Accessibility in the News — 11/10/2023.

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Feature Stories

Justice Department Finds Multiple Texas County Election Websites Inaccessible to People with Disabilities

November 6, 2023 | Source: Department of Justice and MyTexasDaily and CBS19 and KETK and Spectrum News and Tyler Morning Telegraph

DOJ Takes Steps To Improve Voting Accessibility Ahead of Elections

November 7, 2023 | Source: Democracy Docket

The Justice Department announced today its findings that four Texas counties violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by maintaining election websites that discriminate against individuals with vision or manual disabilities. In public letters issued to Colorado County, Runnels County, Smith County and Upton County, the department detailed its findings following its investigation and asked the counties to work with the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas to resolve the identified civil rights violations…

National News (U.S.)

People with disabilities need more options for voting, which could improve turnout, study says

November 3, 2023 | Source: The Virginian-Pilot

On Election Day, people are expected to do their civic duty and vote. Some citizens have a harder time voting than others because of the lack of accessibility at various polling stations. Approximately 13% of people surveyed by the U.S. Census reported illness or disability kept them from voting in the 2020 presidential election. Almost 2 million voters with disabilities, or 11% of voters, had some type of difficulty voting in 2020, according to a study by the Program for Disability Research at Rutgers University and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission…

Sensory-friendly activities for people with autism rise in San Antonio

November 3, 2023 | Source: Axios

Sensory-friendly activities in San Antonio are helping families enjoy common experiences with loved ones who have autism or other special needs. Why it matters: Autism has long been stigmatized. Now, a growing number of companies and organizations are accommodating people with special sensory needs. “We’ve seen personally the difference of how people are open to neurodiversity … 10 or 15 years ago, people were not ready to have this conversation,” San Antonio-based Adriana Crostley, outreach director at the Autism Society of Texas, tells Axios…

City Councilors continue months-long push for new accessible entrance at English High

November 4, 2023 | Source: Boston Herald

Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy are again pushing for a new wheelchair-accessible entrance to English High School after months of stalled attempts to fix an entrance that leaves kids in wheelchairs dodging through the school’s dumpsters. “We wanted to bring your attention to an issue that has been of concern to Councilor Murphy and Council President Flynn for over a year and has been a priority of our offices: your school’s accessibility, particularly for students with physical disabilities,” the councilors wrote in a letter to the English High community Friday…

As more companies prioritize accessibility, Comcast has a head start innovating for customers with disabilities

November 5, 2023 | Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Alycia Brown sat in front of a tablet at the City Avenue Xfinity store on Oct. 18, next to store manager Shaun Wilson, and posed a question to a Communications Services for the Deaf interpreter on the other side of the screen, using American Sign Language (ASL). “How much is it?” the interpreter said. “I’ll pull up your account, and I’ll be able to let you know exactly just how much you’re paying and when your bill will be due,” Wilson said back, as the interpreter signed to Brown. Brown then asked about adding a cable box to her service, and Wilson answered…

MTA Failing to Meet Needs of NYC’s Disabled on Public Transit: Report

November 5, 2023 | Source: BKReader

New York City’s public transit system is falling far behind other major cities both on timeline and technology needed to be truly, fully accessible, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams says. That’s the conclusion of a new report released Wednesday by Williams titled ‘Out Of Service,’ which analyzes the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s failure to make the system accessible to disabled New Yorkers. The report examines initiatives the city and state can undertake in both the immediate and long term to better serve New Yorkers with a range of disabilities…

Justice Department Finds Minnesota City’s “Crime-Free” Housing Program Discriminates Against Tenants with Mental Health Disabilities

November 7, 2023 | Source: U.S. DOJ

Justice Department Secures ADA Agreement with California County to Improve Mental Health Services

November 7, 2023 | Source: U.S. DOJ

The Justice Department announced today that the city of Anoka, Minnesota, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act by denying tenants with mental health disabilities an equal opportunity to receive emergency assistance. Following a comprehensive investigation, the department found that through the city’s “crime-free” housing program, the city discouraged and prevented tenants with mental health disabilities and those associated with them from using its emergency response service…

El Paso county commissioners court approves commission to better serve disabled residents

November 6, 2023 | Source: KDBC

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout proposed a request to create an Accessibility Advisory Commission for El Paso County during Monday’s county commissioner’s meeting. The county commissioners’ court voted unanimously to approve the creation of the commission. Commissioner Stout and local disability advocates claim El Paso County currently does not have the right accessibility services provided for disabled residents. El Paso County has a population of 833,487 people, and county officials state that 111,559 of that population are people with a disability…

Accommodations and Accessibility: What’s the Difference?

November 6, 2023 | Source: Psychology Today

Accommodations and accessibility are two different models for including neurodivergent and other disabled people in our society—but they are not the same thing. In fact, they couldn’t be more different. In the context of neurodivergences, the differences can be especially stark when the neurodivergences are “invisible.” What is the difference between accessibility and accommodations? As I’ve said before, “Accommodations are not accessibility. Accommodations are special exceptions made for one disabled person who has to jump through lots of hoops to get them.”…

Centering Disability in Mitigating Harms of Bluetooth Tracking Technology

November 6, 2023 | Source: Center for Democracy and Technology

Bluetooth location-tracking devices like Apple AirTags and Tile trackers are an increasingly popular way for people to locate their misplaced items. Unfortunately, stalkers and abusers are also misusing these devices to surreptitiously track people. Your iPhone or Android device may be able to detect AirTags that don’t belong to you and are traveling with you, but there is currently no industry-wide standard that works across mobile operating systems as well as across location-tracker brands, leaving millions of people vulnerable to high-tech stalking…

Maryland’s plain language approach promotes information accessibility for all

November 7, 2023 | Source: Maryland Matters

Maryland residents have a lot to cheer about with the state’s focus on plain language public information. The recent news that Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration is making its manual and written tests plain language is only one way the state helps residents with information accessibility. In 2022, Maryland lawmakers passed House Bill 1082, sponsored by Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, which directed public agencies to put health, safety, health insurance and social services benefits information in plain language…

How PwC uses inclusive design to build accessible workspaces

November 7, 2023 | Source: HR Brew

Imagine showing up for work and being unable to reach your desk. Or comfortably use the bathroom. Or even concentrate, because the environment wasn’t built for you. Despite US compliance regulations around accessibility, many disabled people face barriers when they work in an office. That’s why tax and advisory firm PwC began working with design experts in 2017 to be more disability inclusive. Since then, the company has started designing all future offices with accessibility for all at the core…

Tri-Cities boy’s dream to play became reality with inclusive ‘Kason’s Korner’ playground

November 7, 2023 | Source: Tri-City Herald

Playgrounds aren’t easy to navigate for children with disabilities, and accessible playgrounds that children with mobility issues can play on are rare. One Tri-Cities boy living with cerebral palsy has worked hard to change that. When Kason Creed, now 9, found a playground he could enjoy while at a doctor’s appointment in Spokane, he was determined to find more like it when he got home to Kennewick. To his disappointment, there weren’t any parks in the Tri-Cities that were truly inclusive. Claybell Park in Richland has some accessible features, but there aren’t swings or other rides Kason can play on in his wheelchair…

Report: NYC Transit Falling Behind on Accessibility

November 8, 2023 | Source: Planetizen

A report from New York City’s Public Advocate reveals that “New York City’s public transit system is falling far behind other major cities both on timeline and technology needed to be truly, fully accessible,” according to a BK Reader article. The report finds that under one-third of subway stations are accessible via elevator, with elevator outages common. “The MTA has invested significantly in aesthetic improvements that make stations less accessible, such as by removing benches and replacing them with leaning benches or that are underutilized for accessibility purposes.”…

More states strive to make parks, trails accessible to people with disabilities

November 8, 2023 | Source: Stateline

How Do We Prioritize Accessibility in Outdoor Spaces? These Experts Made a Checklist

November 8, 2023 | Source: Good Good Good

Perched high on rugged cliffs overlooking Lake Superior, Split Rock Lighthouse dominates the shoreline. Visitors from across the country make the 113-year-old beacon one of the most-photographed lighthouses in the country. The most spectacular view, many say, is from Pebble Beach, reachable only by a steep, winding forest trail that snakes its way to the rocky shore. The view is the reward for the effort it takes to reach the beach, but for visitors with mobility challenges, it could be inaccessible…

Accessibility and Inclusion Remain an Issue at Children’s Book Events

November 9, 2023 | Source: School Library Journal

While COVID-19 precautions and technological advances have enabled more disabled writers to attend children’s literature conferences, conventions, festivals, and other events—often thanks to virtual options—many organizers still treat accessibility as a secondary concern rather than actively seeking opportunities to make programming accessible. Several disabled authors spoke to SLJ about their worries over accessibility and negative experiences that often prevent them from attending events…

Leveling the Playing Field: Why Accessibility Jobs are so Important

November 9, 2023 | Source: Ladders

Today, Polio has been entirely expunged from the United States thanks to the Polio vaccine developed in 1955. Backtrack a century or so, however, and the poliovirus was a major health concern for Americans far and wide. During the first half of the 20th century thousands of Americans would contract Polio annually, an awful infectious disease capable of resulting in paralysis and meningitis in certain patients. Back in those days it wasn’t unusual for concerned parents to keep their kids from visiting crowded parks or playgrounds over polio-related fears…

Inside Indeed’s Efforts To Literally Bring Accessibility And Empathy To The Real World

November 9, 2023 | Source: Forbes

When most people think of accessibility and assistive tech, they mostly think of software: operating systems and apps and websites. That’s logical and the natural inclination. The physical, three-dimensional spaces in which we live and work typically aren’t associated with technology companies from an accessibility angle. For that, laws on the books like the Americans with Disabilities Act, more colloquially known as the ADA, does well to regulate the outside world. Accommodations such as curb cuts, wheelchair ramps, and disabled parking spaces—things people are familiar with—exist because the ADA says it so…

Jack Fact — In Texas, almost 28% of people have a disability, according to a 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles issued 325,966 permanent ADA placards in 2022, including renewals, according to agency.”

Hit The Road Jack — Disney Bans Accessibility Item From Parks, Confiscated Immediately and The most accessible cities in Europe for 2023

International News

Wheelchair users on flights are passengers — not problems, says Canada’s chief accessibility officer

November 3, 2023 | Source: CBC- Canada

Air Canada summoned to Ottawa after multiple incidents involving passengers with wheelchairs

November 3, 2023 | Source: CBC- Canada

B.C. man asks Air Canada to address its accessibility issues after he experienced two painful incidents

November 5, 2023 | Source: CityNews- Canada

Airlines losing or damaging wheelchairs leaves the passengers that rely on them completely vulnerable, says Canada’s chief accessibility officer Stephanie Cadieux. “When my chair is not there, I don’t have any way to move. It would be the equivalent of a person, an able-bodied person having both of their legs broken,” Cadieux told The Current’s guest host Duncan McCue. “I’m completely reliant on … someone else to push me around in an inappropriate piece of equipment that is not suited to my needs, and wait until my chair is found and returned.”…

How the Safari Industry Is Getting More Accessible — and Making Dream Trips Possible for Travelers With Disabilities

November 4, 2023 | Source: Travel + Leisure- Africa

How to Enjoy an Accessible Costa Rican Adventure — From Hotels and Tour Operators to Transportation

November 8, 2023 | Source: Travel + Leisure- Cost Rica

For anyone with mobility challenges, gorilla trekking in Rwanda or climbing Big Daddy Dune in Namibia probably seems like a far-fetched dream. But these days, thanks to growing demand, tour operators and safari companies across Africa are innovating to make wilderness wonders more available to those who might previously have been unable to enjoy them. It’s a shift that’s long overdue — and one precipitated in part by the pandemic. “Properties across southern Africa have used the downtime to upgrade their facilities and create new experiences,” says Greg Kostrzewa, a safari expert at Kensington Tours, a T+L World’s Best Award–winning operator…

Touchscreen card devices may prevent blind customers paying

November 5, 2023 | Source: BBC- UK

Some shops have buttonless touchscreen card readers, meaning you need sight to tap in your PIN. They are increasingly popular because they are cheap and the screen can be used to advertise items at checkout. Technical solutions exist for many machines and businesses could find themselves in court if they do not have them enabled. Many blind people told the BBC’s Access All podcast they have had to tell their PIN to strangers so they can have it typed in for them, or be forced to leave their unpurchased items behind because they’re unable to pay…

Is Germany accessible for travelers with disabilities?

November 6, 2023 | Source: DW- Germany

Traveling in Germany when disabled is not easy. Bernhard Endres, a wheelchair user, knows this from his own experience. “When I plan a vacation, I have to search a long time until I find something suitable,” he says. Often, he says, it’s difficult to find information about structural barriers in a hotel or vacation home, for example. Many tell him their establishments are barrier-free, though once he arrives it often turns out not to be true at all. The wheelchair may not fit in the bathroom or there may be a step somewhere…

FG urges stakeholders on strict compliance with Accessibility Law for PWDs

November 6, 2023 | Source: Pulse- Nigeria and The Cable

Executive Secretary of National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), James Lalu, stated this on Monday in Abuja, as part of the enlightenment toward the January 15, 2024 deadline. Lalu said that the enlightenment had become necessary in order to persuade organisations on the implementation of the accessibility law whose enforcement was expected to commence upon expiration of the deadline. The executive secretary, who was represented by the Head of Accessibility Department, NCPWD, Hannah Olayinka, emphasised the need for organisations, especially public facilities, to accommodate PWDs in the design of their structures…

New BSL action plan

November 6, 2023 | Source: The Scottish Government- Scotland

Actions to help improve the lives of British Sign Language (BSL) users have been published as part of ongoing work to make Scotland the best place to live, work and visit for people that use the language. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 has made 45 commitments aimed at tackling barriers faced by BSL users by embedding the language across health, education, transport, culture and employment…

RNIB’s new HQ becomes exemplar in designing for blind and neurodiverse people

November 6, 2023 | Source: RIBA Journal- UK

How did this office refurbishment become the first to incorporate the standard for design for people with neurodiversity, BSI PAS 6493? I was already working with the RNIB on a project at Moorfields Eye Hospital. After buying this building, the RNIB asked me to do a light-touch access audit to highlight the big ticket items. Tricia Smikle, RNIB senior project manager, wanted the building to be exemplary in terms of accessibility, and I was just finishing writing a new standard about designing for neurodivergence, so we included that…

Accessibility advocates says Edmonton needs to be more inclusive, following weekend dog park opening

November 7, 2023 | Source: City News- Canada

Marla Smith was excited to attend the grand opening of the Pleasantview Dog Park in Edmonton over the weekend. Smith, who uses a wheelchair, showed up to Saturday’s event – hosted by city councillor Michael Janz and Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson – with her service dog Kuno. But the Edmonton accessibility advocate says she arrived to find the park was not accessible to wheelchairs, and she couldn’t get in. “It’s 2023. It should be a matter of being able to go to an outdoor facility and simply going in like anybody else,” Smith told CityNews…

‘Wheely Serious’ about accessibility

November 7, 2023 | Source: Latrobe Valley Express- Australia

Improving accessibility is the goal for the Wheely Serious Project. While the name is a reflection of the light-hearted nature of the people behind the project, they are ‘wheely serious’ about accessibility. The Gippsland Community Leadership Program (GCLP) has concentrated their minds and efforts on raising awareness for wheelchair accessibility across Gippsland. When a business is deemed as wheelchair accessible, they receive a sticker to display on their window, letting wheelchair users and carers know whether their premises is accessible…

Purple Tuesday: A new perception of disability

November 7, 2023 | Source: MyCustomer- UK and National Highways

Wunderman Thompson UK and Purple Tuesday Partner to Challenge Brands to Consider Accessibility in Every Form

November 7, 2023 | Source: Little Black Book- UK

Over recent years, a vast number of companies have introduced strategies to embrace equity, diversity, and inclusion. However, evidence has shown that many of these strategies overlook the importance of disability, placing greater focus on race/ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and pushing disability down lower on the list of company priorities. When you consider that people with disabilities are the largest minority group on the planet – representing nearly one in every four of your customers – it begs the question, why?…

Assistance dogs welcomed at Adelaide Zoo under first-of-its-kind accessibility program

November 7, 2023 | Source: ABC- Australia

Assistance dogs and their handlers have been welcomed at the Adelaide Zoo for the first time. In a pioneering program, Zoos SA has partnered with See Differently, formerly Royal Society for the Blind, to create a zone map that guides the organisation’s accredited assistance dogs through Adelaide Zoo. The initiative ensures both zoo animals, assistance dogs and their humans have an accessible and safe experience. See Differently executive director Damian Papps said assistance dogs took part in walking tests around the zoo, with the reactions of the dogs and zoo residents recorded…

Robotic guide dog created to improve choice and accessibility for people with impaired vision

November 8, 2023 | Source: Khmer Times- Australia

A headless, tailless robot dog called Spot has the potential to make a big difference for people across the world with vision impairment thanks to Queensland researchers. Students at the Queensland University of Technology are modifying Spot to become a guide dog. Electrical engineering student Santiago Velasquez said his experience as a guide dog user motivated him to take a bold leap forward in the assistance animal industry in a thesis he believes is a world first…

New Royal Mail accessibility needs delivery options

November 8, 2023 | Source: ChannelX- UK

Royal Mail has introduced an option for households to register their accessibility needs for parcel deliveries or collections via Parcel Collect. For example, customers with a disability or other accessibility need can request that posties ‘knock louder’ or take more time when waiting for the customer to come to the door. This can be set-up on the Royal Mail app or via phone with Royal Mail’s customer service team. Customers can also set up a safe place delivery preference in the Royal Mail app for future parcel deliveries…

Leak: EU Parliament to boost accessibility for people with disabilities

November 8, 2023 | Source: Euractiv- EU

The European Parliament is set to implement rules to improve physical and digital accessibility to its premises around the EU for people with disabilities, according to an internal document seen by Euractiv. The Parliament was already in a good state of compliance, the document said, but new measures have to be put in place and a plan for spending €13.8 million was introduced to implement the physical accessibility policy for the 2023-2024 period…

Ensure installation of voice-based announcements even in private buses to help visually-challenged, Karnataka High Court tells State govt.

November 9, 2023 | Source: The Hindu- India

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday said that the State government on its own may issue a circular asking even private bus operators, who ply buses across the State by taking permits, to install audio-alerts/voice-based announcement system to help visually-challenged persons. The court also asked the State’s public transport corporations to take further steps to make their app visually-challenged friendly based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which defines how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities…

Air Canada CEO apologizes for accessibility barriers, rolls out new measures

November 9, 2023 | Source: The Canadian Press- Canada and CNN

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau has apologized for the airline’s accessibility shortfalls and announced new measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with a disability. On Thursday, Rousseau said the carrier will speed up a three-year accessibility plan after a number of recent reports of passenger mistreatment, including an incident where a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an airplane in Las Vegas due to a lack of assistance…

Living With a Disability: Visibility Equals Accessibility

November 9, 2023 | Source: First Nations Health Authority- Canada

People living with disabilities often face unique barriers compared to those who do not live with disabilities. This is why the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is highlighting that November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month. This awareness month was started by Indigenous Disability Canada, formerly known as British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society. It is an opportunity to build awareness around the barriers and challenges that Indigenous people living with disabilities face, but it is also a time to celebrate their strength and resilience, as well as the good work that has been done to increase accessibility…

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