Accessibility in the News — 12/16/2022.

A report from the US Senate Special Committee on Aging has found that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has failed to make its websites accessible to users with disabilities, older adults, and veterans. The report states that the government has not met the requirements set forth by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires federal government agencies to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic equipment procured. The VA has stated that it is working to ensure that the “vast majority” of websites visited by veterans are accessible and that almost 90% of the VA’s 1,000 most frequently visited websites have received “outstanding” accessibility scores of 95% or higher. The committee has made 12 recommendations for the federal government to address the issues, including increasing transparency and accountability, improving the accessibility of federal technology for workers and taxpayers, and Congress taking action through oversight and legislation.

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Blind and disabled veterans can’t access VA websites, report says

December 14, 2022 | Source: The Washington Post and Full Report and The Hill and Senator Casey and FedScoop and UPI and WTAJ and Bradford Era and MyChesCo

Ron Biglin is a 73-year-old blind veteran living in Clarks Summit, Pa., who regularly goes kayaking and fishing, sorts his mail and uses public transportation to get around. But he can’t log on to the Department of Veterans Affairs website portal for his health benefits because the portal’s design isn’t compatible with his screen reader, which converts text to speech. Now, a new report from the Senate Special Committee on Aging is taking VA to task for neglecting accessibility issues on its websites…

National News (U.S.)

3 women with disabilities file suit against State of Michigan, Wayne Co., Detroit over building violations

December 7, 2022 | Source: The Detroit News

Three women filed a disability rights complaint Tuesday stating there are a plethora of violations at government buildings at the state, county and city level. The issues, the women claim, are at the State Capitol, Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice, legislative Wayne County offices, and nine Detroit buildings, including City Hall, according to a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. The three plaintiffs are Jill Babcock, Jaime Junior and Ashley Jacobson. Babcock, who uses a wheelchair, is from Detroit and has several physical disabilities like ataxia, a neurological disorder that affects her strength, agility, balance, motor skills, bladder control and speech…

How an expectant mother with visual impairment was able to ‘see’ her baby

December 7, 2022 | Source: KETV

When expecting mother Ashton Johnson got an ultrasound at CHI Bergan Mercy Clinic in Omaha, she didn’t know how she would see the results. “They’re like ope, his hands are in front of his face again. I was like, what’s he doing now. And Logan’s like ope, he’s going to sleep,” she said. But words could only go so far and helping Johnson visualize her baby would take something more. Her OBGYN, Dr. Katie Sekpe, found a solution. “And so, the thought came like it would be really nice to get her something tangible to hold on to, to feel the contours of the baby’s face and to really get an understanding of what baby looks like,” Sekpe said…

Developer of Pokémon GO sued by NJ man for lack of accessibility for the visually impaired

December 9, 2022 | Source: NorthJersey.com

A Hudson County man filed two separate lawsuits against Niantic Inc., the augmented reality mobile game developer behind Pokémon GO, saying the popular app and the company’s website discriminate against the visually impaired. Carlos Herrera, a North Bergen resident who is visually impaired, said Niantic’s lack of accommodations is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Acts. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court Tuesday, stated that the law is clear that consumers with disabilities should have similar access to web content and that companies are required to include screen readers and other assistive measures…

When Deaf Couple Comes For Dinner, Restaurant Proves “Accessibility Is Hospitality.”

December 10, 2022 | Source: Inspiremore and Today

When you live with a physical difference like hearing loss, you become used to making your own accommodations ahead of time to ensure a good experience. Melissa Keomoungkhoun and her husband Victor Montiel of Salt Lake City, Utah are both deaf. They recently scored a dinner reservation at a trendy sushi restaurant in Dallas, Texas, where Melissa’s sister works as a food critic. The foodies were excited to try Tatsu Dallas, so they emailed the restaurant before their visit to let them know about their hearing loss…

The beginning of the road to the 2024 Paris Paralympics

December 10, 2022 | Source: URevolution- Sheri Byrne Haber

I worked for a company that was doing remote work long before the pandemic. My team was about two dozen individuals distributed across Austin, Boston, Silicon Valley, Portland, Oregon, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, and China. We had quarterly gatherings in Palo Alto to help improve collaboration. The previous quarterly corporate event, a gathering at a winery, had been an unmitigated access disaster. The room the meeting was held in was next to impossible to get to by wheelchair unless you knew the super-secret unlabeled path. The room itself was totally crammed with oversized furniture…

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One-armed player for Northwestern St scores first points

December 11, 2022 | Source: AP

As soon as Hansel Emmanuel began to weave in from the right wing, his Northwestern State teammates started to stand up. When he dribbled between two defenders for a stylish layup, most everyone in the gym joined them.

The freshman with one arm was finally on the board. And a minute later Saturday night, the 6-foot-6 guard provided the most defining moment of the game — a thunderous dunk in a 91-73 win over Louisiana-Monroe. “I had to keep going after the layup – that was my first bucket,” Emmanuel said in a quote posted on the Southland Conference school’s website. “I know my family was proud…

A college search guide for students with disabilities: Local experts share their tips

December 12, 2022 | Source: NorthJersey.com

The pressure is on full tilt for high school seniors in the final weeks of college application season. For students with disabilities, the challenge can be even greater to find a school that’s a good fit. Isabel Mavrides-Calderon, an 18-year-old at Horace Mann School in the Bronx, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective-tissue disorder that increases the risk of dislocations and other injuries. She uses a walker or wheelchair, depending on her level of pain on any given day. She’s looking for a college or university with an accessible campus, and while “every school will say it’s accessible,” in reality many fall short, Mavrides-Calderon said….

Federal Web Accessibility Focus Puts Private Sector on Notice

December 13, 2022 | Source: Bloomberg Law

Federal agencies, as well as the private sector, are facing pressure due to a growing focus on web accessibility by the U.S. Department of Justice, which recently sought to increase its own online user-friendliness with a makeover of its ADA.gov website. DOJ said it would make the site more “user-centered” by incorporating easier to understand language, among other upgrades. The website itself offers information to employers and employees on the rights of disabled people in the workplace and in public spaces…

A Call for Greater Accessibility for Iowans with Disabilities

December 13, 2022 | Source: Public News Service

Iowans with disabilities said the state could be doing more to make public places more accessible and inclusive. In the new legislative session, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council also wants lawmakers to make more money available to address dramatic staffing shortages. For the 12.5% of Iowans living with a disability, lack of accessibility is an ongoing issue. Brooke Lovelace, executive director of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, said the state can help increase access to affordable, reliable and convenient transportation so people can be more mobile in communities where they live and work, and to remove physical barriers in public spaces…

MTA’s push for accessible stations welcomed, but overdue

December 13, 2022 | Source: The Ticker

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced plans to install accessibility upgrades at multiple subway and Long Island Rail Road stations on Nov. 30. The MTA is taking strides to improve station accessibility for disabled commuters, but these changes are long overdue. The package of accessibility upgrades includes the replacement and upgrade of elevators at Woodhaven Boulevard and Rockaway Boulevard, Queens, Borough Hall, Brooklyn and five other stations. Seven LIRR stations will become accessible for the first time…

NYU to create task force amid campus accessibility complaints

December 13, 2022 | Source: Washington Square News

Disability-rights activists on campus say that NYU is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to ensure all of its building entrances are fully accessible. Students who need to use ADA doors, which often open automatically, to enter university buildings are required to disclose their disability in order to enter some buildings without assistance, which some have claimed violates the act. While many ADA doors on campus can be opened with buttons on the outside of buildings, some doors that are not in the view of NYU Campus Safety officers stationed at posts inside require tap access to open automatically…

Advocates Fear The Impact Of NYC’s Involuntary Hospitalization Plan

December 13, 2022 | Source: HUFFPOST

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan last month to involuntarily hospitalize homeless people with mental illnesses, raising alarm for disability and mental health advocates. Under the new policy, law enforcement, as well as medical workers, will be authorized to remove and involuntarily hospitalize any individual who “appears to be mentally ill” or “displays an inability to meet basic living needs,” even if they don’t appear to be a danger to themselves or others…

Has Your Business Received A Letter From Apex Trial Law Or Thomas Dorobiala? How To Defend These Unruh Civil Rights Act Claim Letters

December 13, 2022 | Source: JMBM

Recently Thomas Dorobiala, through his law firm Apex Trial Law, has been sending a large number of complaint letters to various types of businesses alleging that the business’ website fails to comply with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act. Specifically, the letter states that Mr. Dorobiala is hearing impaired and “unable to fully access your website because the website is not fully accessible to the hearing-impaired.” Generally, the letter will reference a video available on the website and the lack of closed captions available for that video. The letter is usually signed by Ryan M. Ferrell, Esq. or Thomas W. Kohler, Esq…

Kellogg updates packaging, increases accessibility

December 15, 2022 | Source: Baking Business

Kellogg Co. is adding NaviLens technology to the packaging of four cereal varieties in the United States to increase accessibility for blind and low vision consumers. Included in the packaging update are Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Special K Original, Rice Krispies and Crispix. Kellogg began rolling out packaging with NaviLens accessibility features in the United Kingdom in 2022. Initially printed on Special K boxes, the company transitioned all other UK cereal brands to the new packaging throughout the year…

Justice Department Finds Alaska Unnecessarily Segregates Children with Behavioral Health Disabilities in Institutions

December 15, 2022 | Source: Department of Justice

The Department of Justice announced today that it found reasonable cause to believe that the State of Alaska violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide community-based services to children with behavioral health disabilities, relying instead on segregated, institutional settings — specifically, psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric residential treatment facilities. This finding comes at the conclusion of the department’s investigation into whether Alaska subjects children with behavioral health disabilities to unnecessary institutionalization in violation of Title II of the ADA…

DOJ Agreement with UC Berkeley Over Digital Content Accessibility Could Have Huge Impact on IHEs

December 15, 2022 | Source: Campus Technology

A new consent decree between the Justice Department and University of California, Berkeley resolving allegations that UC Berkeley’s digital content is not accessible enough may have much broader implications for education institutions with free online content and courses that are not fully ADA compliant — regardless of the platform where the institution’s content exists. The proposed consent decree was filed in late November alongside a complaint setting forth the allegations of discrimination…

Appellate Court Addresses How Much Information Employee Must Submit to Support an Accommodation Request

December 15, 2022 | Source: Jackson Lewis P.C.

One of the many difficult issues employers face under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is determining what information a disabled employee must provide to an employer to trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate a disability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed that question for the first time in Owens v. Georgia, No. 21-13200 (11th Cir. Nov. 9, 2022). While the Court was evaluating a claim under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the ADA is construed consistent with the Rehabilitation Act…

Interracial And Gay Marriage Was Codified. But What About Disabled Marriage Equality?

December 15, 2022 | Source: HUFFPOST

President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, effectively codifying rights for same-sex and interracial marriages into law. But the historic legislation left out some groups, such as disabled people, who are still fighting for marriage equality. Activists and members of the disability community are pointing out that a disabled person is unable to marry a non-disabled person without risking the loss of their federal benefits. Many disabled people rely on programs such as Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which both provide a monthly stipend to meet basic living needs…

Jack Fact — According to JAMA Ophthalmology, cataract extraction is the most prevalent surgical procedure of all medical specialties with an estimated 3.7 million cases per year in the USA, 7 million in Europe and 20 million worldwide.

Hit The Road Jack — Accessible travel guides launched for the Vancouver Island region and Five Wheelchair Accessible Travel Destinations in Latin America

International News

Panelists Calls Internet Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities

December 8, 2022 | Source: Liberian Observer- Liberia

Panelists at the media roundtable discussion on persons living with disabilities (PWD), say in order for Liberia to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 10, access for the internet must be inclusive. PWDs will be able to engage equitably and contribute significantly to the economy, according to Matthews T. Roberts, president of the internet Society Liberia chapter. Under the theme ‘Transformative solutions for Inclusive development: the role of innovation fueling an accessible and equitable world’, the annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities…

Second National Dialogues and Action draws experts on accessibility, ableism and inclusion from across Canada

December 9, 2022 | Source: University of Toronto- Canada

Cassandra Hartblay recalls a time in graduate school when a senior scholar in her field wasn’t able to give feedback on a research presentation she gave at an academic conference. The scholar, it turned out, missed the session because a requested accommodation wasn’t available. Not being able to receive feedback from a prominent scholar in her field was a stark reminder for Hartblay that failing to meet even basic standards of accessibility can interrupt teaching and learning on many levels — from the impact on the expert who has a disability, to the people who are deprived of their expertise…

Saskatchewan Rivers board thinks ahead on new accessibility legislation

December 9, 2022 | Source: SaskToday- Canada

The provincial government is still finalizing new accessibility legislation, and trustees at the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division are already thinking about what that means for local schools. The province introduced The Accessible Saskatchewan Act on Nov. 15. It still has to pass second and third readings. If passed, the bill will help make Saskatchewan a more accessible province for persons with disabilities. Director of education Robert Bratvold said the division will be ready for any changes the new legislation makes necessary…

Israelis with disabilities show their style in Kfar Saba fashion show

December 11, 2022 | Source: The Jerusalem Post- Israel

A fashion show spotlighting citizens with disabilities was put on by Israel’s Kfar Saba municipality on Sunday evening with the support of local businesses. The event, titled “Extremely Beautiful” is just one of several being put on in December in honor of Disability Awareness Month and featured clothing from Dandasha, a chain of thrift stores that also serve as rehabilitation and vocational training centers for women with cognitive disabilities. Hair, makeup and styling for the models were all provided by local makeup artists and stylists…

In India, there are too many barriers for persons with disabilities

December 11, 2022 | Source: Money Control- India

A recent report in a news publication asserted the increased accessibility for the “Divyangjan” (differently-abled person) in government infrastructures and public-utility services, ever since the 2015 launch of the “Accessible India” campaign. The reality, however, is more than meets the eye. For a person with disabilities in India, the process of getting out of their house for everyday affairs entails multitude of considerations. The public transport in your city might not be accessible. If you live in a big city where some of the means of transport, for example the Metro service, is accessible, getting to the Metro station might still be a journey full of obstacles…

Disability rights groups urge government to make public transport accessible

December 11, 2022 | Source: The Hindu- India

A collective of disability rights groups, in a joint letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has urged him to take steps at the earliest to ensure that public transport is accessible in terms of both vehicles and infrastructure. In their open letter titled “Continuing Inaccessibility of Public Transport. Are we not the public too?”, the groups, while thanking the government for making the Marina beach accessible, raised concerns about the MTC and other transport corporation buses remaining inaccessible…

Differently-abled persons move Madras High Court in support of low floor buses for accessibility

December 13 2022 | Source: The Hindu- India

A woman with mobility impairment on both her lower limbs, a 70-year-old lawyer with 44 years of standing in the Bar, a pregnant college student and a 68-year-old retired entrepreneur have moved Madras High Court in support of a plea to ensure that all intra-city government buses are universally accessible. Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy on Monday granted time till December 21 for the Transport Department to respond to their petitions for impleading as parties in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition preferred by cross disability rights activist Vaishnavi Jayakumar of Chennai…

UK Civil Aviation Authority calls out unacceptable levels of airport accessibility performance despite improvements

December 13, 2022 | Source: Civil Aviation Authority- UK

Heathrow criticised by watchdog after disabled passengers missed summer flights

December 13, 2022 | Source: The Guardian- UK

After a challenging summer for the aviation industry, and despite signs of improvements in recent months following action taken by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, a number of airports have provided an unacceptable level of service to disabled people and passengers with reduced mobility. This was over a seven-month period between 1 April and 31 October 2022. The aviation regulator’s Interim Airport Accessibility Report, which assesses 16 of the largest UK airports, details those airports that have succeeded in making improvements, as well as those that need to put in place further improvements…

SJP launches adviser training initiative for those with disabilities

December 13, 2022 | Source: FT Adviser-UK

St. James’s Place has partnered with the Kaleidoscope Group UK to help individuals with disabilities become financial advisers. The aim is to bring up to 10 trainee advisers on board during the first nine months of 2023, with training through the SJP academy. This is to allow people with disabilities to access and create career opportunities within the financial advice profession. Andy Payne, head of SJP academy, said a key goal of the SJP financial adviser academy is to be an ‘academy for all’, and the partnership with Kaleidoscope offers an opportunity to people who, in the past, have been both disadvantaged and faced challenges in joining the advice profession…

Para hockey Olympian calls for greater accessibility in Ontario ice rinks

December 14, 2022 | Source: CBC Sports- Canada

Paralympic curler Ideson says club accessibility in Canada lacking

December 15, 2022 | Source: RMO Today- Canada

Billy Bridges has witnessed so many advancements in the Paralympic movement from when he first started playing para hockey more than two decades ago. He’s also watched as rinks across Canada have evolved into accessible spaces for persons with disabilities. That’s why what happened at his seven-year-old daughter’s hockey practice a couple of weekends ago was that much more jarring. “Nothing says ‘you still don’t belong here’ in hockey quite like being assigned a city rink to coach my daughter, that is still 100 per cent inaccessible,” Bridges said in a Twitter post on Dec. 3…

Transport Minister observes “good progress” on accessibility for Paris 2024

December 15, 2022 | Source: InsideTheGames- France

Beaune chaired a meeting of the Strategic Mobility Committee (SMC) for Paris 2024, which was also attended by Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Minister for People with Disabilities Geneviève Darrieussecq. Representatives from the Organising Committee, French state, operators and transport companies were also in attendance. An inaccessibility of Paris 2024 venues by bike has been one transport concern raised in recent months, with the Collectif Vélo Île-de-France group claiming that 90 per cent could not be reached…

The UK’s Taylor and Francis Signs Accessible Publishing Charter

December 15, 2022 | Source: Publishing Perspectives- UK

Today’s year-end news (December 15) that England’s academic publisher Taylor and Francis, based in Abingdon, has signed both the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Charter for Accessible Publishing and the United Kingdom’s Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) charter. This announcement from Stacy Scott, the company’s accessibility officer—who joined Publishing Perspectives in Frankfurter Buchmesse‘s “Accessibility in Action” panel discussion in October—is a timely capper to a quickening round of news, awareness, and activity in world publishing’s attention to the need for accessible publishing…

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