Accessibility in the News—04/28/17.

Government is the driving force for disability rights in every country. Without government, there would be no laws protecting disability rights or enforcing accessibility standards. This week’s news articles have a large focus on government laws, litigation, and accessibility lawsuits, particularly in the higher education space. At The University of California Berkeley, a Justice Department decision prompted the university to remove 20,000 digital lectures due to their violation of the ADA. In an instance also involving Title IX investigations, a federal organization is exploring a disability discrimination claim regarding accessibility of a college website. Administrators there say the concerns are minor, and that accessibility standards were a guiding priority for them in their last site redesign.

Lawsuits involve not only government organizations, but also retail and other private sector industries, such as restaurant and food services. For example, McDonald’s website and mobile app are not accessible to the blind. The related lawsuit claims violation of the American with Disabilities Act. In fact, one legal industry opinion is that the next frontier in ADA access litigation is online due to inaccessible website design.

Feel free to check out the Resources section available in every issue. It is an extensive archive consisting of the most recent accessibility pages, blogs, product announcements, and more.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“You don’t have to be handicapped to be different – everybody’s different.”
– Kim Peek

National News (U.S.)

Ten 3D Printable Things—Assistive & Accessibility Devices for the Disabled

Date not listed | Source: 3D Print | 3D Printing, Assistive Technology, Digital Accessibility

How many times have you watched a ridiculous late night infomercial for something like a Snuggie and make a joke about how stupid of a product it was? I mean, it’s just a backwards robe right? How lazy can people be, just use a regular blanket, right? And have you seen that Slap Chop thing? I mean, is it hard to pick up a knife and cut some veggies? Heck, do you remember the Clapper? Jeeze, just get up and turn the light off, it isn’t going to kill you to get some exercise.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the jokes a million times, every stand-up comedian, late night talk show host and sitcom has mined products like these as joke-fodder for decades. Other than the silly, often times nonsensical infomercials, would you like to know something else that all of those products have in common? They weren’t actually made for lazy people, or for people too dumb to use kitchen utensils or even for people who think they are so busy that they don’t have time to do the simplest of tasks. All of those products were actually developed for the disabled as assistive devices, but in order to make them affordable they were marketed and sold to a mass audience…

Evaluating the Feasibility and Accessibility of Digital Technology Interventions for Global Mental Health

4/20 | Source: | Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine | Digital Accessibility, Cognitive, Health/Medical

At the moment, there is a lot of enthusiasm for using mobile devices to treat mental health disorders because mobile technology is embedded in the way we communicate, not just here in America, but worldwide. Though not considered as a replacement for face-to-face mental health care, mobile devices are thought to have the potential to extend the reach of the limited number of mental health care providers in low- and middle-income countries.

A paper published in the April 19 issue of Lancet Psychiatry evaluates an array of studies about this issue and summarizes the demonstrated potential effectiveness of digital technology for treating and preventing mental and substance use disorders in low- and middle-income countries…

Lawmakers consider rules that would add accessibility to new homes

4/20 | Source: | KHON2 | Litigation, Housing, Government, Aging | Hawaii

Many people in Hawaii would like to age in place at home. But it’s not always easy. A city councilman is hoping to change that, by encouraging the city to think about changing the requirements for new homes.

According to council member Brandon Elefante, by the year 2030, nearly a quarter of Hawaii’s population will be over the age of 65. he says now is a good time to look at how homes can be built to make sure that population can keep living comfortably in their homes for years to come. “Many people today folks really want to age in place and stay in their own homes rather than move out of their homes and these standards would help them to look at what would be a safe environment for them to live in their own homes.”…

Lyft Improves Accessibility For Drivers Who Have Hearing Impairments

4/20 | Source: | ubergizmo | Transportation, Deaf/Hearing Impairment, Innovation

Last year Lyft introduced a new feature in their cars called Amp. This is basically a device placed on the dashboard of a Lyft car in which it will glow various colors that will help riders identify their ride. It will also be able to display messages like greetings for when a passenger gets into the car.

However Lyft has decided it could do more with the feature, and in an announcement on its blog, the company has decided to improve accessibility for its drivers who might be deaf or hard of hearing. According to Lyft, “Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will now see new ride requests displayed on their Amp device, with text reading “NEW RIDE.” This is just one more way that Amp continues to better connect our drivers and passengers.”…

Mainstream Accessibility for Smart Devices

4/20 | Source: | Techwell | Digital Accessibility, Awareness, Inclusion

Smart devices are such an essential part of our everyday lives that it’s hard to imagine what we would do without them. According to Forbes, nearly 11 billion devices connect to the Internet now, and by 2025 this number will increase to approximately 80 billion devices. The ease of use and flexibility of smart devices have prompted more people, including the disabled community, to use and carry their devices every day. Because of this, a series of revolutionary accessibility changes have occurred in the market…

Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ adds intuitive functions to improve accessibility

4/21 | Source: | Android Community | Innovation, Digital Accessibility, Blindness/Visual Impairment

As we wait for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ to finally hit the streets, the Korean OEM will of course continue to bombard us with all the great features that their new flagship devices can offer. Today they’re talking about all the intuitive functions that are built-in to the devices so that it can be accessible and functional even for people who may have visual or hearing impairments, as well as ordinary users that may want a slightly different way of using the device.

Well we all already know about Bixby (and the slight controversy behind it) but it also has a Vision function which lets you have image-based searching and even image-based shopping. It can also give you auditory information of what the camera sees, so those with visual impairments can still somewhat see what the phone is looking at. Meanwhile the DeX function allows you to connect your phone to a larger screen (like a monitor) and to choose how to control it, whether it’s with the keyboard or your mouse…

UC-Berkeley removing resources not compliant with accessibility standards

4/21 | Source: | Education Dive | Higher Education, Advocacy, Section 508, Universal Design | California

The University of California at Berkeley is removing older videos, recordings and other resources from public platforms in accordance with a January ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice that all public online content must be accessible to all viewers, including those with disabilities, under federal law, University Business reports. Higher education institutions are not required to abide by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but often choose to adhere to the standards, and most of Berkeley’s content since 2015 has been captured in a manner that meets accessibility standards…

Justice Department Disability Demands Raise Serious Free Speech Issues

4/21 | Source: | Competitive Enterprise Institute | Government, Higher Education, ADA, Discrimination | California

In March, the University of California at Berkeley began removing 20,000 college lectures from the Internet. It did so in response to the Justice Department telling Berkeley that posting the lectures violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, because they were not fully accessible to the blind and deaf.

The Americans with Disabilities Act says that services do not have to made accessible to the disabled if doing so would impose an “undue burden” on the provider. The Obama Justice Department paid only lip service to this provision in its August 30, 2016, letter telling Berkeley that it was in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It claimed there was no “undue burden” in forcing Berkeley to make all of those lectures available to the blind and deaf, even though the cost apparently would have exceeded $1 million, a prohibitive amount for a free web site that does not make a profit…

Disability Rights Advocates Accuse Washington Post Of Perpetuating ‘Myths’ About Benefits

4/22 | Source: | Huffington Post | Disability Rights, Advocacy, Awareness

Disability rights advocates and a leading Democratic think tank are livid at The Washington Post over a March 30 front-page story on the prevalence of disability benefits in rural America.

The newspaper claimed that “as many as one-third of working-age adults” in rural communities receive disability benefits. But as the Center for American Progress calculated ― and The Huffington Post confirmed by looking at the raw data ― that proportion holds true in only one county in the entire country…

Report: UI has long list of needed ADA repairs

4/22 | Source: | The News-Gazette | Higher Education, ADA, Discrimination, Building/Facilities Access | Illinois

The University of Illinois was a pioneer in making college accessible to people with disabilities, dating back to World War II. But there’s still a long list of improvements to be done to make outdoor areas of campus fully accessible, a new report shows. A survey by the UI and its community transportation partners identified $1.1 million worth of improvements to campus-area sidewalks and building entryways needed to comply with updated standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They include sidewalks cracked by tree roots or overgrown with weeds, entry thresholds that are too high and ramps that are too steep, among other problems…

Another Denver venue hit with accessibility suit

4/24 | Source: | IQ | Sports/Entertainment, Lawsuits/Litigation, ADA, Discrimination | Colorado

Pepsi Center, a ~20,000-capacity arena in Denver, Colorado, has become the latest Denver venue to face legal action for the alleged violation of equality legislation. A lawyer for the Pepsi Center has disputed claims it fails to meet provisions for deaf people by not providing open captioning on scoreboards, court documents reveal.

The arena, a popular concert venue and also home to NBA team Denver Nuggets, NHL team Colorado Avalanche and lacrosse squad Colorado Mammoth, is being sued by Kirstin Kurlander, a deaf woman who claims the lack of captioning on scoreboards is not in compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She told TV station KDVR at the time: “I don’t hear the announcements that are happening, I don’t hear the entertainment portion, I don’t hear the score… You’re missing a lot of information.”…

Brattleboro town website lists accessible venues

4/24 | Source: | Brattleboro Reporter | Mobility, ADA, Building/Facilities Access, Awareness | Vermont

An individual with disabilities might have some questions before feeling comfortable going to an event or meeting. That’s one reason the town has updated its brattleboro.org website to include a list of “wheelchair accessible venues” with information on each location.

“The hope is to have businesses fill out this ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] survey so it can be posted on the town website to explain what is available for vendors, meeting places and restaurants,” said Nina Wilson, director of therapeutic recreation at Pine Heights. “So it serves my interests as far as what I’m able to do with residents here in the community as far as accessibility goes. But also being a recreation therapist, I hope the town would be more inclined to help people with these efforts so people can access these facilities in town.”…

Lawsuit: McDonald’s website, mobile app not accessible to the blind, violates ADA

4/24 | Source: | Cook County Register and EIN News | Discrimination, ADA, Mobile App, Web Design, Blindness/Visual Impairment

A blind man has sued McDonald’s, claiming the fast food giant has discriminated against him under federal disabilities law because it has not made its smartphone app or website accessible to those with visual impairments. On April 23, plaintiff Sean Gorecki, of Los Angeles, filed suit in Chicago federal court, accusing the Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp. of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as California state law.

According to his lawsuit, Gorecki, while visually impaired, navigates the internet and smartphone apps by using special screen-reading software. Specifically, the complaint said Gorecki regularly uses a popular screen reader known as “Jobs Access With Software,” or JAWS, to browse webpages and obtain information from online sources…

ADA Conformity: It’s more than just lawsuits

4/25 | Source: | HospitalityNet | ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Government, WCAG

You may have heard about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but do you know how it applies to your digital presence?

The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. As part of the ADA, the law mandated that websites should abide by a minimum set of best practices to ensure that users with impairments would have equal access to the world-wide web. The challenge with the ADA conformity clause is that Congress did not establish any guidelines regarding what qualified as an ADA conforming website.

Over the years, as the legal system has dealt with lawsuits related to ADA conformity and website access, courts have leveraged guidelines established by the world-wide web consortium (W3C), as guidelines by which to interpret the ADA conformity of specific sites. The W3C guidelines, known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are organized in three different levels, level A, AA and AAA. The court system has largely held that websites must meet level A and AA guidelines to be considered “conforming.”…

Pope makes donation to handicapped-accessible beach project

4/25 | Source: | Catholic Philly and Crux | Faith/Religion, Accessible Design, Mobility, Advocacy

An Italian association that runs and maintains a Roman beach for disabled people received an unexpected donation from Pope Francis. In an April 25 statement, the “Work of Love,” a charitable association dedicated to St. Aloysius Gonzaga, expressed their “enthusiasm and astonishment” upon receiving a contribution made in the pope’s name by Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner.

The association runs “La Madonnina” beach near Fiumicino, located 17 miles southwest of Rome, that is specially designed for disabled people and equipped with walkways for easy access in and around the area…

KCATA set to launch new ride hailing service May 1

4/25 | Source: | Metro | Mobility, Mobile App, Transit/Transportation, Innovation | Missouri

Beginning May 1, 2017, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), in partnership with Transdev, will roll out an app-based public transit service called RideKC Freedom On-Demand. This one-year pilot enables customers to call on taxis any day, at any hour, to enjoy everything Kansas City has to offer.

“We can’t solve all of our transportation needs with a big 40-foot bus,” said Robbie Makinen, KCATA president/CEO. “That’s why KCATA is continuing to innovate and work collaboratively with the private sector to provide the best mobility solutions for the region, whether that’s a bus, a streetcar, a taxi or a bike.”…

The Next Frontier in ADA Access Litigation – Online

4/24 | Source: | JD Supra | ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility, Government | Florida

Florida, and particularly South Florida, has always been on the leading edge of legal trends that involve mandatory attorneys’ fees for plaintiffs. For many years, the United District Court in and for the Southern District led the pack in the number of Title III cases filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). In 2013, one in every five ADA Title III case was filed right here in the Southern District. In fact, the Southern District has a 435-page list of all the addresses where ADA Title III cases have been filed in an effort to prevent plaintiffs from suing a property location that was previously sued.

Perhaps because that the address list includes just about every physical location in the Southern District of Florida, the plaintiffs’ bar has now gone virtual and the hot new trend in ADA Title III litigation is website access…

Pleasant wins Ohio University Accessibility Ally Award

4/25 | Source: | Compass- Ohio University and Ironton Tribune | Higher Education, Advocacy, Awards/Recognition | Ohio

Robert Pleasant almost always has someone sitting outside of his office door waiting to speak to him. With an easy smile and a “get it done” attitude, Pleasant who coordinates diversity and inclusion at the Southern Campus – along with his other duties – is always looking for ways to educate the campus community about how it can welcome everyone to the table. This passion for what he does often makes Pleasant a busy man, but he balances it with ease.

Pleasant was recognized for his hard work as he was awarded the 2017 Accessibility Ally Award at the 2017 University College Honors Ceremony hosted by the Athena Cinema in Athens on April 19. The award, introduced this year, recognized Pleasant for being an excellent advocate who has kept disability and accessibility a central consideration in the work that he does at Ohio University Southern…

New York City’s Subway System Violates Local and Federal Laws, Disability Groups Say

4/25 | Source: | NY Times & Public News Service & Curbed | Transit/Transportation, Mobility, Discrimination, Lawsuits/Litigation | New York

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority discriminates against people with disabilities because of its widespread lack of elevators and electric lifts in the subway system, rendering it significantly more inaccessible than other cities with large public transportation systems, according to two lawsuits filed on Tuesday.

The plaintiffs, a group of disability organizations and disabled residents who brought the lawsuits as a class action in state and federal court, say that the city’s subway system is one of the least accessible public transportation systems in the United States, with the lowest accessibility rate — 24 percent — among the country’s 10 largest transit systems…

The Starting Line—VIDEO

4/25 | Source: | KLRU-TV, Austin PBS | Mobility, Education, Sports/Entertainment, Paralympics | Texas

The first thing that got the attention of the track coach at Anderson High School, Austin Texas was how much Hayden Sipple could bench press…the second thing was his wheelchair. Knowing a partnership between University Interscholastic League and Texas Regional Paralympic Sport had spaces on high school track teams for disabled athletes, Coach Hunter realized he had a new recruit!…

Celebrating Its Centennial, TxDoT Aims for Better Accessibility

4/26 | Source: | Rivard Report | Government, Transportation, ADA, Innovation | Texas

The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the former Texas Highway Department, which was signed into state law April 4, 1917, to fulfill the requirement of the Federal Road Act of 1916. In 1991, the Texas Legislature combined the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the Department of Aviation, and the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission to create Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). In fulfillment of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the agency in 2004 began implementing a transition plan to remove accessibility barriers from its rights-of-way throughout Texas.

TxDOT is enlisting the public’s help in improving access for persons with disabilities through an update to its transition plan. According to Darcie Schipull, transportation planner for the TxDOT San Antonio District, the meeting is being held to gather information at the very beginning of the process, before the agency begins to draft a plan…

Federal Organization Investigates Title IX Reports

4/26 | Source: | The Dickinsonian | OCR, DOE, Government, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Higher Education

On Friday, April 19, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it has officially opened eight new Title IX investigations, Dickinson College among them. According to the notice sent to the college, OCR is also investigating a disability discrimination claim regarding the accessibility of the college’s website for the visually impaired.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s website, Title IX is part of the 1972 Education Amendments. Title IX states; “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”…

Delegation and responsibility in campus accessibility

4/27 | Source: | Technician | ADA, Higher Education, Inclusion | North Carolina

Students with any disabilities, including physical and mental, currently make up 1,270 of the nearly 34,000 students enrolled at NC State. Accounting for the needs of every student with their unique disability is a job that requires the input and cooperation of numerous individuals and offices on campus.

In the first installment of this series on accessibility, disability was characterized as a multifaceted issue composed of visible and invisible disabilities, as well as physical and mental disabilities, all of which require equally multifaceted solutions and accommodations. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by Congress, guaranteeing equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, telecommunications and state and local government services. For NC State students, faculty and staff with disabilities, the ADA protects against discrimination and harassment, and the law applies to all members of the university…

Woman with special needs wheeled off Allegiant plane while sleeping

4/27 | Source: | KXAN | Discrimination, Travel, Disability Rights

A woman who suffers from COPD claims she was wheeled off an Allegiant Airline flight because she fell asleep. Roxanne Raynes, 52, was scheduled to fly out of PIE Tuesday morning and expected to arrive in Bangor, Maine a few hours later. Raynes was moving back to Maine to live with family. Because she suffers from severe COPD, Raynes was traveling with an oxygen tank and her two cats. It took staff at the hospice nearly a month to book all the necessities for the flight…

Accessibility: Comcast Engineer, Google Scholar partners with #techInColor for Philly Tech Week

4/27 | Source: | Philadelphia Sun | Technology, Advocacy, Disability Rights | Philadelphia

For Ather, tech accessibility is also a mission and passion for him. The Comcast software engineer became a quadriplegic in 2013 due to a tragic car accident in North Dakota. Philly tech advocate and Google Scholar Ather Sharif partners with the annual popular #techInColor event as part of Philly Tech Week 2017 presented by Comcast. #TechInColor, a volunteer tech organization, will hold this year’s event on Tuesday, May 2. 6 p.m.to 9 p.m. at the Benjamin’s Desk a co-working facility at 1608 Walnut St.

“I wanted to be part of an event that is geared towards accessibility where we can make a statement and give accessibility a stronger voice and recognition in Philadelphia, especially as part of big event like Philly Tech Week,” says Ather on why he signed on as a co-organizer of #techInColor…

On the move: Is Millersville accessible?

4/27 | Source: | The Snapper- Millersville.EDU | Education, Mobility, ADA | Pennsylvania

Many Millersville students can walk to their classroom and sit down with ease, not worrying about the journey it took to get there. For some, however, some reconfiguration is needed. Perhaps tables or chairs need to be moved, or maybe even a different accommodation is given. For people who have various needs of accessibility, something as simple as deciding where to sit can lead to an inconvenience. It begs the question: is Millersville truly accessible?

Lindsay Saienni, a sophomore majoring in Early Childhood Education and Special Education, feels very passionately about these types of questions. Just a few weeks ago, she presented a lesson plan at Made in Millersville which chronicled a five-day teaching method for teaching children about accessibility…

Google TalkBack 5.2 Adds New Spoken Feedback Settings & More

4/27 | Source: | Android Headlines | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Mobile App, Accessible Design, Digital Accessibility

The latest update for the Google TalkBack accessibility app for blind and otherwise vision-impaired people started rolling out on the Google Play Store on Wednesday, boasting a number of new features and improvements meant to ennoble the overall user experience of Google’s service. The highlight of the app’s build version 5.2 is the so-called Speech Verbosity setting meant to modify spoken feedback that users receive from the app. The option — located in the main Settings menu of the app — allows you to choose how much feedback do you want the app to speak to you, which should speed up browsing for certain users that don’t require a lot of assistance when browsing content on their Android device…

Dutchess student creates app to improve campus accessibility

4/27 | Source: | Poughkeepsie Journal | Higher Education, Mobility, Building/Facilities Access, Mobile App | New York

The accessibility of a building depends on the structures put in place for the accommodation of disabled individuals — and for those of us without a disability, not something we often consider. Here I refer to ramps, lifts, and in particular, for the subject of this column, the handicapped door buttons. Although many of these accessible structures have been implemented in years past, those who rely on these accommodations argue there is still an urgency for certain improvements.

Dana Jones, a freshmen at Dutchess Community College and Poughkeepsie resident, has recently gained tremendous support from the college and DCC administration for her proposed smartphone app idea: an app that allows the users to open a handicapped door with their phone, functioning through some sort of transmission between the phone and door, as opposed to having to physically press the handicapped button for access…

Creating a culture of accessibility

4/27 | Source: | Dropbox | Accessible Design, Disability Rights, Innovation, Inclusion

At Dropbox, we strive to make products that are easy for everyone to use. As part of that mission, we’ve been improving product accessibility for users with disabilities, and building a collaborative culture in which our engineers understand and value accessibility best practices as part of their process.

To create accessible products, you need to find opportunities to spread accessibility knowledge and enthusiasm in a sustainable way throughout your company. But awareness is one of the largest barriers to implementing these best practices into a product. Most computer science curriculums at colleges and universities don’t include in-depth coverage of accessibility (though organizations like Teach Access are working on changing that!). As a result, technology creators don’t always know much about accessibility unless it’s already had a direct impact on their life…

#PaxEx Podcast: Making the case for more accessible air travel

4/27 | Source: | Runway Girl Network | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Advocacy, Travel, Accessible Design

Welcome to Episode 045 of the #PaxEx Podcast. Our guest for this episode is Mika Pyyhkala. Focused on technology and transportation, Mika is VP of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts and VP of the Association of Blind Citizens. He has attended the US DOT Air Carrier Access Act working group forums on behalf of these organizations since about the year 2000.

First, a blind woman says she was recently booted off an American Airlines flight after she requested a slightly roomier seat in order to be able to accommodate her service dog. Mika, who flies up to 75 segments per year, tells us if these types of situations are common, and considers whether #PaxEx has gotten better or worse for blind passengers through the years. Mika urges listeners to check out The Blind Side Podcast, which interviewed the passenger in question, Sue Martin. And he highlights a story from 2013, when passengers really stood up to support a commuter with pre-merger US Airways, who was escorted off a plane with his guide dog…

International News

Ontario companies compete for $20,000 in accessibility-focused pitch competition at Discovery 2017

4/21 | Source: | Yahoo- Canada | Assistive Technology, Innovation, Accessible Design, Businesses | Canada

Five groundbreaking companies from across Ontario that focus on accessibility and assistive technology will compete in Ontario Centres of Excellence’s (OCE) $20,000 Accessibility Tech Pitch Competition. Held at Discovery 2017 on May 15, the competition is part of the third Accessibility Innovation Showcase at the annual Discovery conference and trade show and hosted by OCE in partnership with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) and the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science (MRIS)…

Man in wheelchair’s struggle to sit with friend at concert prompts call for more accessible seating

4/21 | Source: | CBC News | Performing Arts, Arts/Entertainment, Discrimination, Mobility | Canada

Two music fans are calling for more accessible seating at the Jack Singer concert hall, after they were told they couldn’t sit side by side in the wheelchair section, where they’ve had Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra season tickets for about a decade. Lochlan Magennis, who uses a wheelchair, and Ken Potma usually sit near the back next to the sound booth.

“It’s a great experience,” said Magennis. The section has good acoustics, unlike the other accessible seating, he says, which is located at the front and off to the side of the stage…

Glasses, grabbers and shirt buttoners: great design is for life

4/22 | Source: | The Irish Times | Mobility, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Aging, Universal Design | Ireland

Earlier this year I got glasses. They’re life-changing. I can now thread needles and do other exciting things such as read newspapers and menus in restaurants. My slightly failing sight is to do with getting older, but this time the trauma of recognising that I’m not as young as I was has been offset by the very beautiful design of my new glasses (thank you Optica).

Not all steps on the path to being over the hill are as easily smoothed as that my now-beloved glasses. Until recently most objects aimed at the elderly, from mobility aids to medical devices, were mainly made in beige. They shared, for want of a better word, an orthopaedic look, which contributes to the sense of ageing as an illness and a disability, rather thank another of life’s stages…

Accessibility covered by charter, hearing told

4/21 | Source: | Press Reader- Canada | Mobility, Transportation, Lawsuits/Litigation | Canada

If transit agencies had followed the law, most métro and train stations would be accessible by now, say the lawyers representing people who rely on wheelchairs to get around. The group was in Quebec Superior Court Wednesday and Thursday requesting permission to launch a class-action suit against the Société de transport de Montréal, the Agence métropolitaine de transport and the city of Montreal.

“The Quebec charter (of Human Rights and Freedoms) went into effect in 1975, so all the stations built after that point should be accessible to everyone,” said Gilles Gareau, the lawyer representing the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ)…

Student survey assesses accessibility of town’s parks

4/24 | Source: | University of Windsor- Canada | Higher Education, Building/Facilities Access, Inclusion | Canada

MHK candidate Dylan Polfliet surveyed the Town of LaSalle’s most popular parks to assess their overall accessibility. Dylan Polfliet firmly believes that everyone should have an equal opportunity to enjoy recreation facilities and parks. That’s why the 24-year-old master of human kinetics student surveyed the Town of LaSalle’s most popular parks to assess their overall accessibility.

“It all comes down to equality and recreation has a ton of holistic benefits,” Polfliet said. “The benefits can be emotional, social and physical. Removing those barriers will allow everybody to participate.” The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed in 2005 with aspirations that all facilities and public spaces will be 100 per cent accessible by the year 2025…

Access to data about persons with disabilities improves

4/24 | Source: | Global Accessibility News- New Zealand | Accessible Design, Inclusion, Web Design | New Zealand

Stats New Zealand launched a user-friendly online tool to make information about persons with disabilities more accessible. The interactive tool shows information on disability type, age, and more detailed geographical information than was previously available. It includes data about people with physical, hearing, vision, and psychological impairments…

Accessibility activists want to ditch iconic symbol highlighting the wheelchair, not the person

4/24 | Source: | CBC News- Canada | Mobility, Advocacy, Inclusion | Canada

In the early morning hours of July 2 last year, Dylan Itzikowitz was walking through North York when he was hit by an alleged drunk driver. He doesn’t remember the crash, but he does remember waking up in the hospital with an array of injuries: A broken right arm, broken left leg, busted kneecap, torn knee ligaments, broken ribs, a punctured lung, and major nerve damage.

He spent two months in the hospital, put his graduate studies on hold — and has been in and out of a wheelchair ever since. “The realization came when I was out of the hospital and I tried to go back to the life I had before,” Itzikowitz recalled. “And I realized I couldn’t because of how inaccessible the city is.”…

OurCityLove makes Taiwanese cities more user friendly

4/24 | Source: | Pioneers Post- Taiwan | Aging, Mobile App, Food Service, Building/Facilities Access | Taiwan

It pained Professor Dr. Lin Chong-Wey to watch his energetic grandmother, once an active patron of her neighbourhood’s restaurants, become more isolated as she grew older and became less mobile. He then observed that this was a common trend among senior citizens who lived in Taiwan’s cities. With these issues in mind, the visionary Dr. Lin decided to put his training in information and data sciences to work. In 2014, he founded social enterprise OurCityLove, to solve accessibility issues with technology.

The 26 full-time staff at OurCityLove collect accessibility information from restaurants and have created a suite of apps and websites to allow less mobile citizens to plan visits to accommodating venues. The social enterprise also certifies accessible restaurants, and provides training and consultancy services to help organisations that serve the public to improve their accessibility infrastructure…

Tecla expands its accessibility features for users with limited mobility to IOT devices

4/24 | Source: | TechCrunch- Canada | Technology, Mobility, Accessible Design | Canada

For the past seven years, the Canadian technology developer Komodo Openlabs has been working on a device called Tecla that allow users with limited mobility to control electronic devices. Designed for users who have trouble operating smartphones, tablets, or computers because of limited upper-body mobility caused by spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, ALS, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, brain injuries or a stroke, the original Tecla product could only work with one device at a time.

Now, Tecla is giving its technology an upgrade by integrating controls for connected home devices into and expanding the number of devices that can be controlled through the Tecla unit at one time(bumping controls from one device to eight)…

Nova Scotia Liberals coy about election plans but want accessibility law passed

4/24 | Source: | Times Colonist- Canada and CBC News | Litigation, Government, Voting/Elections | Canada

The opening of the spring session of the Nova Scotia legislature Tuesday means an unofficial election campaign, underway for weeks, will be temporarily shelved as the Liberal goverhttp://www.timescolonist.com/nova-scotia-liberals-coy-about-election-plans-but-want-accessibility-law-passed-1.16737668nment gears up to present a budget later this week. The budget is scheduled to be tabled Thursday. Whether house proceedings continue much beyond that is up to Premier Stephen McNeil, who is widely expected to call an election as early as Friday or Saturday, resulting in a May 30 vote.

For the last seven weeks, all three parties have been on election footing with candidates knocking on doors and taking part in election-style rallies. Meanwhile, the Liberal government has rolled out a flurry of spending announcements worth ten of millions of dollars since the beginning in March…

Proactive approach needed to improve accessibility within the built environment

4/24 | Source: | Workplace Insight- UK | Building/Facilities Access, Inclusion, Workforce, Government | United Kingdom

Inaccessible workplaces are too common problem that disabled people face in accessing buildings and public spaces, and the Government must lead a charge in improving access and inclusion in the built environment, according to a report by an influential cross party committee published today. The Women and Equalities Committee’s Disability and the Built Environment inquiry has been examining the extent to which those with accessibility issues are considered and accommodated in our built environment, and whether more could be done to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of both new and existing properties and spaces.

The report recommends public procurement, fiscal initiatives and transparently modelling best practice, while bringing the full range of work on improving access and inclusion in the built environment into a coherent and transparent strategy, with the Department for Communities and Local Government held responsible for making this happen. The report found that many workplaces are inaccessible, there is very little choice of where to live and the public spaces through which people need to move can be prohibitively excluding; all of which constitute an unacceptable diminution of quality of life and equality…

Products and services to be made more accessible for disabled persons in the EU

4/25 | Source: | European Parliament News- EU | Accessible Design, Inclusion, Digital Accessibility

Key products and services, like phones, e-book readers, operating systems and payment terminals, will have to be made more accessible to people with disabilities, under draft EU rules amended in committee on Tuesday. The Internal Market Committee amended and approved the rules, which would apply only to products and services placed on the EU market after the directive takes effect, by 19 votes in favour, none against and 17 abstentions.

Internal Market Committee rapporteur, Morten Løkkegaard (ALDE, DK), said: “Accessibility is a precondition for persons living with disabilities to enjoy equal participation and therefore to play an active role in society. To this end, it is vital to ensure smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. With greater accessibility for people with disabilities, we get a stronger Europe, which is not just a goal for politicians but also for businesses, which the European Accessibility Act will encourage to innovate with more accessible products and services.”…

Commons Select Committee highlights equality issues within the built environment

4/25 | Source: | PBC Today- UK | Housing, Mobility, Cognitive, Government, Building/Facilities Access | United Kingdom

The Department for Communities and Local Government has been taken to task over equality of access to the public environment and accessible housing. A new report published by the Women and Equalities Parliamentary Select Committee has highlighted shortfalls in the implementation of equality of access policy by local government. Public spaces and houses are two key areas commonly considered as restrictive for disabled people and the elderly, either through physical impairments or mental.

The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments be made to ensure that disabled people are not excluded from public places and workspaces. The report has found this is not being correctly implemented and equality of access is seen as an additional benefit, not a requirement…

This Visually Impaired Software Developer’s Request to Fellow Developers

4/25 | Source: | BW Disrupt- India | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Accessible Design, Inclusion, Advocacy | India

For most of us if we need to read a book, we could get it from either a library or a shop. Not for me, who’s visually impaired. To read a book, I need to first get it converted. That’s because the book, usually only in print, may not have been converted into a regular audio format.

As a student, I wanted to study Mathematics, but couldn’t access any book here in India. I discovered an audio book library in the US that had those books. But one needed a special cassette player to ‘listen’ to those books and that would have cost me an exorbitant Rs. 10,000. After some reading and tinkering, I could modify a regular cassette player for a paltry Rs.100…

The Commons Women and Equalities Committee said more needs to be done

4/25 | Source: | The Reading Chronicle- UK | Building/Facilities Access, Housing, Government, Advocacy | United Kingdom

The Government should do more to ensure disabled people are able to access public buildings and new homes, MPs have said. The Commons Women and Equalities Committee said many disabled people faced an “unacceptable diminution” in their quality of life due to the built environment around them.

Many workplaces were inaccessible, they had little choice over where to live and the public spaces they needed to move through were “prohibitively excluding”, the committee said. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers, service providers and public authorities have a duty to make “reasonable adjustments” to their premises to ensure disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when it comes to access…

Government must do more to improve disabled access, says committee

4/25 | Source: | Architects Journal- UK | Government, Building/Facilities Access, Housing, Legislation/Policy | United Kingdom

The government must lead the way in improving access to buildings for disabled people, says a new report published today. The document, Building for Equality: Disability and the Built Environment, published by the Women and Equalities Committee, highlights the challenges facing disabled people in accessing homes, public spaces and other buildings.

It recommends that the government should develop a cross-departmental strategy bringing together all built environment policy affecting accessibility…

Advocacy group to run accessible taxi for culture events

4/25 | Source: | Belper News- UK | Advocacy, Transit/Transportation, Inclusion, Mobility | United Kingdom

The campaign to make Belper one of Britain’s most accessible towns will make another breakthrough next month with a free taxi service launching for cultural events. In what might be a UK-first, the Accessible Belper group and Belper Town Council will also stage a specially seasoned session at the food festival in July. Group chairman Siobhan Fennell said: “It’s exciting to be launching a new initiative to help people with mobility difficulties or who might be isolated at home.

“We’re here to make the whole town open for everyone to enjoy. It’s a culture change and we’re getting there step-by-step.”…

Advocates want more accessible taxis in Halifax

4/25 | Source: | Global News- Canada | Transit/Transportation, Advocacy, Mobility, Accessible Design | Canada

Spotting a taxi in Halifax is easy for most of us but finding an accessible one comes with its challenges. Paul Vienneau relies on a wheelchair to get from place to place and often has to call around looking for a company that has an accessible cab available. It’s something he said that makes everyday life a little harder.

“All of the things that everybody else would take for granted like going to work, going on a date, planning your life. These are really difficult for someone with a disability who is unable to transfer into a car,” said Vienneau…

MEPs make products more accessible for the disabled

4/26 | Source: | New Europe- EU | Accessible Design, Innovation, Litigation

The European Parliament’s internal market committee has amended draft EU rules to make phones, e-book readers, payment terminals and other key products more accessible to people with disabilities. On April 25, the committee approved the rules, which would apply only to products and services placed on the EU market after the directive takes effect, by 19 votes in favour, none against and 17 abstentions.

Why investing in accessibility is always safe bet

4/26 | Source: | Business Zone- UK | Inclusion, Diversity, Disability | United Kingdom

There are a number of reasons why accessibility is always a great investment. For one, it is the right thing to do. Some would say accessibility is a moral imperative. In the same way accessibility should be a part of the software developer DNA, it should also be a part of the investor DNA.

It is also an evolutionary imperative. It is not necessarily the strong that survive. It is the one most adapted to its environment. Accessibility is an adaptation mechanism that enables more of the species to thrive and prosper, creating more diversity, and more avenues of evolutionary advancement…

Accessibility Act: Business over people?

4/26 | Source: | European Disability Forum- EU | Businesses, Litigation, Disability Rights

The IMCO Committee has favoured business demands over the rights of people, including persons with disabilities, older people and all consumers. This fully contradicts all previous statements by the European Parliament on the Accessibility Act and in particular the European Parliament’s resolution of 7 July 2016. The report is watering down the European Commission’s proposal to such an extent that there is a risk that the Accessibility Act may be meaningless for millions of people in Europe.

This is a moment in Europe where citizens need to see the European Institutions adopting laws and policies which are going to benefit ordinary people. EDF is strengthened in our resolve to work with our members, partners and allies for the European Parliament to fight for the rights of persons with disabilities, as it has done in the past. We call on all the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to substantially amend the IMCO Committee’s report in the plenary in June and to promote a strong and ambitious Accessibility Act…

Critics of new ‘dynamic’ disability symbol not just anti-PC cranks: Teitel

4/26 | Source: | The Star- Canada | Accessible Parking, Mobility, Building/Facilities Access | Canada

There is probably no symbol in the world easier to identify (besides the Golden Arches of McDonald’s) than the International Symbol of Access. That’s the official name for the image painted outside thousands of accessible parking spots, restrooms and elevators. You know the one: it’s a picture of a stick figure sitting in a wheelchair — or more accurately — a stick figure melded to a wheelchair.

After all, the one-dimensional, angular design of the image makes it difficult to discern where exactly the wheelchair ends and the person sitting in it begins…

‘Hey Siri’…how mobile technology can support inclusion

4/27 | Source: | Community Care Review- Australia | Apple, Inclusion, Technology | Australia

For such a small piece of equipment, the iPad packs a lot of punch when it comes to providing accessibility features. While there is still a need for custom-built equipment, many people with special accessibility needs are finding that an iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch or similar devices by other manufacturers can perform the same functions for a much lower price and sometimes in a way that makes them stand out less.

Of course, everyone has different needs and whether an iPad is going to suit depends on what the individual is trying to achieve. Here are five commonly used features which are inbuilt into an iPad, which means once you have the device, there’s no extra cost. They just need to be set up…

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