Accessibility in the News — 5/12/2023.

A recent report by the Delaware Community Legal Aid Society reveals that 30% of polling places in Delaware have violated accessibility standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The study assessed 145 polling places during the November elections and discovered issues such as insufficient accessible parking spaces, non-compliance with ADA guidelines for designated parking, and lack of training for poll workers across all three counties in the state. The report, released by the CLASI Disabilities Law Program, highlights the need for improved accessibility measures at polling locations.

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Community Legal Aid Society Delaware Report finds accessibility issues at Delaware polling locations

May 7, 2023 | Source: WMDT

The Delaware Community Legal Aid Society has released a report that finds accessibility violations for those with disabilities at voting centers across the state. The statewide report found issues with parking, accessible entrances, and poll worker training across all 3 Delaware counties. Project Director at the CLASI Disabilities Law Program Laura Waterland tells us in Sussex County violations included failure to use disability entrances, lack of temporary parking near the location, and multiple locations that had parking across a road from the locations…

New study finds ADA violations at 30% of Delaware polling places

May 7, 2023 | Source: Delaware Public Media

A new report from the Community Legal Aid Society finds ADA accessibility violations at several Delaware polling places. CLASI’s Disability Law Program assessed 145 of 275 polling places on Election Day in November and found 30% lacked accessible parking spaces for cars and vans, because they were completely absent or spaces marked accessible did not comply with ADA standards. Project Director Laura Waterland says handicapped spaces need extra room…

Only 70% of Delaware polling places meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards: report

May 8, 2023 | Source: Delaware News Journal

A new report from Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. found that 30% of polling places in Delaware did not have adequate accessible parking. These locations either lacked designated accessible parking or did not meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, according to the CLASI Disabilities Law Program. The report comes just days before polling places open statewide for the school board elections. However, the findings outlined in the report aren’t anything new, Disabilities Law Program Project Director Laura Waterland said…

National News (U.S.)

Listen both ways: Blind walkers winning safer road crossings

May 4, 2023 | Source: ABC News

After a retinal disease left him legally blind, architect John Gleichman was struck by a taxicab while walking home near Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo — at the same intersection where a 4-year-old girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver years earlier. Although Maya Hirsch’s death in 2006 ignited a citywide crusade for pedestrian safety improvements, almost all the electronic upgrades since then have been for people who can see. Nearly 3,000 Chicago intersections are now equipped with visual crossing signals, yet fewer than three dozen include audible cues…

NTID partnership enhances accessibility at 2023 PGA Championship

May 5, 2023 | Source: Rochester Institute of Technology and WROC

Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the PGA of America announce a partnership to have American Sign Language interpreters throughout the weeklong 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, May 15-21, in Rochester, N.Y. Most notably, for the first time in PGA of America’s history, ASL interpreters will also be on site at the PGA Championship Wanamaker Trophy presentation on May 21, while the 2023 PGA Champion is named…

How OMB can improve .gov accessibility

May 5, 2023 | Source: Federal News Network

It is clear that the current practices for digital accessibility are not working. The Department of Justice and the General Services Administration Section 508 Report to Congress and the President confirms this. From this we know that in the last decade, agencies have not made measurable progress toward Section 508. “Current guidance does not stipulate testing methods nor sampling approaches, which decreases our confidence and ability to draw conclusions about government-wide accessibility performance,” the report stated…

Bill aims to improve air travel for passengers with disabilities

May 5, 2023 | Source: The Washington Post

Passengers with disabilities have described harrowing problems during air travel, including bungled security screenings, risky transfers onto planes, and lost and damaged wheelchairs. Their plight has caught the attention of Congress, where bipartisan bills focused on improving air travel for people with disabilities are being introduced in both the House and Senate. The Mobility Aids on Board Improve Lives and Empower All Act, introduced Friday, would require the Transportation Department to publicly report on the type of damage that occurs to wheelchairs and other mobility aids…

Wheelchair repairs and adaptive gaming: Temple is opening a new $500k space for people with disabilities

May 6, 2023 | Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Viola and Dan Dwyer decided it was time move on from the flip phone. When Dan was a child, he experienced a traumatic brain injury that affected his speech and motor skills and for most of his adult life, he has used a flip phone because of its fixed, tactile buttons. But those phones don’t offer smartphone features that would be useful to Dan, like rideshare apps. So, Viola bought her husband his first iPhone, thinking they’d be able to figure things out together. Viola has her own disability, born with a neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy, and is a full-time wheelchair user…

Disabled people help Fargo’s Hector International Airport design for accessibility

May 7, 2023 | Source: InForum

Mitchell Benson doesn’t travel much. His wheelchair, adorned with electronic gadgets, can be limiting when it comes to travel, but he knows what people with disabilities need when outside the home. Ample turnaround space. Wider doors. Lower counters. An extra family restroom or two. Doors that don’t close too quickly — things that those who aren’t disabled rarely think about. “Traveling issues can be a pretty big deterrent. What it takes to get on an airplane or fly in a plane needs to be studied,” Benson said…

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Lilly drug slows Alzheimer’s by 35%, bolstering treatment approach

May 8, 2023 | Source: Reuters

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a late-stage trial, the company said on Wednesday, providing what experts say is the strongest evidence yet that removing sticky amyloid plaques from the brain benefits patients with the fatal disease. Lilly’s drug, donanemab, met all goals of the trial, the company said. It slowed progression of Alzheimer’s by 35% compared to a placebo in 1,182 people with early-stage disease whose brains had deposits of two key Alzheimer’s proteins, beta amyloid as well as intermediate levels of tau, a protein linked with disease progression and brain cell death…

Manolo Blahnik class action alleges website not accessible to blind, visually impaired users

May 8, 2023 | Source: Top Class Actions

Manolo Blahnik USA Ltd. is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that its website, manoloblahnik.com, is not accessible to those who are visually impaired or legally blind. The website is not accessible via screen reader and it does not have alternative text, it has broken links and it does not include text to go along with images, according to the Manolo Blahnik class action. Plaintiff Marta Hanyzkiewicz attempted to access the Manolo Blahnik website on several occasions and was unable to based on the website’s lack of accessibility…

Many people living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ are plagued with medical debt

May 9, 2023 | Source: NPR

Delores Lowery remembers vividly the day in 2016 when she was working in a weaving plant near her home in Bennettsville, S.C., and the world around her seemed to go dim. She turned to her co-workers. “And I asked, I said, ‘Why y’all got it so dark in here? They said, ‘Delores, it’s not dark in here.’ I said, ‘Yes it is. It’s so dark in here.'” She landed in the hospital. Her A1C level, which shows the average percentage of sugar in someone’s blood over the past few months, was 14. A reading of 6.5% or higher indicates diabetes…

Baltimore isn’t accessible for people with disabilities. Fixing it would cost over $650 million.

May 9, 2023 | Source: The Baltimore Banner

A year and a half ago, Ross Dolloff moved to Baltimore in search of a fresh start. Partially paralyzed for more than a decade, he expected to face some hurdles as he adjusted to life in a new city. Though Dolloff enjoys living in Baltimore and finds it easier to navigate than other cities, he’s still felt excluded from certain areas and activities due to his disability. He’s had difficulty navigating sidewalks, farmers markets and outdoor festivals in his wheelchair. Restaurants and bars don’t often offer tables low enough to accommodate him, and many don’t have bathrooms he can use…

Can airlines fix their antiquated accessibility procedures?

May 10, 2023 | Source: The Alpena News

Airline travel can be stressful. You have to deal with long lines at security, missing or damaged luggage, even a delayed flight or two. For Laura Hall, the program director at the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition in East Lansing, air travel can be even tougher. Hall has cerebral palsy and uses a power chair to get around. She said she hasn’t had pleasant experiences while traveling by plane, and there were three instances where her chair was damaged…

IS AI ADA compliant?

May 11, 2023 | Source: Fox News

Artificial intelligence technologies have the potential to significantly alter the lives of human beings, especially those with disabilities. There are numerous ways that AI can and has already positively impacted the lives of the disabled, but concerns over whether companies and websites using AI remain compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) do exist. What does it mean to be ADA compliant? The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that aims to help protect the disabled by giving them fair opportunities. Many elements of life are ADA regulated, such as buildings and certain websites…

MTA Hero prioritizes accessibility by making seats comfortable, putting braille on buses

May 11, 2023 | Source: ABC 7

This week’s MTA Hero is Kerry Bowden, a man who works hard to make sure accessibility is a priority with the MTA. Bowden is the Assistant Chief Maintenance Officer with the Department of Buses at Zerega Bus Maintenance and Training Facility in the Bronx. He and his team work with the accessibility team, looking to find ways to help New Yorkers get around. “It should be clean, it should be comfortable, and something they experience as a good experience,” Bowden said…

7 museums, gardens, and performance venues making art more accessible to all

May 11, 2023 | Source: Roadtrippers

Decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, there’s still a lot of progress to be made in making businesses, cultural institutions, and public spaces truly accessible for everyone. But every new technological advancement and thoughtful initiative allows more and more people to engage with the arts in new ways. From glasses designed to correct for color blindness, tactile displays, and braille signage, to improved wheelchair accessibility, here are seven places in the U.S. that are making experiences and environments more welcoming and comfortable to all visitors…

Jack Fact — According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2020–21, the number of students ages 3–21 who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.2 million, or 15% of all public school students. Among students receiving special education services, the most common category of disability was specific learning disabilities (33%).

Hit The Road Jack — How to make sure you get an accessible hotel room if you need one

International News

Six game-changing projects thanks to Northern’s £250k Accessibility Innovation Fund

May 5, 2023 | Source: Rail Business Daily- UK

Northern has announced details of six game-changing projects given the green light thanks to its £250,000 Accessibility Innovation Fund. Projects include using AI to interpret customer announcements into British Sign Language, a scheme to encourage older people to have days out on the train and a hub to rent out wheelchairs and mobility scooters. The fund is designed to empower communities to make decisions which will improve the railway for all and is now in its second year…

RNIB celebrates accessible coronation coverage

May 5, 2023 | Source: Association of Optometrists- UK

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has worked with the BBC and ITV to ensure live coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III is accessible to people with sight loss in the UK. In what the RNIB described as a “television first in the UK,” ITV will provide live audio description (AD) on their coverage of the coronation, “something that’s never been done before,” the charity suggested. The BBC will also be providing a separate, bespoke accessible commentary for audiences who are blind or partially sighted through the red button function…

New Toronto restaurant brings inclusive and accessible space to neurodiverse people

May 5, 2023 | Source: CTV News- Canada

When Jennifer Low and Deon Kim moved to Toronto last year, talks of opening up their own restaurant came to the forefront. Kim, a chef with countless recipes and a drive to experiment with flavours, and Low, a specialist teacher with decade-long experience working with neurodiverse children, thought to combine their skills (and dreams) together to create Sarang Kitchen – an inclusive space for all their diners. “I was thinking, ‘Instead of just a restaurant, why not make it more special and something that can, you know, make the world a better place?’” Low told CTV News Toronto…

Access denied: Ongoing struggle for accessibility in Bengaluru for physically special individuals

May 6, 2023 | Source: News Trail- India

Despite advancements in technology and awareness campaigns in Bengaluru, people who are physically disabled still face significant barriers to accessibility in their daily lives. Public spaces and buildings in the city frequently lack appropriate accommodations such as wheelchair ramps, accessible parking spaces, and elevators, making it difficult or impossible for people with physical disabilities to navigate them independently. Additionally, many online platforms and digital media are not designed with accessibility in mind, making it challenging for individuals with visual or auditory impairments to access information and communication…

Rights on Flights: the new campaign seeking to make air travel more accessible

May 6, 2023 | Source: National Geographic Traveller- UK

Since travel restarted post-pandemic, one theme has emerged amid the overall chaos: travellers with disabilities being let down by airports and airlines. From special assistance passengers left on planes for upwards of an hour at the end of a flight to wheelchairs damaged in transit, there’s been headline after headline in the past 18 months. Now, it seems, things have reached crisis point. After her wheelchair was broken on a British Airways flight in February, TV presenter Sophie Morgan has launched a campaign with Disability Rights UK. Called Rights on Flights, its goal is to improve the airline experience for all passengers with disabilities…

London needs more accessible design

May 7, 2023 | Source: City Hall- UK

Disabled people face too many access problems across London, City Hall politicians have warned. A London Assembly committee suggested a group should be created to discuss inclusive design in the future. It said the group would help advise on the next London Plan. “Inclusive design needs to be a golden thread throughout the planning process,” Jane Wilmot, chair of the Hammersmith and Fulham Disability Forum Planning Group said. In a letter to the Mayor of London, the London Assembly’s planning and regeneration committee urged Sadiq Khan to convene a group of disabled Londoners and organisations representing disabled people to consider the matter…

Gippsland family builds accessible house to keep son living with disability out of aged care

May 7, 2023 | Source: ABC- Australia

When ambulances turned out to attend to 36-year-old Aresti Vassiliou in his time of need, it took more than an hour for paramedics to get him out of the 1960s house he had grown up in. The narrow hallway would not fit a stretcher and his large stature made it difficult to manoeuvre him through the old home. “Aresti got so upset, really distressed,” his sister, Catherine Vasilliou, said. “It just got to the point where we thought … ‘We can’t do this anymore’, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we build an accessible home that’s safe?'”…

The Daily Struggles of Kashmir’s Disabled Community in a World of Inaccessible Structures

May 8, 2023 | Source: NewsClick- India

Mohammad Shafi Dar, a 40-year-old resident of South Kashmir’s Pulwama, has been struggling to complete some paperwork at the nearby social welfare office for the past two weeks. Unfortunately, he has not had much success because the government facility does not have enough accessibility for those with disabilities. At 15, a carpenter apprentice, Dar lost his lower limbs after falling from a roof. Since then, he has encountered several challenges in his day-to-day activities, such as going to banks, government buildings, and other significant institutions…

How Far Have We Come With Our Efforts Of Accessibility Towards Disability?

May 8, 2023 | Source: Outlook- India

Last year on September 14, at the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for the European Region, 53 countries of the region adopted the first-ever framework to work towards achieving the highest standards of living and accessibility for people with disabilities. This was a major step forward. Health and wellness have increasingly become a prime topic in recent years and like most other global undercurrents, efforts are being made to make overall life more disability-friendly at larger levels – governmental, corporate, broader social groups and in the policies engineered…

Greece Is Making Hundreds of Beaches More Accessible

May 8, 2023 | Source: Smithsonian Magazine- Greece and National Herald and Independent.ie and Greek Reporter

In a bid to make its beaches more accessible, Greece is installing free, wheelchair-friendly ramps to ensure people with mobility challenges can access and enjoy the sea. Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s tourism minister, announced the initiative at a press conference last month, per the Greek Reporter’s Tasos Kokkinidis. As part of the $16.5 million (€15 million) project, the country is also making accessibility updates to restrooms, changing facilities, parking, snack bars, walkways and other amenities…

How can the financial industry address digital accessibility?

May 9, 2023 | Source: Dhaka Tribune- India

In a previous article, I highlighted my own experience in dealing with the financial sector of Bangladesh, and how many are still not up to date with how to provide services to persons with disabilities. However, there are some important ways that they can address this. Nearly all websites are unusable to some visitors; they can only navigate them using a mouse. Often buttons are unlabeled so it is unclear what they were meant to do, and images lack alt text. Additionally, nearly all banks and financial entities use PDF formats for their monthly statements. Many of these are inaccessible due to errors in reading order…

Accessibility improvements for West London station

May 10, 2023 | Source: RailAdvent- UK

Network Rail has announced that Isleworth station in west London is to become fully accessible, as it confirms a £3m investment in new lifts and walkways and other upgrades. Working with South Western Railway and Hounslow Council, Network Rail will install new lifts either side of the raised platforms, making use of the existing subway and providing step-free access to the central platforms. Hounslow Council has contributed £1m to the scheme. Currently, platform 1 can only be reached by steps, and the station is unstaffed, so mobility-impaired passengers are unable to fully access the station…

Boy with amputated limbs gets accessible garden makeover

May 10, 2023 | Source: BBC- UK

An eight-year-old boy who had his legs and hands amputated after falling ill has been treated to a garden makeover. Taylor, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, was helped by a charity and a gardener who specialises in making outside spaces disability-friendly. Taylor’s family says it means he can now enjoy his trampoline and slide. Gardener Paul Bignall, who carried out the work for free, said: “To see the smile on Taylor’s face is worth more than any money.” Mr Bignall was put in touch with the family through the charity Me&Dee which works to create special memories for families…

N. Hamgyong Province moves to improve education accessibility for disabled children

May 10, 2023 | Source: DailyNK- North Korea

North Hamgyong Province’s education department recently drew up plans to improve access to education for children who are unable to attend school due to physical disabilities or difficult family conditions, Daily NK has learned. Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, a reporting partner in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Monday that “the provincial education department analyzed surveys conducted by local city and county educational authorities regarding students who have been unable to attend school…

Questions asked over accessibility of NHS trust Norwich base

May 10, 2023 | Source: Eastern Daily Press- UK

During a debate about the experiences of disabled staff of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), one of its directors spoke of an “eye-opening” visit to its main control centre in Hellesdon. Kevin Smith, director of finance for the trust, said that he had recently been given a tour of the site as part of research into the working lives of the trust’s disabled workforce. The tour was conducted by a worker called Lucy, who uses a wheelchair, and highlighted the difficulties disabled workers can face…

UK Civil Aviation Authority launches consultation on proposed airline accessibility framework

May 10, 2023 | Source: THIIS Magazine- UK

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has launched a consultation for views on a proposed framework to improve airline experiences for disabled and less mobile passengers. Running until 21 July 2023, the consultation launched on 25 April 2023 seeking further feedback from disability rights groups, individuals, and the aviation industry, particularly around what best practice looks like. The regulator’s framework would rank the performance of airlines based on their service for disabled and less mobile passengers, from booking flight tickets and assistance at the airport, through to their onboard experience and complaints handling…

Bribie Island’s Brennan Park upgrade met with disappointment over accessibility concerns

May 11, 2023 | Source: ABC- Australia

Seven-year-old Zach Dove London used to love going to his grandparent’s local park. But that was before it was upgraded. “I was just shocked. I was shocked that they made it worse instead of better,” he said. Brennan Park on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, had recently undergone an $835,128 makeover to replace its equipment and improve accessibility and landscape. Zach, who uses a wheelchair, said bark and wood chips were added beneath the playground equipment, which has stopped him from playing there…

IPC praises French Government’s push to improve rights of persons with disabilities

May 11, 2023 | Source: International Paralympic Committee- France

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons has praised the French Government’s recent announcement on measures to improve inclusion of persons with disabilities, hailing it as “a major step in the right direction” and “further proof that Change Starts with Sport.” Speaking at the sixth annual disability conference in Paris on 27 April 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron presented his Government’s policy which prioritises accessibility, education and employment. It also includes a EUR 1.5 billion investment that will ensure better access to public places for people with disabilities…

How ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto is revolutionizing accessibility in cinema

May 11, 2023 | Source: CP24- Canada

A festival showcasing films about Deaf and disabled communities is returning to Toronto this week. First launched in 2016, ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto opens tonight, with virtual screenings and in-person events scheduled to take place until the celebratory awards ceremony on May 19. This year’s festival includes 22 films, 50 per cent of which are Canadian. “The most beautiful process of any film festival is getting to watch the films and seeing the themes that arise every year,” said RAFFTO artistic director Lora Campbell in an interview…

Change on the way to improve housing accessibility, but what about existing public housing stock?

May 12, 2023 | Source: ABC- Australia

Home is not a safe place for Gerald Friessbourg. The public housing tenant regularly falls down the steep stairs of his two-storey unit in Adelaide’s inner east, smacking his head or face on the cold brick wall below. He sits on his backside and tries to shuffle up the stairs, to shower once a fortnight, or sleep in his bed. On the days he makes it to the top, he often doesn’t have the strength to go any further. On the days he falls, he can’t stop himself tumbling. Multiple back injuries from his younger years have culminated in a physical disability, marked by spinal weakness and instability…

It’s time to make waves in beach accessibility- Pursuit

May 12, 2023 | Source: University of Melbourne- Australia

The beach is one of Australia’s most popular recreation destinations. It’s at the heart of Australian culture and our national identity. Participating in recreation at the beach improves physical and mental health and wellbeing. People experience the beach as a place of pleasure, play and sociability in ways that are hard to find in other urban spaces. However, people with disability remain largely excluded from Australian beaches. Our recent study, funded by the Melbourne Disability Institute, examined the benefits of accessible beaches for people with disability and what makes beaches more or less accessible…

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