Accessibility in the News—5/4/18.

Older couple enjoying the day. The man is in a wheelchair and the woman is next to heim with her hand over his.

This week, Amazon employees went on a cross-country bus tour to learn about aging Americans.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“When you hear the word ‘disabled,’ people immediately think about people who can’t walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can’t find joy in life and are bitter.

—Teri Garr

National News (U.S.)

Improving Accessibility for People with Disabilities Often Falls to Faculty. Here’s What They Can Do

April 27, 2018 | Source: EdSurge | Higher Education, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Digital Accessibility

Like many of her peers, Ann Wai-Yee Kwong struggled in statistics while working towards a bachelor’s degree in psychology at UC Berkeley. But because she is legally blind, she had an added challenge of not being able to see the diagrams and notes projected in the lecture hall or assigned for homework. Tools like screen readers could ease this issue for Kwong, who is now a Ph.D. student at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California Santa Barbara…

Risk and Reward—Financial Services, Fintech, and Website Accessibility Issues

April 27, 2018 | Source: Venable LLP | ADA, Digital Accessibility, Lawsuits/Litigation

A great website or app is already expensive to produce—so make sure you do not end up paying more down the road. As we have recently discussed, the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act is rapidly evolving. When the Act became law in 1991, no one had even considered the possibility of an Internet service that delivered flowers, but now a lawsuit on that issue is going to trial under the ADA. In much the same vein, provision of consumer financial products and services online through websites and mobile applications is a relatively new way to allow consumers to access these services…

Education Department Begins Dismissal of Civil Rights Cases

April 27, 2018 | Source: Campus Safety Magazine | Education, OCR, Inclusion

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has begun dismissing hundreds of civil rights complaints under a new protocol aimed at clearing up a congested pipeline. The protocol allows for the dismissal of serial filings or complaints considered too burdensome because of multiple targets, reports The New York Times. One of the provisions of the new case processing manual, released last month, allows the office to dismiss cases that reflect “a pattern of complaints previously filed with O.C.R. by an individual or a group against multiple recipients”…

Inaccessible technology is bad leadership, bad design and bad coding

April 27, 2018 | Source: Technical.ly | Accessible Design, Digital Accessibility, Disability Rights

Remember when “mobile-first” was the buzzword of the day and we obsessively measured every touch target we created? We don’t hear about it today because it is ingrained in what we do. We still practice it, but it now lies in the muscle memory of experienced designers and developers. That’s where we should be with accessibility. Instead, it is often regarded as some kind of magical skill that is poorly understood and requires an expensive cleanup crew to fix. It’s time to fix that…

Amazon employees went on a cross-country bus tour to learn about aging Americans

April 27, 2018 | Source: CNBC | Aging, Inclusion, Travel

Amazon’s vice president of special projects Babak Parviz has long been interested in designing technologies and other services for the growing aging population. So he went on a cross-country bus tour to learn all about it. In spring 2014, Parviz got an invitation from well-known geriatric medicine expert and author Bill Thomas to hop on his multi-city bus tour. Thomas has been working on-and-off as a consultant for Amazon, said two people familiar with the situation. Other folks on Parviz’s team were also invited to join…

How Philly orgs are taking the lead in bridging tech’s accessibility gap

April 30, 2018 | Source: Technical.ly | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Inclusion, Accessible Design

Nestled among leafy, West Philly streets is the palatial, 186-year-old Overbrook School for the Blind, where on an average Tuesday afternoon, you can find students like Marques “Joey” Perez typing away on his BrailleNote. Joey, who is blind, sits in the middle of the classroom and chats with a group of four other students from professor Evangeline Worsley’s class. He’s messing with Louis Toole, who is partially blind, because Toole, 15, found it challenging to operate a computer through screen-reading software alone…

Over time, Hopkins to become more accessible to people with disabilities

April 30, 2018 | Source: Sun Sailor | ADA, Inclusion, Disability Rights

The Hopkins City Council adopted a transition plan April 17 to comply with regulations set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In an effort to bar discrimination against individuals with disabilities, the act requires that public entities provide equal access to services, activities and programs. This includes, for example, the city’s sidewalks, intersections, snowplowing procedure and other amenities. Although ADA has been in effect since 1992, many state and local governments are not in compliance…

No More ‘Drive-By’ ADA Suits?

May 1, 2018 | Source: Cooperator | ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Accessible Design

If the commercial storefronts in your building have steps, or are not otherwise handicap accessible, be warned: your building may be exposed to liability under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disabled individuals have the right under Title III to sue businesses whose facilities do not meet the ADA’s accessibility requirements, and to recover their attorneys’ fees for doing so. In the nearly 30 years since the ADA was enacted, a cottage industry has arisen to capitalize on the attorneys’ fees provision in the statute…

Austin ADA attorney Omar Rosales sued again by State Bar

May 1, 2018 | Source: KXAN.com | ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Discrimination

The State Bar’s disciplinary committee has sued Austin ADA attorney Omar Rosales again in Travis County District Court, seeking disciplinary action for acting in bad faith in several of the hundreds of federal cases Rosales filed on behalf of a single client in 2015 and 2016. In this latest lawsuit, the Commission alleges Rosales violated multiple rules of professional conduct. The lawsuit says Rosales filed frivolous pleadings, made baseless requests for sanctions and false or inflammatory statements against opposing counsel, and he fabricated an email that was offered as an exhibit in a federal case…

How hiring people with disabilities boosts your bottom line

May 1, 2018 | Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle | Workforce, Inclusion, Businesses

“It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.” – Michael Corleone, “The Godfather.” It’s a line from the classic 1972 mob movie, and variations are often said in real-life high-stakes financial transactions. But as it turns out, hiring people with disabilities is both personal and business, and it’s beneficial from both angles. From a personal perspective, most business owners, executives and hiring managers will tell you they want to see a diverse workforce that represents the community in which they live…

Therapy Dogs Work Miracles. But Do They Like Their Jobs?

May 1, 2018 | Source: National Geographic | Health, Inclusion, Awareness

If you’re a dog lover, just being with your pet feels good. So it’s no surprise that therapy dogs are healing companions for people with health conditions such as cancer, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and dementia. There are over 50,000 therapy dogs in the United States, and they’re becoming more popular in countries from Norway to Brazil. Trained and certified by a variety of organizations, these dogs and their handlers go into hospitals and other facilities and interact with patients…

EEG signals accurately predict autism as early as 3 months of age

May 1, 2018 | Source: Science Daily | Autism, Awareness, Cognitive

Autism is challenging to diagnose, especially early in life. A new study in the journal Scientific Reports shows that inexpensive EEGs, which measure brain electrical activity, accurately predict or rule out autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in infants, even in some as young as 3 months. “EEGs are low-cost, non-invasive and relatively easy to incorporate into well-baby checkups,” says Charles Nelson, PhD, director of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital and co-author of the study…

Theatre Must Provide Captioning For All Live Performances Says Federal Judge

May 1, 2018 | Source: Seyfarth Shaw | Inclusion, Captioning, Deaf/Hearing Impaired

Missouri federal judge orders a theatre to provide, upon request, captioning services for the deaf for all theatrical performances. A federal judge in Missouri recently ordered a 4500-seat indoor theatre to provide open or closed captioning for all theatrical performances upon request with two weeks’ notice, in a lawsuit brought by deaf patrons and advocacy organizations. The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri initially offered no captioning services of any kind for its theatre productions…

Understanding The Realities Of The ADA And Your Website

May 2, 2018 | Source: Total Food Service | ADA, Digital Accessibility, Discrimination

Website accessibility is a hot topic right now which means you should be checking if your website is compliant with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If your website is not accessible to individuals with disabilities, you might get slapped with an unwanted and expensive lawsuit. Title III applies to private places of “public accommodation” and prohibits them from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Examples of public accommodations include privately-owned, leased or operated facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail stores, doctor’s offices, golf courses, and so on…

Student Access Center fills in accessibility gaps on campus

May 2, 2018 | Source: Kansas State Collegian | Education, Building/Facilities Access, Blindness

Curving pathways and buildings that lack braille signage are just two obstacles Kaitlyn Cherry, senior in family studies and human services, faces on campus. Even with a seeing-eye dog, Cherry said without clear demarcations, there’s no telling where she may end up on campus since it’s common for pathways to split in three different directions. “Being someone who is basically completely blind, it’s a pain in the butt,” Cherry said. “There’s no rhyme or reason to how campus is set up.”…

Student brings non-credit ASL classes to campus

May 2, 2018 | Source: The Daily Northwestern | Deaf/Hearing Impaired, Inclusion, Education

When Ruthie Charendoff attended a conference on inclusion last fall and saw everyone speaking in American Sign Language, she said she realized for the first time how large the deaf population is in the United States. The experience inspired her to bring the language to Northwestern to build inclusion. “Having students on campus who are just aware of deaf culture or aware of ASL is really helpful in starting to build that culture, build that awareness,” the SESP junior said…

Blind Passengers Can ‘See’ the View Out a Car Window With This Creation From Ford

May 2, 2018 | Source: Ad Week | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Inclusion, Innovation

The rolling countryside, the dapple of light through tree branches, the little moments of romance you pass on a street corner—they’re visual experiences many of us take for granted when riding in a car. And for those who can’t see, the idea of looking out the window of a moving vehicle symbolizes the wide range of sights they’ll never be able to enjoy. But automaker Ford’s Italian division and its local agency, GTB Rome, are trying to create a technology that gives the visually impaired a way of experiencing the view outside the window through their fingertips…

Legally blind boy takes on Little League: I just wanted to use a yellow ball

May 3, 2018 | Source: USA Today | Blindness/Visual Impairment, Sports, Inclusion

For five years, Ryan Huizdos played Little League baseball with the help of a bright yellow ball. He’s legally blind because of albinism, so he used an easier-to-see, optic-yellow ball. No one complained. Not the coaches. Not the players. Not the parents. But then he made a Grosse Pointe/Harper Woods team that made it to a district tournament game in 2015. Ryan was lined up to pitch in the tournament when Little League found out about his yellow ball, and banned it from being used because it wasn’t approved and licensed by the league…

Tulane professor helps deaf guests feel the beat at Jazz Fest

May 2, 2018 | Source: News from Tulane | Music, Deaf/Hearing Impaired, Education

When Sting took the stage to perform during week one of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a Tulane University linguistics professor was on hand to play a role that some don’t notice, but many greatly appreciate. Tulane graduate Denise Crochet, who is an adjunct professor in the Tulane School of Liberal Arts’ linguistics program, is a certified American Sign Language interpreter who has served for 13 years as an interpreter for the popular festival…

Los Angeles Calls Bluff on $2 Billion DOJ Wheelchair-Access Suit

May 2, 2018 | Source: Bloomberg | Mobility, Lawsuits/Litigation, Government

Los Angeles is calling the U.S.’s bluff in a $2 billion lawsuit over allegations it failed to use federal funding to provide accessible housing for people with disabilities. The city is asking a judge on Wednesday to throw out the government’s complaint, primarily because the Housing and Urban Development Department simply doesn’t base its entitlement grants on compliance with federal accessibility laws. HUD has continued to release funds and to pursue an administrative solution with the city while aware of possible non-compliance issues, according to Los Angeles…

The Trump Administration May Have Made It Even Harder for People With Disabilities to Access Health Care

May 2, 2018 | Source: Rewire.News | Discrimination, Health, Government

Can you imagine going to your doctor’s office and not being able to get on the examination table because it is too high? Or not being weighed throughout your entire pregnancy because your primary care physician does not have a wheelchair-accessible scale? Unfortunately, these examples are the stark reality for people with disabilities. Notwithstanding advancements in disability rights, people with disabilities still do not enjoy full and equal access to health care—and recent moves by the Trump administration may make that situation even worse…

This Marathoner With Cerebral Palsy Just Got The Nike Hookup

May 2, 2018 | Source: Fast Company | Mobility, Education, Sports

As a high school freshman, Justin Gallegos decided to take on running as an extracurricular. His first couple of days in the school running club didn’t go well. He kept falling, skinning his knees, then picking himself up only to falling over again. Gallegos was born with Cerebral Palsy, which means he has little control over his muscles and body coordination. Most people with the disorder do not even attempt something as ambitious as running. Gallegos not only gave it a try, he was convinced that if he practiced enough, he would be able to do it…

Are The Nation’s Schools Following The ADA?

May 1. 2018 | Source: Disability Scoop | ADA, Education, Disability Rights

Members of Congress are asking for a federal investigation into whether schools across the country are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nearly thirty years after passage of the landmark disability rights law, three lawmakers are asking the Government Accountability Office to find out if the nation’s schools are as accessible as they should be. Students with disabilities, from New York City to coastal Virginia and all across the country, are entitled to a ‘free, appropriate public education’ under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

5 Initiatives Working To Make Cities Accessible For The Differently Abled

May 3, 2018 | Source: Progrss | Building/Facilities Access, Inclusion, Accessible Design

Founded in 2006, the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in partnership with the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, and World Enabled, put together the SmartCities4All toolkit. The toolkit is one of many attempts to engage the wider urban community to use technology in a way that makes smart cities accessible for the differently abled. The integration of technology in planning ‘smart cities’ has gained popularity from Barcelona to San Francisco. In urban planning, accessibility is constantly brought to the table as a bargaining chip as a matter of social inclusion and also mobility in public space…

8 Theme Parks Changing The Game For Guests With Autism

May 3, 2018 | Source: HuffPost | Autism, Inclusion, Awareness

As temperatures rise and summer vacation nears, many families have road trips and out-of-town adventures in mind. Theme parks are a popular choice, but for kids with autism and other sensory disorders, these destinations can be tricky and overwhelming. Across the country, some theme parks and similar venues are paving the way by making their entertainment more inclusive. Here are eight parks that go beyond skip-the-line passes and online tips to ensure all their guests have an outing to remember…

ADA Lawsuit Dismissed as Moot

May 3, 2018 | Source: Klein Moynihan Turco | ADA, Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility

Last month, a federal district court in the Commonwealth of Virginia granted a motion to dismiss (based, in part, on mootness grounds), in a website accessibility lawsuit brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This ADA lawsuit was filed by Keith Carroll, a resident of Virginia who is legally blind, against New People’s Bank in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. In the instant ADA lawsuit, Plaintiff alleged that NPB’s website contained access barriers that prevented his screen reader software from being able to freely navigate NPB’s website…

Jack Fact — By 2050, of the roughly 6.25 billion people who will be living in urban areas, 15 percent are expected to have disabilities, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has predicted.

International News

Blind-friendly paths on hold as officials can’t see eye to eye

April 27, 2018 | Source: Pune Mirror- India

In its ongoing drive to make major city roads pedestrian-friendly, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has also claimed it is trying to conform these same pathways to universal accessibility norms, too. This, civic officials believe, is a step towards ensuring that all physically challenged persons can access pavements freely and safely — and while this is a noble adjective, a bureaucratic spat seems to be coming in its way. To ensure a lack of barriers on these walkways, which could prove to be obstacles for visually challenged people…

Making Accessibility Happen

April 27, 2018 | Source: Scoop- New Zealand

As people took their seats, a quiet hum of anticipation broke through. There was chatter and laughter, nerves, and excitement. Fluro lights lit up people from a diverse range of cultures, ages, and backgrounds. Each person carried their own unique story of living with a disability. Each came ready to use their story as a catalyst for change. The forum was organised as part of the Access Matters campaign, aiming to put accessibility law at the heart of a more inclusive Aotearoa. The event was designed to bring supporters together around a common vision…

An Open Letter About Pin on Glass

April 27, 2018 | Source: Payments Journal- UK

I have serious concerns regarding the new payment standard, known by a variety of names: PIN on Glass, PIN on Mobile, or Software-Based PIN Entry on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Devices. Whatever name it is given, it seriously contravenes the European Accessibility Act for blind and contravene the human rights of partially sighted people. A similar system, as used by the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, is currently in the courts there…

IPC conducts first review of Paris 2024

April 27, 2018 | Source: International Paralympic Committee- France

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons and CEO Xavier Gonzalez led an IPC delegation to Paris, where they conducted the first 2024 Paralympic Games’ ‘Project Review’ and ‘Orientation Seminar.’ An update on the progress of Paris 2024 since being elected host city last September was provided at the meetings with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, led by its President Tony Estanguet, which took place at the INSEP (National Institute of Sport)…

#RampMyCity, make it accessible to everyone

April 27, 2018 | Source: The New Indian Express- India

Accessibility has almost always been on the bottom-most on the list of priorities when cities and institutes chalk out their respective maps. Prateek Khandelwal started the #RampMyCity campaign in Bengaluru last December after he found out that places that serve food did not cater to the differently-abled. He reached out to the manager of each of these restaurants. Among the many restaurants, he got in touch with have got their spaces made accessible due to his initiative…

ZEC levelling the field for PWDs

April 28, 2018 | Source: The Herald- Africa

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has made efforts to improve the participation of people living with disabilities (PLWDs) in the forthcoming elections. It is now considering the printing of Braille ballot papers for the benefit of voters who are visually impaired, among other measures. In this one-on-one, our Senior Writer, Sifelani Tsiko (ST), speaks to Justice Priscilla Chigumba (PC), chairwoman of the electoral body over wide-ranging issues on the rights of people living with disabilities (PLWDs) to participate in the forthcoming elections…

Popular English website for disabled tourists aims high

April 28, 2018 | Source: The Japan News

An English website that offers detailed information on accessibility for disabled people at sightseeing spots in Japan is earning positive reviews. Accessible Japan was created by Barry Joshua Grisdale, from Canada, who uses a wheelchair. Grisdale, 37, of Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, visits tourist locations and summarizes the inconveniences he encounters on the website. He plans to participate in an event organized by the ward office in May to discuss city development and give a speech about his perspectives as a disabled person…

City of traps

April 27, 2018 | Source: Inside Indonesia

In 2012 Indonesian disability activists established Jakarta Barrier Free Tourism (JBFT), which is now an active community of around 140 people that inspects local tourist destinations to see how user-friendly they are for people with disabilities. Their ultimate aim is to help people with disabilities get better access to various tourism facilities provided by the government, including museums, Jakarta’s old city and Ragunan Zoo. JBFT’s 2015 assessment found that most of these and other public facilities in Jakarta are far from disability friendly…

Qatar’s strides in ICT empowering people with disabilities

April 29, 2018 | Source: Gulf Times- Qatar

Qatar’s success in achieving very high e-Accessibility rates shows the country’s commitment to providing access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) for persons with disabilities on an equal basis. The rate of e-Accessibility in Qatar has reached 91%, thus becoming the first among Arab and regional countries and the best in the world, HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti announced recently…

Seniors who are wheelchair users can get ramps for multi-step HDB flat entrances

April 29, 2018 | Source: The Straits Times- Singapore

Seniors who are wheelchair users living in Housing Board flats with multi-step entrances can get ramps in the second half of the year to make their homes more accessible. The costs of the ramps – which will be portable or customised fixed ones – are still being worked out, but the Government will foot up to 95 per cent of the bill. Previously, only flats with a single step at their main entrance were eligible for subsidies for ramps fixed at the entrance, under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) programme by the HDB…

App created by U of A professor aims at better accessibility for wheelchair users around Edmonton

April 29, 2018 | Source: Toronto Star- Canada

An app to help people in wheelchairs navigate the city more easily is the winner of this year’s HealthHack competition, part of the Smart Cities Challenge. The competition asked for proposals from Edmontonians to improve mental, physical, social and economic health using technology. Click ’n’ Push is an app that will not only measure how much force a person in a wheelchair exerts, but also map out exactly how challenging the route they plan on taking is based on their own strength…

From the archive: new disabled access rules for association homes

April 30, 2018 | Source: Inside Housing- UK

New homes should be built by housing associations to be accessible to disabled people, Inside Housing reported as its front page story. Doorways should be wider, access to rooms should be level, and passageways, steps and ramps should all conform to mandatory accessibility standards, based on a set of recommendations by a group called Access Committee for England, or ACE. New homes should be built by housing associations to be accessible to disabled people, Inside Housing reported as its front page story…

Lakeside beachgoers lobbying for accessible path

April 30, 2018 | Source: CBC- Canada

People who use the beach at Lakeside, P.E.I. say they don’t want to go another summer without an accessible path to the beach. They are asking for government help to replace the wooden stairway that was seriously damaged by weather two years ago. “The dune got washed out from underneath it and washed away, leaving a sharp drop off from the top of our walkway,” said Sidney MacEwen, MLA for Morell-Mermaid and a member of the Morell and Area Development Corporation. “So it’s been two years now trying to get funding to get it replaced or fixed.”…

When being mobile means quality of life

April 30, 2018 | Source: The New Paper- Singapore

In his two years of using a mobility scooter, Mr Goh Lam Chie, 61, has had “five to six” unpleasant encounters with strangers. “A man on the bus said I was pretending to need a scooter and taunted me,” the former petrol station attendant told The New Paper in Mandarin last week. Passengers alerted the bus driver, who knew Mr Goh, and he told the man to get off the bus. Such issues, as well as accessibility of infrastructure, need addressing with the rise in elderly people using mobility scooters in recent years…

Bluebox hopeful airlines adopt IFE for the blind before regs hit

April 30, 2018 | Source: Runway Girl Network- UK

Bluebox Aviation Systems is hopeful that airlines will voluntarily adopt accessible inflight entertainment for blind passengers before regulators require them to do so. The company’s game-changing iPad-based inflight entertainment for the visually impaired – developed in partnership with Virgin Atlantic and respected UK charity The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association – recently won the Crystal Cabin Award for IFEC during the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg…

GDS consults on website and app accessibility

May 1, 2018 | Source: UKAuthority.com- UK & Out-Law.com

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has launched a consultation on the accessibility of public sector websites and apps as part of the move towards compliance with an EU directive on the issue. It has set out the background and the main elements of its approach with a series of questions for public officials to provide feedback on how well they understand and comply with the requirements. The Government is planning to comply with the directive despite the UK’s impending departure from the EU…

A full accessible first

May 1, 2018 | Source: Association of Optometrists- Scotland

A new social security system in Scotland is believed to be the first in the UK to ensure that all of its information is fully accessible to people with disabilities. A requirement for all information to be accessible was passed into Scottish law by Parliament last week (25 April). The act means that any information given to individuals in relation to their social security must be available in formats that are accessible to individuals who have a sensory, physical or mental disability…

Agents urged to tap into ‘purple pound’ potential

May 2, 2018 | Source: TTG- UK

Agents were given advice from a partner at Travlaw on how to tackle accessibility issues covered by new regulations. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Package Travel Regulations (PTR) come into effect on May 25 and July 1 respectively. Matt Gatenby said agents should be aware that GDPR is split into categories, with “health” covering accessible travel. “Businesses need consent from customers to process data [in relation to determining whether clients have accessibility issues] before the contract is made, as making a booking in itself is not a viable way of confirming it.”…

My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because I’m let down when I can’t access public spaces

May 2, 2018 | Source: iNews- UK

Disabled people and our families have to validate our existence over and over again when it comes to what should be a very basic right – the right to access public transport. I have come to realise my disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because I’m let down when I can’t access public spaces. I love travelling and using public transport, whether it’s trains, planes, boats, taxis or accessible buses. There’s just something about travelling in the company of other passengers, and I get to read a lot…

VIDEO: Virgin Atlantic and Flying Disabled on the Importance of Accessible Air Travel

May 2, 2018 | Source: APEX Media- UK

In this edition of APEX Insider, Flying Disabled founder Chris Wood suggests that disabled passengers with disposable income – a market set to grow as a result of the world’s aging population – prefer to travel by land or sea rather than to fly because airlines require them to check their wheelchairs. Geraldine Lundy, Virgin Atlantic’s passenger accessibility manager, says, “When I look at the number of people with a disability who are flying, either through an airport or with an airline, if you think there’s about 15–20% of the customer population with a disability, you only have about 2% of those who fly.”…

Nuttall pushes for movement on accessibility- Aim is to make Ontario public buildings visitable by people of all abilities

May 2, 2018 | Source: BarrieToday- Canada

Monday, Liberal MP T.J. Harvey introduced a motion to the House of Commons today. It was supported by MP Alex Nuttall, the Conservative caucus as well as the NDP. M-157 is focused on the concept of ‘visitability’. Visitability is a measure of how accessible a building is for people of varying physical abilities. “As Shadow Minister for people with disabilities, I am glad to be working in a bi-partisan nature to help Canadians with disabilities…

Waterloo Marathon has new categories for visually impaired runners added to the event this year

May 3, 2018 | Source: ObserverXtra- Canada

For its 20th year running, the St. John Ambulance Waterloo Marathon and Ed Whitlock Half-Marathon were held on Sunday, taking participants on a lengthy tour of the Woolwich countryside. In honour of the special anniversary, two new categories were introduced to the half-marathon, one for visually impaired runners and a high school relay challenge. The inspiration for the two new categories came from local accessibility activist Rhonda-Marie Parke, herself a visually impaired marathon runner, who acts an ambassador for the race…

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