Accessibility in the News—3/2/18.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“What I learned was that these athletes were not disabled, they were super–abled. The Olympics is where heroes are made. The Paralympics is where heroes come.”

― Joey Reiman

National News (U.S.)

POURING IT FORWARD

Bitty & Beau’s Coffee– Creates a culture where diversity is not just appreciated, it’s celebrated.

Leading low vision researcher talks Perkins Brailler and next frontier of accessibility

February 22, 2018 | Source: Perkins School for the Blind

When Gordon Legge first encountered the Perkins Brailler as a young student back in the 1950s, he couldn’t have known the braille typewriter would see him through the rest of his life. But Legge, who acquired low vision as a child, says he’s had “one or more” in his possession ever since, referring to it today as a “marvel of the 20th century.” “It just works so well,” he said. “Nothing goes wrong with it.” Legge’s opinions are informed by years of professional experience…

Another Credit Union Prevails in ADA Case

February 23, 2018 | Source: Credit Union Times

Washington, D.C.-based Department of Labor Federal Credit Union has prevailed in a lawsuit brought against it over the accessibility of its website, according to documents filed in a Virginia District Court. The complaint alleged that the plaintiff couldn’t use the credit union’s website to locate facilities and ATM locations or to learn about the credit union’s services, because the website didn’t include certain accommodations for blind users. In a new seven-page order, however, District Judge T. S. Ellis III ruled that the plaintiff did not suffer harm sufficient to give him standing in the case…

A ‘Tsunami’ of Website Accessibility Cases Means Compliance Challenges for Companies

February 23, 2018 | Source: Corporate Counsel

Last week, singing sensation Pharrell Williams got some unhappy news. His clothing companies, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Retail Operations LLC, are being sued because their websites allegedly violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiff is a visually impaired man who says Williams’ websites didn’t work with screen reading technology, making them inaccessible for him. The case against Williams’ sites is hardly the first of its kind…

Local nonprofit works to change the culture associated with disabilities and developmental delays

February 23, 2018 | Source: AL.com

When Dr. Michele Kong and Dr. Julian Maha’s son Abram was diagnosed with autism several years ago, the family began a journey through a world not built to accommodate many of their needs. Their experience led to the creation of KultureCity, a nonprofit organization that inhabits a unique space between philanthropic organization and tech startup to provide tools for awareness and accessibility for people living with disabilities. “We realized this can be a very isolating journey for families,” Kong says of the initial aftermath of Abram’s diagnosis…

New technology helps local college student see clearly for the first time

February 22, 2018 | Source: CBS Austin

Nick Flores says seeing is a gift. “It’s like waking up and one day just being in a different world,” Nick said. A simple walk through campus never looked so spectacular for this 23-year-old student. “I’m very thankful,” Nick said. “A lot of emotions going on inside and just being able to actually see the color and the detail. Small details of like the fountain, the leaves and the grass. I mean just the little things.” Nick is legally blind. “I pretty much see the world kind of like in a blur,” Nick said. “A little scary at times.”

Congress Attempts to Offer Relief to Businesses Faced with ADA Access Lawsuits

February 23, 2018 | Source: National Law Review

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires “places of public accommodation,” such as retail businesses and restaurants, to be accessible to persons with disabilities. Common architectural features that permit access include handicap parking, curb cuts, wheelchair ramps and other design modifications. The ADA provides a private right of action to force a non-compliant establishment to make the necessary physical alterations to allow access…

Improving digital accessibility at UMN

February 23, 2018 | Source: IT@UMN

Imagine you’re a Deaf student at the University of Minnesota and you’re exploring majors on college websites. You encounter a substantial amount of uncaptioned video content. Do you request captions on the videos, wait, and come back to it when it’s ready? Or do you move on and possibly miss your calling? Or, imagine you’re a student who relies on speech recognition software to navigate the web. You’re trying to do your part of a group project that’s worth a large portion of your semester grade and you continue to find barriers to the information you need…

Am I Going Blind?

February 23, 2018 | Source: The New York Times

They say that death comes like a thief in the night. Lesser vandals have the same M.O. The affliction that stole my vision, or at least a big chunk of it, did so as I slept. I went to bed seeing the world one way. I woke up seeing it another. This was about four months ago, though it feels like an eternity. So much has happened since. I don’t mean all the tests and procedures: the vials upon vials of blood; the mapping of major arteries in my neck; the imaging of tiny vessels in my brain; the first injection of an experimental treatment (or, maybe, a placebo) into my right, dominant eye, where the damage occurred…

Disabled vet’s lawsuit accuses Colorado Springs, neighbors of violating accessibility laws

February 25, 2018 | Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

Rolling his wheelchair to the edge of a six-foot gap in the sidewalk near his home in eastern Colorado Springs, Chris Sweeney grabbed a collapsed “sidewalk out” sign and shoved it under his arm. He used the improvised crutch to cross the gaping hole and plopped himself back into his wheelchair, which his wife had pushed to the other side. “This is a big ‘f— you’ from the city,” Sweeney said. Fifty yards to the north he repeated the exercise. After four years of these problems in his Stetson Hills neighborhood, Sweeney said he’s had enough…

The Most and Least Affordable States for Your Aging Parents in 2018

February 26, 2018 | Source: Caring

Your parents used to be the ones taking care of you, but as they age, you are likely finding that the opposite is now true. Nearly a third of all Americans caring for an aging loved one are looking after their parents, according to a recent Caring.com survey. And as anyone who’s cared for an aging parent will attest, the cost of that care doesn’t come cheap. Whether you’re paying for an in-home care aide, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home, the financial strain of senior care — not to mention the emotional stress — can be heavy…

HR 620 violates basic, human rights of accessibility

February 26, 2018 | Source: UT The Daily Texan

The lives of disabled Americans are in danger. HR 620 quietly snuck through the House, passing 225 to 192 on Feb. 15. Officially, HR 620 is known as the ADA Education and Reform Act. It proposed that businesses and public spaces can wait several months to provide accessibility, rather than needing to take immediate action. My fellow disabled Americans and abled-bodied people need to band together and voice their opposition to this hurtful bill…

NLS Rolls Out New Outreach Campaign to Improve Accessibility

February 26, 2018 | Source: Library of Congress

NLS Talking Books provide people who are blind or physically handicapped free access to the written word. The Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) today launched a major outreach campaign to educate the public about the free services it provides to U.S. residents and American citizens abroad with visual impairments and other disabilities. NLS is a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page…

Group files class action suit against Uber for ‘discrimination,’ lack of wheelchair access

February 27, 2018 | Source: San Francisco Examiner

Uber does not have enough wheelchair-accessible vehicles, new lawsuit says

February 27, 2018 | Source: San Francisco Examiner & CNET

Disability advocates filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber on Tuesday over the company’s lack of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, alleging it amounts to “illegal discrimination.” The case was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of groups across the Bay Area, including the Independent Living Resource Center in San Francisco. “Uber is such an important transportation option in the Bay Area, and many of our consumers who use wheelchairs are simply excluded from it because Uber has done nothing to make its service accessible to them.”…

Kristina Podnar: Digital Policies Stimulate Innovation and Creativity

February 27, 2018 | Source: CMSWire

Kristina Podnar found her calling by “pure accident” after discovering an almost complete lack of digital governance and policies in her early work life at a digital agency and then as a digital consultant. “I quickly saw the bad things that could happen,” she said. “It seemed like there had to be a better way to go about managing digital and keep people from doing dumb things.” Podnar has since built a career as an independent digital governance advisor working with enterprises, government and not-for-profit organizations to help them develop their own digital policy frameworks…

Campus responds to changes in disability laws

February 27, 2018 | Source: The Wichitan

As a new multi-million dollar plan is being rolled out to address compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, calls are being made for heightened discussion on disability to foster greater inclusion. “Physical accessibility on campus is one thing, but it only complements the bigger picture. We want [disability] to just be normal, but you kind of have two sides; should we throw everything out there and be ‘real advocates’ or are we saying we want it to be so streamlined that nobody notices you’re doing it,” Debra Higginbotham, director of the disability support services, said…

Apple’s architectural designs help improve accessibility and show an obsessive attention to detail

February 27, 2018 | Source: BGR

For decades now, one of the defining characteristics of Apple has been the company’s unwavering and arguably unrivaled attention to detail. From small design flourishes in its software to forward-thinking details in the industrial design of its products, Apple’s obsession with even seemingly irrelevant details can be seen throughout the company’s product line. As a quick illustrative example, Steve Jobs once called up a Google executive on a Sunday morning because the yellow hue on the Google logo on the iPhone needed some immediate tweaking…

People with disabilities call on medical facilities to be more accessible

February 28, 2018 | Source: Colorado Springs and Pueblo News

Going to a doctor and getting up on an exam room table may be an easy task for some people, but it can be a challenge for those with disabilities—especially people who rely on wheelchairs for mobility. Tuesday morning, Mission Medical Center unveiled a new “accessible” exam table designed just for people with a disability. With help from The Independence Center, Mission Medical was able to obtain the exam table which medical professionals say will make it easier for people with disabilities to receive essential medical services that may not have been possible with traditional exam room tables…

Sen. Duckworth: ‘Offensive’ law would weaken landmark ADA

February 28, 2018 | Source: Curbed

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has been called a trailblazer ever since news broke in late January that she’ll be the first sitting senator to have a child during her term. As she works to determine maternity leave policies for the Senate, Duckworth is making equal access easier for future pregnant politicians. But equal access has long been a core issue for Senator Duckworth. Ever since the former helicopter pilot was wounded in battle while serving with the army in Iraq, the first female double amputee from the war, she’s made the rights of Americans with disabilities a key part of her work..

Bill to crack down on accessible parking abuses goes to House

February 28, 2018 | Source: Ohio County Monitor

Rep. Jerry Miller received a disabled parking placard after a knee replacement last fall. The Louisville lawmaker said he only expected to use the placard for a few months, but received one that is good for two years with the expiration date written on the placard in so-called permanent ink. “All you have to do is Google ‘how to remove Sharpie’ which, of course, is with a dry-erase, and you can change that expiration date to anything you want,” Miller, R-Louisville, told the House Transportation Committee today…

Blind Woman Sues TD Ameritrade Over Allegedly Inaccessible Website

February 28, 2018 | Source: AdvisorHub

A woman in New York State has filed a class-action lawsuit against TD Ameritrade claiming that the discount brokerage firm’s website and some of its trading software is inaccessible through screen reader vocalization software and other standard tools used by the blind and visually impaired. Citing account-opening drop-down menus that cannot be read, malfunctioning edit fields, non-standard keyboard controls for reading text and inaccessible “fine-print” terms and conditions, the lawsuit claims violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and of New York human rights and civil rights laws…

New ADA lawsuit names city of Willits officials

February 28, 2018 | Source: Ukiah Daily Journal

Controversial attorney Thomas Frankovich, whose specialty is ADA related lawsuits, has his sights on Willits once again. Frankovich filed the latest in a series of lawsuits Feb. 22 in Northern California District Court on behalf of his client Jeanette Brown, who is in a wheelchair, and names Code Enforcement officer John Sherman and former Willits City Manager Adrienne Moore as defendants. Similar to previous lawsuits filed against local businesses dating back to December 2016, the civil rights action alleges discrimination against Brown by the city of Willits for failure to remove architectural barriers structural in nature…

New initiatives on campus aim to improve accessibility

March 1, 2018 | Source: N.C. State University Technician Online

NC State efforts to improve accessibility on campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors have increased over the past year to include not only physical accommodations, but educational and online ones as well. The university has several departments on campus that are consistently working to ensure that accessibility issues on campus are addressed. Cameron Smith, senior director of capital project management in the NC State facilities division, said that many accessibility project decisions on campus are made by the ADA Account Funds Advisory Committee…

Norwalk reviewing schools for ADA-compliance

March 1, 2018 | Source: The Hour

The city is on its way to making sure all public schools are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Adam Bovilsky, Norwalk’s director of human relations and fair rent, said two handicapped-accessible spots were added outside Wolfpit Elementary School earlier this month, after the city received a complaint about insufficient parking for people with disabilities. Bovilsky said the issue came as a surprise, since Wolfpit Elementary was included in the city’s review of ADA-compliant schools and other municipal buildings in 2012…

UMD screens ‘The Shape of Water’ to educate students on disabilities

March 1, 2018 | Source: The Diamondback

University of Maryland students lined up Wednesday for a free screening of The Shape of Water, co-hosted by the President’s Commission on Disability Issues and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The screening was part of the ongoing Rise Above series, a month-long initiative hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to “confront and eradicate the oppressions that hurt us all,” according to its Facebook page. Students and other attendees also participated in a discussion regarding the disability portrayed in the movie…

United States: New Bill Targets The Disabled

March 1, 2018 | Source: Seyfarth Shaw

Nearly one in five Americans are currently living with a disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is about 56.7 million people. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. However, on Feb. 15, the House of Representatives voted to pass bill H.R.620 – the ADA Education and Reform Act. This act would effectively undermine the provisions outlined by the ADA, which would cause a protected class — those with disabilities — to become vulnerable to inequality…

Barnard students with disabilities struggle with denied accommodations, campus stigma

March 1, 2018 | Source: Colombia Spectator

When Representative for Student Health Services Valerie Jaharis, BC ’19, was reviewing answers to last semester’s Desserts After Dark survey, one response stuck out to them as emblematic of Barnard’s perspective on disabilities. An anonymous student said that they believed that students with disabilities received unfair advantages. “‘I’ve done note taking before, but I’ve never seen the student who gets the notes … and they never came to class. They don’t deserve these notes. They are abusing the system,’” Jaharis said, paraphrasing the respondent’s answer…

Jack Fact — According to the US Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) nationwide survey of school district special education directors, GAO estimates that about 85 percent of districts in school year 2015-16, provided youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) services such as instruction on life, social, and behavioral skills, as they transition from high school to adulthood.

International News

On Island of the Colorblind, Paradise Has a Different Hue

January 26, 2018 | Source: National Geographic- Micronesia

Pingelap Atoll, a Micronesian island in the South Pacific, sometimes goes by its other name, the Island of the Colorblind. That’s the moniker Oliver Sacks assigned the island in his 1996 book that explored the human brain. Pingelap piqued the interest of Sacks and many other scientists because of its strange genetic circumstance. According to legend, a devastating typhoon in 1775 caused a population bottleneck. One of the survivors, the ruler, carried a rare gene for an extreme type of color blindness. Eventually, he passed the gene to the island’s later generations…

Students with disabilities face troubling amount of barriers

February 23, 2018 | Source: Winnipeg Sun- Canada

New findings stemming from recent research on accessibility issues facing students with disabilities in the province have produced some troubling results. Three surveys completed by 660 students with disabilities, parents of students with disabilities and education staff working with students with disabilities, came to some disturbing conclusions, according to Barrier-Free Manitoba (BFM), which released the findings on Thursday. BFM, which advocates for strong accessibility rights legislation and the removal of barriers for those living with disabilities in Manitoba, provided several key findings from the results of the surveys…

Disabled students face fight for accessible accommodation

February 23, 2018 | Source: Varsity Online- UK

Students with disabilities face more expensive room charges and restricted options for accommodation, a Varsity investigation has found. Accessible rooms, which tend to be larger, are commonly included in colleges’ highest rent bands. A student at Emmanuel College who needed an accessible room was allocated the most expensive room in the college, and was only able to afford it after applying for a rent reduction, an option which is not normally advertised to disabled students…

Home, Design and Build Summit: a step forward for accessibility

February 23, 2018 | Source: Disability Horizons- UK

In 2018, accessibility is still an issue in the UK and, in fact, the world. Approximately one in five people in the UK have a disability (DLF.com). This means that nearly 20% of the population are affected on a daily basis by accessibility problems, and their lives are improved by access solutions created by our modern society. Lack of inclusion in our built environment comes as a challenge to many. That’s why Europe’s leading disability event has decided to address this issue in a bid for positive change…

Economic Benefits To Be Gained From Making Workplaces More Accessible For People With Disabilities

February 23, 2018 | Source: Cision & Globalnews- Canada

Making work spaces and facilities more accessible would allow people with physical disabilities to participate more fully in the workforce, lifting overall economic activity by $16.8 billion by 2030, according to a new report by The Conference Board of Canada. “Employment rates for Canadians with disabilities are roughly two-thirds those of the general population—and those that are employed tend to work a slightly shorter work week. Improving the labour market participation of people with physical disabilities could add significantly to Canada’s future pool of workers and to the quality of life of individuals with disabilities.”…

Students with disabilities still excluded, bullied

February 24, 2018 | Source: Winnipeg Free Press- Canada

A survey on accessibility in Manitoba’s education system shows students with disabilities still face a barrage of barriers and many of them are related to social attitudes. Barrier-Free Manitoba, Education Solutions Manitoba and Community Living Manitoba put together an online survey for students with disabilities, their parents and school staff who help them. They gathered more than 660 responses over six weeks last fall and winter. The results provide a snapshot of the unmet needs of students with disabilities…

Elderly concerns before census day

February 25, 2018 | Source: Otago Daily Times- New Zealand

A Dunedin group has raised concerns about older adults’ accessibility to the census. The 2018 census is due to be held on March 6, and Statistics New Zealand aims to collect most of the information online. An access code will be delivered by mail to every household in New Zealand from February 23. Paper forms will be available for those who request them. Involvement in the five-yearly census is compulsory for everyone who is in New Zealand on census day. Dr Lynley Hood, trustee of Dunedin’s Victa group for people with low vision, said group members at a recent meeting had responded negatively to the prospect of filling in the census online…

This group aims to make films accessible to differently-abled

February 26, 2018 | Source: The Indian Express- India

In a darkened cinema hall in Bandra, a movie plays through projector while rows of plastic chairs have walking sticks resting beside men and women. In one corner, Richard Falodia stares down as he listens to the movie dialogues, his foldable walking stick in his hand. In the background a running commentary of an on-screen scene explains what is happening in the movie: “Anna is lying on bed and Doreen closes the door behind her.” The film, Awake, is part of a day-long film session for differently-abled people where audio-described format is used to convey what is happening in the film to its audience…

Albert makes me anxious: Why touchscreen eftpos can be a ‘nightmare’

February 25, 2018 | Source: The Age- Australia

The evening began so well, with dinner at a local Indian restaurant for his daughter’s birthday. But when it came time to pay, Martin Stewart got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Mr Stewart – who describes himself as “totally blind” – realised the only way he could settle the bill was using an “Albert” eftpos machine – the Commonwealth Bank’s tablet-style units that are increasingly widespread, with more than 88,000 across Australia. People who are blind or vision-impaired say these units are not accessible because the smooth glass screen doesn’t have a keypad…

Dundee Virtual Reality specialists raise awareness of accessibility issues

February 25, 2018 | Source: Herald- Scotland

What is your business called? OOVIRT. It’s a play on the French word ‘ouvert’ which means ‘open’ and reflects our business proposition. This is to use virtual reality to make places open to everyone by providing the information they need. I watched a TED talk in August 2016 by a lady called Elise Roy, entitled ‘When we design for disability, we benefit everyone’. We started to explore how we could create an inclusive digital file for buildings and places that truly helped all people…

Learning disabilities represented on New Year’s Honours List

February 26, 2018 | Source: Disability Horizons- UK

A dedicated ambassador for his charity and people with learning disabilities, Scott began his career co-chairing the learning disability partnership board on the Isle of Wight (IOW), where he lives. This led to an influential role as co-national director for learning disabilities within the Department of Health. He also lectures at the University of Hertfordshire, focusing on eye care, vision and equal rights. However, he notes his work with SeeAbility as a major milestone…

Accessibility concerns for new bus routes

February 27, 2018 | Source: Southland Times- New Zealand

Blind residents are worried changes to bus routes will make it more difficult for them to use public transport. The concerns came as the Invercargill City Council’s community services committee adopted a new regional public transport plan on Monday. The plan proposes to replace the four current one-way looped bus routes with 3 straight routes with buses running in both directions, and also plans to introduce a flat fee structure. The council received 50 submissions on the plan with two submissions supporting the plan unchanged, and 48 making suggestions for amendments or additions…

How-to: Make workplaces more accessible for people with disabilities

February 27, 2018 | Source: Human Resources Online- Canada

According to a recent release by Conference Board, making facilities and workspaces more accessible would allow more people with disabilities to work. Not only that, many who are already employed would be able to work more. In fact, it stated: “If workplaces were more accessible, about 552,000 individuals with a physical disability that impairs their mobility, vision, or hearing would be able to work or work more hours per week, adding 1.3% to the total annual Canadian work effort by 2030.”…

Boosting website accessibility: a practical guide

February 27, 2018 | Source: Digital- UK

VIDA Training is run by Dave and Vicky. Dave is registered blind and lives with a deteriorating sight condition. He uses Jaws, a screen reader to access a PC and, in the past, used to facilitate training in web design using HTML coding. Vicky has worked in the disability field for many years and now, in addition to being a partner and trainer of VIDA Training, provides sighted support to Dave and other people living with a disability. Our combined knowledge and experiences ensure that a well-rounded approach is provided, both from a sighted and non-sighted perspective…

Calls to improve Pilbara wheelchair access

February 28, 2018 | Source: The West Australian- Australia

Concerns have been raised about the lack of disabled access in the Pilbara because of limitations on transporting some types of wheelchairs on flights or hiring them locally. Gingin woman Carolyn Wass, 61, visits Karratha about twice a year to spend time with family who live here but this month discovered she could neither fly her fold-up but battery-powered wheelchair into town because of flight height restrictions nor hire any wheelchairs locally. With no other option, she was forced to have her wheelchair transported by road in a truck…

Good access makes good business sense

February 28, 2018 | Source: Seymour Telegraph- Australia

One in five people have a disability. If you’re a business owner that is 20 per cent of potential customers you may be failing to accommodate. Both Strathbogie and Mitchell Shire Councils have partnered with Nexus Primary Health to create the Good Access = Good Business program. Strathbogie Shire Mayor Amanda McClaren said good access is essentially about removing physical or social barriers that prevent customers from finding your business, moving around easily and receiving good service…

New amphibious wheelchairs to improve accessibility at selected Blue Flag beaches

February 28, 2018 | Source: The Newspaper- South Africa

In an effort to create awareness and to make our beaches universally accessible to persons with disabilities, WESSA has donated amphibious wheelchairs to four coastal municipalities in South Africa, with the support of generous funding made available by The Ford Motor Company Fund. The amphibious wheelchairs were supplied by Blue Flag partner AccessRec and have a unique design that allows them to move easily on the sand, as well as to enter and float in the sea…

Only 3 per cent of buildings accessible for disabled

February 28, 2018 | Source: Economic Times- India

Two years after the launch of Accessible India campaign, the flagship programme to make public buildings and transport disabled friendly, only 3% of buildings have become accessible. The first cities to have completed the accessibility task are Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar. About 52 of 1,662 public buildings across 50 cities have been retrofitted and made disabled friendly under Accessible India, which was launched on December 3, 2015…

Airports Authority on drive to improve accessibility at airports

February 28, 2018 | Source: Loop- Trinidad & Tobago

Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT), through its Aviation Training Centre (ATCEN), has commenced the second phase of an initiative to make Piarco International Airport and ANR Robinson International Airport, Autism and Disability Friendly. In a release, the AATT says that on Thursday 23 February 2018, an Accessible Advisory Committee was commissioned, which includes representatives from the Consortium of Disabled Organisation (CODO), the Autistic Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT), Disabled Peoples International (DPI) and the AATT…

ARTfinder a step closer to NSW roll out

February 28, 2018 | Source: ArtsHub- Australia

Through combined Federal, State and Territory funding amounting to $250,000, the event and program portal ARTfinder will map disability-inclusive arts programs and experiences in regional and metropolitan Australia. The online portal will allow people to find activities, searchable by accessibility, location, cost and artform. It is a world first, and this week Create NSW announced that it will be contributing $40,000 to the program’s roll out. The NSW partner for the rollout of ARTfinder National is Accessible Arts, a leading organisation for the intersection of arts and disability…

92% of disabled people not confident in the UK’s accessibility, claims new research

March 1, 2018 | Source: Access and Mobility Professional- UK & Homecare

Around 700 disabled people have described situations they have faced when experiencing disabled access at different places. The findings, revealed in the new Access Survey by the charity Euan’s Guide and Disabled Access Day, show that 83% of disabled people have been affected by poor accessibility, and 92% do not feel very confident in visiting new places when thinking about disabled access. In the UK, confidence was lowest among disabled people in Wales, but 95% of disabled people UK-wide admit to searching for disabled access information about a place before visiting…

Hotel Ramada creates accessible tourism initiative for visually-impaired

March 1, 2018 | Source: The Drum- India & Pitch

Hotel Ramada in Ajmer, India has introduced an accessible tourism initiative called the Blind Faith Upgrade through which it can transform any of its room into a visually-impaired friendly room. The initiative, jointly conceptualised by Isobar India, made available Braille enabled phone- keys, Braille literature and audio assist and reusable tactile paving for the visually challenged guests at the hotel who travel to Ajmer for pilgrimage. Manish Gupta, general manager, Hotel Ramada, Ajmer said: “At Ramada, we are constantly working to deliver better hospitality experiences to our patrons…

Joanne O’Riordan: Thanks to the carers who make sport accessible

March 1, 2018 | Source: Irish Times- Ireland & Twitter- Ireland

It is very rare in this life that you find someone who gets you. A simple glance, a quick scratch of the ear, without a word exchanged, and that person fully understands you. The relationship between a carer and child with a disability is something words cannot describe. But, on Saturday night during the Catalan derby, a video popped up on my timeline that summarised the relationship better than any linguistic gymnast ever could. Cesar and Jose Richard have become an online sensation and a feel-good story in this sort of dry and horrible world we call sport…

Where is the enforcement of digital compliance regulation in the airline industry?

March 1, 2018 | Source: EIN News- UK

In violation of strict legal requirements, the airline industry is hardly flying high, more not taking off… when it comes to digital accessibility, Sitemorse has found. This issue was highlighted by Sitemorse’s recent quarterly INDEX report, rating sites for digital governance, which assessed the digital capability of US and global airlines. The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) states that airlines must provide a high level of digital accessibility online – but Sitemorse’s analysis of the industry indicates that airline sites are not meeting these standards…

Why the world needs to get ready for more people dying

March 1, 2018 | Source: BBC- UK

For decades, lifespans have grown ever longer, delaying the inevitable fact of death. But the coming years will see a sharp rise in the number of people dying, presenting a challenge about how we care for those at the end of life. We started the 20th Century without penicillin, but now genomic medicine raises the possibility of increasingly sophisticated treatments tailored to an individual’s genetics. In little more than a century, medical and scientific breakthroughs like these have seen life expectancy increase dramatically – by about 30 years, to 79 for men and 83 for women in England, for example…

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