March 12, 2019 | Source: TVO- Canada

The small city of Kenora has a picturesque harbourfront and a shopping district lined with turn-of-the-last-century frontier buildings. It’s pretty as a postcard — but it had a problem. As is the case in many of Ontario’s smaller communities, the downtown was not accessible for people with physical disabilities. “The buildings are older; the infrastructure is older,” says Sharon Smith, a city councillor who serves on the city’s accessibility advisory committee. “So it’s hard to address all of those issues.”…

Tech champions to fight for disabled customers’ rights

March 13. 2019 | Source: New Electronics- UK

Two new disability champions from Barclays and Fujitsu have been appointed by the government to ensure technology and online businesses are not forgetting about their disabled customers. Using their industry influence, the new champions will remove the obstacles faced by disabled consumers who struggle to purchase products or services online and are often locked out of benefitting from the latest innovations in technology. Minister for Disabled People, Sarah Newton, said, “For too long technology and online business have been missing out on the spending power of disabled customers and their families.”…

Digital technologies can help people with mobility-related disabilities

March 13, 2019 | Source: UCalgary News- Canada

Google Maps is a digital technology that many people rely on, on a daily basis. It can help us find our way around the city by car, bike, or foot. For people with mobility-related disabilities, however, the routes it provides are not guaranteed to be accessible, and can cause problems. Why can’t we add a disability feature to help people with mobility issues find a route? “We have an abundance of digital solutions (apps) to help people get around — but they are often not inclusive of people with disabilities,” says Dr. Victoria Fast, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts…

Government Communications To Those With Sight Loss

March 13, 2019 | Source: Voices- Canada

Think about when government communications are disseminated to the community – such as the passing of a new by-law, an upcoming election or an emergency situation. Most of the time, this information is disseminated in a traditional print form or online text. But what about those citizens who are blind or experience vision loss? How are these important messages communicated to them, and how can governments continue to improve their communications to make their messages accessible by all?…

What Is Accessibility For Voting? The Global Innovations Driving Change For Disabled Voters

March 13, 2019 | Source: Voices- Canada

Being able to cast your vote in an election shouldn’t feel like scaling Mount Vesuvius. But, for countless people with varying abilities, the reality is that exercising their democratic right can sometimes still feel like that big of a climb. Thankfully, some staggering accessible voting and civic participation innovations around the globe are starting to move those mountains. To learn more about those innovations, we interviewed Michael Fembek and Peter Charles from the Zero Project…

European Accessibility Act: a big step on a long journey

March 13, 2019 | Source: European Interest- EU

Parliament: More accessible products and services for disabled and elderly people

March 13, 2019 | Source: European Interest- EU & The European Sting

The European Accessibility Act is a landmark agreement. However, while it will ensure that many products and services are more accessible for persons with disabilities, it will not make the EU (institutions and single market) fully accessible. It still excludes many essential areas such as transport, built environment and household appliances. The new accessibility Directive is an important step, but the EU’s work is far from being complete: we need legislation that ensures equal access in all areas of life…

Short film festival for the disabled

March 13, 2019 | Source: The Hans India

The official logo of the “Indian Inclusion Short Film Festival (IISFF) – 2019” – a unique festival working in the spheres of disability, welfare, inclusion and accessibility – conceptualised by WOW (Wonder on Wheels) Foundation in association with the Department of Language and Culture, Government of Telangana, was launched at Ravindra Bharathi here on Tuesday. IISFF is the first-of-its-kind short film festival to encourage filmmakers to create short films in the spheres of disability welfare, inclusion and accessibility…

Accessible Coins for Visually Impaired Are Welcome, But the Vision Must Expand

March 14, 2019 | Source: The Wire- India

I guess it’s time to celebrate. India finally has a new set of coins that are accessible to the visually impaired. Recently released by the government, these coins – in denominations of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 – are easily recognisable by their distinct weight, size, touch and feel. For me, the new coins bring back memories of the 1960s and 1970s, when both coins and currency notes were easy to identify. Back then, the coins had distinctive sizes and shapes while the size of currency notes varied with value…

Accessibility observers to help PwD voters in Bengal

March 14, 2019 | Source: Business Standard- India & The Northlines

Based on Election Commission’s instructions, six accessibility observers will oversee the work related to PwD (persons with disabilities) voters in Bengal, an official said, here on Thursday. “The accessibility observers will oversee implementation of the instructions of the EC to ensure accessible election at the field level. Divisional commissioners of all six divisions are deployed as accessibility observers,” Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, Sanjay Basu told reporters…

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Accessible Document Services— Whether you’re dealing with a few or a warehouse of Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, or other files, there are several ways Microassist can enable your team to offer documents and materials that meet stringent accessibility standards.
Accessibility Remediation— Our accessibility remediation services help you fix existing materials so that they conform to WCAG, Section 504 and 508, Department of Education OCR, and ADA Title II/III requirements. We remediate websites, applications, documents, and elearning, recommending re-creation when that is more efficient and economical. Especially for website and applications, to find out what is in need of remediation, we’ll start with an Accessibility Audit.
Accessibility Training— With several courses available for developers, testers, and content creators, your team can become equipped to consistently and expertly produce accessible digital products and online environments.
VPAT^®Evaluation Services— Primarily used by government purchasers and government vendors during the procurement and sale of ICT products and services under Section 508, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template^® (VPAT) attests to the accessibility of a given product or service. Contact us to make sure the VPAT you write or review is accurate and meaningful.

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Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.

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