Accessibility in the News — 9/3/2021.

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Feature Stories

More Companies Are Looking to Hire Accessibility Specialists

September 1, 2021 | Source: The Wall Street Journal- Ann-Marie Alcántara

Accessibility jobs, ranging from “head of accessibility” to “accessibility analyst,” are increasing at a rapid pace across industries as companies strive to make their products and services more tailored to people with disabilities. The number of job listings with “accessibility” in the title grew 78% in the year ended in July from the previous 12 months, LinkedIn said in response to a data request from The Wall Street Journal. Such listings had risen 38% in the year between August 2019 and July 2020 compared with the previous year…

National News (U.S.)

How the Travel Industry Can Become More Accessible for All

August 26, 2021 | Source: Fodor’s Travel

Traveling as a disabled person has challenges that most people never have to think about. A person with special needs should be able to experience the world even though it can be challenging at times. In this day and age, traveling is more accessible than it has ever been before–but it could still be better. According to the CDC, 26% of adults in the United States have some type of disability. People with unique abilities might feel more comfortable traveling if they felt their needs could be met…

President Biden signs PAWS Act, allowing VA to fund the training of service dogs for veterans

August 26, 2021 | Source: First Coast News

President Biden signed the PAWS Act into law Wednesday. The PAWS ACT, or ‘Puppies Assisting Wounded Service members for Veterans Therapy Act,’ authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to create a pilot program on dog training therapy that will provide dog-training skills and service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses. “This has been a five-year battle to try and convince the federal government that what we do every day is valuable and helps veterans,” Rory Diamond, CEO of K9s for Warriors said to First Coast News…

Proactive Planning for Website Accessibility Today Can Avoid Disruption Later

August 26, 2021 | Source: Bloomberg Law & Lowenstein Sandler

Website accessibility lawsuits are on the rise. This article examines the reasons for these suits, explains the state of the law, and provides some advice about how businesses can protect themselves from potential claims and resolve claims efficiently when they do come. When building a website, businesses naturally focus on delivering information about, and providing functionality that enables users to purchase, their product or service…

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Issues Important Opinion on the Inapplicability of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act to Consumer-Facing Websites

August 27, 2021 | Source: Blank Rome

In Winegard v. Newsday LLC, No. 19-CV-04420(EK)(RER) (E.D.N.Y. August 16, 2021), the Honorable Eric R. Komitee held that a website does not constitute a “place of public accommodation” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and granted Newsday’s motion to dismiss. The decision is a first of its kind by a New York federal court, and it goes against several district court decisions to the contrary…

Sea to Sound illustrates accessibility of ODT

August 30, 2021 | Source: Peninsula Daily News

It’s all about the great outdoors, regardless of ability. The third annual three-day, 74-mile Sea to Sound multi-modal traverse of portions of the Olympic Discovery Trail in Clallam County and the Larry Scott Trail in Jefferson County drew nearly 100 participants. Also known as Ian’s Ride, the event covered some of the most scenic portions of both counties. Ian Mackay of Port Angeles, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since a bicycle accident in 2008, founded the event in an effort to raise awareness of disabilities…

Grocers grapple with digital accessibility as e-commerce grows

August 30, 2021 | Source: Grocery Dive

When Save-On-Foods updated its app in January to better accommodate shoppers during the pandemic, it ended up inadvertently introducing barriers for visually impaired consumers. When one of those customers, Richard Marion, had trouble getting the Western Canada chain to remedy the issue, he took his story to a local TV network and ended up receiving an apology from the company. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online grocery shopping by a matter of years, experts say…

Education Dept. Announces Civil Rights Investigations Into 5 States’ Mask Mandate Bans

August 30, 2021 | Source: NPR

The U.S. Department of Education sent a warning to five states on Monday that their statewide bans on mask mandates, including in schools, could violate students’ civil rights. Suzanne B. Goldberg, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, sent letters to state education leaders in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, informing them that the department’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether their bans are discriminatory…

UPDATE: ADA Plaintiffs Filing Multiple Lawsuits Targeting Hotel Websites

August 30, 2021 | Source: CBS San Francisco

Hundreds of Bay Area merchants have been hit hard lately with lawsuits for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. And the legal action is not just taking aim at brick and mortar businesses; it’s also targeting internet sites. Instead of a “drive-by” ADA lawsuit, it’s referred to on the street as a “click-by.” Some serial ADA plaintiffs sue almost exclusively over access to websites. And hotels are the hottest targets…

How a Question on Sign Language Led to a Deeper Look at Deaf Culture

August 30, 2021 | Source: The New York Times

How does a person get a name sign — the series of unique gestures used to identify someone in American Sign Language? For a team of Times journalists, the process of answering that question underscored the importance of two storytelling basics — rely on experts and think of the audience — and resulted in an interactive article in July that provided a broader understanding of deaf culture. “One of our priorities was to show our readers the diversity of experiences and backgrounds that exist in the deaf world,” Ilaria Parogni, a senior editor who wrote the article, said.”…

Hearing Loss Causes, Risk factors, and Possible Preventions

August 31, 2021 | Source: Florida News Times

Simple ways to protect hearing

September 1, 2021 | Source: Your Island News

Hearing loss due to increasing age is one of the common reasons for deafness. Half of the people in the U.S who have crossed the age of 65 tend to show signs of hearing loss. It has been one of the emerging problems in the world now, and it’s only growing day by day. Hearing loss or deafness are of three types: sensorineural ( it involves the inner ear ), conductive ( it involves the middle or outer ear ), and mixed ( combination of conductive and sensorineural)…

Minnesota twins raise $3M to increase accessibility to disability care

August 31, 2021 | Source: TechCrunch

Having a loved one with specialized care needs is incredibly challenging, but not something that people who have never had to deal with the issue would necessarily quite understand. For anyone who has had to help care for someone with special needs, the lack of options out there to navigate finding access to care providers is almost shocking. Twin sisters Melanie Fountaine and Melissa Danielsen know the problem firsthand, having helped take care of their brother, Josh, who had a developmental disability and severe epilepsy, for years…

SNAP benefits now more accessible for elderly, disabled

September 1, 2021 | Source: KRGV

The pandemic has hurt the pocket-books of many Valley families and for some of the most vulnerable, it’s been harder just to buy groceries. Starting Wednesday, a new change to how food stamps are approved could bring relief to some. In order to see if you qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits, you’d have to do an in-person interview with a state official…

Ninth Circuit overturns judgment in a legal battle over the wheelchair accessibility at a Seattle baseball park

September 1, 2021 | Source: Courthouse News Service

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday found that a judgment entered in favor of the owners of the T-Mobile Park in Seattle, home of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team, did not fully explain how the stadium has accessible sightlines for visitors in wheelchairs. The case began when a group of baseball fans made up of Clark Landis, Robert Barker, Grady Thompson and Kayla Brown, all of whom use wheelchairs for mobility, alleged that the Seattle stadium built in the late 90s was not fully compliant with regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act…

‘They’re public beaches, but they’re not accessible’

September 1, 2021 | Source: Daily Astorian

Over the weekend, Inés García Fullana got closer to the ocean than she ever had before. Born with spina bifida, a congenital defect in the spinal column, García Fullana has spent her life using a wheelchair. Many beaches lack the accessible infrastructure that would allow wheelchair users to get close to the water. Fort Stevens State Park hosted a camping and recreation event for people with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities…

For Those With Long COVID-19, ‘Returning To Normal’ Is A Massive Battle

September 1, 2021 | Source: HuffPost

Lesli Richardson, an author living in Tampa, Florida, got COVID-19 earlier this year. It was a mild case, but even so, she said she’d never felt sicker in her life. “Fever, coughing, fatigue. Loss of taste and smell. Brain fog,” Richardson told HuffPost. Even now, she still has recurring bouts of phantosmia, meaning she smells things that aren’t actually there ― usually a cigarette smell. Neither she nor her husband smoke. Other COVID long-haulers have reported smelling odors they describe as “burned,” “foul,” “rotten,” “sewage” or “chemical,” according to WebMD…

The rise of remote jobs is huge for deaf applicants like me — but dated hiring formats are holding us back

September 2, 2021 | Source: Business Insider

Two faces — job interviewers — stare at me from Google Meet as I puzzle through the auto-captions: “FaceTime what you see another website in our social media water from the kinks we could work out a no communication strategy?” Confused, I ask the interviewer to repeat herself, and this time I’m able to decipher it: “Based on what you’ve seen of our website and our social media, what are some of the kinks we could work out in our communications strategy?”…

Gov. Pritzker celebrates more access to online learning for students with disabilities

September 2, 2021 | Source: WIFR & Week & WGNTV & Illinois.gov

Gov. Pritzker commemorates Wednesday the signing of legislation ensuring equitable access to learning for students with disabilities, making Illinois a national leader in requiring Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance for digital education tools in K-12 schools. The new law requires content available on any third-party online curriculum service used in all public and private K-12 schools to be WCAG 2.1 compliant and readily accessible to individuals with disabilities starting August 1, 2022…

Everyday Heroes: Blind West Side man helps others better understand visual impairment

September 2, 2021 | Source: Columbus Monthly

After his wife, Debra, died from cancer in 2001, Ray O’Neal was asked how he was going to leave his mark on the world. Blind and without children, O’Neal found his answer through advocacy and began having an impact through various roles in his community. “The mark I’m leaving on this world — I help change people’s lives,” said O’Neal. The 67-year-old West Side resident’s journey began at age 8, when an accident left O’Neal with intense burns and retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that causes gradual blindness…

High cholesterol: Symptoms indicate your problem has progressed to the point that it is affecting your vision.

September 3, 2021 | Source: Brinkwire

High cholesterol: Symptoms indicate your problem has progressed to the point that it is affecting your vision. High levels of cholesterol have long been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The risk of the asymptomatic condition rises in direct proportion to “bad” cholesterol levels. While the condition’s consequences to cardiovascular health are well-known, scientists have warned that it could also affect vision, potentially leading to irreversible blindness…

Jack Fact — According to WHO, globally there are at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. In at least 1 billion – or almost half – of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed.

Hit The Road Jack — Planning an accessible trip? These travel resources can help & Most Scenic Accessible Hikes In U.S. National Parks & Japan: An Accessible Destination for All

International News

Accessible tourism: A valuable untapped market

August 25, 2021 | Source: The Himalayan Times- Nepal

Investing in disability-friendly infrastructure and services can help hoteliers and entrepreneurs tap the accessible tourism market in Nepal, a growing segment globally, while driving economic growth and accelerating recovery, as per a new study.The report – Open to All: A Survey on Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities in Nepal’s Hotels – covered 90 starred hotels in major cities. While 95 per cent of participating hoteliers were aware of accessible tourism as a concept, the study revealed they have not invested in necessary measures to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities…

India’s para-athletes headed to Tokyo Paralympics given accessibility vans to ease commute

August 26, 2021 | Source: The Print- India

To aid the commute of four para-athletes belonging to India’s Tokyo Paralympics contingent, accessibility vans were provided by Svayam, a non-profit organisation that promotes accessibility for the differently abled. Javelin throwers Ajeet Singh, Sandeep and Sumit Antil, as well as high jumper Ram Pal were the recipients of the commuting aid, Svayam said Tuesday. The four are part of a 54-member contingent of para-athletes taking part in nine para-sports at the Tokyo Paralympics, a record high, said the organisation…

Access all areas

August 26, 2021 | Source: The West Australian

With the Paralympics underway in Tokyo, InsideJapan is focusing on developing accessible trips to Japan — with the help of Tokyo resident, and accessible travel guru, Josh Grisdale. Having already launched their Wheelchair Accessible Golden Route trip, the Japan specialists have made it their goal to continue to provide cultural adventures for all travellers to Japan. “Many travellers with disabilities perhaps think of Asia as beyond their grasp,” InsideJapan accessibility consultant and Accessible Japan founder Josh Grisdale says…

What are retailers offering for those with disabilities?

August 26, 2021 | Source: Retail Gazette- UK

The spending power of disabled people and their household is currently estimated to be worth £249 billion per year to UK retailers, according to Purple – a disability organisation championing accessible shopping. Purple’s 2019 survey also found that UK retailers were losing millions of pounds in annual revenue by not catering to its disabled consumers. The organisation also said that there are more than 13 million people in the UK that live with a disability and nearly a third of them spend money with retailers every week…

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics are putting inclusion and accessibility issues under the microscope in Japan

August 27, 2021 | Source: Euronews- Japan

Paralympics a game-changer for accessibility says Bega Valley’s former wheelchair basketballer

August 30, 2021 | Source: Bega District News- Australia

‘A window opened’: Recalling Tokyo’s first Paralympics

September 1, 2021 | Source: France 24- Japan

Tokyo’s Olympic equestrian legacy promises accessibility and inclusion

September 1, 2021 | Source: Horsetalk- Japan

Tokyo 2020: Anger after Paralympian is stripped of gold medal for being late

September 2, 2021 | Source: BBC- Japan & CNN

Paralympic swim champ Pagonis opening eyes to blindness via TikTok

September 2, 2021 | Source: Kyodo News- Japan

Following the success of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Paralympics kicked off this week – and have put Japan’s accessibility and inclusion issues under the microscope. Activists from the country are glad the Games have brought disability issues to the fore but are also quick to point out that there is a long way to go in changing attitudes towards people with disabilities. “When I am in Canada, there is no moment in my daily life when I am aware that I have a disability, but as soon as I arrive at the airport in Japan, it is like being reminded of it,”…

Disabled drivers are “extremely unhappy” about improvements that make it

August 28, 2021 | Source: Brinkwire- UK

Disabled drivers are “extremely unhappy” about improvements that make it “impossible” for them to access the city center. A new pedestrianisation program has left disabled drivers “extremely angry,” since they have been “unable to reach” their city center for 15 months. The changes, according to the York Accessibility Action Group (YAA), have impacted “a great number of persons with visible and invisible disabilities.” The group slammed the council for demanding “blanket restrictions,” which have been linked to “exclusion and prejudice,” according to campaigns…

Adults with disabilities face barriers accessing food, leading to food insecurity, study finds

August 29, 2021 | Source: California News Times- Canada

During the ice storm, people with disabilities living in Canada’s largest city didn’t know where to eat their next meal. If she didn’t have the money to deliver the food, her plan was to drink a glass of water and wait to eat the next day. This is just one of the obvious stories Naomi Schwartz heard while studying food accessibility for people with disabilities living in Toronto. Dr. Schwartz, a graduate of the U of T’s Geography program, co-authored a study on the experience of food access for adults with disabilities in Toronto, Canada…

Railways adopt apps to improve accessibility for wheelchair users

August 30, 2021 | Source: Asahi Shimbun- Japan

Railway operators in and outside Tokyo are turning to smartphone apps to make their services more accessible and convenient for passengers that use wheelchairs. Under one new system, an app allows station staff to internally share the information of where passengers board trains and at what time they will arrive at their destinations, so that they can help them get on and off. This eliminates problems caused by conventional handwritten notes and miscommunication that can happen over the phone…

Improving accessibility in building design

August 30, 2021 | Source: Architecture & Design- Australia

2020 will always be remembered as the year that changed everything, everywhere. The impact of the pandemic has been far-reaching across industries; for the construction industry, especially, the year has been a major turning point. The global pandemic, combined with a looming deadline to reverse the effects of climate change, has forced all industry stakeholders to completely rethink how to design the built environment to better manage infectious diseases and create a more sustainable future…

Accessibility in public transport still elusive for disabled persons

September 1, 2021 | Source: The Hindu – India

While a recent announcement by the Tamil Nadu government to provide free bus travel for the disabled has been a welcome move, for persons with disabilities in the city, commuting by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses remains an arduous task. For residents like R. Sathish Kumar, who uses a wheelchair, a daily commute to his workplace and back costs ₹150 to ₹200 by cab or autorickshaw. Lack of ramps in the buses on his route has made it difficult for him to avail the service…

JICA supports inclusion of Egyptians with disabilities through information accessibility improvement

September 1, 2021 | Source: Daily News Egypt

The Egyptian government has cooperated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to hold the “Project for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through Improvement of Information Accessibility” webinar. The project has provided the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) technology for accessible digital publishing to promote the right to read for everyone not only people with visual impairment and learning disabilities from March 2019 to December 2021…

Research finds three-quarters of people use more energy due to disability

September 1, 2021 | Source: AMP- UK

Research published by RiDC (Research Institute for Disabled Consumers) has found that three-quarters of people use additional energy because of their disability, primarily for heating and washing. Almost two-thirds (63.3%) said they had higher energy bills and more than half (54.3%) said they experienced financial difficulty as a result. Gordon McCullough, CEO at RiDC, said: “This project suggests there is a significant need among disabled and older people to find the best energy deals as so many of them struggle to pay their bills…

When Are We Going to Start Calling the NHS’ Lack of Accessible Mental Health Treatment Medical Negligence?

September 1, 2021 | Source: Shout Out- UK

Living in the UK, we benefit from the increased awareness of mental illness. This has allowed certain practices, such as engaging in therapy, taking psychoactive drugs and spending time off work or school due to poor mental health, to become more normalised. You probably already know that if you experience a mental health problem, you can book an appointment with your GP who can help you; or if necessary, refer you to a specialist. But did you know that the type of treatment you receive depends on where you live, your skin colour, its cost, time and even your attitude?…

Thunder Bay man builds elevator in his house to make it accessible for old friend

September 1, 2021 | Source: CBC- Canada (Video)

Thunder Bay’s Franco Daniele wanted to make his house more accessible for his friend Jamie Mendeck, who uses a wheelchair. So Daniele built an elevator…

Leading e-exam portal ‘inaccessible for blind and partially sighted students’, says charity

September 1, 2021 | Source: AOP- UK

A leading e-exam platform is inaccessible for blind and partially sighted students, according to the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT). The trust tested three modes of the Inspera e-assessments, a platform which is used by universities and awarding bodies. The results suggested that the portal version of the Inspera platform is inaccessible with software that blind and partially sighted students use to complete their work…

My silent world: How medical doctors deal with deaf patients

September 2, 2021 | Source: Daily Monitor- Africa

Access to healthcare is largely a private affair, especially at the point of diagnosis for an ailment. But for the people with hearing impairments, a third party is often involved in the medication process unless one finds medics who understand basic sign language or who will allow them to communicate through writing. Medical workers do not have sign language as part of their training but they often encounter deaf persons who are about 3.2 percent of Uganda’s population…

EV Charging Accessibility: How Ireland Is Failing Disabled Drivers

September 2, 2021 | Source: Irish Tech News- Ireland

EV charging accessibility has been completely overlooked. At present, there are just four wheelchair-accessible ESB EV chargers in Ireland. Four. While many media publications will tell you that we simply need more and more EV charging points, we believe the focus needs to be as much about quality as quantity. A further four ESB EV are under construction and are due to be completed by 2023, with a total of 50 multi-EV charger sites planned in the long term…

New initiatives highlight need to do more for disabled drivers

September 2, 2021 | Source: PBC Today- UK

The criteria for eligibility for a Blue Badge were broadened in the latest guidance from the Department for Transport. And, in a move which is separate but relevant, National Highways – until recently Highways England – has released details of a scheme to offer information which will help disabled people and carers plan where to stop for a break at motorway service areas. The changes to the Blue Badge scheme are noteworthy because, logically, they will embrace more people and lead to an increase in demand for Blue Badges and, by extension, accessible parking spaces…

Volunteers suggest a more disabled-friendly Pune metro

September 3, 2021 | Source: Hindustan Times- India

To get to know first-hand whether the metro is adequately equipped for persons with disabilities (PWDs), the Maha Metro – Pune Metro on Tuesday organised a visit to the Sant Tukaram metro station at Pimpri for volunteers from various organisations for the specially-abled. Turns out the volunteers were satisfied with some arrangements even as they gave suggestions to modify others to make the metro more PWD-friendly…

‘Talking movies’ cinema club in China brings films to blind audiences

September 2, 2021 | Source: Inquirer- China

Every Saturday, Zhang Xinsheng travels two hours for a movie date with friends, navigating Beijing’s confusing subway system with his white cane and a speaking map that screams directions on his mobile phone. Zhang lost his sight in his early twenties due to a degenerative condition, but since going blind has discovered a love for cinema at the “talking film” club, where volunteers give vivid narrations to an auditorium of blind or partially sighted cinemagoers…

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