Accessibility in the News — 8/21/2020.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“I do not have a disability, I have a gift! Others may see it as a disability, but I see it as a challenge. This challenge is a gift because I have to become stronger to get around it, and smarter to figure out how to use it; others should be so lucky.”

― Shane E. Bryan

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Feature Stories

Online education bills don’t include exceptions for severely impaired kids

August 17, 2020 | Source: Michigan Radio & Detroit Metro Times

Special education students get priority for in-person instruction amid pandemic

August 18, 2020 | Source: Daily Astorian

Students With Disabilities Struggle To Learn Remotely

August 20, 2020 | Source: NPR

An advocate for special needs students says severely impaired children were left out of consideration in online education bills that are on a fast track to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. The bills allow districts to offer online-only schooling. Marcie Lipsitt says that’s completely useless for many severely impaired students. “These kids can’t even access the computer, they can’t access a mouse, physically, they can’t access a tablet,” she says…

Tips for teaching deaf students

August 17, 2020 | Source: Multi Briefs

From time to time deaf students may be in one’s ESL classes. Remember that their L1 is likely a sign language system. Now they are learning a new language and possibly a new signing system since sign language is not universal. Deaf students whose L1 is American Sign Language learn English or signed English as a second language, and they encounter the hearing culture in a similar way that L2 students encounter American or other English-speaking cultures. For those who learn ASL as L1, English is a second language…

National News (U.S.)

Interactive Brokers gets accused of discriminating against the blind

August 14, 2020 | Source: Finance Feeds

Online trading and the ability to see are apparently intertwined. But what happens when a visually impaired person wants to make use of the services of an electronic trading company? With some brokerages, the situation is far from rosy, as indicated by a lawsuit launched by Marion Kiler against Interactive Brokers LLC. Kiler’s complaint, lodged at the New York Eastern District Court, alleges that Interactive Brokers has failed to design a website that makes it fully accessible to visually-impaired persons…

Advocates: PA mail-in ballots not accessible for disabled voters

August 14, 2020 | Source: Bucks County Courier Times

You’re going blind, doctors told her. There’s no cure. Figure it out. Day by day, her field of vision fell away. She earned a master’s degree and raised three children. Lynn Heitz learned to live without vision, and she will not be denied the right to vote. More than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians, about 14% of the state’s population, has some form of disability, according to U.S. Census estimates. That group was largely overlooked as governments planned elections during the pandemic, advocates said…

Wheelchair-Accessible VW Bus Donated to Man With Special-Needs Child by Total Stranger

August 14, 2020 | Source: The Drive

In 2020, we’ll take whatever good news we can get. Fortunately, we’ve got a feel-good story from the depths of the automotive community that won’t disappoint. It’s about a man and his love for VW buses, so you know it’s going to be good. It all started with Rick Kusak browsing Facebook for ideas. He had been searching for a way to convert his 1966 Volkswagen bus into a wheelchair accessible vehicle for his nine-month-old son Lucas when he across a photo of a perfect example. As a result, Kusak posted the photo to a group called Vintage Volkswagen Club of America (VVWCA) to ask for some design ideas…

Proud to be from Pittsburgh: Company helping improve accessibility for people with disabilities

August 14, 2020 | Source: WPXI Pittsburgh

Cities are improving accessibility for people with disabilities, but it’s hard to know where improvements are needed when there’s no database of where the sidewalks are. That’s where a start-up that formed at Pitt comes in. It’s called pathVu. You might see Eric Sinagra walking around town, pushing what looks like a dog stroller with no dog inside. Instead, it holds the equipment to map out sidewalks and bring to light hazards on the sidewalks for people with disabilities. The start-up has roots beyond its six-year existence…

In Moscow, accessibility rocks

August 15, 2020 | Source: Moscow-Pullman Daily News

This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Moscow’s Disability Action Center is celebrating the special occasion with a citywide rock-finding game. Fifty painted rocks were hidden around Moscow to highlight specific areas or structures in town that are accessible to community members who have disabilities. “We hid them in specific places in the city because Moscow is phenomenal at ADA accommodations — they go above and beyond just what’s regulated by the ADA when they’re building parks and access to sidewalks,” said Vicki Leeper…

Winnebago Builds a More Accessible RV to Help Everyone Get Away

August 16, 2020 | Source: Car and Driver

When you or a family member is disabled, either by birth or by happenstance, one of the many privileges that can be diminished is the privilege of spontaneity. I miss not having to plan. Whether it’s jumping in the car to go for ice cream or jumping in the car to go to the beach for a week, moments of inspiration can be complicated by the addition of a wheelchair. Or by chronic pain that must be managed with medication. By dietary considerations most people don’t have. Even by a cane, I imagine. Or a walker…

The Importance Of Audio Description For Subtitled Movies

August 16, 2020 | Source: NPR- Jason Strother

The Korean film Parasite is the first foreign language film to win an Oscar for Best Picture. But vision-impaired moviegoers here can’t enjoy it because it’s not available with audio description. The South Korean film “Parasite” made history this year when it became the first non-English-language movie to take home the Oscar for Best Picture. Its director, Bong Joon-ho, has said that if Americans overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, they’ll be introduced to so many more films…

Marketing strategies for growth: ADA web compliance and ADA-related lawsuits

August 17, 2020 | Source: Boating Industry

In the United States, one in five people have a disability. And yet, only 10% of the internet is web accessible. The American Disabilities Act was developed in 1990 and declares that all places of public accommodation remove any access barriers that would inhibit a person with disabilities from accessing the business’s goods and services – including their websites. ADA website compliance consists of a set of guidelines websites should meet in order to be accessible to ALL…

Facing concerns from N.C. Wildlife, wheelchair-accessible beach mat in Carolina Beach won’t be back for the rest of this season

August 17, 2020 | Source: WECT & WWAY3

Cleveland beaches made more accessible with all-terrain wheelchairs

August 17, 2020 | Source: News 5 Cleveland

Three years ago the nonprofit group Ocean Cure rolled out a wheelchair accessible mat in Carolina Beach, giving those who struggled to access the sand a chance to do so. Now, following Hurricane Isaias, founder of Ocean Cure Kevin Murphy said the mat is unlikely to go back down this year, in part, due to beach erosion — and in part due to concerns coming from the N.C. Wildlife Commission. “The beach mat is unlikely to go back down this year. We have run into a lot of obstacles already. Due to hurricane Isaias we lost a lot of sand on the beach strand…

Making the Black Lives Matter movement more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing

August 17, 2020 | Source: CBS News (Video)

Groups within the Black community are fighting to have their voices heard as part of the Black Lives Matter protests. That includes people who are deaf and hard of hearing. American Sign Language interpreter Rorri Burton and behavioral therapist Michael Agyin joined CBSN to discuss how the deaf Black community is greatly impacted by police brutality and what allies can do to support them…

Competing Evidence In Suit Over Bubba Gump Website Access Blocks Dismissal

August 17, 2020 | Source: Mealey’s Litigation Report: Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

Competing evidence regarding the accessibility of a restaurant chain’s website for users who are visually impaired bars dismissal prior to commencing discovery, a federal magistrate judge in California ruled Aug. 11, denying the chain’s motion to dismiss but ordering the plaintiff to file an amended complaint that includes allegations he made when opposing dismissal. Juan Alcazar is legally blind and filed a class complaint against Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurants Inc. and Landry’s Payroll Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that the website for Bubba Gump restaurants has multiple barriers for users employing screen-reading software…

Local Girl Scout aims for Gold Award helping girls with disabilities

August 18, 2020 | Source: KXAN

Local Girl Scout Audrey Bibb has her eyes on the gold. “It’s pretty hard,” Bibb said. “Very few girls actually earn it and do the work for it because it’s so hard to actually complete.” She’s hoping to achieve the highest award in Girl Scouts: the Gold Award. To earn the award, you must make a difference. Bibb, who is part of Girl Scout Troop 791 in Austin, has been working towards her goal at an archery range located at Camp Kachina in Belton, Texas. She’s put in a required 80-100 hours of service for the project over the past few months…

Opioid Use Can Cause Partial or Full Deafness, Says Study

August 18, 2020 | Source: Sci News & Science Daily & New Jersey 101.5 & Philly Voice

“Ototoxicity, or ‘ear poisoning,’ is a known complication of opioid exposure, although the mechanism remains unclear,” said lead author Dr. Alexander Mozeika and colleagues. “While historically most closely linked to heroin and oxycodone, evolving reports suggest that it may be a class effect of opioids.” For the new study, the researchers reviewed records from the New Jersey Poison Control Center from 1999 to 2018 to determine the association between opioid use and degrees of hearing loss…

Increasingly online, more universities are being sued by students with disabilities

August 19, 2020 | Source: EdScoop

With the majority of colleges moving online, several universities are now being sued for not making class materials, websites and services accessible to disabled students. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities to move online in March, many institutions are now working out the kinks to make their curriculum resources and university services accessible in the new remote-learning environment. But for disabled students, the challenges of digital accessibility have been exacerbated, despite laws that prohibit discrimination against disabled people…

Blind Ohio woodworker creates pieces of art, teaches others his craft

August 19, 2020 | Source: ABC3340

Everywhere you look in Jim Morgan’s home, you can see the fruits of his labor. The intricate chairs and dining room table? He built them. The home itself? He built it. The dozen or so clocks ricking away on a hallway wall? He built those too. You can see all of it. He’s never seen any of it. Six years ago, a horrific accident cost Morgan his sight. He was struck by a driver while riding his bike in Fort Myers, Florida. Morgan lost so much blood, his optic nerves died—and in a moment, his golden years went black…

Justice Department Settles With Gates Chili Central School District To Ensure Equal Access For Students With Service Animals

August 20, 2020 | Source: DOJ & ADA

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with the Gates Chili Central School District in Rochester, New York, to resolve the department’s lawsuit alleging disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The department’s complaint alleges that the School District denied a student with disabilities equal access to school by conditioning her use of a service dog on her parent providing a full-time dog handler, despite the student’s demonstrated ability to control and handle her service dog with minimal assistance and the service dog’s extensive training to serve and respond to the student and follow school routines…

Jack Fact — The National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) estimates that 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from wearing hearing aids; at the same time, only 16% of those adults wear them.

Hit The Road Jack — Ensuring Adra beaches accessible to people with reduced mobility on Spain’s Costa Almeria

International News

Accessibility compliance not being enforced says city councilor

August 14, 2020 | Source: CTV News- Canada

Construction in Winnipeg can be a nuisance for many, but for people with mobility restrictions, it’s more than just inconvenient. As the city works to repair roads and sidewalks, some have noticed it appears accessibility compliance rules aren’t being followed. Allen Mankewich has to push his wheelchair through gravel and over curbs just to get into his condo. Hargrave Street south of Ellice Avenue is getting road work done, and it’s making life for Mankewich very challenging…

Here’s how some cultural sites are using universal design for more accessible spaces

August 15, 2020 | Source: CBC- Canada

“Accessibility” can be a tricky word. Kathy Hawkins of Inclusion NL says it means something different to everyone, and depends on how individuals use a space. “To me, access — or accessibility — should mean that disable-identifying folks can enjoy a space with the same ease and effort as other people,” she said. “Spaces or experiences that are actually accessible will not leave someone feeling frustrated or tired.” She offers the following example:…

Awards set to recognise accessibility and universal design initiatives for people with disabilities

August 15, 2020 | Source: The Indian Express- India

To recognise the efforts towards enabling and empowering People with Disabilities (PwDs), the 11th edition of the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards 2020 is now open. The awards are given every year to people and organisations that are developing accessibility solutions or universal design in the space of education, employment, infrastructure and so on for India’s disabled population. “We have been running the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards for over a decade now. The journey so far has proved that universal design for inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) is largely possible…

SC orders expansion of disability quota

August 15, 2020 | Source: The Express Tribune- India

In another landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has held that disability quota should be calculated on the basis of the total sanctioned posts of an establishment. It also noted that “disabled”, “physically handicapped”, “mentally retarded” and other similar words deeply bruised and offended human dignity of persons with different abilities. The court issued direction to the federal government and provincial governments to discontinue the use of these words in official correspondence, directives, notifications and circulars and shift to “persons with disabilities” or “persons with different abilities”…

Make Ayodhya Ram Temple accessible & disabled-friendly, urge activists

August 16, 2020 | Source: NewzHook- India

Many Hindu devotees from across the world are looking forward for opening of the Ram Temple. But India’s disabled community point out that like most temples in the country, the temple being planned in Ayodhya is largely inaccessible. They are urging concerned officials to make the world-famous temple accessible and disabled-friendly. When it comes to accessibility of temples and places of worship, there is no doubt that India still has a long way to go. When Hindu religious leaders across the world celebrated the Ram Janmabhoomi Puja on 5 August, wonder how many thought about the accessibility factor?…

Have money, will travel but access difficulties and closed doors still greet WA’s disabled

August 16, 2020 | Source: ABC News- Australia

Disability advocates are urging a rethink on accessible tourism as WA’s travel sector struggles to make the transition out of coronavirus-imposed restrictions. While accommodation providers in tourist hotspots in the state’s south west record strong occupancy rates, WA’s disabled community says a lack of suitable accommodation is leaving them on the outer. Bunbury’s Paul D’Vorak, who lost the use of his lower body in a 2007 accident, said limited available resources were regularly booked by abled-bodied travellers…

Is your website invisible to 80 million people?

August 16, 2020 | Source: Daily Nation- Kenya

Do you know how a blind person reads content on websites, or how those who cannot move their limbs navigate web pages? These considerations are critical to ensure that people with disabilities can use the vital resource. Web accessibility for all needs to be urgently addressed. This is especially important, during the pandemic, when people are encouraged to access vital public health information, stay in touch with others, work or study from home or access government and business services online…

Death of young PWD advocate won’t obstruct vision of accessible Philippines

August 17, 2020 | Source: Inquirer News- Philippines

In the face of seemingly endless odds, Alexander Michael Bautista had risen and persevered. His story could have ended when he was just 2 years old—when he was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare neuromuscular disease that has no known cure. Instead, Miggy, as he was fondly called, chose to live, with the conscious decision to spend every single day toward serving others. A passionate advocate of disability rights in the country, Miggy died on Aug. 13 due to complications from his illness. He was 22…

Only 2% of courthouses in Britain are full accessible, research finds

August 17, 2020 | Source: Access and Mobility Professional- UK

Only 2% of courthouses in Britain meet at least 11 accessibility criteria. The data shows how the top three most accessible courtrooms are in the south west and 84% of courthouses across the country are not full accessible for wheelchair users. This comes as only 8% of courthouses offer witness support and/or quiet rooms for people with mental health issues. The research explained how the past decade has seen the government follow a programme of reforms designed to improve the courthouse process for all users…

Dealing With Visual Impairment

August 17, 2020 | Source: This Day- Nigeria

One of the most neglected health challenges in Nigeria is blindness, with reports suggesting that 1.6 million persons are visually impaired. While that number may appear insignificant in a population of 200 million people, the World Health Organisation (WHO) believes the visual impairment of one person affects four other persons. In effect, at least 6.4 million Nigerians are either spending the productive times of their lives as caregivers for blind persons or are unable to live quality lives because they have a blind family member to take care of…

Winnipeg Transit considering priority seating for people with disabilities

August 18, 2020 | Source: CBC- Canada & Winnipeg Sun

The City of Winnipeg is asking the public to weigh in on whether it should create designated priority seating areas on conventional buses. The city is doing a review of its transit system and is specifically looking at the needs of riders with disabilities, the city said in a release Tuesday. It’s launched an online survey and discussion forum to get the public’s opinions. It takes 10 minutes to complete and will be available until Sept. 15. Accessible spaces (seats at the front of the bus where the benches flip up) on transit buses are limited, the city said, and are offered on a first come, first served basis…

Amid Systemic Delays And Apathy, Online Classes Are A Struggle For Disabled Students

August 18, 2020 | Source: Youth Ki Awaaz- India

In the midst of the pandemic, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had provided students with access to a ‘Help Desk’ for queries and grievances related to COVID-19. This was a positive step that would have allowed students to seek support and allow their education to be unharmed. However, the UGC website itself caused students with disabilities to become more marginalised, as it is completely inaccessible. Through the Wave: Web Accessibility evaluation tool, it was observed that the website has 290 major accessibility errors, 494 contrasting errors and other errors as well…

Pendle MP welcomes plans to create thousands of accessible toilets for disabled

August 18, 2020 | Source: Clitheroe Advertiser- England

A major change to building rules in England will require thousands of large and well-equipped accessible toilet facilities to be designed and built into new public buildings – news which Pendle MP, Andrew Stephenson, has described as an important step forward for severely disabled people and their families. The new rules announced by the Government will make Changing Places toilets compulsory in new buildings, such as shopping centres, supermarkets, cinemas, stadia and arts venues…

Deaf children in West Sussex ‘lagging behind’ others at GCSE

August 18, 2020 | Source: Spirit FM- UK

Deaf children in West Sussex achieve an entire grade less than their hearing classmates at GCSE because they are not getting enough support, according to a leading charity. The Government’s 2019 exam figures show the average attainment 8 score for deaf children in the South East is 44.6, compared to 51.5 for hearing children. With the release of GCSE results delayed due to issues surrounding the release of A Level and BTEC grades last week, the National Deaf Children Society has raised concerns that coronavirus has severely affected the support available during a crucial period of their education – meaning the gap could grow wider still…

I fear the government’s planning reforms will make the shortage of accessible housing worse

August 19, 2020 | Source: Inside Housing- UK

Last month, the prime minister laid out details of his post-coronavirus recovery plan for the economy and earlier this month we got first sight of some of the detail in the Planning for the Future white paper. My first thought about the ‘new deal’ recovery plan, described as the most radical planning shake-up since World War II, was ‘what will this mean for accessible housing?’ There are more than 1.2 million wheelchair users in the UK and we know from recent English Housing Survey data that some 400,000 disabled people are living in homes that are neither accessible nor adapted…

Leading sight organizations to merge in fight to end global crisis in vision

August 20, 2020 | Source: China Daily Global

Clearly, the eyesight charity set up by Chinese philanthropist James Chen, is to merge with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness next year in a bid to increase efforts in supporting better vision globally. Over the last 15 years, Chen had made it his mission to tackle poor vision. He has been funding and leading work to promote universal access to glasses and said the merger is a step closer to his dream of helping the whole world see clearly…

Covid-19 has impacted the blind: Conclave

August 20, 2020 | Source: Indian Express- India

FICCI and Vision 2020, organised a multi-stakeholder conclave to highlight the impact of the pandemic on people living with compromised vision due to various eye-related ailments. India has among the world’s highest proportion of blind people, around 4.8 million, as per the revised definition of blindness institutionalised in 2019 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, bringing India’s blind population down by 47 per cent…

I’m Deaf. When mask-wearing came along, I had to rebuild my world

August 20, 2020 | Source: The Guardian- UK

Since mask-wearing began, my world has disappeared. I was born partially deaf, and masks prevent me from lipreading and using facial cues to communicate. I’m not alone. Over 460 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss according to the World Health Organization. So how are people who are d/Deaf (lower case refers to the physical condition of deafness, capital D refers to the Deaf community) or hard of hearing surviving mask mandates? It also makes me wonder, is my mask less safe because of my disability?…

New Report by The Lancet Commission Finds Hearing Loss in Midlife To Be the Largest Modifiable Risk Factor for Dementia

August 20, 2020 | Source: Street Insider- Canada

HearingLife, Canada’s largest group of hearing centres, announced today that a new report in The Lancet, one of the world’s most-prestigious medical journals, has identified hearing loss as the greatest modifiable risk factor for dementia. The only way to confirm hearing loss is through a professional hearing test. In response to this news, HearingLife reminds all Canadians that it provides free hearing tests and risk-free hearing aid trials nationwide. Nearly half of Canadians age 60 and older have some form of hearing loss…

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