Accessibility in the News — 2/21/2020.

NOTE: To get news like this every week in your inbox, before it hits our website, subscribe to our Accessibility in the News e-newsletter. There are no ads or graphics, and we never send spam. Just use the sign-up form on this page to subscribe and stay up to date!

Feature Story

Skip to National News (U.S.) | Skip to International News

More Accessibility Resources on this Page

Accessibility Blogs and Information | Accessibility Announcements and Products
Accessibility Fourms, Tips and Gaming | Accessibility Statement Pages
Microassist Accessibility Services

AITN Quote of the Week

““No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

― Aesop

On With Life- Brain Injury + Stroke + Neuro

Feature Stories

MIT to caption online videos after discrimination lawsuit

February 18, 2020 | Source: ABC News & National Association of the Deaf & Law|Street

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to provide captions for more of its publicly available online videos as part of a settlement announced Tuesday in a case that accused the school of discriminating against people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The settlement comes months after a similar deal was reached in a lawsuit brought against Harvard University by the National Association of the Deaf, which said the schools were discriminating against people with hearing disabilities by not adequately or accurately captioning videos of lectures and other programs it posts online…

National News (U.S.)

Access Delayed

February 13, 2020 | Source: USA TODAY Network

Federal officials want to make airplane bathrooms easier to use for people with disabilities and aging travelers with reduced mobility. But it could be decades before planes with those features dominate the air. In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed its first update to lavatory design rules since 1990, when the Air Carrier Access Act barred discriminating against passengers with disabilities. The airline industry is exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act that sets accessibility standards for most businesses…

Latest Trump Travel Ban Hits Disabled Africans Harder

February 13, 2020 | Source: Forbes- Peter Slatin

The Trump Administration’s addition of six nations to it xenophobic list of delisted countries to now include Nigeria and three other African states effectively bans nearly a quarter of Africa’s population from American soil. This prophylactic policy harms Africa by slamming shut a door on the educational and employment opportunities here and also by foreclosing the benefits of remittances along with other opportunities for growth and development through investment and trade. It also harms our national interest by denying us the benefits of the diligence, intelligence and deep culture that African immigrants bring…

Cedar Park retirement community bans church services on their property, residents say it’s unfair

February 13, 2020 | Source: KVUE

The Ranch at Cedar Park, a retirement community, told residents they have to take their church services somewhere else in a February newsletter. The residents are not allowed to gather for worship in the community’s movie theater but are allowed to have service in their own apartments. “I’ve never been denied and told, ‘You can’t worship here,'” said Jean Hinkle, a Ranch at Cedar Park resident. “That’s my faith and whenever I’m denied that fellowship with others gathering together, my heart broke.”…

Making family game night accessible for all kids

February 14, 2020 | Source: CU Boulder Today

Isabelle Harris is well on her way to becoming an expert at the board game Othello. The 13-year-old from Grand Junction, Colorado, first discovered the game in an art room at the state convention of the National Federation of the Blind in 2019. In Othello, players take turns laying down black-and-white tiles on a board, attempting to capture their opponent’s pieces. “It was 3D-printed, and it had these pieces that looked like checkers but were different,” she said…

Los Angeles Agency Settles Claims It Violated Housing Requirements

February 14, 2020 | Source: DSNews

The CRA/LA, the successor of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle allegations that its predecessor violated the False Claims Act, according to a statement from the Justice Department. The agency and the city face claims that they received funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) while falsely claiming they were in compliance with accessibility laws…

For wheelchair user Michele Lee, good transit access is key for maintaining independence

February 14, 2020 | Source: Streetsblog Chicago

At yesterday’s Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Council meeting there was a discussion of the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Toward Universal Mobility study of accessibility gaps in the regional transit network. Finance industry professional Michele Lee, a power wheelchair user who is one of the people with disabilities profiled in the report, kicked things off by talking about how good public transportation access is crucial for getting where she needs to go, but non-accessible stations and other barriers in the built environment limit her travel options…

Advocates raise awareness of accessible voting machines for voters with disabilities

February 14, 2020 | Source: News 12 Westchester

Election season is quickly approaching and advocates for voters with disabilities are pushing for accessible voting machines to be readily available at all polling locations. Ballot marking devices are handicap accessible voting machines that are mandated to be at each polling place under the Help America Vote Act, also known as HOVA. But residents like Mount Pleasant resident James Kiernan, who has been blind for seven years, says it’s not always that simple…

Accessibility and Walt Disney World: What Florida Visitors Should Know

February 15, 2020 | Source: South Florida Reporter

Despite the fact that there are 2 million new wheelchair users each year in the United States, our nation is not always friendly to those with mobility issues. And even if you plan on taking a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, you might be wondering whether the most popular amusement parks in Orlando (and, arguably, the nation) will be truly accessible to those with different needs. It might surprise you to learn that Disney World is known as one of the most accommodating vacation spots for guests with disabilities — and yet, there are still areas in which the company can improve…

Parties settle accessibility complaint at Tsawwassen restaurant

February 16, 2020 | Source: Delta-Optimist

A Tsawwassen disability advocate has settled an accessibility complaint against Pat Quinn’s Restaurant & Bar. Vince Miele, who uses a wheelchair and has been a long-time advocate for people with disabilities, launched the human rights accessibility complaint last year. The complaint stemmed from an incident where Miele made a reservation for four, informing the restaurant that one in the party uses a wheelchair. However, when he arrived, he found his friends had been seated at a table in the lower area of the restaurant where he was unable to independently join them due to three stairs…

Scooters prompt old concerns, new conversations about accessibility

February 16, 2020 | Source: Minnesota Daily

Within the first years of electric scooter rentals being introduced to Minneapolis streets, concerns have been raised in the city and on the University of Minnesota campus about accessibility for people with disabilities. Members of the Disabled Student Cultural Center met with a representative from Spin, an electric scooter company, earlier this month to discuss ways to improve accessibility on campus sidewalks, where scooters are often parked. The group also met with representatives from the University’s Parking and Transportation Services…

Lax Regulations And Vulnerable Residents ‘A Recipe For Problems’ In Eldercare Homes

February 17, 2020 | Source: NPR

Some states call them assisted living facilities; others, residential or personal care homes. These state-licensed facilities promise peace of mind for families whose elders require long-term care. In Vermont and elsewhere, investigations into these homes have revealed lax oversight, injuries and deaths. Few understand the risks like June Kelly. Her mother, Marilyn Kelly, was energetic and loved to go fishing when she moved into Our House Too, a 13-bed facility that advertised its memory-care expertise…

The Accessible Restroom Stall Is Not for Able-Bodied People

February 17, 2020 | Source: Yahoo Lifestyle

You need to use the restroom just like anyone else. There are six stalls as you walk in, one of which is the disability-accessible stall. There is no one else in the restroom, and yet you still choose the stall made big enough for those with disabilities who are unable to use the stalls made for able-bodied people. You come out and wonder why there is a disabled person waiting patiently for you to be done when there are five other stalls vacant. Don’t get me wrong, if the restroom is packed and it’s the only stall available, I am not going to get mad about it…

Move it: A new commissioner should help give the MTA a sense of urgency on improving service for people in wheelchairs

February 18, 2020 | Source: New York Daily News

MTA Could Make Many More Subway Stations Accessible, Study Finds

February 20, 2020 | Source: The City

Although run by the MTA under gubernatorial control, the subways are city-owned and the mayor matters. So Gov. Cuomo and the state Senate must quickly ratify Mayor de Blasio’s two board nominees, Department of Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez and Victor Calise, the commissioner of the mayor’s office for people with disabilities. Calise in particular brings desperately needed focus to improving service for New Yorkers with disabilities…

Milwaukee County tests innovative app to expand accessibility for blind and low vision MCTS Riders

February 18, 2020 | Source: Milwaukee Independent

Milwaukee County Transit System announced the launch of a pilot program that supports MCTS riders who are blind or low vision with increased access to public transportation on February 5. Through Aira, an app available on any iOS or Android smartphone, users can receive free, one-on-one assistance riding the bus and navigating the more than 5,000 bus stops in Milwaukee County. The program was coordinated between Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) and the Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD)…

Short film and documentary ensures accessible experience for deaf-blind community

February 17, 2020 | Source: Daily Bruin

“The Feeling Through Experience” brings accessibility to the silver screen. With the support of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths & Adults, the short film and accompanying documentary will be screened Wednesday in the James Bridges Theater. The “Feeling Through” film itself, directed by Doug Roland, will be followed by a Q&A with the director, lead actor and local members of the deaf-blind community. Roland said that he aimed for all parts of “The Feeling Through Experience” to be made accessible for members of the deaf-blind, deaf and blind communities…

Housing supply for people with disabilities is short in Denver

February 19, 2020 | Source: Denverite

Denver has half as many homes that are accessible as it does households with someone who has difficulty walking or uses a wheelchair or other device to get around, according to a new report looking at the data on disability and housing. In its report released Wednesday, Apartment List added that renters with disabilities were more likely than those without to be spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. For low- and moderate-income households in particular, spending more than 30 percent of earnings on rent can make it hard to cover other living costs and bounce back from emergencies…

Peruvian restaurant in Queens designed to be accessible and welcoming

February 19, 2020 | Source: Fox

Rosatoro Restaurant in Astoria, Queens, is more than just delicious Peruvian food. The owners of the restaurant put a lot of thought and compassion into designing it. “One of the reasons we chose this venue is because every wall rolls up,” co-owner Bruno Salazar said. And one area is completely flat so “no matter what type of wheelchair you have, you have easy access to it,” he added. Salazar knows exactly what it is like to live every day in a wheelchair. He understands the struggles. And so do his two brothers, who experienced how difficult it was to go to restaurants with him that weren’t wheelchair accessible…

This grandma is using Legos to make her town more accessible

February 19, 2020 | Source: New York Post

These colorful ramps are the wheel deal. A German grandma has formulated an ingenious way to make her town more accessible to the disabled — by constructing wheelchair ramps out of Lego blocks. Rita Ebel, 62 and from Hanau, Germany, has been wheelchair-bound since she was injured in a car crash a quarter-century ago, reports Reuters. As if getting around wasn’t difficult enough on its own, her town’s lack of wheelchair-accessible businesses has made certain areas virtually impossible for disabled inhabitants to visit…

The American Foundation for the Blind’s Questions for Presidential Candidates

February 19, 2020 | Source: Yahoo Finance

As the race for the 2020 Presidential election heats up and the field of candidates narrows, the 26.9 million Americans who are blind and low vision are paying close attention to what the candidates of all political parties plan to do to improve education, employment, and community participation for people with vision loss. Blind and low vision people represent a broad cross-section of American society and represent all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ages, immigration statuses, and political persuasions…

Easy Low-Vision Computer Hacks

February 19, 2020 | Source: Health Central

Using a computer, smart phone, or any digitally driven device can be tough with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that causes abnormal blood vessels to grow into the eye’s macula—the most sensitive part of the retina. These weak vessels leak blood or fluid, which can lead to scarring and rapid loss of central vision, if not promptly treated.Of course vision loss impacts everything you do, but it can be particularly disruptive to the business of running your day: reading emails, direct messaging, answering texts, or even being able to sort out the clutter from essential files on your desktop’s screen…

Feds to Monitor LA County Vote Centers for ADA Compliance

February 19, 2020 Source: SCVNEWS

The U.S. Attorney’s Office will deploy personnel to monitor Los Angeles County vote centers during the February 22-to-March 3 election period for compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, for voters with physical disabilities. The federal monitoring is part of the U.S. Justice Department’s Americans with Disabilities Act Voting Initiative, which focuses on protecting the voting rights of individuals with disabilities. A hallmark of the ADA Voting Initiative is its collaboration with local officials to increase accessibility for disabled voters at polling places…

Net gains: Finger Lakes Visitors Connection promotes greater web accessibility

February 20, 2020 | Source: MPNnow

While websites are commonplace for many businesses, the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection wants to expand the number of users who can interact with them. At a seminar FLVC held last Friday at the New York Kitchen in Canandaigua, “industry partners” received a lesson in how to change a website to make it “a better overall user experience for everyone,” in addition to avoiding litigation and expanding a business’s existing customer base, according to a release by the agency…

The science behind face blindness might soon become clearer

February 20, 2020 | Source: Mic

Imagine never having to worry about running into the ex who tore your heart to shreds, not because they moved far far away, but because you simply wouldn’t recognize them. Face blindness, or prosopagnosia, is a condition that makes it difficult to recognize faces, no matter how familiar they are. It may sound ideal in that offhand rhetorical scenario, but people who experience face blindness face harsh struggles. It’s not just their douchey exes that they can’t recognize, they also can’t recognize their loved ones…

Can Hearing Aids Help Prevent Dementia?

February 20, 2020 | Source: The New York Times

Hearing loss has long been considered a normal, and thus acceptable, part of aging. It is common: Estimates suggest that it affects two out of three adults age 70 and older. It is also rarely treated. In the U.S., only about 14 percent of adults who have hearing loss wear hearing aids. An emerging body of research, however, suggests that diminished hearing may be a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia — and that the association between hearing loss and cognitive decline potentially begins at very low levels of impairment…

Jack Fact — The World Health Organization estimates there are 10 million new cases of dementia every year, and this figure is set to triple by 2050.

Hit The Road Jack — Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Accessibility Review

International News

Madrid receives accessibility recognition

February 13, 2020 | Source: The Mayor- Spain

This week Madrid has been recognized as MAPcesible City by Telefónica Foundation for its awareness of the problems of accessibility and the accessibility of the urban environment and public spaces, buildings, means of transport and communication systems. On Monday the Mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida received the award for the City Council’s work in the field of accessibility. Their actions include specific courses for the care of people with disabilities, cooperation with the Madrid sports federations for people with disabilities, among others…

Anti-pipeline protests disrupting accessibility of people with disabilities: advocacy group

February 13, 2020 | Source: City News- Canada

People with disabilities may face more challenges getting around Vancouver with protests popping up without warning in busy areas. Justina Loh, executive director of Disability Alliance BC, says many of the organization’s clients, staff, and volunteers are having to make other plans or adjust their schedules to get to the office at Broadway and Cambie Street, home or work. “People are having to make contingency plans or having to modify their schedules a bit, depending on where the people are,” Loh said of the protests…

City of Vancouver to spend $1.4 million on 240 additional accessible curb ramps

February 13, 2020 | Source: Daily Hive- Canada

Vancouver city council has green lighted a contract award for what could become a multi-year project that eventually completes the construction of accessible curb sidewalk ramps across the city. Bortolo & Sons Paving Co. Ltd. and Lafarge Canada Inc. have been awarded a term of one year to complete 240 curb ramps, including 190 ramps on local streets and 50 ramps on arterial streets. This initial one-year contract is worth $1.4 million, but the city could extend the contract for four additional terms to complete more of the sidewalk infrastructure at a total cost of $7 million…

How to address accessibility complaints

February 14, 2020 | Source: Vision Australia

People with disabilities often run into accessibility issues when using everyday systems or services that most people take for granted. Using a website, travelling to a location, or reading a menu at a restaurant, can pose challenges for many people if an organisation or business doesn’t take the needs of people with disabilities into account. A supposed solution to this issue is to make a complaint. By letting an organisation know via social media, email or in person, surely the issue will be flagged and resolved? Right? This rarely happens…

Mitsubishi Is Developing Tech to Assist the Visually Impaired

February 14, 2020 | Source: The News Wheel- Japan

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, IBM Japan, Ltd., Shimizu Corporation, OMRON Corporation, and Alps Alpine Co. Ltd. have come together to create the Consortium for Advanced Assistive Mobility Platform. This association is working to make transportation more accessible for the visibly impaired with an AI suitcase. The Japanese Ophthalmological Society conducted a recent survey, which revealed that approximately 1.64 million people have visual impairments in Japan alone. 188,000 of these individuals are completely blind…

Making sport accessible for everyone

February 15, 2020 | Source: India Education Diary

The Disability Resource provides training and support for sporting and recreation organisations to better involve and engage people with a disability. Resources include advice on activities and program delivery, and disability awareness and accessibility training. La Trobe Sport Management expert Dr Pam Kappelides said many people with disabilities faced challenges accessing sport facilities that other members of the community took for granted…

Lessons for Israel from Azerbaijan’s election

February 16, 2020 | Source: The Jerusalem Post- Israel

Three Israelis served as foreign observers in Azerbaijan’s snap election last Sunday, in which the Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party won the majority of seats in the single-chamber parliament. A week later, two of the observers who traveled to the country said that despite challenges reported by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, they took a few lessons from Azerbaijan they would like to see implemented in Israel…

Erasing barriers: Bringing art closer to people with disabilities

February 16, 2020 | Source: Financial Express- India

For most people, the scope of making spaces accessible for people with disabilities begins and ends with straightening out infrastructural barriers. Construction of ramps, providing wheelchair access and removing or tweaking entry and exit barriers are considered sufficient. However, for a large number of disabilities, such a narrow definition of accessibility can hardly suffice. How will ramp construction ease access for people who have visual or hearing impairment, or those who have intellectual disabilities?…

People with disabilities demand inclusive budget for accessible healthcare

February 16, 2020 | Source: Blueprint- Nigeria

A coalition women-led Disabled Persons Organisations (DPO): the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), Advocacy for Women With Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI), Faecare Foundation and Haly Hope Foundation has called for an inclusive budget for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) of Women and Girls With Disabilities (WGWD) in the country. The coalition made the call Saturday during the closing ceremony of a two-day training workshop on the theme: “Priotizing inclusive budgeting for sexual and reproductive health rights of Persons With Disability (PWD’s).”…

Inclusive Tokyo: Josh checks out upgrades to 100-year-old Meiji Shrine

February 16, 2020 | Source: Asahi Shimbun- Japan

To pray for good fortune in the New Year, people in Japan routinely flock to temples and shrines in the first few days of January. Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine enshrines Emperor Meiji, who ruled from 1868 until 1912 and oversaw Japan’s modernization drive, and his wife, Empress Shoken. It is one of the country’s prime destinations for carrying out the annual custom. For the past six years, the shrine, which will mark its centennial this year, has worked to make its facilities more barrier-free…

Tear down barriers stopping people with disability getting

February 17, 2020 | Source: Mirage News- Australia

People with disability face discrimination, a lack of accessibility and flexibility when trying to get a job, and that needs to change. “Today we’re releasing our plan to start to tear down the barriers that stop people with disability getting and keeping a job,” said Jeff Smith, CEO, People with Disability Australia. “Our $100 million proposal is a down payment in the economic future of people with disability across Australia.” Only 53% of people with disability of working age are in paid work, compared to 82% of their non-disabled peers…

Blind people are not being given accessible healthcare information, RNIB Scotland finds

February 17, 2020 | Source: Holyrood- Scotland

Scotland’s NHS boards are failing to give blind and partially sighted people their healthcare information in accessible formats, leading to breaches in confidentiality and missed appointments, RNIB Scotland has found. The research also found that some patients were not informed about their rights to request information in alternative formats, with others “bluntly told that they could cope without one”, by health boards. The sight loss charity is calling for all of Scotland’s health boards to ensure “accessible information policies are fully implemented to prevent unnecessary anxiety to people with sight loss”…

Purple Tuesday 2020 registration opens as companies urged to improve disability inclusion

February 17, 2020 | Source: THIIS- UK

Following the success of 2019’s initiative which saw over 2500 companies participate, registration for Purple Tuesday 2020 has opened and is set to see more organisations commit to improving their customer experience for disabled people. With an ever-increasing number of awareness days filling mobility companies’ calendars, keeping up with them all can be a time-consuming task. For mobility retailers, however, Purple Tuesday is certainly an event that should be on the radar, with its cause championing exactly what the mobility industry is all about…

How audio can improve accessibility for TV and film audiences

February 17, 2020 | Source: PSN- Europe

Access to film and television for visually impaired audiences is provided mainly through a feature called ‘Audio Description’ often referred to as ‘AD’. AD is a verbal commentary that is, generally, added after a production has been completed, and scripted and recorded by an audio description provider. In the vast majority of cases this is done without any input from the creative team. The AD track describes aspects linked to the visual channel of a production, for example, actions, gestures, costumes and sets, among others…

Six months to go… IPC president Andrew Parsons on Tokyo 2020 and the Paralympic future

February 17, 2020 | Source: SportsPro- Japan

There was an air of inevitability when Andrew Parsons, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president, fielded questions at Global Sports Week (GSW) earlier this month that the coronavirus outbreak would dominate proceedings. Though the Paralympic Games is far from the first sporting event to feel the effects of the epidemic, with several other major rights holders having already altered plans, it is an issue Parsons knows the governing body cannot shirk from little over six months out from Tokyo 2020…

Accessibility a focus for New Zealand Festival

February 18, 2020 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand

Australian dancer Jana Castillo will take the stage for the New Zealand Festival of the Arts, showing people with disabilities are welcome in mainstream art. “I think that in my experience people do celebrate people with disability in the arts, but often it’s specifically for a disabled company – and that’s wonderful, but I’m interested in full integration with able-bodied people,” she said. The festival program offers touch tours, sign language interpretation, and audio descriptions of some performances…

Access to all areas helps to make a great day out for disabled

February 18, 2020 | Source: The Scotsman- Scotland

When attending an event, most people probably don’t even give accessibility a second thought. But for many people, attending a festival, conference or concert requires extensive planning and research. Accessibility goes beyond benefiting the 18.5 per cent of the UK population who live with some form of disability – it also aids families with young children, older people, those with temporary physical impairments and those with dietary requirements. In fact, all of us at some point in our lives are likely to benefit from an accessible venue or event…

Special-needs musicians to debut in Integrative Orchestra

February 19, 2020 | Source: The Jerusalem Post- Israel

The newly formed Integrative Orchestra will make Israeli music history when it debuts at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, since it is comprised of approximately half musicians with various special needs and half students from the prestigious academy. This debut concert will be a festive community concert at the academy. The Integrative Orchestra will play pieces in very different styles, including songs by Idan Raichel and Yehudit Ravitz, as well as a Hebrew rendition of “What a Wonderful World,” the classic made famous by Louis Armstrong…

Make your property accessible for people with disabilities

February 19, 2020 | Source: Daily Monitor- Africa

According to a report on physical accessibility to selected public and private institutions released in 2017, people with disabilities (PWDs) are faced with difficulty in accessing most buildings, both public and private thereby excluding and marginalising them from service delivery. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) published the report following an assessment of buildings which include banks, hospitals, the high courts and Parliament. It shows that majority of the buildings do not have ramps, designated parking yard and hand rails to ease movement of PWDs…

New discovery has important implications for treating common eye disease

February 20, 2020 | Source: Eureka- Ireland

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have made an important discovery with implications for those living with a common, debilitating eye disease (age-related macular degeneration, AMD) that can cause blindness. They have discovered that the molecule TLR2, which recognises chemical patterns associated with infection in the body, also seems to play an important role in the development of retinal degeneration. AMD is the most common form of central visual blindness in adults, with approximately 70,000 Irish people living with the condition…

Lack of inclusive cycling in cities excludes disabled cyclists

February 20, 2020 | Source: The Mancunion- UK

Students within the UoM Cycling Society are conducting research into the accessibility of cycling lanes in Manchester. Harrie Larrington-Spencer, a keen cyclist and PhD student heading up the project, suffered an injury 2 years ago after being knocked off her bike in Fallowfield, meaning she can no longer ride a standard cycle or participate in the long distance cycling she used to enjoy. She is now passionate about creating more inclusive cycle lanes that are accessible to non-standard bikes…

Better integration for ASEAN’s disabled

February 20, 2020 | Source: The ASEAN Post- Malaysia

A 2019 report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) estimates that 15 percent of the global population is made up of persons with disability, which makes them one of the largest minority groups in the world. In Asia and Pacific this translates to 690 million people. This is expected to increase in the coming decades with an ageing population, longer life expectancy, and an increasing number of injuries resulting from situational and natural disasters among other factors…

Borderlessness and Filipino sign language

February 21, 2020 | Source: Inquirer- Philippines

The theme for International Mother Language Day 2020 being celebrated today, Feb. 21, is “Languages without borders.” Unesco declares that at least 43 percent of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. It laments that when a language disappears, it takes with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. The world of deaf people, and of sign languages, is not that different. We wonder: Shall our very own Filipino Sign Language (FSL) be like the endangered sign languages of Thailand, Costa Rica, Vietnam, or the nearly-lost Hawai’ian Sign Language?…

Accessibility Blogs and Information

Accessibility Announcements and Products

Accessibility Forums, Tips, and Gaming

Accessibility Statements

Microassist Digital Accessibility Services

Have you received an accessibility demand letter because of your website or application? Please contact us for any questions you have about our accessibility services and how we might support your organization.

Services include:

Accessible Website and Application Development— We rely heavily on accessibility best practices and using HTML5 and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) standards to build WCAG-compliant and human-tested accessible environments. Our teams are proficient in open source technologies such as WordPress, Drupal and Moodle, as well as custom frameworks in .NET, PHP, AngularJS, and other frameworks. Our Learning and Development team can also help you create accessible custom training.
Accessible Document Services— Whether you’re dealing with a few or a warehouse of Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, or other files, there are several ways Microassist can enable your team to offer documents and materials that meet stringent accessibility standards.
Accessibility Remediation— Our accessibility remediation services help you fix existing materials so that they conform to WCAG, Section 504 and 508, Department of Education OCR, and ADA Title II/III requirements. We remediate websites, applications, documents, and elearning, recommending re-creation when that is more efficient and economical. Especially for website and applications, to find out what is in need of remediation, we’ll start with an Accessibility Audit.
Accessibility Training— With several courses available for developers, testers, and content creators, your team can become equipped to consistently and expertly produce accessible digital products and online environments.
VPAT^®Evaluation Services— Primarily used by government purchasers and government vendors during the procurement and sale of ICT products and services under Section 508, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template^® (VPAT) attests to the accessibility of a given product or service. Contact us to make sure the VPAT you write or review is accurate and meaningful.

Learn More About Digital Accessibility

Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.

Our most popular commentaries include:

Icons representing government and technology, with caption "What is a VPAT?"

Subscribe to Accessibility in the News

Stay informed! Get your weekly update on digital accessibility standards, private and public sector trends, litigation, events, and more.

Name(Required)

First Last

Work Email(Required)

Job Title(Required)

Organization(Required)

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.