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The Varied Forms of Digital Accessibility: Books, Beauty Blogs, and Business Websites

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Accessibility in the News—11/10/17..

Technology has unleashed myriad ways to make information accessible to people with disabilities, affecting books, blogs, and business. Read on for more on how the varied forms of digital accessibility make available content and experiences to everyone.Fantasy-like illustration of an open book with a girl holding balloons walking across the pages. Microassist Accessibility in the News. Image: Pixabay.com

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AITN Quote of the Week

Accessible design is good design – it benefits people who don’t have disabilities as well as people who do. Accessibility is all about removing barriers and providing the benefits of technology for everyone.
— Steve Ballmer

National News (U.S.)

Benetech wins a $42.5M Dept. of Education grant, a nod to founder Jim Fruchterman’s quest to help the blind

November 1, 2017 | Source: Tech Crunch & Ed Scoop

Jim Fruchterman, founder of Palo Alto-based nonprofit Benetech, was very relieved when, at the end of September, he received an email from the U.S. Department of Education. With one day left to go in the federal fiscal year, the department had renewed funding for a longstanding reading program for the disabled, and it had chosen Benetech for the third time to run the five-year, $42.5 million project. That meant Benetech could continue to operate Bookshare, which provides digitally materials to 500,000 students with reading disabilities, including blindness and dyslexia, and Fruchterman could forget about planned October layoffs at Benetech…

Denied help. Denied hope, how Texas Medicaid is failing children with disabilities

November 2, 2017 | Source: Austin American Statesman

Medicaid services for Texas children with some of the severest disabilities have sharply declined over the past few years after state leaders enacted several measures to cut costs. One of the biggest blows, according to advocates and parents, happened nearly a year ago when the state turned over Medicaid services for children with disabilities to private companies and hospitals called managed care organizations — part of a multiyear transition for the state’s Medicaid programs to managed care that has saved the state billions of dollars. Hundreds of children with disabilities have seen a reduction in medical services, including longer waits for prescription drugs, fewer therapy services and being kicked out of Medicaid altogether…

Getting Travelers with Disabilities Out of the Corner

November 3, 2017 | Source: Aviation Pros

As the U.S. population ages and the Americans with Disabilities Act lowers barriers, airports have become one of the places where you are most likely to encounter someone with a physical disability, whether sitting alone or among a cluster of travelers awaiting assistance to their gates. Indeed, airports – like virtually all public venues – have continued to play a catch-up game with this growth of the traveling public. The Census Bureau estimates some 56 million citizens live with a disability and a third of that number involves a physical disability – people who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or mobility impaired…

‘The Quadfather’ has a message for techies — accessibility ‘should not be an add-on’

November 3, 2017 | Source: Gears Of Biz

Todd Stabelfeldt is a pretty chill dude. He lives 90 minutes from Seattle by ferry, in a home with his wife and occasionally two stepkids. He runs a consultancy for healthcare databases, but once considered becoming a comedian. He’s a dog person. Stabelfeldt also happens to be quadriplegic. He’s been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 30 years. And because of that, Stabelfeldt has a unique relationship with technology — not unique for him and his crew, which goes by “The Quad Squad,” but unique for many people who are able-bodied…

Feds to PPA: Fix Your Parking Garages to be Accessible for Disabled Patrons

November 3, 2017 | Source: YC

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has addressed accessibility issues with parking at three of its Philadelphia garages in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Americans with Disabilities Act and its accompanying regulations require certain properties, including parking facilities, to have accessibility features. The U.S. Attorney’s Office conducted a review of several Philadelphia Parking Authority garages and identified concerns regarding accessibility at the Autopark and the Philadelphia Gateway Parking Garage. Once it became aware of the concerns, the Philadelphia Parking Authority cooperated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to identify the issues, develop a plan to address them, and remediate promptly…

Report: Many 2016 voting sites lacked full disability access

November 3, 2017 | Source: The Spokesman-Review

Fewer than one in five polling places were fully accessible to voters with disabilities during the 2016 general election, a government report shows – a finding that has prompted federal officials to recommend the Justice Department adopt stricter compliance rules. The report released Thursday by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office comes less than a week before mayoral elections in Atlanta and New York, elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia and a special U.S. House election in Utah, and gives a window of only a year to address problems before the 2018 congressional elections…

This Beauty Blogger Uses Sign Language to Make Her Videos Accessible For All

November 3, 2017 | Source: POPSUGAR

When I first stumbled across beauty blogger Catherine Martinez’s Instagram page, I immediately knew it was something special. Sure, like most babes in the social media beauty sphere, Cat’s brows are fierce and her highlight is perpetually flawless — what sets her apart is more than that. When giving reviews, demonstrating tutorials, or even swatching new lipsticks, the recent NYU graduate utilizes American Sign Language and captions to make her videos accessible to a wider range of followers. After all, doesn’t everybody deserve a chance to glow?…

“Beyond Accessibility: How Media Literacy Education Addresses Issues of Disabilities”

November 5, 2017 | Source: Journal of Media Literacy Education

This special issue on media literacy and disability provides a variety of examples and case studies to showcase the importance of addressing issues of disability in the media literacy community. The literature on the intersection of media literacy and disability is slender but suggests four distinct uses of media for students with disabilities. However, none include applying a critical lens to the use of media for students with disabilities. By connecting the practice of critical media literacy with disability theory, this paper offers a theoretical and practical framework for media literacy educators, extending NAMLE’s principles of media literacy education to the needs of this important group of learners…

ADA Lawsuits Against CUs More Than Double in a Month

November 5, 2017 | Source: CU Times (Subscription)

The number of lawsuits filed in Virginia District Courts against credit unions over the accessibility of their websites has risen from nine to more than 20 in the last four weeks, court documents show. All of the suits — at least 23 at the time of publication — were filed by the same two law firms on behalf of the same plaintiff. Many are so new the defendants haven’t yet filed formal responses to the complaints against them. Four appear to have already been voluntarily dismissed. In terms of size, the defendants run the gamut. Some are small, like Portsmouth Schools Federal Credit Union, which has $2.1 million in assets and about a thousand members…

Staying on the Farm

November 5, 2017 | Source: Agriculture.com

Bette Davis hit the nail on the head when she said, “Getting old is not for sissies.” The transition can be not only emotionally and physically challenging but also very expensive. Housing is one of the primary issues that families have to face when a loved one reaches a certain age. Remaining in the home for as long as possible is the ultimate goal, but that depends on two things: the health of the individual and the accessibility of the home. There’s a movement called universal design, which encourages designers and architects to consider accessibility for aging or disabled residents when designing homes…

Disability suits over website access surge

November 6, 2017 | Source: Business Insurance

More courts are ruling against companies over the issue of website accessibility, while the number of lawsuits filed against them continues to grow dramatically. Plaintiff attorneys have been encouraged in particular by a U.S. District Court ruling in Miami in Juan Carlos Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. that, following a trial, held the supermarket chain was obligated to provide an accessible website to a legally blind plaintiff under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to the basic issue of accessibility, courts disagree whether, under the ADA, only companies that have “brick and mortar” facilities are obligated to provide accessible websites or if the law applies to web-only businesses as well…

ADA Litigation involving Businesses and Property Owners: Tips and Trends

November 6, 2017 | Source: Law.com

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from everyday activities, such as buying an item at the store, watching a movie in a theater or enjoying a meal at a local restaurant. To that end, the law was designed to provide disabled individuals with access to the same benefits and accommodations as every other American. To meet the goals of the ADA, the law established requirements for private businesses of all sizes. Private businesses that provide goods or services to the public are called public accommodations in the ADA. The ADA establishes requirements for twelve categories of public accommodations, including stores and shops, restaurants and bars, service establishments, theaters, hotels, recreation facilities, private museums and schools and others…

Google’s new plan to create more accessible offices

November 6, 2017 | Source: Curbed

Google software engineer Sasha Blair-Goldensohn takes issues of accessibility very personally. The lifelong New Yorker, who was injured when a tree fell on him during a walk through Central Park in 2009, now uses a wheelchair to get around, including the company’s office on 8th Avenue in New York, a massive former Port Authority Building. The building’s massive floorplates mean 500 or so people can work on each floor, so most employees don’t need to use the stairs much. But when Blair-Goldensohn, now a paraplegic, finished rehab and began working in the office again in 2010, he realized accessibility could be improved. Additional automatic door openers and more ramps, while not required by building code or law, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all of which the building already met.

Tech working to make campus accessible

November 6, 2017 | Source: The Daily Toreador

Texas Tech is taking steps to create a more accessible university for all students on campus. Larry Phillippe, managing director of Student Disability Services, said he has huge goals for the future of the department. “There are several things I am really focused on right now in terms of long-term vision, and one is that we get our campus to a point where students with disabilities are treated like every other student,” Phillippe said. “That they realize that these students can learn just like every other student and they have the same drive, intelligence and abilities as most other students.”…

School modifies playground after long accessibility fight

November 6, 2017 | Source: McClatchy Washington Bureau

When Sasha McCue started at North Canaan Elementary School, her mother, Jessica McCue, saw that she was not able to use the playground. Sasha, now 11, has multiple disabilities, and has trouble walking on the uneven ground around the slide, let alone up the seven granite steps to the swings. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 1990 federal law that requires public places to be accessible to disabled people, the playground should have been altered so that Sasha could play with her classmates. The town’s elementary school reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in late October, agreeing to make some changes…

Cariot Transit Inc. Enters Agreement To Ensure Full Accessibility Of Commuter Vehicles

November 6, 2017 | Source: Department of Justice

Chariot Transit, Inc. has entered a landmark settlement agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office to resolve allegations that the San Francisco-based company violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against customers with disabilities, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch. As part of the settlement, Chariot will pay a $50,000 civil penalty to the United States and take numerous steps to ensure that it provides equivalent service to individuals with disabilities. Chariot, a private transportation company with its principal place of business in San Francisco, provides private commuter transportation services in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Austin, Texas…

Ultra Music Festival Facing Lawsuit Regarding ADA Rights

November 7, 2017 | Source: EDMTunes & Miami New Times & Pollstar

Americans With Disabilities (ADA) advocate and Paralympic athletic Juan Garlos Gill has filed a lawsuit against Miami’s biggest electronic event: Ultra Music Festival. Gill adds to his recent history of pursuing legal action in support of ADA rights, as he also recently filed suit in the Florida Federal District Court alleging that the Winn-Dixie website is not ADA accessible. Gill is legally blind. This was the first legal action ever directed towards a website. In his suit against Ultra Music Festival, Juan Garlos Gill alleges the same – that the festival’s website is not accommodating to certain disabilities. Gill is also accusing the festival itself to not be ADA compliant…

Blind couple: Uber driver denied them service, dragged man

November 7, 2017 | Source: WCVB Boston

A blind couple was denied a ride by an Uber driver, who then dragged one of them down the street, according to Boston police. Milissa Garside, who is blind, told police that she called for an Uber through a pilot for the MBTA’s paratransit program on Saturday night, but when the driver saw her service dog, a 3-year-old black lab, he told them no dogs were allowed. “The driver then rolls down the rear passenger window and says, ‘No dogs, I don’t take dogs,’” Garside said. Garside said she and her boyfriend, Richard Welch, explained to the driver that according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Uber’s policies, he was required to take the guide dog…

3 Ways Assistive Technology Supports Students with Disabilities

November 7, 2017 | Source: Ed Tech and Education Dive

For K–12 schools, the hallmark of success lies in their devotion to educating all students — no matter their background or ability. For students with a learning disability, even the simplest of classroom tasks can be a challenge without the proper scaffolding. The latest data, from the 2014-15 school year, indicated that 6.6 million K-12 students received some kind of special education services. That was 13 percent of public school enrollment. These students — and their peers — have benefited from the proliferation of technology into the classroom to make learning a personalized experience. From continually emerging assistive technology to updates to existing classroom technology, today’s classroom is now much more accessible…

3 Resources to Help With Booking Accessible Transportation

November 8, 2017 | Source: SMA News Today

It can be difficult to get around a metropolitan area, especially when you’re in a wheelchair or otherwise disabled. Thankfully, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) addresses the issue of accessible transportation. Public transportation, while occasionally accessible, can sometimes be a risk; you may not know until you get there if your transit of choice is uniquely suited to your disability. Fortunately, there are ways to circumvent this uncertainty. We’ve compiled a list of resources, with help from KD Smart Chair. Businesses like Uber and Lyft are making it easier to essentially “rent” someone’s accessible vehicle. Just make a request via either company’s mobile app and your driver will swing by to pick you up — and, of course, drop you off at your destination…

When disability tech is just a marketing exercise

November 8, 2017 | Source: The Outline

Before Dean Kamen became the guy who invented the Segway, he invented a wheelchair. Although he doesn’t like when you call it that. “It’s NOT a WHEELCHAIR!” he yells. It’s an “autonomous robot carrying a human payload.” The iBOT, short for The Independence BOT 3000 Mobility System, was a wheelchair. Which, for the record, is not a bad thing. And it was a wheelchair unlike any other: one that could balance on two wheels and climb stairs and go offroading. Kamen’s company DEKA partnered with Johnson & Johnson to start selling the iBOT but by 2009 it was discontinued. Just getting the chair FDA approved cost over $50 million, Kamen said, and most insurance companies wouldn’t cover the $25,000 cost to users. Johnson & Johnson decided it was too expensive to sustain production costs…

Robotic suit helps kids with cerebral palsy walk tall

November 8, 2017 | Source: CNN

Around the world, most children can be found running across playgrounds or skipping up and down stairs with ease. Yet for children with cerebral palsy, a group of neurological disorders that affect the ability to move, simply walking can be difficult — and some with cerebral palsy might not be able to walk at all. Now, a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in the United States has created a robotic exoskeleton that could help many of these children walk easier…

Inclusively designed materials make learning easier for everyone

November 8, 2017 | Source: Colorado State University

The little things that we take for granted can cause some of the biggest challenges for other people. Take doorknobs, for example. Old-style, round, grab-and-turn knobs were the norm for hundreds of years — and presented problems for people with limited grip strength for just as long. Anyone carrying an armload of groceries faced the same battle, but it wasn’t until someone rethought “the way we’ve always done it” that doorknob design changed for the better. Today, building codes in many locations mandate lever-style knobs that make it easier for everyone to gain access to any room, with little additional effort or cost compared to traditional knobs…

Legislative, Regulatory Fixes for ADA Debacle Unclear

November 8, 2017 | Source: Credit Union Times (Subscription)

As credit unions try to fight disability lawsuits they believe are an abuse of the legal system, it became even clearer Wednesday that a legislative fix won’t come soon. At least two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were deeply divided during a Wednesday hearing over whether legislation is needed to make changes to the civil legal system that has allowed plaintiffs to sue credit unions over website compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. “I’m frustrated when this system is used not to correct a harm, but to inflict one,” said Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), discussing what he believes is abuse of the system…

What could the future of accessibility in the arts look like?

November 8, 2017 | Source: Flux Magazine

The conversation surrounding accessibility in the arts is, unfortunately, one that still needs to be had. While museums, theatres, galleries and more have all been working to make the arts as accessible as possible, the limited funding available to do just that is making this fight more and more difficult with every passing day. But like all worthy fights, it’s still being fought and it’s important to look to the future and what it could hold. From motability adaptations to complete city-wide accessibility, the future of accessibility could be bright. But what does this look like when it comes to the arts?…

Twitter’s new update leaves accessibility users behind

November 9, 2017 | Source: The Outline

Many social media sites seem to see accessibility as an afterthought, but Twitter has always stood out from the rest. The iOS app has a decent layout and has been compatible with screen readers, applications that help people read the screen by using audio or braille, for some time. VoiceOver, the built in-screen reader on Apple products that is either extremely helpful or useless depending which app or website you’re trying to use with it, has nearly a full range of everything a sighted user can do when used with Twitter. Except one thing: On Tuesday, when Twitter flipped the switch that boosted the character limit from 140 to 280, it neglected to do so for accessibility mode…

Preview: Improving wheelchair accessibility in Charlotte

November 9, 2017 | Source: FOX 46 Charlotte

FOX 46’s Caroline Fountain took a challenge to see things from another point of view. A friend encouraged her to spend a day in a wheelchair so she could better understand the struggles people face every day. Don Walters, an Army veteran, helped show her the ropes in uptown Charlotte. Don served two tours in Iraq. During his second deployment, Don suffered a traumatic brain injury and chemical exposure that led to MS. “There was times where I was like, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t function anymore.’ There’s a couple times I contemplated suicide because of it. You know. I’ve gotten past that.”…

What I learned about the limits of school choice in New York City from a mother whose child uses a wheelchair

November 9, 2017 | Source: Chalkbeat New York

As a researcher interested in the ways online platforms impact learning and educational decision-making, I’ve been trying to understand how New York City parents get the information to make a crucial decision: where to send their children to school. So for the past six months, I’ve been asking local parents about the data they used to choose among the system’s 1700 or so schools. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about the factors parents weigh when picking schools. Beyond the usual considerations like test scores and art programs, they also consider the logistics of commuting from the Bronx to the East Village with two children in tow, whether the school can accommodate parents and children who are still learning English, and how much money the parent-teacher association raises to supplement the school’s budget…

The Famously Photo-Wary Barnes Foundation Makes Its Art More Accessible Online

November 9, 2017 | Source: Hyperallergic

In addition to its rich holdings of Rembrandts, Matisses, and Picassos, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia is famous for its blanket no-photo policy, which represents one of the strictest in the museum world. A new collections website launched this week, though, makes images of artworks publicly available and more accessible than ever. The museum has uploaded photographs of about two-thirds of its over-3000 collection objects to an interactive database, of which 1,429 are in the public domain and available for unrestricted use. The website will also feature image descriptions specifically for the blind or for individuals who are visually impaired, which remains a lacking feature from many online museum collections…

Several Fresno businesses hit by Americans with Disabilities lawsuits

November 9, 2017 | Source: KFSN-TV

Restaurant Colorado Grill in Northeast Fresno has handicap accessible parking spaces and a ramp but recently it was hit with a lawsuit over its doors. “The person when she was opening the front door, the front door was a little bit heavier than it should,” said Ali Nekumanesh. Business partner Nekumanesh says he is frustrated with the wave of lawsuits targeting local businesses. Since 2009, one Bay Area law firm has filed 1,400 lawsuits in the Valley. Central Valley agencies and experts are now coming together to help businesses before they are sued. Recently at Central Valley score, they listened to what can trigger a lawsuit…

Disney’s impressive accessibility for deaf guests includes signing Mickey

November 9, 2017 | Source: Hearing Like Me

Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests at the “happiest place on earth” are also finding it’s one of the most accessible. Disney parks are proving that they take accessibility seriously, especially when it comes to guests who have hearing loss. With a wide variety of accessibility services for deaf and hard-of-hearing, guests continue to be pleasantly surprised, especially with Mickey’s sign language skills. Alia Sendlack, a student at the Disney College Program, recently went to Disney World and was surprised to talk to Mickey using fluent sign language, according to the Daily Mail…

Jack Fact — The United Nations predicts that the share of Americans 65 and older will grow from 13 percent to 22 percent of the overall population by 2050. And, globally, the share of elderly citizens is poised to double during that same period. Meanwhile, 37 percent of boomers say they want to keep working beyond the traditional retirement age.

International News

What the Failure of New Coke Can Teach Us About User Research And Design

November 2, 2017 | Source: A List Apart- UK

In the late 1970s, Pepsi was running behind Coca-Cola in the competition to be the leading cola. But then Pepsi discovered that in blind taste tests, people actually preferred the sweeter taste of Pepsi. To spread the word, Pepsi ran a famous advertising campaign, called the Pepsi Challenge, which showed people tasting the two brands of cola while not knowing which was which. They chose Pepsi every time. As Pepsi steadily gained market share in the early 1980s, Coca-Cola ran the same test and found the same result—people simply preferred Pepsi when tasting the two side by side..

New Campaign Seeks to Make Egypt’s Streets More Accessible for the Disabled

November 3, 2017 | Source: Egyptian Streets- Egypt

Navigating Egypt’s public spaces can be a difficult task for anyone living in a place like Cairo. Its debilitating traffic, poorly-paved streets, lack of pavements, and all kinds of barriers one needs to conquer, are enough to make one think twice before stepping out into city life. For someone with a disability, these challenges obviously become exceedingly more difficult. In a new campaign aimed to raise awareness about the needs of the disabled, the Helm Foundation, in association with Drosos and Bassita, aims to highlight disability issues as well as to generate donations from the public in support of the cause…

University of Ottawa student receives accessibility award

November 3, 2017 | Source: The Charlatan- Canada

University of Ottawa student Elsa Lalonde was awarded the Dr. John Davis Burton award on Oct. 26 for her contributions to accessibility. The award was endowed in Burton’s memory in 1992 by his family, students, and friends as he was a champion and advocate for persons with disabilities, according to Carleton’s website. Burton taught in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa and co-ordinated programs and services for deaf students as well as students with learning disabilities, at Algonquin College and Carleton University, according to the press release…

Hotels surveyed on wheelchair access ahead of Olympics

November 4, 2017 | Source: The Japan Times- Japan

The government has launched a survey on wheelchair accessibility in hotels and inns across the country amid slow progress ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The government drew up a set of proposals earlier in the year to make public places barrier-free ahead of the sporting spectacles, but the International Paralympic Committee said in May that improvements are needed to make hotels more accessible for Paralympic participants and officials. A survey of 19,000 hotels and inns will be conducted through hotel industry organizations to see how many rooms offer sufficient accessibility for people with disabilities…

Over a quarter of theatres have no access information online

November 4, 2017 | Source: Arts Professional- UK

Almost 30% of theatres in the UK fail to provide access information of any sort for deaf or disabled people on their websites, new research has concluded. After analysing the websites of 659 professional theatres, the report by VocalEyes concludes “most venues can afford to do more than they do currently”. “Many venues that are supported by public funding are not accessible for members of the public,” the authors write. They note provision of access performances for deaf and disabled people across UK theatres is “encouraging, but inconsistent”, and this combined with patchy online information is leaving audiences “unsure just how and when their local theatres will be accessible to them”…

Book of the future is a choose your own adventure

November 5, 2017 | Source: The Sydney Morning Herald- Australia

Imagine a future where the mass produced paperback is regarded as a book shelf dinosaur; where the reader can purchase their favourite story, hand select their preferred font, text spacing and format, and can switch from the printed word to the spoken and back again. What if the customised book could bring the joy of stories to the visually impaired and the functionally illiterate as well as the short sighted chief executive thumbing through his company papers or the struggling HSC candidate who finds reading Shakespeare a strain? As Anthea Taylor, manager of Vision Australia’s Accessible Information Library Services, sees the book of the near-future: “The content is produced and you choose the container.”…

Regulator rejects Via Rail’s efforts to limit wheelchair access

November 5, 2017 | Source: Nanaimo News NOW- Canada

The Canadian Transportation Agency is rejecting Via Rail’s efforts to limit access on its trains for passengers using wheelchairs and other mobility aids. The national rail provider has been actively resisting a previous Agency ruling dictating that all trains coast to coast must double their capacity to accommodate mobility aids and create two tie-down spots for the devices. The CTA’s ruling came about as the result of a complaint from a Toronto married couple, both of whom have cerebral palsy and use motorized scooters. They contend that Via’s long-standing approach prevents them from travelling together…

There should be no barriers to gaming, says Forza 7 creator Turn 10

November 3, 2017 | Source: Microsoft- UK

Age, gender or disabilities should not be a barrier to playing videogames, the creator of Forza Motorsport 7 has said. The latest title in the popular franchise contains a range of accessibility features that ensure people with poor vision or colour blindness can also enjoy racing hundreds of sports cars. Turn 10, the developer behind Forza 7, said making videogames available for everyone to play is one of the first aspects its team considers. The vision for the game is to bring a larger and more diverse community together, who are passionate about cars and racing. “We don’t want age, gender or any disabilities getting in the way of that,” said Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Turn 10…

Gov’t surveying hotel wheelchair accessibility ahead of Olympics

November 5, 2017 | Source: Japan Today- Japan

The government has started a survey on wheelchair accessibility of hotels and inns across the country ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, as progress toward making such facilities friendly to visitors with disabilities remains slow, officials said. The government drew up a set of proposals earlier in the year to make public places more barrier-free ahead of the 2020 events, but the International Paralympic Committee said in May improvements are needed to make hotels more accessible for Paralympic participants and officials…

Towards inclusivity

November 5, 2017 | Source: Eastern Mirror- India

We have just witnessed, or read about, young school students carrying out a campaign called the ‘Include Vidya Campaign’ in the state capital Kohima on Nov. 4, calling for inclusion of children with disability in the Nagaland’s education system. Nagas as a society do not have a history of mistreating or abandoning a family member because he or she has a disability, but rather, they are over protective that they think they have the right to make constant decisions for the latter. Persons with disability (PwD) live in a hostile environment because most people are ignorant about the needs of PwD and many still believe in myths associated with disabilities and in seclusion of persons with any disability or disabilities…

Remap: 5 innovative designs that have changed disabled people’s lives

November 6, 2017 | Source: Disability Horizons- UK

Remap is a charity that helps disabled people achieve independence and a better quality of life by designing and making equipment for their individual needs. Last year the charity helped more than 3,500 people, giving the equipment free of charge in every case. The charity has a network of skilled volunteers who design and make bespoke items to help people enjoy life more. Here, we hear about five of the designs it has created to change five disabled people’s lives. Among the many subjects taught at the National Star College, students can learn performing arts, including wheelchair dance. Participants in the classes normally control their wheelchairs using a joystick. But not everyone can, such as those with cerebral palsy or spina bifida…

Beyond the finish line- How Technology Helped a Blind Runner Through the New York Marathon

November 6, 2017 | Source: The Verge- UK

It’s a literal road to nowhere. Stretching out from a roundabout outside the Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster, a small village in Northern England, it’s a wholly unremarkable stretch of slowly cracking pavement, bushes, and weeds, an idle strip of asphalt near long-term parking and a bland business park. For 35-year-old runner Simon Wheatcroft, however, this stretch of unused roadway may as well be his gym, training center, and proving grounds, his own private version of the 72 stone steps that make up a Rocky montage. Wheatcroft knows every inch of this one-third-mile strip of asphalt — from the contours of the roadway to the feeling of its double yellow lines of paint under his sneakers…

How tech is making life easier for differently-abled

November 8, 2017 | Source: Times of India- India

Scattered on technology specialist Amit Bagwe’s desk beside his laptop are a Sam sung tablet and an iPhone7. It’s like any other tech worker’s desk, except for the portable electronic magnifier he uses to read what’s on his screen. Bagwe, who was born with low vision and lost sight in his right eye in 2005 following an accident in the chemistry lab, works with BarrierBreak in Mumbai, helping companies modify their software to include the needs of people with disabilities as well as train the disabled to use software. “Saying technology is a boon may seem like a cliche but just ask a person with a disability,” he says…

Learning tourism the Japanese way

November 7, 2017 | Source: Borneo Bulletin Online- Japan

THE Asean-Japan Centre (AJC) recently conducted a workshop titled “Workshop on Sustainable Tourism: Accessible Tourism” from October 15 to 21 in Tokyo and Mie prefecture, Japan for the second time. It was organised for management-level tourism stakeholders in the government and private sectors of the Asean member states to learn how the Japanese tourism industry and community handle accessibility and universality of tourism to accommodate visitors with special needs regardless of their physical limitations or age. This year’s workshop was organised for Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, following the one for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Malaysia in 2016…

Wicked’s Rachel Tucker leads host of West End stars in bid to make theatre more accessible for the disabled

November 7, 2017 | Source: Metro- UK

If you think the high cost of theatre tickets is a hard pill to swallow, going to the theatre when disabled is even tougher. The impracticality of going to the theatre for those with physical or mental impairments is a major issue. In formal theatre environments, there are still very few answers for the needs of those audiences. Those unable to sit for hours in a tiny seat, silently, or those who suffer from hearing or visual impairments can only occasionally go to the theatre for special ‘relaxed’ performances – but they’re all too rare…

Entrepreneur heads to Israel to share accessibility app

November 7, 2017 | Source: Canadian Jewish News

Maayan Ziv has been something of an entrepreneur her entire life. Not necessarily the “develop a product and bring it to market” sort of entrepreneur; more the “see a problem, find a solution” type of entrepreneur. Ziv, 27, was born with muscular dystrophy and has used a wheelchair since she was a child. That meant the sorts of things that came naturally to other kids – getting around, participating in events – were more difficult for her. So she had to come up with creative solutions, in order to adapt. “I’m often making my own way and that trained me to be an entrepreneur since I was a kid,” Ziv said. “With my disability, it led me to think outside the box.”…

City board introduces People First Language to residents

November 7, 2017 | Source: The Ottawa Herald- UK

How something is said can affect how a person reacts. The City of Ottawa’s Accessibility Advisory Board is trying to help the public understand how to react to a person with disabilities. Part of that is through the introduction of People First Language, which is about respect and dignity, and puts the person — not the condition — first. People First Language helps everyone understand how language matters, Wynndee Lee, director of community development, said. People without disabilities are not necessarily sensitive to the language they use when addressing someone who has a disability, Lee said…

McDonald’s sign outrages customer who says ‘it reduced accessibility for disabled people’

November 8, 2017 | Source: Nottingham Post- UK

A sign in a Mcdonald’s restaurant has angered a customer who said it “singled out disabled people”. Katie Clarke-Day, 37, of Nottingham, went to the restaurant in Clumber Street for lunch on Tuesday, November 3 and saw a sign above the lifts which read: “This lift is not operational between 9pm and 6am.” She said: “I haven’t been in since they have re-done the ground floor. Now they don’t have any seating on the ground floor and so a disabled person has to get the lift to get to the seating areas…

Ramps for accessibility

November 9, 2017 | Source: Pembroke Daily Observer- Canada

Alair Homes out of Renfrew has teamed up with the StopGap Foundation to provide local businesses free ramps to allow people to access their premises. The plywood ramps work for businesses with only one step, and are deployed as necessary. Andrew Simms, an Alair Homes partner and the local contact for StopGap, said the goal is to provide between 60 to 80 ramps to businesses throughout Renfrew County. They will start in Pembroke and Petawawa and have the ramps ready before spring 2018, then move on from there…

Charity creates new accessible website

November 9, 2017 | Source: Third Force News- Scotland

A charity is aiming to break down digital barriers with the launch of its new website. ENABLE Scotland has created a site which is accessible to people who have a range of support needs, including visual and hearing impairment, autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities. According to a recent report by Ofcom, people who have a disability are less likely to use the internet than people without a disability. Those who have a learning disability are most likely to say their disability impacts their use of communications services such as the internet…

Ministry commits to accessibility of footpaths

November 9, 2017 | Source: Fiji Times- Fiji

THE Ministry of Local Government is serious about making footpaths in municipalities around the country accessible and disabled-friendly. Minister for Local Government, Housing, Infrastructure, Transport and Environment Parveen Kumar said he had been advised by the Labasa/Savusavu special administrator Vijay Chand that they were rebuilding the footpaths in Labasa Town. Mr Kumar said people claiming that there were not enough disabled-friendly facilities for those living with disabilities in Fiji were not true…

Editor’s note: This edition of Accessibility in the News was originally published following the initial activity in the Gil v. Winn-Dixie case.  The case is back in the headlines following the decision of an appeal filed on behalf of Winn-Dixie.  For the latest news around the case, and other news on legal activity around the Americans with Disabilities Act, visit our Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition archives.

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