Accessibility in the News—9/19/2016
In this issue of Accessibility in the News (AITN), we have accessibility-related media coverage related to mobile accessibility (creating better experiences for everyone). improving employment opportunities (including $9.3 M from the U.S. Department of Labor to fund opps for those with disabilities), and new website rules for government (coding for screen readers and providing video closed captioning).
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VA Quietly Stops Sharing Quality Of Care Data With Vets, Congress Livid
9/12 | Source: The Daily Caller and USA Today
The Department of Veterans Affairs stopped providing information on hospital performance this summer in violation of laws passed after the wait time scandal in 2014. The VA is required to provide data on wait times, death and readmission rates, and surveys of patient experiences at veterans’ hospitals to Hospital Compare, a website run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The VA stopped sending that data on July 1, USA Today confirmed Monday. The website didn’t meet accessibility requirements, Frances told USA Today. For instance, some of the comparisons were indicated by colors, making it difficult to decipher for colorblind folks…
What Accessibility Means for Creatives in Our Digital World
9/12 | Source: Campaign
We have always said that brands are built on great stories – stories that entertain, inform and above all engage the consumer. When it comes to how we engage that consumer in those stories, digital is undoubtedly the most all-pervasive tool that lets brands craft not just communication, but an idea or an ideal.
This is never more important than in the role digital creatives have to play in improving accessibility. The way we think about how to make our content and our stories accessible to all is a vital skill set…
The ABC’s of Ticket to Work
9/12 | Source: The Huffington Post
My daughter Sara Ruh was born with Down syndrome in 1987. She has worked since she was 16 years old but our reality is that she still needs our financial support. She lives at home and may for the rest of her life. We love having her at home and have built her a space that works for a young woman of 29 years old.
Recently, I interviewed Mary Glanden a Program Specialist for LandAjob. She is an expert with the Ticket To Work Program. I hope you learn as much as I did about this program that supports persons with disabilities…
Target Execs on Making Online, Mobile More Accessible to Everyone
9/14 | Source: A Bullseye View
Getting digital accessibility right means creating a better experience for everyone, including our guests with disabilities. That’s why, for many years, Target has committed to making our website, apps and other digital offerings more accessible to all.
It’s been a long journey, but we’re making important strides. Earlier this summer, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) gave us props at its annual convention in Orlando for our continued efforts…
US Labor Department Awards $9.3M to Continue Funding to Improve Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
9/15 | Source: United States Department of Labor
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced a total of $9,286,909 in continued funding for organizations that develop models, provide technical assistance and share best practices to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
“Our economy’s strength relies on a workforce that is diverse and accessible to people with disabilities. We must provide every opportunity to fully integrate the labor force with individuals with disabilities so they can contribute to our nation’s prosperity,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “These grants will help better connect people with disabilities with employers that can greatly benefit from their skills and experience.”…
Parrikar Launches Upgraded Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence Websites
9/15 | Source: Business Standard
As part of the Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ programme, Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar launched the re-designed website of Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence, here today. The website is now fully compliant to the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW).
The website has been re-designed using the Content Management Framework (CMF) developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC). It is now more user centric, user friendly, universally accessible and less vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Web pages have been made responsive and easy to access through different devices i.e. desktop, tablet PCs and mobile phones with varying screen sizes. The website has also been optimized for viewing by different browsers and operating systems…
U.S. Attorney Announces ADA Restaurant Initiative
9/16 | Source: Clearwater Tribune
The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho is reviewing restaurants in both Coeur d’Alene and Nampa to ensure that they provide the access required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The review stems from the Department of Justice’s congressionally-mandated responsibility to ensure compliance with the ADA and is not in response to any specific complaint against a restaurant.
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by the owners and operators of places of public accommodation, which include restaurants. The ADA thus authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to review restaurants. The ADA requires restaurants to be “designed, constructed and altered in compliance with the accessibility standards established” by the ADA’s implementing regulations…
10 Accessible Self-Catering Cottages
9/16 | Source: i News
More and more self-catering properties are adapting for wheelchair users or those who have restricted mobility.
These cottages have been designed with accessibility in mind so come complete with a spacious en-suite wet room with height-adjustable hand basin for wheelchair users and Teal’s kitchen has a a wheelchair accessible sink and section of lower work surface…
More Information on Disability Support will Boost Study Abroad
9/17 | Source: Times Higher Education
Students with disabilities are being put off studying abroad by a lack of information about what support they may receive at a host university, disability campaigners have claimed.
Although financial assistance provided by the European Union-backed Erasmus+ scheme has made it easier for disabled students to complete an international study placement, the poor quality of information on university websites about how they support those with disabilities deters many from contemplating a semester abroad, said Eva Garea Oya, a senior technician at the international office of the University of Vigo in northern Spain…
Yuma Board May Object to New Website Rules
9/17 | Source: YumaSun
The Yuma County Board of Supervisors are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to authorize a letter to the federal government objecting to proposed accessibility requirements for local government websites.
The letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, as proposed by staff, says the changes being considered for the Americans with Disabilities Act, including requiring government sites to be coded to allow the use of screen readers and provide closed captioning for videos, could be too costly for the county to implement…
As the Paralympics Wind Down, Rio de Janeiro’s Disabled Ask How Accessible the City Has Become
9/18 | Source: Paste Magazine
If you were to look at new constructions built in advance of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games, you might think Rio was a friendly city for those with physical disabilities. The newly-built Museu do Amanhã and surrounding Porto Maravilha area, for example, have smoothly paved roads, wide entrances, and ramps and elevators for wheelchair access.
But, as Teresa Costa d’Amaral of the disability advocacy agency IBDD explains, to get there you have to pass through an entire city that is not accessible. Rio’s sidewalks are narrow, broken up by holes and uneven cobblestones, and few curbs have ramps to allow for wheelchair access. Crosswalks lack any audible signals for the visually impaired. Of the 100 train stations in Rio, only five are wheelchair accessible, including stations tied to Olympic venues like Deodoro and Maracanã…
Diversity in Academe: Disability on Campus
9/18 | Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
This special report examines the challenges that students, academics, and colleges face in dealing with disability on campus. It includes the voices of people who struggle with physical disabilities that make it difficult to navigate older buildings and lovely grounds, and of others who have less-visible conditions such as bipolar or autism-spectrum disorders. Some scholars, having learned how to manage their own conditions, have built successful academic careers despite having blanked out in the middle of a speech or being forced to suddenly cancel class or take a medical leave. Our coverage also reflects some continuing debates relating to disability, including whether the philosophy of universal design — design that is meant to benefit everybody — sufficiently accommodates those with special needs…
Ghana’s Building Regulations to Contain Accessibility Designs
9/19 | Source: Peace FM Online
The National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD) together with interested parties, have produced national standard accessibility designs to guide builders and service providers to remove barriers impeding universal accessibility of vulnerable people in the society.
The Ghana Standard Accessibility Designs (GSAD) is expected to serve as a useful tool for individuals and corporate bodies involved in designing, implementing and supervising projects where accessibility forms core component…
When Blind People Do Algebra, the Brain’s Visual Areas Light Up
9/19 | Source: NPR
People born without sight appear to solve math problems using visual areas of the brain.
A functional MRI study of 17 people blind since birth found that areas of visual cortex became active when the participants were asked to solve algebra problems, a team from Johns Hopkins reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“And as the equations get harder and harder, activity in these areas goes up in a blind person,” says Marina Bedny, an author of the study and an assistant professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University…
Events in Cork to Promote Use of Sign Language
9/19 | Source: Irish Examiner
The Irish Deaf Society is to host a number of events in Cork as part of Irish Sign Language Awareness Week. Sign language is used by 40,000 people in this country.
One of the most interesting events takes place tomorrow at 7.30pm in the Cork Deaf Club at 5 MacCurtain St. John Bosco Conama, the senior lecturer at the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College, and former chairman of Irish Deaf Society, will speak about the importance of officially recognising sign language.
The campaign for Irish Sign Language (ISL) recognition has been ongoing for over 30 years and has received widespread public support…
Each issue, we bring you accessibility news stories curated from around the web. Topics vary, but generally focus on digital accessibility standards and implementation, accessibility compliance and accessibility litigation, and other online access issues. To receive this “Accessibility in the News” curation via email, please send a subscription request to [email protected].
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