Accessibility in the News — 9/23/2022.
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AITN Quote of the Week
Crafted while listening to: The Teskey Brothers- Half Mile Harvest
“Know your limits, but never stop trying to break them.” ― Kyle Maynard
The Digital Accessibility Legal Summit 2022
Feature Stories
Bowie County to make voting more accessible to people with disabilities
September 16, 2022 | Source: KTAL
Bowie County officials are taking steps to make voting more accessible for the midterm elections this November, particularly for people with disabilities. Come election day, every polling location in the county will be handicap-accessible and offer an ExpressVote machine. The ExpressVote machine caters to those who are hearing impaired as well as people who have vision problems. Bowie County will also have curbside voting, where the ExpressVote machine is brought to the person’s car. Before, curbside voting was only available for early voters…
U.S. Attorney’s Office Reaches Agreement with Town of Limerick to Improve Voter Accessibility
September 20, 2022 | Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Maine
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with the Town of Limerick to resolve allegations that the town excluded a resident with a disability from voting, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced. The settlement agreement resolves an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint filed by a voter with a mobility impairment who alleged that he was unable to vote at Limerick’s annual town meeting. The voter alleged that he was told that the first floor of Limerick Town Hall was full, and he would need to vote on the second floor which he was unable to access…
False claims of voter fraud threaten disabled Pennsylvanians’ right to vote
September 21, 2022 | Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
On Nov. 8, Pennsylvanians across the state will cast their votes, including over 2.6 million adults who identify as having a disability. In the two years since the 2020 presidential election, there have been widespread, unproven claims of voter fraud. The misinformation related to mail-in voting has the potential to threaten disabled people’s rights to cast their votes. Disability rights are everyone’s rights, and we must guarantee that those rights are secured for future elections at every level of government…
National News (U.S.)
Man fights to bring more accessibility to Adel post office
September 15, 2022 | Source: We Are Iowa
A wheelchair user in Adel is on a mission to make his local post office more accessible for others like him. Robert Fisher has been in a wheelchair since he was a child and says rolling into the post office is difficult, so his goal is to get a handicap button installed. The post office is privately owned, and Fisher reached out to the owner to ask for these accessible adjustments. So far, lighter doors have been put on, but Fisher said request to install a handicap button was denied. “It will help other people in wheelchairs,” Fisher said…
DP World Tour And EDGA Set Sights On Making Golf Most Accessible Sport In The World
September 16, 2022 | Source: Forbes
The DP World Tour and the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) believe they are presiding over a sport that has the potential to be the most accessible on the planet. Certainly, golf maintains a level of accessibility unseen in other sports, given that it is entirely feasible for golfers with disabilities to compete fairly against both their peers and non-disabled players alike. There are structural elements within the game that exist to make this possible – namely its pacing and non-contact nature. When the time arrives to take a shot – an individual player controls the situation regardless of the strength, power, speed and accuracy of their opponent…
With Polio’s Return, Here’s What Back-to-Schoolers Need to Know
September 16, 2022 | Source: KHN
Before polio vaccines became available in the 1950s, people wary of the disabling disease were afraid to allow their children outside, let alone go to school. As polio appears again decades after it was considered eliminated in the U.S., Americans unfamiliar with the dreaded disease need a primer on protecting themselves and their young children — many of whom are emerging from the trauma of the covid-19 pandemic. Polio is short for “poliomyelitis,” a neurological disease caused by a poliovirus infection. Of the three types of wild poliovirus — serotypes 1, 2, and 3 — serotype 1 is the most virulent and the most likely to cause paralysis…
Queens lawmaker introduces legislation to improve accessibility, expand employment opportunities for disability community across city agencies
September 16, 2022 | Source: QNS
Councilwoman Linda Lee on Wednesday, Sept. 14, introduced two bills to improve accessibility across city agencies and expand employment opportunities for New York City’s disabled community. “As a social worker, and now as chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions, I’ve seen how the pandemic disproportionately affected the nearly 1 million people in New York with disabilities,” Lee said. “This legislation is about making good on the promise of equal access for all New Yorkers while fulfilling the vision of strengthening our city’s workforce on our road to recovery.”…
Orange Line shutdown brings new challenges, frustrations for MBTA riders with physical disabilities
September 16, 2022 | Source: WGBH
West Roxbury’s Jerry Boyd said he’s lucky he can work from home. As a wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy, the Orange Line shutdown would have made getting to his job as a claims processor near North Station difficult.
But he’s still a regular Orange Line user who’s navigated the monthlong shutdown to get to appointments, family events or dates with his girlfriend who lives in Roslindale. And overall, he gives the MBTA poor grades for accessibility during the shutdown. “I do think the T is taking accessibility more seriously,” he said. “But it’s a long, long way to go.”…
Twitter – Microassist
Local Expert Says More Could Be Done to Ensure Disabled Pedestrians Are Safer On Streets
September 16, 2022 | Source: Pasadena Now
Despite numerous installations in the city to make streets safer for people with disabilities, a local volunteer group advocating for pedestrian safety said there is definitely more that can be done! Pasadena’s sidewalks need to be repaired more frequently, Topher Mathers from Complete Streets Coalition, a group of volunteers advocating for safe streets in Pasadena, said. He also suggested installing raised crosswalks (sidewalk level crosswalks) throughout the city and installing many more bulbouts (curb extensions that extend the sidewalk into the parking lane to narrow the roadway) to reduce crossing distances…
MTA open stroller pilot program aims to make New York City buses more accessible
September 17, 2022 | Source: ABC7 and Gothamist
The MTA announced a new open stroller pilot program, offering a new option for parents and caregivers who struggle to ride city buses. The current stroller policy when boarding an MTA bus is that you need to remove the child and fold the stroller up to properly store it. But now, as part of the pilot program, the MTA has outfitted more than 100 buses with two seats that flip up to allow a designated area for parents and caregivers to leave their strollers open while boarding the bus…
Accessing the digital world with a visual disability
September 18, 2022 | Source: The Repository
Blindness is a spectrum and can affect people in a variety of ways. A visual disability cannot be corrected with contacts, glasses or surgery. For me, my visual disability is caused by genetics, which cannot be fixed. When looking at the blindness spectrum, it ranges from 20/20 vision through total blindness and it could also include conditions like color blindness. Visual impairments and legal blindness simply mean that the vision is below a certain threshold and cannot be resolved with common solutions…
Disabled hikers can find Pacific Northwest’s most accessible trails in new book
September 19, 2022 | Source: King5
A new first-of-its-kind guide for hikers with disabilities hoping to hit the trails in western Washington and Oregon is now on shelves. “A sense of belonging, society so often tells me that I don’t belong in spaces,” said Syren Nagakyrie, the author of “The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon.” “Everybody deserves access to the outdoors, including disabled folks, you know it’s so important for us to have spaces where we can go out and experience this beautiful place just everyone else,” said Nagakyrie…
Ways To Make Your Home More Accessible Without Renovating
September 19, 2022 | Source: House Digest
According to the World Health Organization, over one billion people worldwide live with a disability of some kind. Every single one of us is likely to experience a disability during our lifetime, whether permanent or temporary. It’s essential to have a home that can change with us as our needs evolve or accommodate guests in our home for everyone’s overall comfort. While doing large-scale renovations to transform our homes to suit our needs is the best-case scenario, it is often unrealistic. Construction can be expensive and take a long time to finish…
Overtime Sports class action alleges website violates civil rights of visually impaired people
September 19, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions
Overtime Sports runs a website that is not accessible to blind and visually impaired people using a screen reader, in violation of the law, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Linda Slade filed the class action lawsuit against Overtime Sports Inc. Sept. 14 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as New York human rights and civil rights laws. According to the lawsuit, the media company has violated the civil rights of visually impaired people by failing to run a website that is accessible to them…
Museums Accessibility: Audio Description Is Just The First Step
September 19, 2022 | Source: Harlem World Magazine
Museums are a vital part of our culture, and they should be accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, many museums are not accessible to people with disabilities. This is changing thanks to initiatives like audio description, which provides information about the exhibit through a voice-over. However, there is still much work to be done in order to make museums fully accessible. In this article, we will discuss some of the challenges that museums face when it comes to accessibility and what can be done to overcome them…
BYU students discuss college life, everyday accessibility in a wheelchair — ‘We’re not all the way there, but I like what I’m seeing’
September 19, 2022 | Source: The Daily Universe
BYU improves accessibility ramps throughout campus to meet ADA standards
September 19, 2022 | Source: The Daily Universe
According to several BYU students, using a wheelchair in college makes life look different than that of a typical college student. For some young adults, Saturday night at a trampoline park means a fun time with friends. For Michael Camit, it meant a trip to the emergency room. With a spinal cord injury traumatic enough to paralyze him from the chest down, Camit is now one of BYU’s few students who navigate campus in a wheelchair. “I started off my schooling career at BYU-Idaho in 2017, and five weeks into that is when I got paralyzed,” Camit said…
Waconia boy’s Make-A-Wish granted, bringing accessible playground to community
September 19, 2022 | Source: CBS News
A playground that’s accessible to those with disabilities opens at Peninsula State Park
September 21, 2022 | Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette
It’s a dream WCCO first reported on in 2019. Quinn Larson of Waconia was 10 at the time. He was chosen to have a wish granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Instead, he chose to donate his wish money to build a playground in Waconia that he and kids like him could use. Quinn fell from a window when he was a toddler, then got meningitis. He lost his hearing and ability to speak, but never lost his drive. “The community raises $307,000 just to make it happen,” said Amy Larson, Quinn’s mother…
How to Make Your Website Accessible to Everyone
September 20, 2022 | Source: Inc. Magazine
Scrolling through a website, selecting a dropdown menu, and ordering a product–it’s not the same routine for all of your customers. For millions of Americans with disabilities, navigating the web requires help from assistive technology–which adjusts page settings like text size, color, contrast, and keyboard navigation to make websites easier to read. Blind and visually impaired users depend on accessibility tools like screen readers that read text aloud through a speech synthesizer or a braille display…
Lollapalooza, Other Major Music Festivals To Welcome Those With Disabilities
September 20, 2022 | Source: Disability Scoop
A new effort will open the gates of some of the nation’s most popular music festivals to more people with disabilities. The nonprofit Accessible Festivals says that it will make available a limited number of free tickets for people with disabilities and their loved ones to attend a host of concerts, festivals and conventions through its Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program. Participating events include the Austin City Limits Music Festival, BottleRock Napa Valley, Electric Daisy Carnival, Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud NY and Stagecoach, among others…
A Stranger Said My Paralysis Was Unfair To My Kids. Here’s What No One Told Them About Being A Mom In A Wheelchair
September 20, 2022 | Source: HUFFPOST
FOOTINMOUTH7000: Although I feel a lot of empathetic [sic] with her and I salute her for her determination, I feel bad for her kid who has to live seeing his mom paralyzed. I mean that is unfair to the child. That social media comment was plopped amid a feed of so many heart emojis and encouraging songs of praise after I published an essay on HuffPost Personal in January. The piece had been my first chance to offer the world a glimpse at what it was like to be pregnant and paralyzed. I was so proud! And then I saw that comment…
FDA seems poised to approve a new drug for ALS, but does it work?
September 21, 2022 | Source: NPR
The Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve a controversial new drug for ALS by the end of the month. But it’s still not clear whether the drug, called AMX0035, truly helps people with ALS, a rare and fatal neurological disorder that eventually leaves a person unable to walk, talk, swallow and breathe. In March, the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee concluded that a study of 137 ALS patients did not provide “substantial evidence” that AMX0035 was effective…
Jack Fact — According to Statista, the three states with the highest number of people with disabilities are West Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas. As many as 19.8% of those living in West Virginia are people with disabilities. In comparison, the number stands at 17.8% in Kentucky and 17.5% in Arkansas.
Hit The Road Jack — 5 accessible holiday destinations in the UK and Study of Travelers With Disabilities Reveals Major Accessibility Issues with Lodging and Transportation and
Where to find universally accessible hiking trails in Massachusetts and North to Alaska brings accessible family adventure
International News
‘Keep Callum at Home’: Osoyoos, B.C. family fundraising for son’s accessibility equipment
September 15, 2022 | Source: Global News- Canada
Fighting for their 12-year-old son Callum has become a way of life for Osoyoos, B.C., couple Leanne Scott and Dale Fuhr. Callum was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called PURA syndrome, which, according to his parents, affects fewer than 500 kids worldwide. Callum also suffers from epilepsy and seizures and deals with scoliosis. “He is wheelchair bound, he cannot stand or walk, he’s diapered so that means he needs 24-hour cognitive care, and he is non-verbal,” said Scott…
Disability minister promises to correct ‘long-standing problem’ of airlines damaging mobility aids
September 17, 2022 | Source: CBC- Canada
Stranded with a broken wheelchair, Maayan Ziv on airline accessibility
September 21, 2022 | Source: Toronto Star- Canada
Canada’s federal minister of disability inclusion is promising to help reform air travel for people with disabilities after a Toronto advocate’s wheelchair was “totally damaged” while in the care of Air Canada employees. CBC Toronto told Maayan Ziv’s story last week soon after she found her $30,000 wheelchair broken after landing in Israel for an international accessibility conference last Thursday. The minister, Carla Qualtrough, responded to the story this week, calling the incident an example of a “long-standing problem” with airlines mistreating people with disabilities and their mobility devices…
Anna Morell road tests the accessible queue for the Queen’s lying in state
September 17, 2022 | Source: The Mirror- England
Queen Elizabeth II Lying In State Public Access Criticized By Disability Charities
September 18, 2022 | Source: Forbes
We take a late afternoon train from East Kent, and get to the Tate Britain art gallery around 8pm. Tate Britain is the start of the accessible route to the Queen’s lying in state. Things here are calm and well organised. There is a large St John’s ambulance first-aid point. There is a wristband system for disabled people. The queue for this stretches along Millbank and we cannot initially see how long it is. It ends roughly at the end of the paved garden area in front of Tate Britain…
Sugamya Bharat app: Over half of accessibility-related complaints pending for resolution with states
September 18, 2022 | Source: Devdiscourse- India and Millennium Post
Delhi has received the second highest number of complaints on the app at 128 and out of that 60 are pending. As many as 55 complaints were received on the Sugamya Bharat app from Uttar Pradesh and 23 are pending resolution. A total of 44 complaints were received from Maharashtra and just two are pending while 38 complaints were received from Bihar and six are pending resolution. Sugamya Bharat app is a crowdsourcing mobile application launched in March last year…
Ukrainians visit to learn Israeli models of accessibility
September 18, 2022 | Source: ISRAEL21c- Israel
A Ukrainian delegation of senior government officials and military personnel came to Israel recently through Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ MASHAV Agency for International Development Cooperation to learn about Israeli models of accessibility, inclusion and rehabilitation. They took a course at the International Institute of Leadership in Kfar Saba and attended the Access Israel Conference on The Future of Accessibility. The Ukrainians plan on establishing a national rehabilitation center in Lviv for people injured and disabled by the war…
(Ad)dressing disability: the importance of accessible fashion
September 19, 2022 | Source: Pro Bono- Australia
A Melbourne-based fashion designer is using her lived experience of disability to push the industry to become more accessible. RMIT alumnus Rachel Shugg, who uses a wheelchair, fell in love with fashion and the idea of design without knowing about adaptive clothing. But her knowledge and interest grew as she became “increasingly frustrated” at the lack of clothing available to suit her body and those of her disabled peers. Now a qualified fashion designer working with inclusion-focused Jam the Label, she sees herself as having a responsibility to help “push the industry forward to a more inclusive environment,” she said…
Discussions on how to make community more accessible for the blind taking place in Cork
September 19, 2022 | Source: The Echo- Ireland
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) will meet with blind and vision-impaired people and their families at Cork City Library today to discuss how to create inclusive and accessible communities. The NCBI will be at Cork City Library on Grand Parade until 3pm today. Already NCBI has a number of Local Advocacy Networks across the country, with this roadshow acting as an opportunity to expand the membership of these groups. These are groups for people who are blind or vision impaired and who want to create more inclusive communities by working together to create change…
Accessibility upgrades underway after public concerns
September 19, 2022 | Source: Penticton Herald- Canada
An accessible boardwalk is just one of upgrades coming to the Area 506 Waterfront Container Village after concerns over a lack of accessibility were raised during its inaugural season. The village, which opened on Water Street in June, will be outfitted with a boardwalk in its graffiti alley and retail row, as well as ramps for those shipping containers excluded from the boardwalk, said Ray Gracewood, founder of Area 506. He also added the village has worked on its seating structure with more modified accessible seating options, accessible parking and a preferred viewing area during live concerts and events for people with accessibility concerns…
Accessibility design reviews and accessibility audits
September 20, 2022 | Source: The Manila Times- Philippines
Accessibility Consultancy is a professional in developed countries — especially in North America and Europe. Design professionals, real estate developers and building owners turn to Accessibility Consultants to ensure that the designs of new buildings are compliant to all applicable local and international accessibility laws, and applicable codes and standards. It is not uncommon in these countries to go beyond “minimum” requirements. Many integrate the Principles of Universal Design in order to comply with the commitments made by countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities…
Municipal election candidates need to make accessibility part of their platforms
September 20, 2022 | Source: CBC- Canada
The city of Windsor is at an inflection point, and there’s one fundamental question left for the candidates to answer in the upcoming municipal election: who’ll make accessibility a cornerstone of their platform? Who will demonstrate truly transformational leadership? As an individual who lives with cerebral palsy, that’s what I’ll be focused on when I head to the ballot box on Oct. 24. In some form or another, all the major candidates have expressed an interest in making Windsor a more affordable place to live, work and play…
How can electric vehicles be made more accessible to disabled people?
September 20, 2022 | Source: Environment Journal- UK
The popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing. Recently-published figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show more than one in five vehicle registrations in the first half of 2022 were for EVs, taking the total number of plug-in vehicles on the UK’s roads to 930,000. The phase-out of sales for new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030 means this number is only set to grow and the majority of UK consumers will be switching to EVs within a decade…
The Brazilians Advocating For Digital Accessibility
September 20, 2022 | Source: Fair Planet- Brazil
Few people can easily reach the 20th floor of a building by stairs. Those using a wheelchair would give up instantaneously. Small children or elderly people would most likely get hurt or tired after the first few steps. Blind individuals could face significant difficulties identifying the path; and let’s face it – even a person without any physical disabilities would probably be discouraged by the prospect of climbing 20 stories on foot. A lift would therefore make the trip upstairs accessible to all…
Proud parents watch 8-year-old, other children tackle accessible climbing tower at Hamilton event
September 20, 2022 | Source: CBC- Canada
Eight-year-old Maks was four when he started walking. Recently, his family saw him push through his fears to conquer a climbing tower as part of a special event in Hamilton. “We were so proud watching him do that,” his mom Melissa Petrilli told CBC Hamilton. Maks was just one of dozens of children, and adults, who took part in Sunday’s Alpine Tower Rec Showcase at McMaster University. The event was organized by the Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation (DPR) department at Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre, a site of McMaster Children’s Hospital…
Dumbarton train station disabled access ‘woefully insufficient’
September 22, 2022 | Source: Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter- UK
Disability access at train stations in Dumbarton and the Vale has been branded “woefully insufficient” as figures reveal only half of stations are fully accessible for disabled passengers. Statistics obtained from ScotRail show Dalreoch, Dumbarton Central and Dumbarton East stations do not currently have full access. At present, not one local station has been earmarked for Access for All funding from the UK Government, despite only three stations in Dumbarton and the Vale having step-free access at all times across all platforms…
City of Cambridge seeks input on making facilities more accessible
September 22, 2022 | Source: Cambridge Today- Canada
To help minimize barriers for those with disabilities, the City of Cambridge is looking for input from the community on how to improve accessibility in its programs, services and facilities. Cambridge residents are invited to complete a short survey before October 21. The City of Cambridge is asking for public input to help recognize the diverse needs of residents and visitors and to respond by providing services and facilities that are accessible. “We understand that to really help meet the needs of the community, we want to ensure that we provide residents with an opportunity to share their experiences,” said Olga Vigil Letang…
COVID-19 Resources and Information
- How to Transition to Long-Term Work From Home- Business.com
- How Biden’s declaring the pandemic ‘over’ complicates efforts to fight COVID- NPR
- Telemedicine During The Pandemic: Leaving The Visually Impaired And Others With Disabilities Behind?- Health Affairs
Accessibility Blogs and Information
- Dementia and Computing- AbilityNet
- Justin Yarbrough talks about alt text- A11y Rules Podcast
- Direct Support Professionals (DSPs)- Department of Labor
- How inclusion drives innovation in Windows 11- Microsoft
- Smartphones and older users remain an uneasy match- Axios
- Modelling an Approach to Accessibility- The Fourth Review
- FTC, Commercial Surveillance, and Overlays- Adrian Roselli
- Verifying the Disability Equality Index- Jonathan Robert Pool
- Wristbands and accessibility cards to help fans with disabilities
- The Benefits of Using Inclusive Photos on Your Website- SHRM
- Soho Media Club: Making Tech More Accessible For Everyone- IBC (Video)
- Making technology inclusive to drive business growth- Times of India
- How the Design of Immersive Environments Impacts Inclusion- PEAT
- STEM Accessibility – Academic Accessibility – Kennesaw State University
- Why You Must Consider Accessibility In Your Enterprise- Claudio Luis Vera
- Team Jigger’s Jason Lunn makes his strides for accessibility- Lacombe Online (YouTube)
- Women With Disabilities Seek Better Accessibility To Services- TVC News Nigeria (YouTube)
- Banking When Blind: The Importance Of App And Web Accessibility- Lily Mordaunt
- Daily ‘breath training’ can work as well as medicine to reduce high blood pressure- NPR
- How to Make Your Website More Accessible (and Why It Matters)- Travel Market Report
- Why Do All These 20-Somethings Have Closed Captions Turned On?- Wall Street Journal
- Accessibility in Chicago: a local shares his favorite wheelchair-friendly spots- Choose Chicago
- Accessible Travel Press – waters, islands, sunny days – Somewhere, beyond the sea … Issue #21
- From the library to laundry rooms: A guide to accessibility on campus- The Columbia Chronicle
- How the MBTA shutdown of the Orange Line left one rider stranded on the commuter rail- WBUR (Radio)
- Viewpoint: Telehealth Disparities Exist Among Visually Impaired Populations- mHealthIntelligence
- Amplifying patient education through intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEandI)- Wolters Kluwer
- 5 self-care tips: how to manage difficult days if you have a disability or health condition- Rebecca Sullivan
- Renewed ADA Website Compliance Concerns- Maryland Legal Alert
- September 2022- Gordon Feinblatt
- Don’t let inaccessible accommodation hold you back from holidaying this summer- Disability Support Guide
- Episode 045: An All-Inclusive Community: Supporting Social Accessibility with Michelle McClure- Gluckstein Lawyers
- Some Clarity At Last: California Court of Appeals Holds Websites Are Not Places of Public Accommodation Under the ADA- Husch Blackwell
- Role of Litigation and Regulation in Making the Web More Accessible- Podcast with HB Litigation Conferences- Ken Nakata and Hiram Kuykendall
Accessibility Announcements and Products
- Meet accessibleGO
- Muse Creative Awards
- Accessible parking permits now available online
- Alexa accessibility features extend to Fire tablets
- Quincy IL to build another ADA accessible playground
- Johnson County Public Library focuses on accessibility
- City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Inclusive Play Project
- Elvis Presley Birthplace to get $500K accessibility upgrade
- Access Lavatory – Fly With Ease, Dignity and ACCESSibility
- New Emporia city web site promises accessibility, transparency
- Nominations open for the 2022 Celebrating Accessibility Awards
- FCC seeks comment on T-Mobile accessibility’s petition for rulemaking
- Broadway Dallas intros accessibility upgrades for Music Hall at Fair Park
- Twitter’s new opt-in feature will remind you to add alt text to photo uploads
- Morgan’s Wonderland Camp makes the great outdoors accessible for everyone
- Windows 11 Version 22H2 Delivers New and Improved Accessibility Features
- ‘First-of-its-kind’ program to train visually impaired as digital accessibility testers
- Family business in Massachusetts has become industry leader in accessibility ramps
- School District Websites Lag Behind on Content Quality for the Second Year in a Row
- Ridge to Rivers Proposes Two Trail Projects to Improve Accessibility in the Boise Foothills
- Accessible Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom Room Tour – Disney Fantasy from Disney Cruise Line (YouTube)
- Accessibility Standards Canada hosts second annual public meeting: Building Momentum for a barrier-free Canada
- W3C WAI has published the first iteration of: Course List – Digital Accessibility Education, Training, and Certification
- Nominations for the 2022 Celebrating Accessibility Awards are now being accepted by the City of Kingston and the municipal accessibility advisory committee (MAAC)
- The Accessible Wizard of Oz Project- A newly imagined accessible version of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” for ALL children – including blind, deaf, or learning challenged
Accessibility Forums, Tips, and Gaming
- Alt Text Basics
- Better accessible names
- Mac VoiceOver Testing the Simple Way
- Monday Tech Tip: Side Button on iPhone
- Accessibility guide for Microsoft 365 Apps
- Five things you can do to be more inclusive
- Xbox: Accessibility Is the Future of Gaming
- How Long Does An Accessibility Audit Take?
- Create accessible web apps by using ASP.NET Core
- iPhone 14: How to Enable the New Power On and Off Sounds
- 5 Ways to Improve IT Help Desk Accessibility and Inclusivity
- The Settings That Make Smartphones Easier for Everyone to Use
- Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel Comes With Cool Accessibility Features
- The Last Of Us Part 1 – Pushing Accessibility Forward, By Going Back
- Use Live Captions on Your iPhone for Real-Time Transcriptions of Any Audio — Calls, Videos, Podcasts, and More
Accessibility Statements
- Rice University
- Hunter College
- Tilting the Lens
- State of Colorado
- Campbell University
- Scholars Portal Journals
- San Francisco Symphony
- Sustainable Development Commission
- Southern University and AandM College
- Melinda – National Metadata Repository
- Accessibility in the News: Accessibility Statement Pages
Microassist Digital Accessibility Services
Have you received an accessibility demand letter because of your website or application? Please contact us for any questions you have about our accessibility services and how we might support your organization.
Services include:
- Accessible Website and Application Development— We rely heavily on accessibility best practices and using HTML5 and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) standards to build WCAG-compliant and human-tested accessible environments. Our teams are proficient in open source technologies such as WordPress, Drupal and Moodle, as well as custom frameworks in .NET, PHP, AngularJS, and other frameworks. Our Learning and Development team can also help you create accessible custom training.
- Accessible Document Services— Whether you’re dealing with a few or a warehouse of Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, or other files, there are several ways Microassist can enable your team to offer documents and materials that meet stringent accessibility standards.
- Accessibility Remediation— Our accessibility remediation services help you fix existing materials so that they conform to WCAG, Section 504 and 508, Department of Education OCR, and ADA Title II/III requirements. We remediate websites, applications, documents, and elearning, recommending re-creation when that is more efficient and economical. Especially for website and applications, to find out what is in need of remediation, we’ll start with an Accessibility Audit.
- Accessibility Training— With several courses available for developers, testers, and content creators, your team can become equipped to consistently and expertly produce accessible digital products and online environments.
- VPAT®Evaluation Services— Primarily used by government purchasers and government vendors during the procurement and sale of ICT products and services under Section 508, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT) attests to the accessibility of a given product or service. Contact us to make sure the VPAT you write or review is accurate and meaningful.
Learn More About Digital Accessibility
Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.
Our most popular commentaries include:
- What is a VPAT®? A VPAT Primer
- Understanding Digital Accessibility in the Procurement Process
- Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition: Updates on ADA Title III News and More
- What Lawyers Need to Know: A Primer on Digital Accessibility Terms and Today’s Legal Landscape
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