Accessibility in the News — 8/6/2021

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Biden Extends Americans With Disabilities Act Protections To COVID Long-Haulers

July 26, 2021 | Source: HuffPost

President Joe Biden on Monday marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by announcing guidance that extends its protections to people with “long COVID.” Biden laid out the plan in a Rose Garden speech alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, hailing the act ― which he co-sponsored as a senator in 1990 ― as a “bulwark against discrimination and a path to independence.” “The ADA is more than a law,” he said. “It’s a testament to our character as a people, our character as Americans.”…

National News (U.S.)

Diversity University: DEI Bloat in the Academy

July 17, 2021 | Source: The Heritage Foundation & Report PDF & The College Fix

The promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on college campuses has become a central concern of higher education. However, high DEI staffing levels suggest that these programs are bloated relative to academic pursuits and do not contribute to reported student well-being on campus. The authors’ research suggests that large DEI bureaucracies appear to make little positive contribution to campus climate: Rather than being an effective tool for welcoming students from different backgrounds, DEI personnel may be better understood as a signal of adherence to ideological, political, and activist goals…

Microsoft Accessibility Boss Jenny Lay-Flurrie Reflects On Three Decades Of The ‘Landmark’ Americans With Disabilities Act

July 28, 2021 | Source: Forbes

Last week marked the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, colloquially known as the ADA. President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law on July 26, 1990 in a ceremony at the White House’s Rose Garden. The hallmark piece of legislation, effectively doing for disabled people what the Civil Rights Act did for Black people 26 years earlier, was pioneered by former congressman Tony Coelho (D-CA). Coelho, who’s an epileptic, told me last year he was motivated to push for the bill after being told by many people (including his parents) that his diagnosis was a sign he was “possessed by the devil.” …

Paralympic Swimmer Mallory Weggemann Opens Her Accessible Minnesota Home to AD

July 30, 2021 | Source: Architectural Digest

Mallory Weggemann can get her own coffee in the morning. She can shower alone. She can sit with her husband, Jay Snyder, and their dog, Sam, on their porch in the afternoon, watching the sun fade from the sky before cooking dinner in a kitchen where every detail is within reach. “There isn’t one corner that I can’t access, or something where I have to ask Jay, ‘Can you come help me?’” she says. “It’s possible for me to be my full self in the place we call home.”…

Business says it was threatened with ADA lawsuit for website

July 30, 2021 | Source: PenBayPilot

When the Americans with Disabilities Act became law July 26, 1990, it concerned access to physical property, but an area business was recently threatened with an accessibility lawsuit due to its website. The business, which asked not to be named, was first contacted in June by a New York man whose letter said the website was “inaccessible to blind and visually impaired persons,” and asking the business to make changes to comply with certain standards. Two weeks later, the business owner received another correspondence from the same person who described himself as legally blind…

‘May Be An Image’: What It’s Like Browsing Instagram While Blind

July 30, 2021 | Source: The Verge

Using a screen reader to navigate Instagram, as some people with low vision do, is a strange patchwork of sounds. It can be overwhelming, especially if you’re used to quickly scanning information with your eyes, to hear a synthetic voice clunkily rattle off usernames, timestamps, and like counts as though they’re all equally important as the actual content of the post. Among all that auditory stimulation, if someone added alt text to their photo, you might hear something like “John and I standing with our ankles in the water at the beach. John is making a distressed face while I menacingly hold out a dead crab and laugh.”…

People with mobility issues find new ferry terminal lacking

July 30, 2021 | Source: The Daily Herald

For many, the new ferry terminal here has been a source of excitement — a new building dedicated to honoring Coast Salish tribal history, a new overhead ramp for walk-on passengers and a new, unobstructed view of Puget Sound. But for those with limited mobility, the terminal has aggravated existing challenges. Navigating it has been, in some cases, a frustrating experience. Although the former ferry terminal and loading system was far from perfect for the disabled community, advocates feel not enough thought went into improving the problems with the new $187 million terminal…

During Disability Pride, Religious institutions still behind on accessibility

July 30, 2021 | Source: Religion News Service

July is Disability Pride Month and marks the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990, a watershed moment for civil rights law. However, mosques, synagogues, churches and other religious institutions remain exempt from ADA requirements. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on ability in areas such as public accommodations, employment and transportation and is the farthest-reaching civil rights law for people with disabilities in the U.S…

Across Federal Workforce, People With Disabilities See Need For More Representation

July 31, 2021 | Source: NPR

When Tony Coelho wrote the American with Disabilities Act 31 years ago, his goal was to ensure that people with disabilities could participate in the workforce with equal opportunities of inclusion and success. Three decades later, people with disabilities — the largest minority group in the country — remain underrepresented in the workforce, particularly within the federal workforce. Four years ago, the government set a benchmark calling for every agency to commit to having no less than 12% of its employees made up of people with disabilities…

Israelis, Americans team up for NY hiking for people with disabilities

July 31, 2021 | Source: The Jerusalem Post

Not every hiking trail in the world is accessible for people with disabilities, but don’t tell that to Friends of Access Israel (FAISR) and Paratrek. They simply don’t agree. The two organizations, which have already accompanied four people with paraplegia to reach the not-so-accessible top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, are in the midst of 12 days of hiking in New York with teams consisting of people with and without disabilities…

Providence Playscape gives kids of all abilities the chance to explore

August 1, 2021 | Source: The Spokesman-Review

Playgrounds are irresistible. They spark imagination, foster a sense of freedom, and provide a setting for spontaneous play and uninhibited joy. No matter the condition or the location, swings, slides and jungle gyms have a way of drawing in kids. Even adults can’t resist them on occasion. Depending on a child’s abilities, most playgrounds are limiting. Ground cover can be difficult or impossible to navigate, and traditional playground equipment hardly accommodates walking aids or wheelchairs…

Maryland Voters Sue to Protect Secret Ballots- National Federation of the Blind and its Maryland Affiliate Also Parties to Litigation

August 1, 2021 | Source: NFIB

The National Federation of the Blind, its Maryland affiliate, and three blind registered Maryland voters – Marie Cobb, Ruth Sager, and Joel Zimba – are suing the Maryland State Board of Elections. The suit alleges that the Board of Elections is violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by maintaining a segregated system of voting that denies blind voters their right to a secret ballot and equal voting experience. From 2004 to 2016, all Maryland voters used the same electronic touch-screen voting machines to cast ballots…

Couple Buys VIP Tickets to Rolling Loud Festival and It Allegedly Turns Out To Be Wheelchair Inaccessible

August 2, 2021 | Source: AmoMama

When a couple bought VIP tickets for a music festival, they never expected that they wouldn’t be able to watch the show as they imagined. Allegedly, the venue was not wheelchair friendly, and they could not access all of the action. The Rolling Loud music festival caused an online upset this month. The couple didn’t have any problems with the lineup that included stars like Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion—Instead, their issue was with the venue…

DOJ Settles with Florida’s Volusia County School District to Protect Students with Disabilities from Classroom Removals and Other Discrimination

August 3, 2021 | Source: DOJ

The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with Florida’s Volusia County School District (VCS) to address the district’s systemic and discriminatory practices that punish students with disabilities for their disability-related behavior and deny them equal access to VCS’s programs and services. The department conducted an investigation under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida received a complaint from a local legal aid organization on behalf of several students, many of whom have Autism Spectrum Disorder…

New York ramps up wheelchair accessibility

August 3, 2021 | Source: ITS International

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has unveiled new subway cars to improve accessibility for wheelchair users while also confirming similar enhancements to its existing bus fleet. The new R211 subway trains feature 58-inch door spans that are eight inches wider than standard doors on existing cars, and include more spacious seating options for wheelchair users. The expanded doors are expected to reduce delays and increase train movement by speeding boarding and reducing the amount of time trains sit in stations…

How Accessibility at the Summer’s Gaming Events Stack Up

August 3, 2021 | Source: WIRED

Before the game reveals at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest last month, the host took to Twitter to announce several accessibility initiatives for his event. Not only would disabled viewers have access to an ASL costream led by Chris “DeafGamersTV” Robinson, they also had the opportunity to tune into a completely audio-described version on Brandon “Superblindman” Cole’s Twitch channel. And the Summer Game Fest was not the only E3 press conference to consider disabled audience members…

Why Sherri Turpin Is Asking The FCC To Make Telecommunications ‘Accessible And Inclusive For All’

August 3, 2021 | Source: Forbes

A common thread that connects seemingly disparate stories featured in this column is how assistive technology exists as a means to combat structural ableism. Society is built for and by abled people, much in the same ways society favors men and white people; America was founded by a bunch of white men, after all. The needs of disabled people—especially in this technologically dominant age—is a prime example of diversity and inclusion. Accessibility is so important, not only to technology but to life in general, because making things accessible is precisely how we feel included…

Missouri Lawmaker Who Has Prosthetic Leg Plans Legislation To Make Health Care More Accessible To Disabled

August 3, 2021 | Source: Missourinet (Audio)

A Missouri lawmaker from St. Louis who passed bipartisan limb loss awareness legislation this year is looking at future disability-related bills. State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis) was born with a disability and has a prosthetic leg. “My goal really after getting this bill passed is to try to figure out how we make health care more accessible for people with disabilities. You know, right now if I didn’t have health care it would be really tough for me to have the prosthetic that I have. It costs around $1,700,” Aldridge says…

Swimmer Becca Meyers’ Ordeal Shows Even The Paralympics Doesn’t Listen To Disabled People

August 3, 2021 | Source: WBUR

Becca Meyers, a 26-year-old Paralympic swimmer who was favored to win gold in Tokyo this year, withdrew from the Paralympics in July because the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) wouldn’t allow her to bring her mother as her personal care attendant. (Meyers is a deaf-blind athlete.) The 2020 Paralympics were delayed by a year because of the pandemic. Under new restrictions, USOPC reduced their delegation size, leaving only one slot for a personal care attendant (that’s 1 person for 34 Paralympic swimmers). This forced Meyers to step aside, very possibly forever…

4 Ways Hollywood Is Working to Increase Deaf and Disability Inclusion

August 4, 2021 | Source: Hollywood Reporter

The 2021 Oscars featured audio description for the blind (spoken narration that describes onscreen visual elements) for the first time in the telecast’s history, while the in-person ceremony experience included a ramp to the stage and an ASL interpreter in the media room. Meanwhile, the Academy has received $1 million from the Ruderman Family Foundation to ensure accessibility at its upcoming museum as well as to support disability inclusion in its programming and educational initiatives…

Tokyo 2020: Alumna leading refugee team at Paralympic Games, at forefront of international inclusion efforts

August 4, 2021 | Source: FIU News

Eighty-two million. That’s the number of people around the globe who fled their home countries due to human rights abuses, persecution or wars at the end of 2020. Of these, an estimated 12 million live with a disability. And they yearn to be heard. That’s why the Refugee Paralympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games is a sign of hope. It’s a sign that no matter where you come from or who you are, you can achieve. At the helm of this year’s team is FIU alumna and Paralympian Ileana Rodriguez ’08, M.Arch ’11, herself a refugee from Cuba who arrived in the United States when she was a teenager…

Attorney General Bonta Issues Consumer Alert on Hearing Aids Sold Online or Over-the-Counter

August 4, 2021 | Source: California Department of Justice

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer alert today warning Californians to exercise caution when purchasing direct-to-consumer hearing products, such as hearing aids, over-the-counter or online. With the growing popularity, availability, and confusion about these products, the Attorney General urges the public to educate themselves about their options, and consider whether a hearing aid sold online or over-the-counter, rather than prescribed by a doctor, will address their needs…

Justice Department Announces Investigation of the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department

August 5, 2021 | Source: Department of Justice

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division announced today that the Justice Department has opened a pattern or practice investigation into the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD). This investigation will assess all types of use of force by PhxPD officers, including deadly force. The investigation will also seek to determine whether PhxPD engages in retaliatory activity against people for conduct protected by the First Amendment; whether PhxPD engages in discriminatory policing; and whether PhxPD unlawfully seizes or disposes of the belongings of individuals experiencing homelessness. In addition, the investigation will assess the City and PhxPD’s systems and practices for responding to people with disabilities…

Gene Therapy Could Treat Eye Disease Without Surgery

August 5, 2021 | Source: Futurity

Currently, the only treatment is corneal transplant, a major surgery with associated risks and potential complications. “When you do a transplant you make a huge difference for that person, but it’s a big deal for the patient with lots of visits, lots of eye drops, lots of co-pays, and if you had a medical treatment that did not require surgery, that would be great,” says Bala Ambati, a research professor at the University of Oregon who led an eight-year study involving the development of the gene therapy…

Cheap and sophisticated commercial hearing aids may be on the shelves next year

August 5, 2021 | Source: Texas News Today

Theoretically, millions of Americans with mild to moderate deafness go to drugstores today, buy smartphone earphone-like devices, and return to the audible world when they leave the store. You should be able to participate.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration is suffering from a health crisis and has missed the August 2020 deadline to propose rules for over-the-counter hearing aids under 2017 legislation. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month instructing government agencies to complete the draft rule within 120 days…

Jack Fact — Statistics indicate that one in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%) are color vision deficient; an estimated 13 million in the United States and 350 million worldwide.

Hit The Road Jack — 7 reasons Walt Disney World is one of the most wheelchair accessible destinations & What does accessible travel mean to you? & Accessible Travel News Service

International News

The Digital Education Policy for Children With Disabilities Is Exclusion in the Name of Inclusion

July 29, 2021 | Source: The Wire- India

Time and again, people with disabilities have been used as scapegoats by the current political regime to showcase benevolence and score vanity points by evoking emotions of sympathy and charity amongst the larger gullible Indian population. Whether it is by propagating stigmatising terminology such as divyangjan, abruptly deciding to bestow the title on a whim without consulting the community or the tokenism which has started to happen every Republic Day when an Indian Sign Language (ISL) tableau is erected on the television to showcase the so-called inclusive mindset of the government, this has been the case…

This teacher is making Nepali Sign Language accessible to all

July 30, 2021 | Source: The Kathmandu Post- Nepal

Every week, Hari Prasad Adhikari brainstorms content ideas and topics for his YouTube channel. Once he gets an idea that he likes and feels will make helpful content, he sits in front of a camera and starts recording. What sets Adhikari’s YouTube channel apart from many other channels on the platform is that his channel is dedicated to teaching Nepali Sign Language. Ever since Adhikari created his YouTube channel, Nepali Sign Language, five years ago, he has been uploading a new video every Saturday, hoping that his efforts will help at least someone who wants to learn sign language…

Creating true workplace inclusion for people with disabilities

July 30, 2021 | Source: Consultancy- UK

Professional services firms have a pressing need not only to ensure that they provide accessible advice to their clients but also to lead by example on disability inclusion. Eleanor Goichman Brett, a consultant and trainer at global diversity and inclusion training consultancy PDT Global, shares five practical ways how professional service leaders can progress towards true inclusion for people with disabilities. Be aware that not everyone identifies with the term ‘disability’…

‘A modest amount of consideration:’ Winnipeg man raising accessibility concerns to city

July 30 2021 | Source: CTV News- Canada

A Winnipeg man is raising concerns about accessibility in Winnipeg after one intersection in the city had the wrong auditory signals being used. Tyler Sneesby is visually impaired and relies on these sounds to cross the street. There are two sounds that can be heard at crosswalks, “chirp” and “beep-boop.” When the chirp is heard, it means people can cross going east-west, and when the beep-boop is heard, it means people can cross north-south. A Winnipeg man is raising concerns about accessibility in Winnipeg after one intersection in the city had the wrong auditory signals being used…

Domestic violence services need training in disability access, say advocates

August 1, 2021 | Source: ABC News- Australia

About 47 per cent of adults with disability have experienced violence, yet the lack of accessible and inclusive services makes escaping violence extremely difficult for women with disability. This was the case for Tasmanian woman, Fiona Hamilton, who is an Aboriginal woman living with autism. Ms Hamilton is a survivor of domestic violence. When she was trying to escape, she found services inaccessible. Due to cognitive overload, she often couldn’t understand what was being said…

‘White elephant’: The €2.7m transport training centre causing conflict in disability community

August 1, 2021 | Source: thejournal.ie- Ireland

“The fundamental flaw is that the funding was committed to, without any engagements with disabled people. It’s not in keeping with ‘nothing about us, without us’ at all. It contradicts that and flies in the face of it.” Elaine Howley is one of a number of disability advocates and disabled person’s organisations who are adamantly against €2 million in Government funding being allocated to a transport training centre for disabled people, saying that they were not consulted and that the funding could have been better spent on other more impactful initiatives…

It’s Time National Conversations on Disability Include Race and Ethnicity

August 1, 2021 | Source: The Good Men Project- Canada

The government broke new ground last month when federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough introduced legislation for a new federal Canada Disability Benefit in Parliament. Many of us in the disability community are equal parts optimistic and skeptical about the proposed Benefit: we know there’s little possibility such legislation will pass before a likely fall election. We’ve been played like political football before. But a recent Angus Reid poll has given us cause for optimism…

Australia’s 2021 Census is the most accessible yet for deaf and vision-impaired people

August 2, 2021 | Source: SBS- Australia

This year’s national census will be the most inclusive and accessible survey yet, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The rollout of a raft of assistive technologies on the census website promise to provide extra support and resources for people who are deaf or vision-impaired and would like to submit their forms online without having to seek additional help. “The whole idea of the census is to make it as easy as possible to complete and make it as less of a burden,” ABS operations manager David Keys said…

‘The heart of the matter:’ Saskatoon theatre companies build on accessibility

August 2, 2021 | Source: Saskatoon StarPhoenix- Canada

If Sum Theatre artistic director Joel Bernbaum has any wisdom to impart about introducing accessibility measures, it’s to embrace failure. In 2018, Sum premiered Queen Seraphina and the Land of Vertebraat, a play about disability. The set was built to be wheelchair accessible for actor Haley Brown, who was also consulted on the width, length and slope of the wooden ramps. But during a test run, the spaces between boards made her movement tricky. “I thought I was doing my due diligence,” Bernbaum said. “One question I didn’t ask was, ‘What material would be best for you?’”…

Disability strategy ‘missed opportunity’ for accessible housing, says Habinteg

August 2, 2021 | Source: Access and Mobility Professional- UK

Registered social housing provider, Habinteg, has branded last week’s publication of the government’s National Disability Strategy a “missed golden opportunity” for accessible housing. Habinteg said the strategy had fallen short of establishing the building regulations accessible and adaptable’ standard as the minimum requirement for all new homes, as well as meeting a national expectation for a proportion of all homes to be built to wheelchair accessible standards…

National Disability Strategy: ‘once in a generation plan’ has been seen before

August 2, 2021 | Source: The Conversation- UK

The UK government’s National Disability Strategy and £1.6 billion in funding was announced recently with great fanfare. Politicians hailed it as a landmark initiative, but on closer inspection, the document is not quite as innovative as advertised – many of the elements contained in it were first considered decades ago, and are long overdue. Boris Johnson described the plan as the greatest government development in disability equality policy since the passage of the Disability Discrimination Act, by John Major (although I’m sure the disabled activists who campaigned and protested for the act would remember its history differently)…

Owners: Incentives needed to build more wheelchair accessible homes

August 2, 2021 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand

A Southland couple who have built two houses specifically for wheelchair users to live in believe the Government and councils should do more to encourage such developments. Andrew Watkins and his partner Adele McMahon purchased a property near Invercargill’s south city shops in 2019, demolished an old house on the section and have built two two-bedroom accessible homes. The homes are designed for the comfort and practicality of wheelchair users – a rarity in New Zealand given less than two per cent of homes have features geared for the disabled, CCS Disabilty Action says…

Wheelchair User Almost Left Stranded At Train Station After Assistance Staff Fail To Turn Up

August 2, 2021 | Source: Independent- UK

Disability campaigner Katie Pennick was almost left stranded at an Oxfordshire station yesterday when staff failed to turn up to assist with a wheelchair ramp. Travelling into London with Chiltern Railways, Pennick, who is campaigns lead for the transport access charity Transport for All, tried to book assistance for her journey via the Passenger Assistance app. She was unable to get confirmation of her booking from the app and, on arriving at the station, found it entirely unstaffed. She was therefore unable to access the wheelchair ramp and was only able to board because her partner was with her…

Public Companies and the Need for Accessibility Adjustments to Stock Exchange Reports?

August 2, 2021 | Source: Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.- Israel

Dozens of motions were filed in recent weeks to certify class actions against some of the most well-known and leading publicly traded companies and reporting corporations in Israel. These motions to certify class actions are similar in nature (apart from the different defendants) and most were filed by the same plaintiffs-petitioners and through the same attorneys. Corporations must publish immediate and periodic reports on a regular basis via the Israel Securities Authority’s online system (MAGNA) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s online system (MAYA)…

Human Rights Commission receives 30 complaints about MIQ booking

August 3, 2021 | Source: TVNZ- New Zealand

The Human Rights Commission wants more options for disabled people to secure a space in MIQ. It had received 30 complaints about the online booking portal, including claims that it discriminates against older people, disabled people and blind people who can’t fill in the form quickly enough to get a voucher. Meg Douglas Howie, who designs web services for the government, is among the complainants. She said she was spurred to action after learning the President of the World Blind Union, from Auckland, couldn’t book an MIQ spot…

Beijing to protect use of guide dogs

August 4, 2021 | Source: China Daily- China

Beijing’s legislature is considering punishing those who refuse to allow eligible guide dogs to enter public spaces or public transportation. The provision is one of a number of new articles in a draft regulation designed to improve accessibility in the capital that underwent a second deliberation on July 28, with lawmakers making new proposals following a first review in May. A warning or criticism in a circulated notice will be given to entities or individuals that deny guide dogs with work permits access to public spaces or public transportation when accompanied by visually impaired people, said Hao Zhilan…

Disability access: 70% of vetted planning applications fail standards

August 4, 2021 | Source: Times of Malta- Malta

Some 70 per cent of all planning applications sent to the Commission for Rights of Persons with a Disability (CRPD) for vetting did not meet the necessary accessibility standards, Commissioner Samantha Pace Gasan said in a press conference on Wednesday. Pace Gasan was presenting the CRPD’s annual report, which highlighted the work undertaken by the commission throughout the past year. Just 15% of applications approved Of the 4,030 applications send to the authority for accessibility vetting, 2,819 were not approved while a further 600 did not fall under the parameters under which the Commission carries out vetting…

Tokyo Olympics: Meet the Kiwis who make television accessible

August 5, 2021 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand

Alex Walker’s eyes are glued to a set of computer monitors broadcasting the Tokyo Olympics live. The caption editor speaks directly into the microphone as he watches, before text is sent out to viewers nationwide. “You feel included. Like you’re part of the event. It’s a privilege,” Walker, who in October will have been part of the organisation Able for six years, said. Able was formed eight years ago after a restructuring at TVNZ saw its former captioning department axed…

494 buildings made accessible to differently-abled by 15 states, UTs: Govt

August 4, 2021 | Source: Yahoo- India

Out of 1,182 identified public buildings that are to be made accessible to people with disabilities, 494 buildings have been made accessible by 15 states and Union Territories. In response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik said Rs 484.26 crore has been released to states/UTs to make 1,182 identified public buildings accessible. ‘Out of these, 494 state government buildings have been reported to have been made accessible by 15 states,’ she said in a written reply…

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