Accessibility in the News — 7/8/2022.

Hello Everyone: For the last six years every Thursday night (312 nights to be exact!) has been dedicated to curating hand-picked national and international articles, blogs, training, conferences, employment resources, job listings, announcements, tips, and listings of accessibility pages that have helped create Accessibility in the News each week. That’s a lot of researching, reading, curating, and coffee!

From the beginning, the sole purpose of my newsletter has been to educate and share timely and relevant accessibility information with each of you. As you know, accessibility is a global concern that needs to have awareness and action in each country, government agency (federal, state, city, county, etc.), school (ISD, college, university, etc.), corporation, building, profession, home, and person. I am a firm believer that if we want to make our world a better place then we have to be personally responsible to ensure that it happens. Being consistently informed and educated is one of the best places to start and continue that mission.

As subscribers to Accessibility in the News, I have discovered through my many conversations with you that you are a very diverse community and each of you live and work in many different countries. You are accessibility professionals, college and university employees, government agency employees, non-profit employees, corporate employees, lawyers, PWDs, students, doctors, nurses, teachers, retirees, etc., and your most common bonds are increasing awareness and making all types of accessibility your top priorities.

I want to thank everyone that has provided regular feedback and information to me over the past six years, your support and input is always valued. I also appreciate the regular introductions you have made to your colleagues, employees, friends, students, and families so they could become subscribers too. Special thanks to my son, Sean McElaney, who without fail has posted the newsletter content each week on the Microassist website.

Speaking of newsletter content, if you are ever doing research related to accessibility then you will find one of the richest archives of accessibility content that has been hand-culled by me for the last six years. Just click on the image or link below and then type the accessibility related words you are looking for into the search box. If it was ever curated by me then you will find content related to your search. For your convenience I suggest bookmarking this page.

I hope you have a nice weekend and you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Jack McElaney

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

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“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” ― Helen Keller

A11Y News Jack McElaney – Microassist

Accessibility in the News Archive

Feature Stories

Urban Decay, Adore Me class actions violate Americans with Disabilities Act

July 1, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions

Madame Alexander, Jackbox Games class actions allege websites not accessible to blind, visually impaired

July 1, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions

DraftKings Sued For Alleged Website Accessibility Violations

July 4, 2022 | Source: Klein Moynihan Turco

Down to Business: Number of website-accessibility lawsuits continues to climb

July 7, 2022 | Source: The Daily Gazette

Adore Me and Urban Decay have been separately accused of failing to design and maintain their websites so that they are fully accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals. Plaintiffs Marta Hanyzkiewicz and Ramon Fontanez claim Adore Me and Urban Decay, respectively, failed to design their websites to be fully compatible with screen-reading software used by blind and visually impaired individuals to access the internet. In the Adore Me class action, Hanyzkiewicz claims the women’s underwear company denies blind and visually impaired individuals access to the goods and services on its website by not making its website fully accessible to them…

National News (U.S.)

UTEP assistant soccer coach Kate Ward finalist for an ESPY

June 30, 2022 | Source: El Paso Times

UTEP assistant soccer coach Kate Ward’s eventful summer picked up another milestone. Two months after serving as captain and winning a gold medal for Team USA at the Deaflympics in Brazil, Ward is one of four finalists for an ESPY for Best Athlete with a Disability, Women’s Sports. She joins a trio of athletes who competed in the Paralympic Games in cyclist Oksana Masters, swimmer Jessica Long and snowboarder Brenna Huckaby. Ward has been with Team USA since 2009 when she was 15 and the team has never lost…

Casey Leads Bipartisan Letter Demanding Answers from Department of Justice on Lack of Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities

June 30, 2022 | Source: The United States Senate Special Committee On Aging & The Bradford Era & Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Today, U.S. Senate Aging Committee Chairman Bob Casey (D-PA) led a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding information on web accessibility across the federal government. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the federal government to make all its information technology accessible to people with disabilities. The law also requires DOJ to publicly report on the federal government’s compliance with accessibility standards every two years…

EEOC Sues Walmart for Disability Discrimination and Retaliation

June 30, 2022 | Source: EEOC

EEOC Sues Hobby Lobby for Disability Discrimination

July 1, 2022 | Source: EEOC

Waterway Gas and Wash Company Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Case July 1, 2022 | Source: EEOC

Wal-Mart Stores East, LP violated federal law when it failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee and then fired her after she made an internal ethics complaint of disability discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in April 2019 an employee working for Walmart’s Hope Mills, North Carolina store as a warehouse unloader experienced the onset of severe pain due to a neurological disability that affected her right hand and wrist…

Twitter – Microassist

Workplace inaccessibility is keeping disabled people from jobs

July 1, 2022 | Source: ABC News

Melissa Gates, who is physically disabled and uses a cane or scooter to move around, was actively searching and applying for a federal job. It took her 20 years before she finally received a position as a secretary for NASA. She said she wanted the stability and the health care benefits that were likely to come from a government job. And she did everything she could to get one: applying to positions online, going through state-run disability organizations, even traveling for career fairs…

New Dementia Prevention Method May Be Behavioral, Not Prescribed

July 3, 2022 | Source: The New York Times

Dementia cases are climbing along with an aging world population, and yet another much-anticipated Alzheimer’s medication, crenezumab, has proved ineffective in clinical trials — the latest of many disappointments. Public health experts and researchers argue that it is past time to turn our attention to a different approach — focusing on eliminating a dozen or so already known risk factors, like untreated high blood pressure, hearing loss and smoking, rather than on an exorbitantly priced, whiz-bang new drug…

Morning Call editor with ALS: How I was reborn on the Fourth of July

July 3, 2022 | Source: The Morning Call

My day of independence unfolded at dawn. My eyes popped open at 4:18 a.m. on the Fourth of July. It was go time. I had slept in my wheelchair in the Red Fox lean-to at John Dillon Park — a first-in-the-nation camp, in New York state’s Adirondack mountains, designed to help people with disabilities enjoy a wilderness experience. I powered up my chair, switched on its headlights, steered down the ramp from the lean-to and crept away from our campsite. My 390-pound chair crunched along a gravel path, rattled the sleeping wooden boards of a long bridge over marshland and rumbled onto a fishing dock just before 5 a.m…

Meet the man bringing accessibility to the World Games, city of Birmingham

July 5, 2022 | Source: AL.com

World Games visitors may notice complimentary sensory bags with noise canceling headphones, fidget tools, and “feeling thermometers” located at the entrances to different events. They’re a product of the World Games’ partnership with Birmingham-based KultureCity, the nation’s leading nonprofit for sensory accessibility. Earlier this year, KultureCity opened three sensory rooms around the city: one at Protective Life Stadium and two at the BJCC. Their purpose is to provide a calming and accessible area for those with autism and other sensory issues to decompress in a private setting…

Rochester group offers support for paralyzed gunshot victims

July 5, 2022 | Source: Spectrum News

For people who survive being shot, their life changes. Some never walk on their own again. Now, a new local group is making sure those victims don’t have to go it alone. “It took me a lot of years to realize that I’m supposed to be, you know, trying to give back,” said Mike Patterson. “Not trying to hurt people, but trying to help people.” When he was 18-years-old, Patterson was shot and paralyzed. “We don’t know where to go, we don’t know where to start,” said Patterson…

UW-Milwaukee professor hopes to make hearing aids more accessible to millions

July 5, 2022 | Source: WPR

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor hopes to improve the lives of millions of Americans with hearing loss through his development of low-cost hearing aids that don’t require a prescription. Yi Hu’s grandfather, who lived in a rural coal mining region in China, began complaining about hearing loss in 2005. The associate professor and chair of UW-Milwaukee’s Electrical Engineering department said that piqued his interest in finding a way to use his skills to help…

Technology helping those with visual impairments gain independence

July 6, 2022 Source: KUTV

New technology is helping those with visual impairments — like Ashton Dunford — gain independence. When Ashton was born his family learned he had septo-optic dysplasia. “It was kind of hard when I was littler because my eyes were like bouncing, and it was hard to control it,” said Ashton. “It was like our whole world fell apart when we found out that he was blind,” said Ashton’s mom, Hilda Dunford. But she said her 10-year-old son has grown up to be brave and curious. Ashton wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up. Saying he loves sharks and that the species is misunderstood…

Scientists look to people with Down syndrome to test Alzheimer’s drugs

July 7, 2022 | Source: NPR

For Frank Stephens, 40, the effort to defeat Alzheimer’s is personal. One reason is that the disease has left his mother “almost childlike,” he says. “It is very hard to see.” Also, as a person with Down syndrome, Stephens knows that he is likely to develop Alzheimer’s much earlier than his mother did. So he raises money for Alzheimer’s research through the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and he takes part in research studies through the group’s Human Trisome Project…

Irvine plans universally accessible playground, gets $2.8 million boost in state funding

July 7, 2022 | Source: Orange County Register

Plans for a universally accessible playground featuring a sensory garden and equipment fit for everyone, regardless of their ability, are in the works in Irvine. And with the help of millions of dollars in recently secured state funding, the project is a step closer to becoming reality. The playground will go in at Irvine’s 7.9-acre Sweet Shade Neighborhood Park, with plans that call for renovating the existing space with new elements such as swings for children with special needs and wheelchair accessibility throughout the play area…

A D.C. Queer Bar Got Backlash For Being Inaccessible. It’s Not Unusual, Disability Advocates Say

July 7, 2022 | Source: DCist

Shruti Rajkumar had never partied in D.C. before. She’d just moved to the city in late May and hadn’t familiarized themself with the nightlife scene, including what bars are accessible to people with disabilities. Rajkumar has a physical disability and uses a power chair. When a friend’s girlfriend suggested that the group go to one of the city’s two self-described dyke bars Saturday night for a birthday celebration, Rajkumar was game. Upon arriving at A League Of Her Own in Adams Morgan, she immediately learned what many people with disabilities and their advocates already know about D.C.: nightlife can be inaccessible…

New Federal Regulations for ABLE Plans Take Effect in Kansas

July 7, 2022 | Source: The Clay Center Dispatch

More Kansas living with a disability will soon be able to use an improved tool to earn and save money without losing critical benefits. The statutory change per HB 2490 goes into effect July 1. With this change, the State of Kansas Treasurer’s Office will implement requirements under the final federal regulations from 2020 for the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE). HB 2490 removed conflicts between the Kansas ABLE statute and the 2020 federal regulations which will allow the state to operate the ABLE program consistent with the federal regulations…

Selma Blair’s Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Took 20 Years: Find Out Why

July 7, 2022 | Source: UVA Health

Numbness. Vision problems. Pain and exhaustion that wouldn’t go away. Loss of balance. For actor Selma Blair, the symptoms began at a young age. Seeking answers, she saw multiple doctors over many years. They blamed her symptoms on everything from depression, anxiety, and exhaustion to hormones and malnutrition. Some said it was all in her head. When she finally got a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, the “Cruel Intentions” and “Legally Blonde” actor felt relief. “When Dr. Berkley said the words, ‘You have MS,’ I felt an adrenaline rush of emotion,” Blair writes in her recently published memoir, “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up.”…

Jack Fact — According to the CDC, 28.2 percent of adults with a disability smoke, while 13.4 percent of adults without a disability smoke.

Hit The Road Jack — Planning a Visit to Accessible National Parks & Vilamuseu in Villajoyosa included in tourism guide of places with accessibility & Top tips for accessible travel

International News

Guide Dogs and iPads come together in new accessibility push

July 1, 2022 | Source: TechRadar- UK

Guide Dogs UK is launching its Tech For All service thanks to a pilot scheme in 2021, which it says will enable the charity to provide up to 2,500 iPads to visually impaired children to take advantage of Apple’s accessibility features found in iPadOS so far. The charity rolled out a scheme in 2021 where around 5,000 iPhone and iPad devices were given to children aged between three and eighteen with visual impairments, which turned out to be a great success for all involved…

Most significant change to taxi and private hire vehicle accessibility legislation in 12 years

July 1, 2022 | Source: GOV.UK & LocalGov

New laws will ensure the 13.7 million disabled people in England, Scotland and Wales receive the assistance they need and will not be charged over the odds when using taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs). The new Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022, which came into force on 28 June, is the most significant change to taxi accessibility legislation since the Equality Act was introduced 12 years ago. The 2022 Act amends the Equality Act 2010 to place duties on taxi drivers and PHV drivers and operators…

Pond Inlet woman advocates for accessibility on world stage

July 1, 2022 | Source: Nunatsiaq News- Canada

Pond Inlet’s Zoe Elverum recently joined delegates from around the world as a youth representative in a conference on rights for people with disabilities, organized by the United Nations. This year’s conference, with the theme of building societies that not only include people with disabilities but allow for their participation, wrapped up June 16. She took part virtually, and was the only Canadian from the territories to participate and one of three youths in the country’s delegation…

Business Disability Forum finds that disabled consumers experience limited choice and accessibility

July 1, 2022 | Source: THIIS Magazine- UK

Business Disability Forum (BDF) has published extensive new research which finds that disabled consumers across the UK experience limited choice and feelings of disempowerment when purchasing products, services, and activities, resulting in over 43 per cent abandoning shopping tasks without purchasing. ‘What disabled consumers choose to buy and why’ looks at how people make decisions about where they shop and what they purchase. Supported by Microsoft, the in-depth research examines buying experiences of the one in five people in the UK who have a disability…

Wireless Festival 2022: Disabled fan ‘carried on sister’s back’ and ‘forced to watch from distance’ due to poor accessibility

July 3, 2022 | Source: MyLondon- UK & Far Out & BBC

Disabled fans attending Wireless Festival in Crystal Palace this weekend are demanding refunds after allegedly being forced to sit so far away from the action they felt like they were outside the park. Katouche Goll spent hundreds of pounds on a weekend ticket for the festival in South London, hoping to enjoy performances from J Cole and Tyler the Creator. Ms Goll, who attended with her personal assistant (PA) and her sister, has lived with cerebral palsy all her life, a disability that affects her movement, balance and co-ordination…

I live with a dynamic disability and was shamed for using an accessibility permit

July 3, 2022 | Source: ABC- Australia

It was a regular afternoon that my wife Lola and I had gone to the local shopping centre before heading off to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday. As I live with a dynamic disability, we’d parked our car in an accessible parking space (often referred to as disabled parking). After doing our shopping and returning to our car we took our masks off and Lola noticed there was something on the windshield under one of the wipers. “Maybe someone’s giving you their number!” I joked, starting to feel uneasy…

What’s It Like Riding The Elizabeth Line With A Wheelchair?

July 4, 2022 | Source: Londonist- England

I’m an American who moved to London almost two years ago to pursue my master’s degree in occupational therapy. Since coming here I have also joined the first women’s wheelchair basketball league with East London Phoenix.

When I’m not studying or playing basketball, I’m usually using out looking for live music, art, or exploring London with my friends. I solely use public transportation to get around, and using the tube lines can be difficult due to non-accessible stations and tubes…

DWP responds to calls to extend £650 cost of living cash to people on disability benefits

July 4, 2022 | Source: Birmingham Live- UK

The Department for Work and Pensions has rejected calls for people claiming health and disability benefits to get access to the highest level of cost of living support. It was responding to a campaign asking for disabled people and carers to get the £650 payment, which will begin arriving next week. A petition calling for the £650 scheme to be extended has, to date, been signed by more than 17,000 people. The petition asked for all disabled people and carers to be automatically eligible for the £650 boost, which is being given by the DWP to those on means-tested benefits including Universal Credit and tax credits…

Deafness no barrier for hotel barista

July 5, 2022 | Source: Sowetan Live- South Africa

Phumzile Mazibuko didn’t let her disability become a hurdle to realising her dream. Instead, she let it become an inspiration to others. Mazibuko, 35, who was born deaf, is a barista at the ANEW Hilton hotel in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where she’s from. She joined ANEW hotels in 2019 after doing adult education and training courses and a national certificate in IT through eDeaf, which specialises in training and securing employment services for the deaf community…

It’s Time to Get Serious About Accessibility in Designing Homes and Spaces

July 6, 2022 | Source: STOREYS- Canada

“I don’t want hospital gear, I want things that look like jewellery,” said Maayan Ziv last week at an event held at the World Urban Pavilion in Regent Park. The celebrated Toronto-based entrepreneur and activist, who lives with muscular dystrophy, recently had this candid thought when introduced to a new accessibility product. “When we talk about accessible design, the level of aspiration that I really want to see is a move away from this,” she continued…

A U.K. Nightclub Is Hosting A Fully-Accessible Rave For Disabled People

July 6, 2022 | Source: EDM- UK

Inclusivity is what dance music is all about. The basement of YES on Charles Street in Manchester will be taken over for an Under One Roof event on July 21st, 2022. Under One Roof is a fully-accessible rave for adults with learning disabilities. The venue will be set up to be a safe space with lots of room for attendees. The music will be supplied by THE FAT BRITNEY, one-half of the Fatcamp DJ collective and resident of PREACH club, Rainy City Radio and Steam FM…

Do crocodiles hold the key to improving human hearing?

July 6, 2022 | Source: TRT World- Sweden

Scientists studied the hearing of two crocodile species, non-mammals who have excellent hearing even as they age. What the research team found may help people with hearing loss in the future. The World Health Organization notes that more than five percent of the world’s population need rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss – that’s 432 million adults, and 34 million children. The WHO also estimates that by 2050, one in every ten people will have disabling hearing loss…

Can Excessive Use Of Headphones Cause Deafness?

July 6, 2022 | Source: News18- France

Music lovers are often seen wearing headphones and they later complain of pain in their ears. Do you know excessive use of headphones can lead to hearing loss? In buses, trains, aeroplanes and metros, we have seen passengers watching movies, and listening to songs while using headphones. While this may look cool, it can actually lead to many ear problems. According to a recent study by France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), a large number of people in France are facing problems due to headphones…

Not being inclusively hospitable, an expensive choice few can afford

July 7, 2022 | Source: Hospitality & Catering News- UK

Business Disability Forum has published extensive new research finding disabled consumers in the UK experience limited choice and feelings of disempowerment when choosing a place to eat or drink. Almost half of respondents said that their choice of hospitality venue was limited by their disability or access needs. The research report titled ‘Hospitality: What disabled consumers choose to buy and why’ looks at how people choose where to eat or drink and why…

One-Third Of Ontarians Haven’t Had An Eye Exam In Over Three Years

July 7, 2022 | Source: Yahoo- Canada

One-third of Ontarians haven’t had an eye exam in over three years, and 55 per cent feel as though eyewear is currently not affordable for Canadians [i], a recent poll found. That’s why today, Specsavers is announcing an investment of $50 million into Ontario to enhance eye health outcomes, reduce preventable blindness and redefine accessible eyecare. “Our Government is pleased to welcome Specsavers to Ontario,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade…

New accessibility app for St. John’s pedestrian mall excludes some with vision loss, advocate says

July 7, 2022 | Source: CBC- Canada

The City of St. John’s has launched a pilot project to make the downtown pedestrian mall inclusive for people who are blind or partly blind — but a disability justice advocate says the way the city has implemented the project excludes her and many others. The city has partnered with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and Frontier Accessibility to launch BlindSquare, a navigation app that allows people with low vision or blindness to navigate the mall safely…

Deaf Altrincham girl makes new friend through ‘pioneering’ pen pal scheme

July 7, 2022 | Source: The Manc- UK

10-year-old Emma Groves said that she decided to join the Pen Pals Project – which was initially set up by the National Deaf Children’s Society as a response to the isolation deaf young people were experiencing during lockdown – because she wanted to make friends with other deaf children who were going through similar experiences as her. Since being set up back in 2020, the Pen Pals Project has helped more than 200 deaf children to create new friendships, feel less isolated, develop their communication skills, and most-importantly, view their deafness with more positivity…

Disability: EU funding of institutions barely legal

July 7, 2022 | Source: Social Europe- EU

Since 2011 the European Union has been party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This has obliged the EU to pursue independent living arrangements for disabled individuals, entailing an end to the funding of institutions from EU funds. But the evidence indicates the European Commission has failed to comply with its responsibilities when it comes to the disbursement of monies. Article 19 of the convention covers living independently and living in the community…

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