Accessibility in the News—1/19/18.

The federal government made several moves this week that advance overall user experience and accessibility practices in particular: A measure requiring mobile-friendly federal websites became law and new Section 508 federal accessibility requirements for information and communications technology, instituted last year, are due to take effect. Businesses are being cautioned to take cues from federal accessibility practices and evaluate the accessibility standing of their own websites and digital materials. Meanwhile, credit unions continue to grapple with allegations of web inaccessibility and ADA violations.

Several articles this week also address specific areas where physical or facility-related accessibility continues to need improvement.

The news also covered a joyous sock entrepreneur with Down’s Syndrome, University of Florida taking on home retrofits, a father taking practical steps to equip his daughter for her pending blindness, and a museum exhibit highlighting designs for and by those with a wide range of disabilities.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” ― Helen Keller

National News (U.S.)

Create a mobile website experience that is accessible for everyone! Register for our full-day mobile development and testing workshop with mobile accessibility expert, Paul J. Adam, in Austin, Texas (the “Live Music Capital of the World”), February 8, 2018. You’ll learn how to test with mobile screen readers, JavaScript/HTML5/WAI-ARIA/CSS3 mobile accessibility techniques, native iOS and Android accessibility testing, and more. For more details, see “Introduction to Mobile Web Accessibility Testing & Development” on our website.

Famous Americans with Disabilities | Source: Library of Congress

Despite their handicaps, these notable Americans overcame adversity and went on to achieve great success in government, art, entertainment, education, civil rights and activism. The Library of Congress encourages the continued research into the history and future of persons with disabilities as great contributors to American collection of knowledge and creativity…

University of Florida Team to Help Innovate Retrofits for Homes for People with Disabilities

January 12, 2018 | Source: Newswise

Imagine using your living room as a dining room or your kitchen as a bedroom – complete with handicap-accessible equipment. University of Florida researchers will help develop those conversions, as they work on a three-year, $531,000, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to develop and test innovations to retrofit homes for people with disabilities to make them more accessible and affordable. In the past, research in this area focused on single-family homes, but this research zeroes in on attached housing, such as townhouses and duplexes…

Berger: National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions fighting for CUs targeted by ADA lawsuits

January 12, 2018 | Source: NAFCU

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, in a message to association members yesterday, provided an update on NAFCU’s efforts thus far to put an end to meritless lawsuits filed under website accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), obtain clear guidance on the issue and help those credit unions currently facing litigation. “NAFCU is standing with credit unions in the fight against unfair ADA lawsuits,” wrote Berger…

Jason George: Grey’s Anatomy, Diversity, Advocate

January 12, 2018 | Source: Ability Magazine

When actor Jason George isn’t busy saving lives as Dr. Ben Warren on Grey’s Anatomy, he finds other ways to help. He champions diversity in the entertainment industry, guides at-risk youth, and raises funds for cancer research. He’s also a classically trained stage actor, who’s landed over 50 guest roles on primetime television, including nine series. So chances are good you’ve seen his face somewhere. Recently, ABILITY caught up with the actor at a symposium called “Engage: Navigating Hollywood’s Shifting Landscape” in Santa Monica…

His 2-Year-Old Daughter Is Slowly Going Blind. So He Invented A Game To Help Her Learn Braille

January 12, 2018 | Source: WBUR

The majority of adults with a visual disability in the U.S. are also unemployed. The jobless rate is close to 60 percent, according to the National Federation of the Blind. Statistics like that, which shed light on the long list of challenges people with vision impairment face, were a driving force behind one father’s attempt to help his young daughter adapt to a devastating diagnosis. Jake Lacourse of Middleborough, Massachusetts, was honored Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for creating a game he calls BecDot..

The million dollar sock entrepreneur with Down’s syndrome

January 13, 2017 | Source: BBC News

“Pull up your socks” isn’t just a phrase to John Cronin. It’s been the key to his entrepreneurial success. Back in 2016, the 21-year-old told his dad, Mark, that he wanted them to start a business when he graduated from high school, but he wasn’t sure what kind. “My first suggestion was a fun store, but we didn’t know what to sell,” says John, a native of New York’s Long Island. Next he considered a food truck, but there was one problem: “We really can’t cook!” jokes Mark…

City of Denver to Pay $3 Million for Federal Settlement Related to Project Civil Access

January 15, 2018 | Source: USA Herald

The City of Denver is paying to make big changes to certain buildings and to evaluate certain programs as services to ensure that they are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Project Civic Access was initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that cities and towns are following the federal act. While the City of Denver will begin the process by paying $3 million, experts believe that the total cost could be as high as $67 million according to a bond initiative passed in July of 2017…

To make buildings more accessible to people with disabilities, University of Florida researchers are turning to virtual reality

January 15, 2017 | Source: Alligator.org

For the next three years, UF researchers will use virtual reality to find ways to make existing buildings more accessible to those with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development granted $531,000 in the Fall to a team of researchers and scholars in the College of Design, Construction and Planning, College of Public Health and Health Professions and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said Randy Cantrell, an assistant professor and co-investigator working on the project…

Construction adds complexity for people with a physical disability at University of Missouri

January 15, 2018 | Source: Columbia Missourian

John Bowders used to be able to dash from Lafferre Hall to Jesse Hall in under three minutes. Bowders now has to roll around Jesse and enter through the basement because that’s where the ramp is. There are three ways to enter the building, but he can only use one. Bowders, who has taught engineering at MU for 21 years, has been in a wheelchair for the last three years, the result of a bad fall. He uses the side entrance of Jesse because every other entrance has steps…

Companies, give people with disabilities access to the superhighway

January 16, 2018 | Source: Sun Sentinel

The demise of brick-and-mortar retail operations is just one of many examples illustrating our preference for website shopping. Once thought to be the exception, it is now regarded as the rule. The same trend applies for ordering food, banking, and applying for jobs, to name a few more. Website use continues to grow and with that dynamic comes a need to make these online properties accessible to those with disabilities. It is no different than malls and office buildings providing ramps for those in wheelchairs or braille on elevator buttons for the blind…

Burger King, Supermarket Hit With ADA Suits Over Websites

January 16, 2018 | Source: Law360 (Subscription)

Fast-food giant Burger King and supermarket chain Morton Williams are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide websites that are accessible to users who are blind or visually impaired, according to proposed class actions filed Friday in New York federal court. Named plaintiff Maria Mendizabal alleges in separate suits that she was prevented from gaining information such as store locations, hours and pricing, as the websites of Burger King Corp. and Morton Williams Supermarkets Inc. are not properly designed for use by legally…

‘Spirit of inclusiveness in design’: Exhibit focuses on accessibility for all

January 16, 2017 | Source: Metro & Curbed

From snazzy canes to tremor-proof spoons to a racing wheelchair, a new exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum highlights a surge in designs for and by those with a wide range of disabilities. “The show really celebrates this proliferation of designing today for people with physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities. More than that, it’s about attitudes toward designing for a wider group of users so you don’t have to have so many separate objects. It’s a new spirit of inclusiveness in design,” says Cara McCarty, director of Curatorial at Cooper Hewitt…

Can Epigenetics Help Explain the Mechanisms of Autism?

January 16, 2018 | Source: Technology Networks

Scientists have long tried to pin down the causes of autism spectrum disorder. Recent studies have expanded the search for genetic links from identifying genes toward epigenetics, the study of factors that control gene expression and looks at chemical modifications of DNA and the proteins associated with it. The challenge is knowing where to look, given that our genome is comprised of more than three billion nucleotides, or building blocks, of DNA…

Handicapped-Accessible Parking Violations Dramatically Increased in 2017

January 16, 2018 | Source: NBC4 Washington

People with disabilities are facing an uphill battle for parking spaces amid a fast rising number of parking cheats, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team. A review of parking enforcement records in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia shows a dramatic increase in citations and convictions against people who illegally park in spaces designated for people with disabilities. The increase was most dramatic in D.C…

NAFCU publishes FAQ on ADA to help Credit Unions targeted by lawsuits

January 17, 2018 | Source: NAFCU

NAFCU published a new FAQ document to help association members and nonmembers with concerns about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and website accessibility. The document explains why credit unions are being targeted with legal action and what NAFCU is doing to help, among other useful information.Credit unions can download the FAQ from a message sent by NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger yesterday or by clicking here…

NAFCU Sends Cease and Desist Letter to ADA Law Firm

January 17, 2018 | Source: Credit Union Times (Subscription)

NAFCU is demanding that a California law firm stop sending letters to credit unions contending that they owe legal damages because their websites do not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. In a letter to Scott Ferrell and Victoria Knowles of the Pacific Trial Attorneys, NAFCU President B. Dan Berger charges that the law firm is using questionable facts and assumptions of law in letters to credit unions. “Your demand letters, which appear to be nearly identical and issued wholesale, contain a number of troubling characteristics,” Berger said, in the letter…

Campus technology must be accessible for people with disabilities

January 17, 2018 | Source: NIU Today

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 18, Northern Illinois University has a new policy for “Producing, Developing, Maintaining and Using Technology.” The university policy becomes effective the same day as an update to the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act, which affects all Illinois universities, and the refreshed version of Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. All electronic and information technology must be accessible to people who have visual or hearing disabilities or who can’t use a mouse or a keyboard…

Gardner measure requiring mobile-friendly federal websites becomes law

January 17, 2018 | Source: Ripon Advance

A bipartisan measure from U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) ensuring federal government websites are mobile-friendly and correctly display on Americans’ hand-held devices has been signed into law by President Donald Trump. The Connected Government Act, S. 1769, introduced by Sens. Gardner and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on Sept. 7, 2017, was the Senate version of H.R. 2331, which was introduced on May 3, 2017 by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL). The House approved its bill, 423-0, last November…

Inclusion, accessibility key in synagogue renovation plans

January 17, 2018 | Source: St. Louis Jewish Light

The rabbi’s secretary at Congregation Shaare Emeth sometimes asked Susan Lipstein if she wanted to sit on the bimah during services. That honor is something Jews usually look forward to. But Lipstein, who has multiple sclerosis, was “always reluctant because there were steps getting up to the bimah.” She can get around with the assistance of a walker and is able to drive because of hand controls in her car. Still, she said, “I think about how for people who don’t have these limitations, it doesn’t occur to them that there are people who can’t do those things, and so, it’s frustrating.”…

All federal websites must be accessible to those with disabilities; the business community should take note

January 18, 2018 | Source: Mass Live

Too many websites are failing at accessibility and it is a cause for concern not only for the consumers with disabilities who depend on the web but also for the businesses that stand to realize a profit from serving them. The Internet plays a major role in everyone’s day-to-day lives. From using web-based applications on our phones, to accessing online educational programs, to booking travel plans, or simply getting driving directions, the Internet has become integral to our lives. For this reason, it requires universal accessibility…

Arizona first in US to make legislative meetings accessible to people with hearing loss

January 18, 2018 | Source: AZCentral.com

For about 1.1 million Arizonans with some form of hearing loss, the state Legislature just became a more inclusive place. When the Legislature convened last week, it rolled out a new live-captioning service for the state Senate and House of Representatives. The service is available, by request, for all committee and floor meetings in either chamber. Advocates for people who are deaf or hard of hearing say Arizona’s statehouse is the first in the country to offer such a service for all its meetings, making the lawmaking process more transparent and accessible…

New federal accessibility requirements take effect

January 18, 2018 | Source: StateScoop

On Thursday, the federal government’s new Section 508 standards took effect, requiring compliance from agencies, and any state or locality that accepts federal funding, to ensure their digital services are accessible to people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. As part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the guidelines are aimed at helping seeing- and hearing-impaired users access information on government websites, apps and other digital media…

Jack Fact — According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) website, the number of Manitobans living with visual impairment is 17,244, with an expected 30 per cent increase in the next 10 years.

International News

Large Hadron Collider mysteries made accessible for Bolton’s visually impaired students

January 12, 2018 | Source: The Bolton News- UK

Scientist and teachers laid bare the mysteries behind the Large Hadron Collider for visually impaired students. Youngsters headed to Eden Boys School in Bolton to take part in the Tactile Collider event — a project aiming to make the physics of particle accelerators and the Higgs Boson more accessible. As well as being able to touch a scale model of the collider at the event on Wednesday, teachers also talked about how the structure works and what they were trying to discover…

Government of Canada improves accessibility for Canadians with disabilities

January 12, 2018 | Source: NewsWire- Canada

The chalet at Boler Mountain will soon be accessible to everyone with the installation of a new elevator. The Honorable Kent Hehr, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities was very pleased to announce that the Enabling Accessibility Fund is once again helping to enhance access for people with disabilities. The London Ski Club has recently received $45,000 through the Fund to increase access to their facility…

Deadline on differently-abled access to State Government buildings

January 13, 2018 | Source: The New Indian Express- India

The State Government has directed all its administrative departments to make office buildings fully accessible for differently-abled persons by June 2019 as per the Supreme Court direction. This has to be done to comply with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Department has issued instructions to all departments which provide public service to make their office buildings fully accessible…

Disability advocates fight ‘barriers’ in workplace

January 12, 2018 | Source: Winnipeg Free Press- Canada

Disability advocates made their voices heard on the last day for Manitobans to weigh in on drafts of the accessibility standard for employment. Barrier-Free Manitoba sent eight recommendations to the province for how to improve its proposed standard. They include a suggestion to “speed up its efforts to develop and release the details of the regime required to monitor and enforce compliance with the standard,” as it’s unclear how Manitoba’s Disabilities Issues office will monitor its standards beyond responding to complaints…

Disabled Students

January 13, 2018 | Source: NewsDay- Africa

With schools opening this week, we turn attention to the education rights of school children who live with various disabilities. Unless, one is affected or interacts with disabled children in some aspect of their life, the issues affecting them are rarely discussed. Among, the thousands of students who went to school this week were disabled children, who were fortunate enough to go to school. The majority of disabled children in Zimbabwe as throughout the world do not go to school…

Call for ‘scores on the doors’ disability access ratings

January 13, 2018 | Source: BBC News- Wales

A “scores on the doors” system should be introduced to rate disabled access for surgeries, shops and restaurants, campaigners have said. About 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for premises to be rated 0-5, in a similar scheme to the food hygiene rating. Simon Green, who uses a wheelchair, said friends had to carry him into a restaurant as there was no ramp. The Welsh Government said the principal of the idea had “some merit”…

Wheelchair users fuming after a library refurbishment left them with a lift too small to fit in

January 15, 2018 | Source: The London Economic- UK

Wheelchair users are still unable to use one of Britain’s busiest libraries after a £6million revamp – because the lifts are too small. Oxfordshire County Council forked out millions in taxpayer cash upgrading its flagship library but failed to install new lifts which can fit standard sized wheelchairs. Mum-of-three wheelchair user Suzi Horsley, 34, said it is ‘ridiculous’ she is unable to use the library, which is inside Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre. The council has blamed ‘demand in the construction sector’ but pledged to install new lifts within nine months…

I am a queen on this throne: Virali Modi

January 16, 2018 | Source: Deccan Chronicle- India

Virali Modi’s is an inspiring, miraculous tale. The beginning is tragic, but then comes the silver lining followed by rays of hope and determination, making a radiant woman out of a little girl had been comatose. A disability activist, motivational speaker, model, adventure junkie and a beauty pageant runner-up, the 26-year-old wheelchair-bound woman was featured among BBC 100 Women 2017. She had come to Kochi all the way from Mumbai recently as part of her #mytraintoo campaign, under which she collects petitions seeking disabled-friendly rail facilities…

Mobility first: addressing the needs of wheelchair and mobility scooter users on UK rail

January 16, 2018 | Source: Railway Technology- UK

On the evening of 5 April, in the midst of rush hour, a 50-strong group of wheelchair users and disability rights campaigners coalesced at London Bridge station. They specifically chose the time of the day in which commuters bustle and barge through ticket barriers – and occasionally show the worst sides to human behaviour – to highlight the common problems disabled travellers face in attempting to board trains. The object of the protest’s ire was Southern Rail which earlier this year said there was no “cast-iron guarantee” that assistance for disabled passengers would be available at the network’s stations…

MSU presidential elections and student accessibility

January 18, 2018 | Source: The Silhouette- Canada

As McMaster Students Union elections ramp up and candidates introduce their platforms, we can start to get an idea of how the candidates plan on dealing with issues of accessibility on campus. Mental and physical accessibility is an ongoing concern that McMaster students and that each candidate running for MSU president addresses differently. This concern has been generally assessed in terms of infrastructural concerns and physical accessibility on campus as well as mental health and developing resources that will help students cope with their mental health concerns…

Canadian children lack accessible play spaces

January 18, 2018 | Source: Real Estate Management Industry Network- Canada

Despite the fact that 92 per cent of Canadians agree that accessibility for people with disabilities is a basic human right, playgrounds across the country continue to leave children on the sidelines with design and maintenance practices that are not fully inclusive. Playgrounds develop important social and emotional skills that can have life-long effects. When children with or without disabilities play, they learn to solve problems, experiment, generate ideas, invent and build relationships with peers. Exercise also encourages both mental and physical health and reduces the risk of more than 25 health conditions…

Retina International World Congress comes to New Zealand

January 18, 2018 | Source: Scoop- New Zealand

Why is marketing approval for the first retinal gene therapy treatment for patients with blinding retinal degenerations so significant? Is there an exciting future for applying stem cell therapy to treating retinal disorders and what are the scientific and ethical challenges in the use of stem cells? How have researchers from the fields of ophthalmology, vision science, biophysics, neuroscience, neurosurgery, engineering and material sciences come together to restore vision in the blind using implants for electric or optic stimulation of the visual system?…

Government focus on welfare of PwDs

January 19, 2018 | Source: The New Indian Express- India

Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed all the Departments to ensure full compliance with the provisions of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and make reasonable accommodation in public policies and services, providing support for rehabilitation. Reviewing implementation of the Act at Secretariat here on Thursday, he asked officials to create a barrier-free environment to end all discrimination against the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)…

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