Accessibility in the News— 11/2/18.
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AITN Quote of the Week
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
― Mark Twain
The 2018 ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium: Mobile Testing, 508 Revision, and Beyond
National News (U.S.)
Vassar admin must play more active role in campus accessibility
October 24, 2018 | Source: Miscellany News
In the last VSA Senate meeting before October break, President Elizabeth Bradley presented the seven working objectives for the next five years at Vassar College. Over the next few months, President Bradley and the administration will reach out to the student body to determine the specific goals that the college should adopt. According to the administration, Vassar’s community values will decide these goals. However, based on my observations, I predict that the community won’t value physical accessibility as part of its objectives…
Are You Colorblind, and How Good is Your Color Vision?
October 25, 2018 | Source: PetaPixel
In this article, we’re going to briefly look at the subjectivity of color. This is a colossal subject, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on how color is perceived by each of us and whether it’s really that important. First off, color is subjective. I don’t care what else you believe in, but that is an indisputable fact. You perceive the red of an apple differently than I do, and we will never know by how much — ever. More importantly, though, neither of us are right or wrong, as there is no way on knowing the actual exact color of that apple…
Stacked against them- Texas patients lose in the state’s appeals system
October 25, 2018 | Source: Dallas News
The first time doctors prescribed a special breathing device for Zak Farquer, he had just woken from a coma in a Dallas hospital, paralyzed from the neck down. A car had crashed into the 13-year-old as he rode a scooter. Over the next few years, four other doctors also said he needed the $13,000 machine, which pumps vapor medicine to clear out his lungs and prevent deadly infections. The state health commission agreed, ordering the company it hired to care for him to cover the cost of the equipment he has used every day since he left the hospital…
Progress on Voting Access for NYers with Disabilities
October 25, 2018 | Source: Public News Service
Advocates for people with disabilities say New York City has made progress in making polling sites accessible, but this coming Election Day will put that to the test. New York City has faced lawsuits over polling sites that don’t have wheelchair ramps and other accommodations for people with disabilities. According to Susan Dooha, executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York or CIDNY, the recent primaries showed good progress toward addressing those issues…
Phoenix 8-year-old’s speech about his little brother raises $130K for blind children
October 25, 2018 | Source: AZCentral
A Phoenix CEO put his largest fundraising event in the hands of an 8-year-old Phoenix boy, one of the biggest gambles he has ever taken. More than 200 people paid $750 a ticket to attend the Foundation for Blind Children’s largest annual event at Dominick’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale on Oct. 13. Sporting a little black suit and red bow tie, Harrison More enthusiastically made his way to the podium. “Hi everyone, I’m Harrison … I’m so happy I get to be here because I get to stay up way past my bedtime,” the 8-year-old said humorously…
We’re not prepared for the coming dementia crisis
October 26, 2018 | Source: Washington Post
Many of us played the lottery this week in hopes becoming an instant billionaire. The chance of winning was less than 1 in 300 million, yet we all believed we could be “the one.” We like to believe that good things will come our way and tend to ignore real threats to our health as we age, even though the chances they will happen are high. Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently disclosed that she has now been diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease. At 65, she had a 1 in 10 chance of developing dementia. At 85, her odds increased to 1 in 3…
Preston Town Hall polling place not handicapped accessible
October 27, 2018 | Source: The Day
The state Elections Enforcement Commission will investigate a complaint by former Republican Registrar Norman Gauthier that the Town Hall polling place is not handicapped accessible. Gauthier filed two complaints to the state against Democratic Registrar Cheryl Roberts and Republican Registrar Desiree Majchier, because they have the authority to set the town polling place. Gauthier claimed the 1974 Town Hall with a long concrete sloped ramp to the lower level polling place does not meet the federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards…
Their view: 100 years of serving the vision impaired
October 27, 2018 | Source: Times Leader
Take a stroll with me down memory lane, won’t you … It’s 1918: You’re driving your Model T to a Charlie Chaplin movie. Your modern conveniences included toasters and zippers. Babe Ruth still played for the Boston Red Sox. And if you’re a woman, you still don’t have the right to vote. And yet, a young, petite, blind woman named Arline Phillips gathered together a group of concerned citizens on Nov. 8, 1918, to begin The Greater Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind, with the mission of “helping blind persons help themselves.”…
He is deaf and blind. For him, talking means touching.
October 27, 2018 | Source: The Washington Post
As Jason Corning and his husband, Jason Lin, prepared to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Lin hesitated. His fear of heights tugged at him. “Are you sure?” Lin asked again. “Why not?” Corning told him. “You will never know what it’s like unless you try it.” One spouse encouraging the other might not seem extraordinary. But that day, as Lin and Corning stood in blue and gray jumpsuits about to ascend one of the world’s tallest steel arch bridges, only one of those men could hear and see…
For the disabled, a doctor’s visit can be literally an obstacle course — and the laws can’t help
October 28, 2018 | Source: The Washington Post
Laws meant to prohibit discrimination against the disabled fall short when it comes to visiting the doctor’s office, leaving patients with disabilities to navigate a tricky obstacle course that not only leaves them feeling awkward but also jeopardizes their care. Lisa Iezzoni, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, uses a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis. She went 20 years without being weighed properly, she said, which means basing treatment plans, and even prescriptions, on educated guesses rather than exact information…
Companies Leading in Disability Inclusion Have Outperformed Peers, Accenture Research Finds
October 29, 2018 | Source: Business Wire
Companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities in their workforces have outperformed their peers, according to a new research report from Accenture in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). The report, entitled “Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage,” analyzed the disability practices and financial performance of the 140 companies participating in the Disability Equality Index (DEI)…
Blind Customers Sue Walmart Over Self-Service Accessibility
October 29, 2018 | Source: NBC 6 South Florida& WSYM-TV
A new lawsuit contends Walmart’s self-checkout kiosks aren’t fully accessible to blind customers and therefore violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. Three blind Maryland residents and the National Federation of the Blind filed the lawsuit in federal court Oct. 25, The Baltimore Sun reports. The lawsuit also says an employee at an Owings Mills location selected cash back from a plaintiff’s debit card and took $40 without her knowledge…
Heard the One About the Disabled Muslim Comic From Jersey?
October 29, 2018 | Source: New York Times
The stand-up comedian Maysoon Zayid likes to joke that if there were a competition called the Oppression Olympics, she would win gold. “I’m Palestinian, Muslim, I’m a woman of color, I’m disabled,” Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, tells audiences, before pausing a beat to hang her head, her long dark hair curtaining her face, “and I live in New Jersey.” The joke lands laughs whether Zayid tells it in red states or blue, and puts people exactly where Zayid wants them: disarmed, charmed and eager for more…
The search for accessibility: Disabled residents face challenges in finding city housing
October 29, 2018 | Source: Daily Californian
On supporting its community members with disabilities, UC Berkeley has consistently missed the mark
October 30, 2018 | Source: Daily Californian
The Disabled Students’ Program: 48 years of support, continued expansion
October 30, 2018 | Source: Daily Californian
When campus senior Justin Illescas transferred to UC Berkeley last year, they did not receive a spot in campus housing. They have chronic leg pain and were looking for a place that would not have too many stairs and had enough room to store their pain-management equipment. Illescas ended up in an apartment about 2 miles from campus that fit their needs, they said. They did not have their car at first, though, and had to bus every day to campus. They said the distance was hard to deal with but that it is more manageable than “having to climb a lot of flights of stairs.”…
New York City Marathon Builds Wheelchair-Accessible Interactive Video Game
October 30, 2018 | Source: SportTechie
The New York City Marathon will have a new videogame on display this weekend that will enable people, including those in wheelchairs, to race one another in place using a Dance Dance Revolution-like touchpad. The interactive game, which will be set-up near the finish line in Manhattan’s Central Park, was created by NYC Marathon sponsor TCS, which is behind a number of new NYC Marathon app upgrades this year, including behind-the-scenes prediction software for race winners…
NAFCU attends today’s oral arguments in CU’s ADA case
October 30, 2018 | Source: National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions
NAFCU will attend oral arguments held today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit over a meritless lawsuit filed against the Department of Labor Federal Credit Union (DOLFCU) regarding unclear website accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Not only did NAFCU file an amicus brief in support of the credit union in this case, but it also stood by DOLFCU during its first hearing earlier this year. NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt and Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Brandy Bruyere will attend today’s arguments…
Lawsuits Charge 15 New York Wineries with Discrimination Against Visually Impaired
October 31, 2018 | Source: Winemag.com
A wave of lawsuits has been filed against a number of wineries accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by having insufficiently accessible websites for the visually impaired. It’s a story sure to generate a lot of negative publicity, but may also just be the latest trend in generating attorney’s fees. “This year looks to be a record for filings” that invoke the ADA, says Adam Morey, public affairs manager for the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York. California, Florida and New York are the leading jurisdictions for these lawsuits, he says…
Vermont Secretary Of State Discusses Election Security and Accessibility
October 31, 2018 | Source: WAMC
One week before voters go to the polls, Vermont’s Secretary of State discussed the state’s election system and security, including a new system designed to increase accessibility. There are a number of changes in Vermont’s voting system this year that officials hope improve ballot security and voter accessibility. Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos calls voting the core of democracy. One big change is that the state no longer has a deadline to register. “This is the first general election with Election Day registration. You can actually register on line, at your town clerk’s office or at the polls on Election Day.”…
Proactive Compliance: Preparing For The Next GDPR
November 1, 2018 | Source: Forbes
As the dust settles after the global whirlwind known as GDPR, many American digital marketers may be sitting back thinking they’ve complied with European regulations and their work is done. If this is you, I’m afraid I have some bad news: The next storm is imminent. The truth is, GDPR is simply the European version of data regulation, and consumer protections are quickly spreading across the Atlantic. California recently passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), and many states are expected to follow suit in the next couple of years…
Department of Justice continues to focus on website access and disability accommodations
November 1, 2018 | Source: Columbus Business Journal
In October, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to U.S. Congress reaffirming its stance that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites. The DOJ also signaled that, despite its reaffirmation, it does not intend to issue specific regulations explaining what websites need to do in order to actually comply with the ADA at this time. Title III of the ADA requires “places of public accommodation” (in other words, businesses open to the public) to meet certain architectural guidelines designed to ensure that disabled patrons can access the business…
The GOP Is Scapegoating People With Disabilities To Keep Black Voters From The Polls
November 1, 2018 | Source: Huffington Post
Before August 2018, few people outside the state of Georgia had ever heard of little Randolph County, in the rural southwestern part of the state.That’s when elections officials and their hired consultants unveiled a plan to close seven of the county’s nine polling places, all in precincts where the majority of voters are African-American. After a spate of bad press, including national coverage, Randolph County officials hastily voted down the plan. It was a clear victory for Georgia voters. But by then, the Randolph County Board of Elections had opened a can of worms and revealed a new strategy for suppressing voters: pitting natural allies ― people of color and people with disabilities ― against each other…
Florida’s Serial ADA Lawsuits: Long Overdue or ‘Legal Extortion’?
November 1, 2018 | Source: Daily Business Review
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted more than two decades ago to curb discrimination against disabled people, but related lawsuits are still rife in Florida — and lawyers on either side are exasperated. Plaintiffs’ attorneys can’t believe how many public places aren’t compliant, while defense lawyers are at their wits’ end with seemingly infinite “drive-by” complaints, suspicious of filers’ motives. According to defense attorney Christian E. Rodriguez of the Trembly Law Firm in Miami, the ADA is “well-intentioned” but has become a “tool for abuse,” allowing some to “take advantage” of business owners…
South Florida Restaurants Slapped With Hundreds of ADA Lawsuits
November 1, 2018 | Source: Miami New Times
You might think Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump have nothing in common other than living in the same house at different times. Yet both men, during their tenures atop the United States government, failed to direct their Departments of Justice to issue regulations for a section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that requires companies’ websites to accommodate disabled individuals. Over the past two years, the legal grey zone has cleared a path for lawyers to file thousands of actions against businesses claiming their websites are in violation of the ADA…
Jack Fact — According to WHO, more than 1 billion people in the world suffer from some form of disability. While over 253 million people have some form of visual impairment, 15% of American adults suffer from hearing ailments. Moreover, as much as 17% of the world’s population suffers from Dyslexia in some form.
Hit The Road Jack — Disability and travel: accessible Portugal and Lisbon
International News
‘Accessibility around the world: Invictus competitors on how they get around off the field
October 25, 2018 | Source: ABC News- Australia
In Australia, every public building constructed after 2011 must follow standards that require them to be accessible to people with a disability, but there is little done to enforce such standards. So what are the experiences of wheelchair users in Australia? And internationally? When Team Australia’s co-captain and wheelchair rugby player, Matt Brumby, smashes into an opponent on the court only to do a 270-degree spin and slide across the line to score a try, it is hard to imagine the sportsman having trouble with accessibility…
Accessibility workshops to help businesses
October 25, 2018 | Source: Grafton Daily Examiner- Australia
There’s a simple rule when it comes to business – the more people you get through the door, the more money you can potentially make. But by simply making the doors wider or adding handrails, businesses can get even more people (and money) through their doors, according to accessibility expert, Melissa James. Ms James spoke to small business representatives this week at accessibility workshops in Grafton and Yamba, hosted by Clarence Valley Council…
Online learning environment “a growing concern” for university students with vision impairment
October 26, 2018 | Source: Talking Disability- Australia
An increasingly popular method of teaching within Australian universities is causing barriers for students with vision impairments, according to new research. The report, Online but off-track conducted by Vision Australia and endorsed by Disability Discrimination Commissioner Alastair McEwin has identified online learning environments as a growing concern to people who are blind or have low vision. The respondents who had studied at 24 of the 39 Australian public universities, also identified issues with lack of understanding and timely support from disability services staff…
Qualtrough calls disability bill ‘historic’
October 27, 2018 | Source: Delta-Optimist- Canada
Second reading has wrapped up in the House of Commons on what Delta MP Carla Qualtrough is calling a historic bill on disability rights. Qualtrough, the minister responsible for accessibility, recently stood up in the House to speak to Bill C-81, which aims to create a barrier-free Canada. “It is truly an honour to stand up in the House of Commons and open debate on the second reading of Bill C-81,” Qualtrough said. “This bill, Mr. Speaker, enhances the legal framework for addressing the barriers to inclusion faced by millions of Canadians on a daily basis…
City developing master plan for improved mobility/accessibility
October 30, 2018 | Source: Lethbridge News Now- Canada
What more can the city do to make its facilities and infrastructure more accessible, especially to people with mobility issues? That’s the purpose behind the development of a Mobility/Accessibility Master Plan. Work has been underway internally for a few months. The project lead, parks development manager Chris Witkowski, explained a committee was first formed in 2013. “It was just about eight different departments that got together to start looking at some of the deficiencies we have in serving some of our residents who have mobility issues,” he said…
Meeting looking to improve accessible elections for disabled people moved from Broad Street
October 30, 2018 | Source: Aberdeen Evening Express- Scotland
A Scottish Government event which hoped to discuss accessible elections has changed venue due to unsuitable conditions for disabled people. The event, hosted by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), was set to take place on Broad Street to explore how the voting process can be made accessible for those with vision loss or mobility issues. However, the RNIB decided to change the venue in order to avoid Broad Street, which has drawn criticism from the blind community due to its lack of kerb sides…
AODA review hopes to address what it means to be accessible
October 31, 2018 | Source: Tbnewswatch.com- Canada
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, passed in 2005, gave the province 20 years to become fully accessible. With that target date now less than a decade away, David Onley believes it’s important to figure out what exactly it means to be accessible. The former Ontario lieutenant governor is in the midst of conducting the third legislative review of the act, a process that brought him to Thunder Bay for a Tuesday afternoon public town hall session. “If you can’t identify what the objective is, how are you going to know whether or not you get there,” Onley said…
Accessibility Blogs and Information
Accessibility Resources
- AAC Evaluation Genie
- Facts are stubborn things- WebDevLaw
- PDF and the User Experience Survey 2018
- Accessibility Toronto Conference 2018 Review
- VPAT and Submittable: A Focus on Accessibility
- Survey of Users with Low Vision #2 Results- WebAIM
- 60,000 U.S. military veterans live with MS- Momentum
- Accessibility: A Developer’s Pledge- Jonathan Desrosiers
- WCAG 2.1 is here – what’s in it for you?- Hassell Inclusion
- A Snapshot of the Older U.S. Population- U.S. Census Bureau
- Negative Impacts of Withholding Form Labels- A11Y with Lindsey
- Maine Township High School District 207 Accessibility Upgrades Video
- Texas Disability History Collection- University of Texas Arlington Libraries
- Hunting for an accessible home in a world that’s wheelchair-unfriendly- iNews
- WPCampus is Pursuing an Independent Accessibility Audit of Gutenberg- WordPress Tavern
- Designing accessible web with privacy – when web browsing reveals information- Lukasz Olejnik
- Positive Futures is a bi-monthly half hour discussion about employment issues for people with a disability.
- Guidelines For Indian Government Websites- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India
- DOJ’s Recent Website Accessibility Letter Reaffirms Obligations While Opening the Door to a Due Process Defense- Ogletree Deakins
Accessibility Announcements and Products
- Smyle Mouse head mouse
- Exercise Your Democratic Rights with Aira
- Push to make voting more accessible in Vermont
- Riverside County Provides Accessible Voting Tool
- What’s New in JAWS 2019 Screen Reading Software
- Purple Tuesday: the UK’s first accessible shopping day
- JAWS 2019 News and What it Means for Our Products!
- Google to give away $25 million to fund humane AI projects
- Blackboard Delivers Continued Innovation for Flagship LMS
- MU impounds Bird scooters blocking ADA-accessible entrances
- Keeping up with Technology for the Visually Impaired and Blind
- Chester Bus Interchange – ‘Accessible Transport Project of the Year’
- Visually impaired customers can use app to grocery shop at Wegmans
- AT&T Names Suzanne Montgomery as New Chief Accessibility Officer
- City of Alton Americans with Disabilities Act Committee met September 19
- All-gender access and floor-to-ceiling walls: The world’s most inclusive bathroom is here
- Apple and Salesforce bring together the best devices for business and the world’s #1 CRM
- Digital Document Accessibility Now One Step Closer With MediaWire’s Inclusive Solution
- Microsoft releases new Windows 10 preview with input, accessibility, and search improvements
- Blackboard’s Accessibility Solution Continues Strong Momentum, Impacting 3 Million Learners Worldwide
Accessibility Forums, Tips, and Q&A
- NVDA 2018.3.2
- WCAG-parsing-filter
- You’re using <em> wrong
- Selfish Accessibility — Harbour Front HK
- Screen reader support for text-level semantics
- Understanding SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationship
- Report on the Accessibility Status of Gutenberg
- Google’s new reCAPTCHA doesn’t require a click
- Keyboard Accessibility Tips Using HTML and CSS
- How to Use the Contrast Checker in Chrome DevTools
- Marvel’s Spider-Man has thought a lot about accessibility
- Quick Tip: Use the “lang” Attribute for Better Accessibility
- How to Make Custom Accessible Checkboxes and Radio Buttons
- Designing Accessible Content: Typography, Font Styling, and Structure
- Assistive technology: top 5 smart home devices to assist your everyday life
Accessibility Statements
- Huron
- CITMA
- UNISDR
- Reformation
- Sutter Health
- Sydney for All`
- Derry Halloween
- Rutgers University
- Transport for NSW
- Thomas Nelson Community College`
VPATs®
Microassist Digital Accessibility Services
Our digital and web accessibility services cover
• Accessibility Audit Services — Our comprehensive audit will map all findings to internationally recognized WCAG 2.0 AA standards and equip you and your technical and content teams to know what areas need to be brought into compliance.
•Accessible Elearning Development — Does your online training reach all learners, whether they’re your employees, resellers, students? Let us help you design effective, engaging training that works for everyone.
•Accessible Website and Application Development — An inaccessible website or application is increasingly seen as violating the ADA. Let’s talk about creating an online presence that reaches all your customers and reduces your litigation risk.
• Audit and Testing Services — A thorough accessibility audit against recognized accessibility standards will show you where you may be under-serving your customers and putting your organization at risk.
• Accessible Document Services — Digital assets such as Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, and audio and video files need to be accessible to individuals with disabilities, too. We can help you establish creation processes or remediate historical documents so that they meet accessibility standards and are usable by people with disabilities.
•Remediation Services — Whether for a time-sensitive response to a legal action, or for proactive remediation, we can fix what doesn’t meet accessibility standards.
• Accessibility Training — Contact us to get your teams introduced and informed about accessibility best practices.
Please contact us for any questions you have about our accessibility services and how we might support your organization.
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