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Disability and Communications: How Net Neutrality, Video Captions Impact Access

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Accessibility in the News—12/15/17.

International Symbol of Access (wheelchair image) painted on a parking lot space.

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―Francis of Assisi

National News (U.S.)

The woman who wants to get wheelchairs on planes

December 4, 2017   |  Source:  BBC  |  Travel, Mobility, Inclusion

Many forms of transport are now wheelchair accessible. But not aeroplanes. Michele Erwin, All Wheels Up Founder and President, wants to change that…

Respect for others at heart of fair treatment

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier  |  Disability Rights, Inclusion, Awareness

My dear friend R has agreed to let me share her difficult experience as a lesson in being truly inclusive and accessible. R pays for a club membership that comes with myriad services. A visible physical disability prevents R from using many of them. She appreciates the ability to use those she can, which are housed in a specific area of the club. When visiting the club, R encounters several physical barriers. The club was able to utilize exemptions from certain accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Despite these difficulties, R makes the trip most days…

How a Blind Student Who Felt Locked Out of STEM Classes Challenged—and Changed—Her University

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  EdSurge  |  Blindness/Visual Impairment, Discrimination, Awareness

Students who are blind rarely major in math or science, and Emily Schlenker understands why, from personal experience. A pre-med major at Wichita State University, Schlenker was born without sight. But that hasn’t slowed down her fascination with organic chemistry. What has repeatedly snagged her ability to study it, however, has been when homework assignments include charts and graphs that her screen-reading software can’t process. “If I went around to every single wheelchair ramp on campus and broke part of it, there would be an absolute riot,” she says…

Feds: Many Public Housing Units For The Disabled Aren’t Really Accessible

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  Honolulu Civil Beat

A federal investigation into the Hawaii Public Housing Authority has found widespread problems with units that are supposed to be accessible to disabled people. Investigators from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found more than 470 instances in which units and common spaces didn’t meet requirements for disability access, according to their preliminary findings. The federal agency also found cases in which able-bodied people were living in units intended for disabled people…

Oklahoma prosecutor declines to charge cop in deaf man’s killing

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  CBS News

An Oklahoma prosecutor announced Friday he will not file criminal charges against a police officer in the September shooting death of a deaf man who was not following officer commands. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said his investigation determined the Sept. 19 shooting death of 35-year-old Magdiel Sanchez outside his south Oklahoma City home was justified. Police have said officers who responded to a hit-and-run crash encountered Sanchez holding a metal pipe. An autopsy report shows Sanchez was hit with a stun gun and shot five times in the chest, pelvis and upper arm…

From accommodation to inclusion: Students with physical disabilities say they’re overlooked outside the classroom

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  The Eagle

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability as “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” During the 2016-2017 academic year, 1,016 students registered a disability through the Academic Support and Access Center, said Erica Gillaspy, assistant director of disability support. Gillaspy said she could not specify the nature of those disabilities to protect those students’ privacy. When Ariel Michaelson, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, arrives on campus each morning, she has trouble finding a parking spot…

Media Beware: ‘Shakedown’ Lawyer Suing The Industry Over Videos Without Closed Captioning

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  Forbes

A lawyer accused by his opponents of exploiting the blind to recover millions of dollars from shakedown lawsuits is now representing a deaf man who has sued a dozen media outlets. Personal injury lawyer C.K. Lee has decided to target yet another industry over the accessibility of its websites, an ever-growing area of practice for plaintiffs’ attorneys. Since April, he’s filed 12 lawsuits against various media outlets, including Barstool Sports, BET Interactive and Gannett Satellite Information Network…

The City’s Bogus Compromise with Uber Would Hurt Riders with Disabilities

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  Gotham Gazette

The hustle and bustle of New York is a part of its identity: we New Yorkers are always on the move. Our officials must fight for equal access to transportation, but as those of us with disabilities know, accessible methods of travel are shamefully limited. This is why the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has apparently been negotiating with private for-hire car companies like Uber and Lyft on the issue of wheelchair accessible taxis for several months…

IcyWallet Offers a Cold Storage Bitcoin Wallet for the Visually Impaired

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  Nasdaq

Safely storing cryptocurrency can be confusing, especially for newcomers to the space, but for people with visual impairments, finding an accessible option is especially challenging. IcyWallet is a cold wallet with a difference: it is designed to make it as simple as possible for people with visual impairments to manage offline bitcoin storage. The project got its start when Adam Newbold and his wife took a braille reading course as a learning activity. Shortly afterward, Newbold struck up a Reddit conversation with a blind Bitcoin enthusiast…

Making Digital Communications Accessible

December 11, 2011   |  Source:  Edutopia

As educators take advantage of digital tools to communicate with families and communities, do we think enough about who can access the information we share? According to the Digital Accessibility Toolkit: What Education Leaders Need to Know: “Accessibility is essential for leveraging technology and providing educational opportunities for all students, including those with disabilities and English learners (ELs). School systems need to ensure all information provided to the public, parents, and guardians is accessible.”…

Net Neutrality and people with disabilities

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  Computerworld

A great move forward in the protection of civil rights occurred when in 1996 when the 104th Congress of the United States passed amendments the Telecommunications Act of 1934. We may not associate civil rights with telecommunications legislation until we consider the traditional goals of universal service and the impediments that communications technologies impose upon people with sight, auditory, cognitive and other disabilities. Today, 83 years of forward progress towards true universal service inclusive of people with disabilities is under assault as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)…

Accessibility awareness remains low as deadline approaches

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  GCN.com

Beginning Jan. 18, 2018, government agencies across the U.S. will be required by law to make their websites accessible to the more than 60 million Americans with visual, hearing or other disabilities. Yet more than 87 percent of 430+ local government respondents to Vision’s 2017 What’s Next Survey said they have moderate, weak or no knowledge of federal web accessibility requirements. Jurisdictions that do not comply with these guidelines risk lawsuits from private citizens, as well as legal action by the Department of Justice…

Launch Guides are virtual eyes and ears for navigating Worcester Common

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  Worcester Telegram

Worcester Common is beautiful to see, but people who are visually impaired may find it difficult to navigate activities held there. The solution the city is offering is Launch Guide, a series of stations on poles and fences where people can use their cellphones to get information and directions for the City Hall area, including the Common. Jayna Turchek, director of human rights and disabilities for the city, said the Launch Guide stations have QR codes that can be read by cellphones nested on them…

NMHC hosts 1st fair housing, accessibility training

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Saipan Tribune

The Northern Marianas Housing Corp. hosted the islands’ first fair housing and accessibility training that ended yesterday and certified approximately 90 individuals. According to NMHC executive director Jesse Palacios, two trainers from the U.S. mainland were brought to Saipan to educate the public about fair housing and the importance of housing accessibility “like the rights you have as a landlord and your rights as a tenant so we don’t discriminate.” …

Don’t leave out students with physical disabilities

December 13, 2017   |  Source:  The Eagle

Most students probably do not think about accessibility very often, but for many, it poses a challenge on a daily basis. Students with physical disabilities interviewed by The Eagle are generally happy with the help that the Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC) provides. But AU has not done enough to address campus accessibility issues outside of ASAC. Many complain that buildings are not as physically accessible as they should be, or are extremely cumbersome to enter…

Are Auburn-area movie theaters accessible?

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Auburn Citizen

Approximately five years ago, movie patrons who have sensory disabilities were able to experience sights and sounds on-screen in an entirely new way. Moviegoers who are blind or vision-impaired are given a headset for the movie they are going to, and while the scenes are running, there is an audio description being narrated that tells the patron what the scene looks like, describes characters and their expressions, and fills in each scene when the dialog is silent…

ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits Increase Amidst Lack of DOJ Compliance Guidelines

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Law.com

Title III of the ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in the full and equal enjoyment of public accommodations, as in Gomez v. La Carreta Enterprises, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170777 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 13, 2017).To state a claim for relief under Title III, a plaintiff must plausibly allege that because of his disability he was denied full and equal enjoyment of the public accommodation. The ADA’s definition of “place of public accommodation” does not currently include websites and there is a split among the circuits whether Title III applies beyond physical spaces and into cyberspace…

ADA Suits Continue to Rise; Spread to Third State

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Credit Union Times (Subscription)

The number of ADA suits filed in federal court against credit unions over their websites has risen to at least 34 and has spread to three states, according to court documents. The cases began appearing in September in Virginia, where at least 25 credit unions have since been sued. In November, a different plaintiff represented by the same California-based law firm in the Virginia cases sued at least four credit unions in Georgia…

Designing for Access

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  New York Times

Many recent technological advancements seem more ominous than optimistic: Alexa eavesdropping on water cooler conversations at work, automation taking our jobs, autonomous vehicles crashing into taco trucks. Or they’re more frivolous than helpful (for example, automated dental floss dispensers). But “Access+Ability,” an exhibition opening Friday at the Cooper Hewitt design museum in Manhattan, fills one with real optimism: It highlights the beneficial ways design and technology are transforming the lives of people with different physical, cognitive and sensory abilities…

Department of Justice investigating playground accessibility at Iowa City schools

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Iowa City Press Citizen

The federal Department of Justice is investigating whether playgrounds in the Iowa City Community School District meet federal accessibility standards, according to an email sent to school board members Tuesday. Department of Justice officials were in Iowa City for a one-day visit to district schools on Nov. 15, according to the email, which was sent to the Iowa City Community School Board from Kingsley Botchway, the district’s equity and engagement director…

What I learned about accessibility at a Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuck event

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  HuffPost

If you’ve ever read any of my blogs you will know that I’m pretty honest about my lack of perfection in this human body I live in. In previous blogs, I have talked about the health issues I live with and rarely do people know how this impacts me. I’m going to talk fairly transparently about living with some of these issues and being unstoppable. Last spring/summer my husband told me that he wanted to go see Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuk, and we talked about it…

Drive by litigation in the hotel industry – An unintended result of the ADA

December 15, 2017   |  Source:  New England Real Estate Journal Online

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an important and necessary regulatory device that serves a critical legal and social purpose. So called “drive by litigation” has, however, wreaked havoc in the hotel industry and turned a well-intentioned and groundbreaking law into a tool for plaintiffs and law firms seeking quick and easy settlement money. Plaintiffs engage in “drive by litigation” when they file ADA lawsuits against businesses without actually patronizing, or attempting to patronize, the business…

Jack Fact — In the United States alone there are around 10 million people with a visual disability, and numbers worldwide rise to about 250 million, according to the World Health Organization. Nearly 60 percent of visually impaired non-institutionalized Americans were unemployed in 2015.

International News

For an inclusive society

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  Republica- Nepal

 “As blind and partially sighted students, my friends and I faced numerous difficulties in classrooms and exam halls throughout our school life,” says Kaladhar Bhandari, president of Blind Youth Association of Nepal. “So, in order to improve the accessibility of blind and partially sighted children and youth in every sphere, we established Blind Youth Association Nepal (BYAN) in 2012,” he adds. This association primarily works in four major areas – institutional development, quality education, employment promotion, and policy advocacy…

Improving accessibility for disabled passengers

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  Buying Business Travel

The recent Civil Aviation Authority review into the assistance facilities and services on offer at the top 30 airports in the UK, revealed most to be doing a good job in terms of their facilities and assistance available to customers with some form of disability or access need. However, it also named a few who need to raise their standards and provide more adequate resource levels. ABTA representatives sit on numerous passenger service groups at airports throughout the UK and the need to give prior notice for assistance often comes up as an issue…

Disable-friendly Schools needed

December 9, 2017   |  Source:  Jamaica Gleaner- Jamaica

Opposition Senator Dr Floyd Morris has called on the Government to make one primary and high school in each of the 63 constituencies across Jamaica disabled-friendly. Opening the debate on a motion in the Upper House yesterday, Morris urged the administration to make the institutions accessible to students with disabilities as a first step in dealing with the problem of limited access to public buildings, particularly educational institutions…

IMC-CSR wing and Ratna Nidhi organised disability seminar

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  TheHealthSite- India

IMC-CSR wing and Ratna Nidhi Trust, supported by SBI, jointly organised a seminar titled ‘Dependence to independence- Making Maharashtra Disabled Friendly’ organised by the CSR Committee of the Indian Merchants Chamber in the city on Saturday. The seminar saw a congregation of experts and philanthropists from the disability sector across India, who spoke on a wide spectrum of issues such as skilling, employment and how CSR from corporates can make a difference to the disability sector…

Disability discrimination: is it happening to you?

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  Disability Horizons- UK

Have you ever experienced discrimination because of your disability? Writer Rebecca Sherwood, who uses a wheelchair, talks about the many different types of discrimination, from accessibility issues to prejudices, and how it can come in many different guises. Unfortunately, as disabled people, we can probably all recall instances where we haven’t been treated as equals.To be discriminated against is to be treated unfairly as an individual or as a wider marginalised group, based on preconceived ideas and biases…

How To: Make In-Flight Entertainment Accessible for Visually Impaired Passengers

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  APEX Media- UK

The APEX How To series features experts in fields ranging from product design and operations to sales and marketing, who offer guidance and tips on topics that influence the airline passenger experience. In this installment, David Brown, business development director, Bluebox Aviation Systems, shares tips on making in-flight entertainment (IFE) accessible for passengers with sight loss. Brown was part of the team, made up of representatives from Bluebox Aviation Systems, Virgin Atlantic and The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association…

Ontario Making Education More Accessible for Students with Disabilities

December 8, 2017   |  Source:  Government of Ontario News- Canada

Ontario has selected two individuals that will help lead the creation of a new Education Accessibility Standard to remove accessibility barriers for students. Lynn Ziraldo has been selected as Chair of the K-12 Standards Development Committee (SDC). Since 2016, Ms. Ziraldo has served as Strategic Advisor and Executive Director at the Learning Disabilities Association of York Region. She served as the Chair of the Minister of Education’s Advisory Council for Special Education from 1996 to 2006, and in 2007 chaired the Minister’s Autism Reference Group…

Need to focus on innovation for people with disabilities

December 9, 2017   |  Source:  The Hans- India & India Samvad

There is a need to look for innovation beyond technology and focus on innovation for people with disabilities so that their optimum talent can be explored, said Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Government of India (GoI) recently in New Delhi. She also said that the central government is taking a leadership role for it to be implemented successfully across the states, and added that the total number of disabled people in India according to a 2011 survey is 2.68 crore of which majority are living in poor condition.

Artificial intelligence and accessible theater for the deaf and blind

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  EurekAlert- Spain

This new technology from UC3M’s SoftLab research group has been implemented to give accessibility to the Broadway musical comedy “The Addams Family” at the Teatro Calderón of Madrid. The creative agency C&W, COMUNICAdos and Escena Global also collaborated on the project, which received support from the Consejería de Educación e Innovación (Council for Education and Innovation) of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. Thanks to this project, individuals with visual and auditory impairment have been able to enjoy any of the performances…

From housing to sidewalks: making Vancouver a more disability-aware city

December 11, 2017   |  Source:  CBC- Canada

It’s been 30 years since Paralympic athlete Rick Hansen wheeled across four continents to change perceptions about people with disabilities and, while things have improved, he says much more work is still needed to make communities accessible to all.  “Vancouver is a very accessible city relative to the rest of the world but, boy, we still have a lot of gaps,” Hansen said.  This year, the 30th anniversary of his Man in Motion Tour, Hansen is pushing for more awareness about improving accessibility…

How workplaces evolve when they become disabled-friendly

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  Your Story- India

In line with our previous attempts of chronicling journeys of the specially-abled, and build dialogue around inclusion and accessibility; SocialStory, a vertical of YourStory organised a month-long campaign on making India inclusive. The campaign discussed various issues around accessibility and invited leaders and change-makers to share their views and opinions on the subject. As part of the Inclusive India campaign, we also partnered up with organisations like Sarthak Educational Trust, Enable India, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People…

SC R aps States, UGC For Not Checking Compliance With Schemes On Enhancing Access To Higher Education Of Persons With Disabilities

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  Live Law- India

A Supreme Court bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan on Tuesday rapped state governments and the UGC for not checking compliance by higher educational institutions with schemes for enhancing access of disabled persons to higher education, stipulating guidelines on physical environment, transportation and information and communications technology within the premises, as formulated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 and its predecessor of 1995…

On Blindness And The Need For A More Accessible Internet

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  Feminism in India- India

I was a young, hopeful woman of 21 when my life changed forever. An irreversible cerebral attack took from me my eyesight, ability to hear and damaged my other senses as well. This happened 25 years ago and the events that followed changed my life forever. The fear, devastation and isolation were complete. Since I was unable to see and hear (for a few months, after which I regained partial hearing), people around me had no idea how to communicate with me for a while…

Google Maps-inspired app could revolutionise the way wheelchair users get around

December 12, 2017   |  Source:  ABC Online- Australia

In an Australian first, researchers have developed the application that shows wheelchair users the best routes to travel around the University of Wollongong campus. They say the Navability app could revolutionise the way wheelchair users get around. Jason Jones, who has struggled with hereditary spastic paraplegia for the past two decades, has helped to develop the program. Since 2014 the 45-year-old’s condition has progressively worsened, forcing him to use a wheelchair…

AbleGamers Help Everyone Play

December 13, 2017   |  Source:  Kotaku- Australia

People with disabilities can feel socially isolated and – as games become a greater force for socialisation in our world – AbleGamers helps give those people the tools to play with their friends.  AbleGamers’ Founder and Executive Director, Mark Bartlet, and Chief Operating Officer, Steve Spohn, sat down with Meredith Molinari during this weekend’s Playstation Experience to talk about the importance of making games accessible. “It’s not really about the games, it’s really about the people,” said Spohn…

Let’s have buildings that are friendly to all users

December 13, 2017   |  Source:  Daily Nation- Kenya

While the country’s real estate sector can be said to have withstood the cash crunch that has bedevilled the global real estate industry in the recent past, its adaptation of new building technologies that seek to ensure inclusivity for all has been seriously lacking. Mr Brian Munene, an architect with Build Design, says Kenya lags behind when it comes to buildings that are all-inclusive. “All over the world, people are now building structures that can be accessed by anyone, irrespective of their social, cultural, emotional or physical handicap…

Accessible tourism: Tips to aid booking

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  Travel Weekly- UK

If half your clientele said they weren’t getting good customer service, you’d be asking yourself what could have gone so wrong, and doing everything you could to put it right. Yet that’s exactly how travellers with disabilities or other accessibility needs feel, according to the latest research from Amadeus. It found that 46% of the 800 travellers surveyed had encountered a “lack of skilled customer service” in the booking process, and “a void of information regarding destination accessibility”…

Canada’s aging population signals need for more inclusive, accessible transportation system

December 14, 2017   |  Source:  EurekAlert- Canada

As the number of Canadians aged 65 and older continues to grow faster than any other age group, so too does the need for a more inclusive and accessible transportation system, underscores a group of experts in a new report released today by the Council of Canadian Academies. Older Canadians on the Move addresses key obstacles faced by today’s older travellers and explores innovative and technological solutions for adapting Canada’s transportation system to meet future needs…

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Digital Accessibility Digest

One of our three industry blogs, Microassist’s Digital Accessibility Digest is the “umbrella” for much of our accessibility content. It features commentary, guidance, curated news, and event information.Accessibility in the News is a regular feature of the Digital Accessibility Digest.

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