Accessibility in the News — 11/13/2020.

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Feature Stories

What Joe Biden’s Speech Disorder Means For Young Americans With Disabilities

November 12, 2020 | Source: Forbes

Joe Biden: Our First Unashamedly Disabled President

November 10, 2020 | Source: Houston Press

Disability Advocates Express Joy After Biden Name-Checks Them With Important Word

November 10, 2020 | Source: Huff Post

‘Joey, don’t let this define you. Joey, remember who you are. Joey, you can do it,’ said Catherine Eugenia Biden to her young, stuttering son every time he would walk out. Little did she know that this young man would conquer more than just his speech disorder. He would be slated to become the 46th President of the United States of America. But it is not merely this electoral win that validates his success story. President or not, it is Joe Biden’s resilience that positions him as a hope for young Americans with disabilities…

National News (U.S.)

Blind and nearly disenfranchised: My experience at the polls

November 7, 2020 | Source: New York Daily News

I was fully prepared to perform my civic duty and vote on Election Day, but unfortunately the facility I was assigned to vote at was not prepared for me to cast my vote like everyone else. And why not, might you ask? Because I am blind. Yes, I am blind, but I am also an independent, competent adult who is able to compensate for my lack of vision when provided with reasonable accessibility options. I am 42-years-old. I have completed extensive schooling on the graduate and post-graduate level including degrees in mathematics, special education and administration…

LEGAL BEAT: Can an IEP plan help your child?

November 8, 2020 | Source: Spotlight News

Children with disabilities can face more challenges than others, particularly during this school year. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees all children with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). It covers children from birth through age 21 or completion of high school. FAPE requires that the child advance at an appropriate rate considering his or her circumstances. Students may receive special education and related services to ensure this. An Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, documents these services, the child’s needs and the goals for the year…

Why Did It Take A Pandemic For Us To Make Halloween Accessible For Kids With Disabilities?

November 8, 2020 | Source: Romper

Brothers Issac and Gabriel Rogers, ages 5 and 6, have never been trick-or-treating in their Blairsville, Pennsylvania community. Both brothers are autistic; Isaac also has gross motor delays that make typical trick-or-treating difficult. Steps, dark porches, doorbells, having to speak to strangers or be in close contact with someone dressed in a surprising costume all have made the typical Halloween night impossible for the family of five, according to mom Jess…

United States Files Statement Of Interest In San Juan Sidewalk Accessibility Case

November 9, 2020 | Source: DOJ-ADA.gov

On November 9, 2020, the United States filed a Statement of Interest in the case of Betancourt-Colon v. City of San Juan, 19-cv-1837 (D.P.R.). In Betancourt-Colon, four individuals with mobility disabilities allege that San Juan has failed to install and maintain curb ramps necessary to ensure its sidewalks are accessible. The Statement of Interest asserts the long-held position of the United States that a public entity’s provision and maintenance of public sidewalks is a covered “service” under Title II of the ADA…

How Families Are Fighting Racism And Disability Discrimination

November 9, 2020 | Source: Disability Scoop

Ever since her son, Landon, was born three years ago, Nakenya Allen has been fighting. Fighting to get a diagnosis for the cause of Landon’s digestive problems, which landed him in the emergency room multiple times before he turned 18 months old. Fighting to get doctors to take her concerns about her son’s constant distress seriously. And, after he was diagnosed with a rare birth defect in his spinal cord, fighting with medical and disability service providers to get financial support for his care…

For Disabled People, Access To Assistive Tech Is A Human Right Not An Employment Perk

November 10, 2020 | Source: Forbes

Assistive Technology in relation to computer and IT systems can be life-changing for disabled people. Access to assistive technology can, in many cases, define the difference between full and equal access to the internet and computer operating systems and significant exclusion from any type of digital participation. Specialized technologies such as screen readers and magnification for blind and visually impaired people and text-to-speech software for individuals with dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions go well beyond the standard accessibility features built into Microsoft and Apple computers…

What You Need to Know About Accessible Design for Seniors

November 10, 2020 | Source: Built In

Few designers think of older adults as their target demographic, but overlooking their needs can mean missing out on big opportunities. “If you’re not considering the 50-plus audience, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice,” said Andre Bierzynski, innovation director at AARP Innovation Lab, whose mission is to encourage companies to develop tech products with older users in mind. While use of technology is negatively correlated with age, a majority of older adults are technologically savvy…

Builders, Architects, Owners of 5 NC Housing Complexes Settle Discrimination Cases; Agree to Make $1.3 million in Accessibility Modifications

November 10, 2020 | Source: Fair Housing Project

Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced today that it has settled housing discrimination complaints against the architects, builders, and owners of five apartment complexes located in the Triad area of North Carolina. The five complaints, which our Fair Housing Project filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that the respondents failed to design and construct the complexes to make them accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA)…

ProPublica experiments with ultra-accessible plain language in stories about people with disabilities

November 10, 2020 | Source: Nieman Lab

For an investigation into denied disability benefits in Arizona and an accompanying editor’s note, ProPublica is experimenting with plain language — a type of text that uses common words, short sentences, and clear structure to make information more accessible to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ProPublica sponsored Amy Silverman‘s “State of Denial” series with The Arizona Daily Star through their Local Reporting Network. The plain language translation appears alongside versions you’ve likely seen before: a Spanish translation and audio…

US Students With Disabilities Afforded Equality

November 10, 2020 | Source: VOA

Catherine Wilson is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park majoring in journalism and minoring in history. She also gets distracted easily. Loud noises, a cough or even tapping can break her concentration. Consequently, Wilson has help to ensure her success in college: extended time for exams and an alternative testing environment, called “reasonable accommodations.” “I have been really successful with (extended time). I’m able to prove I know the material. And even better, I’m actually able to finish (exams),” she said in an email to VOA…

Bay Area woman lobbying for passage of ALS bill

November 11, 2020 | Source: The Mercury News

When Jamie Berry noticed a slight limp in her right foot in late May, she didn’t think much of it. Berry tends horses and drives tractors on the 80-acre ranch her family leases in San Jose’s Almaden Valley, and she was also busy with an 8-year-old daughter, five dogs and an excavation business she runs with her husband. So Berry ignored what she assumed was a minor sprain. But after Berry limped for several weeks, her leg became visibly swollen. A trip to the emergency room led to a visit with a neurologist. “And then boom,” said Berry, 45. “They club you over the head with the worst diagnosis possible.”…

Equity And Accessibility In The Workplace

November 11, 2020 | Source: Forbes

When we discuss and make plans to promote the important issues of diversity and inclusion there are a few concepts that consistently rise to the forefront of the conversation. While cultural, gender and age-related challenges and those of racial and sexual identity exclusion are often considered, some concepts tend to get regulated into the background. Two of those are accessibility and equity, but they are equally important to consider when implementing a comprehensive diversity initiative. When you think of accessibility, what comes to mind? Ensuring your place of business complies with the American with Disabilities Act?…

Her Disability Check Wasn’t Enough To Live On. The Pandemic Took Away Her Other Options To Get By.

November 11, 2020 | Source: Buzz Feed

Chelsy knew something was seriously wrong with her health after she suddenly fell asleep while driving with her infant daughter in the backseat. It was her first major narcoleptic event — she was in her mid-twenties — and “it was absolutely the most terrifying moment in my whole life,” she said. By chance, she was at a stoplight, her foot stayed on the brake, and no one was hurt. She awoke to a cacophony of horns, and “I absolutely lost my mind.” She underwent a long succession of tests. Chelsy was diagnosed with a number of conditions: episodic sleep disorder, insomnia, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia…

Paralyzed man sues travel company over Cancun vacation

November 12, 2020 | Source: The Salem News

Thomas Muxie is a paraplegic who has been using a wheelchair since suffering a spinal cord injury in 1986. So when the Peabody resident booked a vacation to a Cancun beachfront resort in 2017, he sought assurances from the travel company that his accommodations would be handicapped-accessible. Muxie said a company sales representative repeatedly told him that would be the case. But according to a lawsuit filed in Peabody District Court, when Muxie arrived at the resort in Mexico, he discovered that it did not have a toilet that he could access in his wheelchair…

Educator on Betsy DeVos: I feel like I’m graduating from ‘meanest, pettiest, most critical teacher I ever had’

November 12, 2020 | Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I received this rumination on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos from a metro area public school teacher who teaches seventh grade on-level and gifted social studies at a Title I school in the Atlanta suburbs. The teacher holds a master’s degree and has taught in public, private, and charter schools at the pre-school, elementary and middle school levels. After realizing that DeVos will leave Washington with Donald Trump, the teacher writes, “I find myself today feeling the quiet, warm joy of a shy student who knows I am about to graduate from the classroom of the meanest, pettiest, most critical teacher I have ever had.”…

Deuteranopia: How to Tell If You Have Red-Green Color Blindness

November 12, 2020 | Source: Healthline

Red-green color blindness is the most common type of color deficiency. Also known as deuteranopia, this is most likely a congenital condition, meaning that you’re born with it. If you have this type of color blindness, you may have difficulty seeing different shades of red, green, and yellow. However, you may not be aware of these vision deficiencies until they’re pointed out by a loved one or detected by a doctor…

Jack Fact — The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics states that over 25.5 million Americans have a travel-limiting mobility due to disability.

Hit The Road Jack — Viewing Decks At Black Rocks Enable Accessible Tourism

International News

Mobility scooter users given more freedom with new permit scheme

November 6, 2020 | Source: Rochdale Online- UK

After a successful trial with Northern, a new mobility scooter permit scheme has been rolled out to over 100 railway stations in the North, including Rochdale, Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly. Passengers can apply for a permit and their scooter will be assessed to ensure they are safe to be carried on board. Each user will be given a personalised sticker that will be easily identified and be placed on the pre-assessed vehicle. This will be accompanied by a card that can be carried by customers if they use scooters that don’t have a suitable place to display the sticker…

Virtual fundraising events: 3 questions charities need to be asking about accessibility

November 6, 2020 | Source: Charity Digital- UK

Compared with the fundraising landscape of the first national lockdown, the danger of ’compassion fatigue’ or ’empathy overload’ means that persuading audiences to part with their hard-earned income is even more of a challenge for charities. And with the pandemic stretching on with no end in sight, and so many causes asking for help, who can blame people for becoming apathetic and wanting to switch off from all the caring and giving? Charities have shown great resilience and flexibility by pivoting their fundraising events to the digital world in ways that are both engaging and compelling…

This Brazilian pianist uses ‘bionic gloves’ to play

November 6, 2020 | Source: NBC- Brazil

Acclaimed Brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins had not played with 10 fingers since he lost the use of his right hand in a 1995 mugging in Bulgaria. But today he has returned to play his favorite Bach sonatas thanks to “bionic gloves” invented by industrial designer Ubiratan Bizarro. “When he showed me the gloves, I joked that they were for boxing, not to play the piano,” Martins, 80, said of the black neoprene gloves made by 3D printer. The gloves have rods that make the fingers spring back up after they depress the keys and allow the pianist to continue playing…

Employability must start with accessibility

November 7, 2020 | Source: FE News- UK

With the potential for 6 months of partial lockdown ahead of us, the adaptations made to the UK’s business infrastructure to remain operational seem set to be with us for some time. To get to where we are now, we’ve lived and worked through a technological gold rush that was required to keep employees connected and businesses trading. Alongside this has been a hard lesson in humility and humanity that, coupled with our newfound affinity for tech-enabled workspaces, may prove to be the most advantageous of the changes from which there should be no going back…

Kruger National Park is more accessible for people with disabilities

November 7, 2020 | Source: Independent Online- South Africa

IT IS important for South Africans to appreciate the rich biodiversity and culture protected in its national parks, yet many South Africans have never had the opportunity to visit even one of the country’s 19 national parks. For this reason Sanparks, the custodian of national parks, holds annually a National Parks Week during which entry to the parks is waived for local citizens to facilitate access. Kruger National Park, the country’s largest and best-known national park, is involved in an effort to ensure disability is not a barrier to enjoying the park…

Manchester council still seeking solutions to solve disabled access issues at Peterloo memorial more than a year on

November 8, 2020 | Source: Manchester Evening News- UK

A solution to making the Peterloo memorial more accessible for disabled people is no closer to being found more than a year after concerns were first raised by campaigners. Manchester council has been heavily criticised over the lack of disabled access to the monument since it was unveiled to mark the 200th anniversary of the massacre last August. Since then officers, architects and Jeremy Deller, the Turner Prize-winning artist who designed the memorial, have been trying to find ways of making it more accessible…

Ground Report by Activist Highlights Problems Faced by Disabled Persons in Bihar Polls

November 8, 2020 | Source: The Wire- India

A disabled independent researcher working with the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Bihar has highlighted how despite clear instructions and guidelines from the Election Commission of India for making the assembly polls “accessible”, a large number of persons with disability (PwD) faced immense problems in reaching the polling booths and casting their vote. Moreover, Harsh Raj, who surveyed several constituencies in and around Patna and interviewed PwDs during the first and second phase of voting on October 28 and November 3 respectively…

American looks to modify its wheelchair weight limits for regionals

November 8, 2020 | Source: Runway Girl Network- Canada

American Airlines is reviewing its guidelines governing the transport of mobility devices and wheelchairs in the cargo holds of its regional aircraft, and working to “modify” them to be more inclusive, after a prominent accessibility advocate sounded the alarm that the US major had begun strictly adhering to wheelchair weight restrictions that would effectively deny travel to disabled passengers across great swaths of its network. “In order to comply with a new Canadian regulation that went into effect in June, we published conservative maximum weights for each aircraft type…

DoE rap for govt schools inaccessible to disabled

November 9, 2020 | Source: Times of India

The director of the directorate of education has written to the district education officers for not being able to achieve 100% barrier-free accessibility in government and government-aided schools despite being issued funds for it.

Following an assessment of accessibility of government school buildings for children with disabilities in December 2019, show-cause notices were issued to 666 heads of government schools, stated the letter by director Udit Prakash Rai…

Are universities finally complying with EU directive on accessibility?

November 8, 2020 | Source: Media and Learning- UK

UK undergraduate disabled students have a consistently lower than average overall satisfaction rate than non-disabled students and are doing less well in terms of continuing their course (0.9 percentage points), degree attainment (2.8 percentage points), and progression onto highly skilled employment or postgraduate study (1.8 percentage points). The UK Office for students October 2020 Insight brief identified that universities need to build considerations of inclusivity and accessibility into curriculum design, programme review, and purchasing of services and equipment; offer alternative formats of lectures and course materials as standard practice…

QF’s QCDC receives Mada accreditation

November 9, 2020 | Source: Gulf Times- Qatar

Qatar Career Development Center (QCDC), a Qatar Foundation (QF) entity, has received accreditation from Mada for making its digital platform accessible to residents around the country, it was announced yesterday. Over several months, QCDC worked hard to meet all the global standards for digital access to web content (WCAG 2.1), and has joined a growing list of accredited platforms that promote digital inclusiveness, empower people with special needs and the elderly, and support their independence…

Behind the scenes of an inclusive celebration

November 9, 2020 | Source: Livemint- India

It’s still a week to Diwali but neighbourhoods in Mumbai are already resounding with loud bursts of crackers. Nirali Shah has been receiving distress calls from parents of children with autism. “The loud noise acts as a trigger for them. They start getting restless, spitting, and even hitting at times. You might find them suddenly cutting their hair with scissors. Parents are unable to deal with this alone,” says Nirali , a special educator and shadow mentor who helps orient children with special needs to meet day-to-day life challenges…

Irish people with disabilities still ‘locked out’ of public spaces and buildings

November 9, 2020 | Source: The Irish Times- Ireland

More than seven out of 10 people with physical disabilities in Ireland have little or no access to public spaces and amenities, while two-thirds continue to report difficulties in accessing public buildings, the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) has said. New research published by the association finds 77 per cent of people with physical disabilities still face problems when using public pavements, parking and pedestrian crossings, and 66 per cent struggle to access public buildings offering healthcare, retail and leisure facilities…

ESRC Virtual Festival – Museum without Walls: Access for All…

November 10, 2020 | Source: Slugger O’Toole- Ireland

Equal access to cultural venues such as museums, heritage centres and arts galleries for people with disabilities has been declared a human right, and is being addressed across the world as venues endeavour to ensure equal access for visitors with varying abilities. A three-year research project at Queen’s, in collaboration with Titanic Belfast and Royal National Institute of Blind People is investigating innovative access options for the blind and partially sighted (BPS), using new technologies within diverse museum environments…

Improving accessibility in public sector

November 10, 2020 | Source: Mirage News- Australia

Language Services Policy ensures language is not a barrier when accessing information and services from the WA public sector. Revised policy guidelines provide practical advice and tools to help agencies better respond to needs of people from linguistically diverse backgrounds. The McGowan Government has released the updated Western Australian Language Services Policy 2020 to ensure language is not a barrier to accessing information and services in the WA public sector. The revised policy includes supporting resources, practical advice and case studies to make it easier than ever for agencies to implement…

Greece’s Acropolis on the path to full accessibility

November 10, 2020 | Source: The Mayor- Greece

Greece’s Acropolis will soon be fully accessible to everyone, regardless of their disabilities or of their mobility and health issues. The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has announced that it aims to transform the site in order to allow everyone the opportunity to visit it and thus to accommodate every single individual who might so far have been turned off from making the trip. Currently, there exists a type of freight elevator that takes those visitors with disabilities directly to the top of the site…

Awards by the government seek to promote work for accessibility in Turkey

November 11, 2020 | Source: Daily Sabah- Turkey

As the government-declared Year of Accessibility draws to a close, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policies takes another step to recognize efforts for better services to people with disabilities. Public agencies, companies and individuals providing exemplary services on the matter will be awarded by the ministry on Dec. 3, International Day of Disabled Persons. The awards aim to promote projects that help include people with disabilities in social and economic life…

‘People are afraid to help’: How blind people are dealing with Covid

November 12, 2020 | Source: Newslaundry- India

Persons with disabilities have historically battled inequalities and lower access to necessities like healthcare and education. For persons with visual impairments, some of whom rely on touch, Covid and guidelines like social distancing have hit them hard. India has around 8.8 million persons with visual impairment, according to a 2015 study by Lancet, forming around 25 percent of the total number of persons with visual impairments globally. Mohit Pandey, who recently graduated from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, told Newslaundry that it’s been a hard few months…

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