Accessibility in the News— October 11, 2019
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AITN Quote of the Week
“Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength.” — Unknown
2019 Invisible Disabilities Week
Feature Story
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Domino’s bid to avoid disabilities suit
October 7-10, 2019 | Dominews Sources: Reuters, CNBC, Forbes-1, Bloomberg Law, Washington Examiner, Crain’s, Grit Daily, WSAU News, Restaurant Business, FaST CoMPANY, American Council of the Blind, LA Times, LF Legal, MyNewsLA, LongIsland, WP Tavern, The Denver Channel, ZDNet, Seyfarth Shaw, USA Today, Law.com, Claims Journal, Fox News, PYMNTS.com, City News Service, Gizmodo, QSR, Splinter, MediaPost, Mashable, Sky Statement-1, Bloomberg, TechSpot, Sky Statement-2, Restaurant Dive, ABA Journal, Florida Courier, QSRweb, Chain Store Age, WDRB, The Takeout, Morning Brew, Sky Statement-3, Fox Business, Foley and Lardner, Computerworld, Forbes-2, Disability:IN, The Hill, Ogletree Deakins, SaukValley, People, Adweek, TechSpot, Yahoo, Dykema, Saul Ewing, CBS, Econsultancy, Daily Dot, The Spoon, Credit Union Times, Bryan Cave, Klein Moynihan, OneZero, Econsultancy, Scoop Square24, Hunton Andrews Kurth
**Domino’s Statement on Website Accessibility Litigation**
National News (U.S.)
From Your Mouth to Your Screen, Transcribing Takes the Next Step
October 2, 2019 | Source: The New York Times |
Sam Liang longs for his mother and wishes he could recapture the things she told him when he was in high school. “I really miss her,” he said of her death in 2001. “Those were precious lifetime moments.” Mr. Liang, who is the chief executive and co-founder of Otter.ai, a Silicon Valley start-up, has set out to do something about that in the future. His company offers a service that automatically transcribes speech with high enough accuracy that it is gaining popularity with journalists, students, podcasters and corporate workers…
Student with Disability Speaks Out Against Discrimination
October 2, 2019 | Source: Pepperdine Graphic |
It’s minutes before job training starts and senior Mackenzie Mazen is frantically driving her Ford Escape around Smothers parking lot trying to find an empty spot. Convinced there has to be something left, she engages in the all-too-familiar race to the last available spot. After circling the lot a few times, she settles for a less-than-ideal spot and accepts that she will have to walk. Where many would sigh with relief, Mazen is fraught with anxiety. She has a broken meniscus because of her Ehlers Danlos syndrome, which makes walking long distances particularly difficult…
President Trump signs $1.8 billion autism funding bill
October 2, 2019 | Source: ABC News |
President Donald Trump signed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act (CARES) into law Monday, which allocates $1.8 billion in funding over the next five years to help people with autism spectrum disorder and their families. “The problem of ‘aging out’ of services is a real hurdle every parent or caretaker of a child with autism inevitably faces,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “All children grow up and become adults, and children with autism then lose their education services. But autism is a lifetime neurological disorder, and adults with autism continue to need their services.”…
The New $41 Million Hunters Point Library Has One Major Flaw
October 3, 2019 | Source: Gothamist and New York Intelligencer and The Architect’s Newspaper and Book Riot |
After Uproar About Accessibility, Hunters Point Library Will Relocate Fiction Section
October 4, 2019 | Source: Gothamist and Curbed and 6Sqft |
On Tuesday, Joe Bachner made a trip to the newly opened Hunters Point Library in Long Island City. A Jackson Heights resident, he was well familiar with the library’s backstory — 15 years to complete (20 by some estimates) at the hefty price tag of $41 million. He was eager to experience all of the building close up. At 67, he has a bad knee, but it’s not bad enough to keep him from climbing the library’s much talked about staircase, which stands against the building’s carved-out windows and guides visitors through the maze-like interior…
Employees at a Maine hospital made a ‘wall of shame’ showing confidential medical records of disabled patients
October 3, 2019 | Source: CNN and Yahoo |
Employees at a Maine hospital created a “wall of shame” where they displayed confidential medical records of disabled patients in 2016, the state Human Rights Commission says. The records detailed sexual activity, private body parts and bodily functions of patients at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, according to the commission. St. Mary’s said in a statement to CNN that it is “fully committed to ensuring this doesn’t happen again.”…
Smart cities must be accessible by design
October 4, 2019 | Source: Smart Cities World |
Smart solution vendors and city implementers must better consult end-users about accessibility and far earlier in the process, three leaders from the US’ largest cities concluded during a recent panel debate. A billion people – 15 per cent of the world’s population – have some form of disability, including one in four people in the United States. We are also seeing a growing ageing population. While technology can help improve life in cities for people with disabilities, there’s a risk that without adequate oversight and appropriate input, it could widen inequality…
Encinitas addresses disabled access to municipal facilities, programs
October 3, 2019 | Source: Encinitas Advocate |
A half-dozen residents appeared at the start of a public meeting held by Encinitas officials Tuesday night, Oct. 2. Yet, the dearth of participants illuminated the point of the City Hall session, some attendees said. Resident Peter Stern noted to city officials conducting the meeting that no wheelchair-bound residents were present. Fellow resident Paul Murray elaborated. “With regard to the individuals in wheelchairs that aren’t here — they can’t get here,” said Murray, an attorney who advocates for disabled individuals. “It is impossible to get around western Encinitas, specifically southwestern Encinitas, without putting your life at risk.”…
Man with Autism Files Federal Lawsuit Against Disney Regarding Disability Policies
October 3, 2019 | Source: WDW News Today |
A man with autism is suing Disney for its disability access policy. The issue has been in legal battle for five years, but now the case has a court date to go ahead to trial on February 18, 2020. Before 2014, guests with disabilities, including autism, were allowed to enter attractions with their entire group via a handwritten card. The most common use of the card was for alternate entrances. While sometimes these alternate entrances were just the FASTPASS queue (hence people calling it “front-of-the-line access” despite often having up to 20 minute waits), guests unable to use stairs or who needed a special ride vehicle were often sent to a different load area..
Researchers Are Making Memes Accessible to the Blind
October 4, 2019 | Source: OneZero and TNW |
For the 1 million Americans who are legally blind, an increasingly large part of the internet is cut off to them. Scroll through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok and you’ll find them littered with memes, coded images, and in-jokes utilizing pop culture references. Now imagine you’re blind. How would you see and understand them? That’s a challenge that researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are trying to tackle. In a recent paper titled “Making Memes Accessible,” the group trained a system to classify and parse memes with up to 92% accuracy, making it possible for visually impaired users to share the joke, too…
Everything Going His Way: My Dad’s ‘Oklahoma!’ Accessibility Journey
October 4, 2019 | Source: American Theatre |
That Oklahoma! received its world premiere in 1943 may be a piece of musical theatre trivia for many people, but not for my father. My dad was born that year—a photo from the show’s auditions was published on the day he was born, and the cast went into rehearsal 12 days later—and as a result he has come to feel a special connection to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, an attachment that even cognitive challenges brought on by a combination of Parkinson’s disease and a recent stroke couldn’t diminish…
People With Disability Face Barriers to Basic Health Care
October 4, 2019 | Source: U.S. News and World Report |
For the past five years, a friend of mine has lived with a spinal cord injury, losing the use of her legs as a result of a car accident. Following rehabilitation, she returned to doing almost everything she loves in life – working as a pharmacist, raising her two kids, skiing and cooking. Yet despite being able to help her own clients and considering herself savvy at navigating the complexities of today’s health care system, she has found her access to basic health care extremely limited, with an obstacle that before her spinal cord injury she never would have considered…
Winery websites at the heart of lawsuits over ADA compliance online
October 5, 2019 | Source: Napa Valley Register |
As e-commerce booms, a winery’s website might be expected to provide a virtual experience that mirrors an in-person one – and now that applies to installing ADA compliant features. Passed in 1990, the ADA, or the Americans with Disabilities Act, guarantees equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities across different facets of public life. In the last two years, ADA compliance as it relates to online spaces has increasingly gained attention. It’s begun to apply to businesses across the board, wineries included…
New north Phoenix bookstore Enchanted Chapters caters to children with autism
October 5, 2019 | Source: AZCentral |
Andrea Montepagano knew something was different about her daughter from a very young age. At a time when most babies are able to start playing along with activities like patty-cake and peek-a-boo, Montepagano’s daughter responded with a vacant stare. She began missing other milestones that prompted Montepagano’s grandmother to suggest getting her tested, which eventually led to her being diagnosed with autism at around 18 months old. Since then, Montepagano has become completely immersed in the autism community…
A Fresh Look At An Old New Law: The Americans With Disabilities Act
October 7, 2019 | Source: Forbes |
The 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act is less than a year away. The landmark civil rights law for people with disabilities was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on July 26, 1990, amid pride and high hopes in the disability community, and businesses’ misgivings about what they worried would be a well-meaning but vague and costly law. Since then, ADA anniversaries have become a kind of national holiday for the disability community. It’s a popular time of year for disability organizations to hold major public events, for editorial pages to reaffirm basic fairness towards disabled people…
ADA accessibility on campus addressed
October 8, 2019 | Source: The Daily Evergreen |
WSU disability parking lots continue to bring challenges to students with disabilities because of their location and number of available parking lots. Access Center Director Meredyth Goodwin said the issues are that some disability parking spots are uphill, so it is difficult for a person with disabilities to find parking and walk uphill to get where they need to go. Goodwin said that WSU meets its obligations to provide disabled parking spaces in the proximity to several buildings on campus…
Changes coming for LSAT test to improve accessibility for visually impaired
October 8, 2019 | Source: Michigan Radio and Crain’s and PR Newswire and MLive |
Michigan man, Angelo Binno, filed a lawsuit against the Law School Admission Council. That’s because the council would not give him a waiver for the analytical reasoning portion of the exam. He said it wasn’t fair for visually impaired people because the most common way to solve the problems was to draw diagrams and pictures. Shelesha Taylor, who also has a visual impairment, joined the lawsuit later on as an additional plaintiff. The LSAC argued that not everyone uses diagrams on that section of the exam and some people use alternative ways to diagram…
Accessible IFE comes in fits and starts, but regulatory push is needed
October 8, 2019 | Source: Runway Girl Network |
Bluebox Aviation Systems this spring was forthright about its hopes that airlines would voluntarily adopt accessible inflight entertainment for blind passengers before regulators require them to do so. But during the recent APEX EXPO in Los Angeles, management confirmed that airlines generally are not taking the initiative. Asked by RGN whether airlines flying with inaccessible seatback IFE systems are seeking to place a batch of Bluebox’s iPad-based accessible IFE devices on board their widebody aircraft in a bid to entertain visually impaired passengers on long-haul flights, company business development manager David Brown said…
Unequal Access
October 8, 2019 | Source: The Chicago Maroon |
Fourth-year Brittney Dorton spent the first 18 years of her life in a relatively normal body. She was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a group of inherited disorders that mostly affect skin, joints, and blood vessels) in high school, but was told by her doctor that the syndrome was not serious. While attending high school, Dorton frequently swam and ran half marathons. Oftentimes, in participating in these activities, she accidentally dislocated her shoulder and knee sockets and would casually pop her joints back into place. “I [thought] everything’s just so loose that it’s really easy for that to happen,” Dorton said. “Bodies are supposed to do that.”…
UT planning to make three engineering buildings ADA compliant over the summer
October 9, 2019 | Source: UT The Daily Texan |
During her freshman year, Naili Salehuddin, who is legally blind, got lost for two hours trying to find her classroom. Advertising sophomore Salehuddin said she was looking for her Chinese class scheduled to be in Robert Lee Moore Hall (RLM) on the fifth floor but couldn’t find her classroom because the rooms on the floor didn’t have braille signage. She said she walked into the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering (CPE) building when she thought she had the wrong building but said some of the rooms in the building also didn’t have proper braille signage…
2019’s Best and Worst Cities for People with Disabilities
October 9, 2019 | Source: Wallet Hub |
When searching for a new home, people with disabilities often have a longer and more complicated list of considerations compared with other individuals. In addition to common wish-list items, such as reliable public transportation and diverse entertainment options, people with disabilities also must think about things like the accessibility of facilities or even the cleanliness of the air. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four U.S. adults, or 61 million total, have a disability that impacts their major activities…
Q&A: Breaking Down The Disabled Underrepresentation In Mainstream Media
October 9, 2019 | Source: UVA Today |
In the “Disability and Media” course that she teaches, University of Virginia media studies assistant professor Elizabeth Ellcessor has been pleased to see her students gaining a vocabulary for talking about disability with respect, and becoming aware of lingering stereotypes in the mainstream media. “While disability remains underrepresented, it is actually a very important theme for understanding a wide range of media content,” Ellcessor said…
The Food Delivery Revolution Is Leaving Disabled Customers Behind
October 9, 2019 | Source: Food and Wine |
As a full-time freelancer with a disability, I order in, a lot. Food delivery apps aren’t just a convenience for hungry users, but a life-saver for those of us with disabilities. Meals come prepared without the need for a disabled person to navigate an inaccessible kitchen or have a caregiver cook for them. And the spread of food delivery services doesn’t seem to be slowing down, with sales rising 55 percent in just the last year and several delivery apps filing IPOs and offering stock options…
Who is responsible for digital accessibility?
October 10, 2019 | Source: CIO Dive |
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a Domino’s Pizza appeal, making way for a lawsuit against the pizza chain that its website was not accessible to the visually-impaired. There are no laws in the U.S. requiring compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), so the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) often becomes the standard for digital accessibility. The ADA was developed in 1990, before websites and applications were a fundamental component of business…
Jack Fact — According to the Journal, ‘Inclusion’, in 2012, 9% of the US population, or 28.5M Americans, had a cognitive disability. Worldwide the number is believed to exceed 630 million.
Hit The Road Jack — What Does The Most Accessible Country In The World Offer?- These attractions of Portugal are a must-see!
International News
Scottish EHRC sends warning to transport operators over disabled access
October 1, 2019 | Source: AMP- Scotland |
The Scottish Equality and Human Rights Commission has sent a warning out to transport operators over problems with disabled access. The organisation says the new project will support individuals who have experienced discrimination while using, or attempting to use, public transport. The scheme will use all available routes to assist in resolving complaints, including offering advice and help with correspondence, or providing funding for legal support…
Train companies set to be forced to act on rail replacement access after legal advice
October 3, 2019 | Source: Disability News Service- UK |
Train companies must ensure that nearly all their rail replacement vehicles are accessible to disabled people, or risk criminal prosecution, according to legal advice obtained by the rail regulator. Train companies have reacted to the provisional legal advice by promising to comply with any new rules produced by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as a result of the advice. ORR was forced to seek the legal advice after a legal threat issued by accessible transport campaigner Doug Paulley…
Ontario Human Rights Commission to make accessible education announcement
October 3, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada |
Troubling statistics around literacy rates among Ontario elementary school students have prompted a public inquiry into issues affecting those with reading disabilities, the province’s human rights watchdog announced Thursday.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission said data from the province’s Education Quality and Accountability Office suggest an alarming number of students are falling short of reading standards in elementary school, setting them up for lifelong struggles…
New reads part of improvements to Library accessibility
October 4, 2019 | Source: Mirage News- UK |
Liverpool City Library is now home to a dedicated accessible collection, with more than 300 items available for loan for people who have reading difficulties or for those who need guidance on how to navigate living with disability. Inclusivity is a priority for Liverpool City Council,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said. “Regardless of one’s ability, age, gender or cultural background, all are welcome members of our fantastically diverse community and I’m proud that our libraries continue to serve as a safe and welcoming space…
National Trust to invest in accessibility and upskill 74,000 people to make all heritage sites dementia-friendly
October 4, 2019 | Source: THIIS- UK |
Two influential UK charities, the National Trust and Alzheimer’s Society, have announced an ambitious three-year project to make all of the Trust’s 500 historic and countryside sites dementia-friendly. Announced on the 30th September to mark the end of World Alzheimer’s Month, the partnership will aim to improve the accessibility of some of the nation’s most popular heritage and rural destinations for millions of people affected by dementia…
Edinburgh and Glasgow airports voted UK’s best for disabled access by Netflights
October 4, 2019 | Source: The Scotsman- UK |
Edinburgh and Glasgow airports are the UK’s best for disabled access, a survey by flight comparison website Netflights has concluded. They were first equal among the 30 busiest airports with 100 per cent scores, but Aberdeen was in joint second bottom place with 63 per cent. Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire was given a 75 per cent rating. Netflights said Edinburgh and Glasgow’s rating reflected the “significant investments they have both made in improving the airport experience for passengers with a range of disabilities in terms of service and facilities.”…
Poland to invest in increasing accessibility for disabled
October 4, 2019 | Source: The First News- Poland |
Poland will invest around PLN 93 million (EUR 22 mln) to improve accessibility in public spaces for people with disabilities, Minister of Finance, Investment and Development Jerzy Kwiecinski told a Friday press conference. Some PLN 42.8 million from the Accessibility Fund has been earmarked to remove architectural barriers in 900 public buildings as part of the Accessibility Plus programme, which according to the minister, is Europe’s first such extensive investment programme dedicated to accessibility in public spaces…
‘We’re all in this together’: a push for accessibility for all British Columbians
October 4, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada |
Chris Marks loves his hometown, Victoria, but he can only explore so much of it. After a spinal injury over a decade ago, Marks gets around using an electric wheelchair. Every day he encounters design flaws that stop him from getting where he wants to go: things likes stairs, curbs, and even raised doorways get in his way. He’s been advocating for more accessibility in Victoria. Now, B.C. is asking the public to help write new legislation that would make the province more accessible. To Marks, it’s not just about people with disabilities…
Burger King staff refused to read menu to blind woman
October 4, 2019 | Source: BBC- UK |
Burger King has apologised to a blind woman with a food allergy after she was told staff were not allowed to read out a list of ingredients to her. Medina Hall had gone to the Folkestone branch of the burger chain and told staff about her nut allergy. She said she was told staff could give her a menu but company policy meant customers had to read it themselves. Burger King said there was no such policy and it was “looking into this matter further”. Ms Hall said her nut allergy could trigger severe asthma attacks and so she asked for the ingredients of a brownie to be read out to her…
Call for audits in bid for ‘age friendly’ cities
October 5, 2019 | Source: Otago Daily Times- New Zealand |
A University of Otago academic is calling for New Zealand cities to be audited to encourage accessibility for the elderly and those with mobility issues. Newly-appointed Consumer NZ board member Associate Prof Rob Aitken, who wants to see “age friendly” cities, said in his Consumer role he would support the evaluation of the infrastructure of different centres. The Waitaki district was a good example of a smaller area where accessibility was prioritised – and it could provide a “blueprint” for cities such as Dunedin, he said…
“Just Like Other Kids” Lack of Access to Inclusive Quality Education for Children with Disabilities in Iran
October 2, 2019 | Source: ReliefWeb- Iran |
For most children with disabilities in Iran, going to school is an out-of-reach dream. For the relative few who are able to attend, the experience is often a hard one. During the 2018-2019 school year, only 150,000 out of an estimated 1.5 million children with disabilities of school age were enrolled in school; 43 percent in mainstream, and the rest in special schools. A 2017 Iranian government study found that disability was the most common reason for children to be out of the classroom…
‘Give us the opportunity,’ Calgary disability advocate tells employers
October 4, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada |
October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and one Calgary business owner is encouraging employers to be more inclusive through both her advocacy and her day job. Darby Young was born with mild cerebral palsy (CP) and says it taught her early on about the obstacles people with disabilities face in the workforce. “I had great difficulty, because a lot of times I’d apply for jobs and if I didn’t let them know that I had CP to start with, they were offended when I’d come in to the interviews,” Young told Doug Dirks on The Homestretch…
National Trust embarks on ambitious project with Alzheimer’s Society to improve accessibility for people with dementia
October 4, 2019 | Source: AMP- UK |
The National Trust and Alzheimer’s Society are joining forces to embark on an ambitious three-year project improve accessibility for people with dementia at some of the UK’s most historic sites. The project will see all of the National Trust’s 500 historic and countryside sites made dementia-friendly, in the first project of its kind for the Trust. It comes as figures reveal that seven per cent (about 150,000) of National Trust supporters over the age of 65, including its volunteers, staff and members, may be living with the condition…
Saskatoon man with cerebral palsy says government social worker suggested divorce to restore disability payments
October 4, 2019 | Source: CBC- Canada |
A Saskatoon man, who lost his provincial disability payments when his wife became eligible for a federal pension and benefit, says a government social worker suggested he get a divorce to restore his payments — something the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services says is against policy. Allen Hall is appealing to Social Services Minister Paul Merriman to intervene in his case, saying he and his wife have fallen into a loophole that has left their household short around $800 per month. The minister declined to comment citing privacy reasons…
Wheels that run on command
October 5, 2019 | Source: The Express Tribune- Pakistan |
It is no secret that those living with physical disabilities in Pakistan face countless difficulties in performing day to day chores due to the lack of accessibility. According to a research report published by the British Council, there are about 27 million people with disabilities that are socially excluded. This lack of engagement costs the economy between 4.9 per cent and 6.3 per cent of GDP each year and yet there is no solution provided to ease the discomfort of disabled individuals…
Wheelchair users in Kerala demand accessibility features at famous Athirappilly waterfalls
October 6, 2019 | Source: NewzHook- India |
Athirappilly is a famous tourist location in Kerala. But the place is inaccessible for wheelchair users and not disabled friendly at all. Wheelchair users who visit the place are forced to return back due to inaccessibility. Disability rights groups are demanding speedy action of wheelchair ramps and path installations in this famous tourist location. Any tourist who visits Kerala, wouldn’t miss Athirappilly, a beautiful place located at Thrissur district. The serene greens and charming waterfalls are not to be missed…
Ensure facilitation of PWDs, demands DPWS from banks
October 7, 2019 | Source: The Tribune- India |
The Disabled Persons Welfare Society (DPWS) on Saturday appealed bank managers to implement the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India regarding financial transactions for physically challenged persons. In a release, Sandeep Sharma, president of the DPWS, said a majority of ATMs were lacking ramps for physically-challenged persons. In the absence of ramps, it is difficult for physically challenged persons to access ATM’s while using a wheelchair…
Spectators gather for inclusive, accessible film festival
October 7, 2019 | Source: Daily Sabah- Turkey |
The Accessible Film Festival , which seeks to remove obstacles to participation in cultural and artistic activities, offers a number of side events in accordance with the idea of accessibility for visually and hearing impaired individuals, as well as film screenings. The seventh edition of the festival is hosting cinemagoers at Boğaziçi University’s Cinema Hall (SineBu) in Istanbul, between Oct. 7-9. It will continue at Yunus Emre Cultural Center in Eskişehir province between Oct. 11 and 13, and at the Çankaya Municipality Contemporary Arts Center and the Goethe-Institut in Ankara between Oct. 16 and 20…
Blind swimmer Mary Fisher faces new challenges out of the pool
October 7, 2019 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand |
World champion blind swimmer Mary Fisher is one in a string of New Zealand athletes and sports leaders who will share their experiences at the Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit, with the hope of making a difference. Countless obstacles have sprung up along the path of Paralympic double gold medallist swimmer Mary Fisher. There’s been prejudice, low expectations and the trials of simply getting to the swimming pool. Now her latest hurdle involves flamingos, but not of the feathered kind…
Lion’s share of English cities have less than one wheelchair accessible taxi per 1,000 people
October 7, 2019 | Source: THIIS- UK and Access and Mobility Professional- UK |
New data from the Department for Transport has revealed which cities have the most and least wheelchair accessible taxis per 1,000 people across England. Analysis of the Department for Transport’s ‘Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Statistics, England: 2019’ data by online airport transfer booking platform Taxi2Airport.com highlights that 86 percent of local authorities in cities across England have less than one wheelchair accessible taxi per 1,000 people…
Who Can Vote? Accessibility For Persons With Psychosocial Disabilities
October 7, 2019 | Source: Feminism in India |
“Of course I know which political party I want to vote for; do you think I’m not updated?” exclaimed one of the group, when Anjali’s team visited residents in a mental health institution to conduct an orientation on political parties and the current political scenario. The excitement in the usually dingy room was palpable as 64 eager faces glistened with hope. The conversations on voting itself had been fairly simple. We are often asked how we decide who gets to vote. We asked residents in hospitals whether they were keen to vote. Some were, some weren’t. We left it at that…
Our need for accessible and inclusive built environment
October 8, 2019 | Source: Manila Times- Philippines |
When I was with the United Nations (UN), we were given a definition of a person with disability (PWD). But more important is the definition of disability, which, according to the UN, is a barrier. If a disability is a barrier, then what is accessibility? Its all about breaking barriers, which means creating accessibility not just for PWDs, but for everyone, including you who’s reading this piece right now. It took me a long time to call myself an advocate. I was trained by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in China to become an advocate for the rights of PWDs…
World Road Congress Discusses Adapting Roads For People Of Determination
October 8, 2019 | Source: UrduPoint- Abu Dhabi and Gulf Digital News- Abu Dhabi |
For the first time in its 111-year history, the World Road Association, PIARC, members and global experts addressed the important topic on how countries can help change the everyday lives for the People of Determination when it comes to travelling. During the Foresight Session – ‘Disabled-inclusive road transport’, Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor of the World Bank Group who chaired the discussion, said that it an important topic that typically hasn’t been discussed in forums such as these…
Helping the blind to ‘see’: New Google app reads text out loud, warns of obstacles
October 8, 2019 | Source: Vancouver Sun- Canada |
On the other end of the phone line in the Seattle area, Ian Stoba held his phone up to his computer screen and it began reading the vancouversun.com page open on his computer screen to a listener in Vancouver. “Just pointing it at the computer screen, it is able to read the text,” said Stoba, who grew up in West Vancouver. It’s a Google app that is coming to Canada soon, one that alerts people with impaired vision of obstacles in their way and reads text to them. What drew him to the accessibility team at Google?…
Sainsbury’s, I don’t need a lanyard to warn you about my disability – you need to provide better training
October 9, 2019 | Source: Independent- UK |
Sunflower season may be over but Sainsbury’s wants to see more in bloom this autumn following its latest announcement. On Monday, the retail giant rolled out its latest inclusion scheme across the country, centred on helping customers with invisible disabilities. From this week, shoppers nationwide will be able to collect a special sunflower lanyard in store, which will help staff identify them as people who might need additional support to complete their shopping. Tesco has also been trialling the lanyards this year, taking inspiration from an initiative first launched at Gatwick Airport…
Wheelchair users can’t reach help button
October 10, 2019 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand |
New parking machines at an Auckland Council CBD car park feature a wheelchair assistance button that is placed out of reach for wheelchairs users. The design fail was highlighted by an Auckland wheelchair user who took to Twitter to share a photograph of the machine, noting sarcastically that the technology was “so inclusive, so accessible, such good design!” “This, friends, is a brand new payment kiosk installed in the @AklTransport Vic St parking building,” he wrote…
The disability challenge: Is travel retail missing out on the Purple Pound?
October 9, 2019 | Source: The Moodie Davitt Report- UK |
Travel retailers that are doing nothing to accommodate the disabled are not only failing in their corporate responsibility duty but are potentially closing the door on millions of potential customers and the ‘Purple Pound’ they spend. Space may be at a premium, but there are other ways to help. Carole Hughes, from Liverpool in the UK, shops regularly at large supermarkets and department stores around her home city. There’s nothing remarkable about that, but for Carole, it’s more of a challenge. She was born with spina bifida and has been using a wheelchair since 2015…
Curators translate visual art into beautiful things you can touch
October 9, 2019 | Source: The Conversation Canada |
A shift is taking place in museums and the way art history is presented globally. More museums now value visitor experience and at the same time, there is a growing emphasis on accessibility in Canadian public institutions. Some museums are offering adapted guided tours, which include tactile elements in addition to relying on various digital devices. The devices range from audio guides to 3D printed models that can sometimes be touched. I have been awarded a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation scholarship to look into the impact of multisensory mediation tools…
‘I’m lucky to be a blind person in the 21st century’ – Vlogger Molly Burke
October 10, 2019 | Source: RTE- Ireland |
Her sight is impaired, but that doesn’t stop Molly Burke from enjoying the same things as her two million subscribers on YouTube. The 25-year-old Irish-Canadian, who is US-based, relies on accessible technology – and her guide dog Gallop – to live independently, and says she has noticed huge changes in the products and software available for visually impaired people since she lost her sight 11 years ago. “I was diagnosed when I was four years old with retinitis pigmentosa, and I ended up losing the majority of my vision at 14. I was born legally blind, so I’ve never had more than 20/200, and it deteriorated on and off through my childhood,” she said…
Accessibility Blogs and Information
- MS and Self Care- MS Connection
- Alexa’s Monthly Roundup | October 2, 2019
- Accessibility Community of Practice- CIO.gov
- Assessing Accessibility On Campus- The Montage
- The Underlying Truth about Overlays- Karl Groves (Video)
- Join a Voting Accessibility Committee- Sacramento County
- SAS head makes sudden, unexplained departure- The Justice
- Planning Trips for Children With Autism- Simmons University
- User Experience Design Shouldn’t Happen in Isolation- CMSWire
- I #MarchForSisterhood So No One Has To Feel Alone- Refinery29
- As ADA Nears 30, Challenges to Accessibility Remain- FacilitiesNet
- Feds, York County reach deal on polling place accessibility- PennLive
- Listen Domino’s, fighting digital accessibility is bad for business- TNW
- SA leaders to prioritize diversity and inclusion, accessibility- GW Hatchet
- Faculty, students reflect on late disabilities activist- The Auburn Plainsman
- Which Universities Offer the Best Support for Disabled Students?- FE News
- Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 From The Wheelchair Seats- Accessible Japan
- Opportunities Abound for Travel and Accessibility- Muscular Dystrophy News
- Beyonce’s Official Website Got Sued — and Your’s Could Be Next- Entrepreneur
- Canada’s Accessibility Laws: A Jurisdictional Scan- Canadian Marketing Association
- When Will Adult Toys Make A Real Play For This $8 Trillion Income Market?- OZY
- RE/MAX Kicks Off Accessible Trick-or-Treating Campaign for Second Year- RE/MAX News
- Complying with new Digital Accessibility Regulations in month 1: questions answered- AbilityNet
- The Office of Disability Services works to improve student accessibility during interim period- The Lamron
- UTRGV student accessibility services not limited to students with physical disabilities- Valley Morning Star
- How Bracknell Forest Council improved its website accessibility to deliver public services for all citizens- Diginomica
- Beyonce Website Sued By A Blind Woman, Alleges That The Website Has Lousy Accessibility Settings- The Inner Sane
Accessibility Announcements and Products
- Court Square to sell NSM to Cinven
- Wheelchair Navigation App Launches in the UK
- JSA’s Access Navigators wins Accessibility Award
- Province providing $1.4B to make schools more accessible
- 5 Beautiful Wheelchair-Accessible Trails in Northern Michigan
- Blackboard Ally scholarship aims to increase course accessibility
- Accessibility championed at inaugural Blue Badge Access Awards
- The Three Chimneys crowned global leader for stylish accessibility
- Google debuts Action Blocks to make smartphones more accessible
- Utilities Kingston Unveils More Accessible and Responsive Website
- How United Created One of the World’s Most Accessible IFE Systems
- Sankara Eye Hospital, Young Indians CII Hold Gandhi At 150 Exhibition
- NCBI trials app offering cinema audio description for those with sight loss
- easyJet and easyTravelseat to make flying even more accessible for travellers
- The 6 least accessible boroughs by the London Underground or London buses
- Free Range Humans’ Immersive Jekyll and Hyde Launches Accessibility Initiative
- Semafone adds new accessibility features to Cardprotect Voice+ payments solution
- Kiosk Manufacturer Association (KMA) Meets with US Access Board Advisory Board
- Herbal Essences Continuing Commitment to Inclusive Design and Accessibility for All
- Austin Lighthouse Launches Blind-Friendly Website as Supreme Court Upholds Decision
- Tennessee legislator wants taxes paid for improving home disability access to be refunded
- Microsoft Canada bags 2019 Jim Flaherty Award for Leadership, Inclusion and Accessibility
- Hulu Adds New Accessibility Features to Improve Text Legibility and Screen Reader Capability
- National Seating and Mobility Owner Enters Purchase Agreement With International Private Equity Firm
- IIT Delhi, Microsoft to hold conference to make accessible assistive technologies for people with disabilities
- Clearblue® Partners with Be My Eyes to Provide Accessible Service Vision-Impaired Women Across the Globe Deserve
- Modern Governance 7.0: Introducing Community by Diligent, an Inclusive Platform that Drives Efficiency, Engagement and Accessibility for Public Education and Local Government
Accessibility Forums, Tips, and Gaming
- Accessibility Enhancer
- Accessibility Testing Tools
- Tooltips in the time of WCAG 2.1
- Principles for improving app accessibility
- Accessibility and Difficulty – Barriers to Art
- iPhone 11 Pro is the most accessible iPhone yet
- EEAAP: Why It’s Important for Online Video Content
- Why Accessibility Is Important In The Last Of Us Part 2
- Accessible OHIO: How can I provide accessible service counters?
- Chrome’s new AI feature solves one of the web’s eternal problems
- Make These Changes to Meet Web Design Accessibility Standards
- How To Optimize Your Event Website For Usability And Conversion
- How to turn off the VoiceOver feature on your iPad in 4 different ways
- Accessibility finally matters to the game industry — but it needs to do better
- Improving real-time collaboration in Google Docs for assistive technology users
- If Google says H1s don’t matter for rankings, why should you use them? Here’s why
- The Last of Us Part 2 Will Have Many Accessibility Options, But Will Always Be A Tense Experience
Accessibility Statements
- Talis
- Bernie Sanders
- Mouser Electronics
- University of Illinois
- Voices from Oxford
- University Of Toledo
- Imperial War Museum
- Courtauld Institute of Art
- City College of New York
- Embassy of India, Berlin – Germany
Microassist Digital Accessibility Services
Have you received an accessibility demand letter because of your website or application? Please contact us for any questions you have about our accessibility services and how we might support your organization.
Services include:
- Accessible Website and Application Development— We rely heavily on accessibility best practices and using HTML5 and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) standards to build WCAG-compliant and human-tested accessible environments. Our teams are proficient in open source technologies such as WordPress, Drupal and Moodle, as well as custom frameworks in .NET, PHP, AngularJS, and other frameworks. Our Learning and Development team can also help you create accessible custom training.
- Accessible Document Services— Whether you’re dealing with a few or a warehouse of Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, or other files, there are several ways Microassist can enable your team to offer documents and materials that meet stringent accessibility standards.
- Accessibility Remediation— Our accessibility remediation services help you fix existing materials so that they conform to WCAG, Section 504 and 508, Department of Education OCR, and ADA Title II/III requirements. We remediate websites, applications, documents, and elearning, recommending re-creation when that is more efficient and economical. Especially for website and applications, to find out what is in need of remediation, we’ll start with an Accessibility Audit.
- Accessibility Training— With several courses available for developers, testers, and content creators, your team can become equipped to consistently and expertly produce accessible digital products and online environments.
- VPAT®Evaluation Services— Primarily used by government purchasers and government vendors during the procurement and sale of ICT products and services under Section 508, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT) attests to the accessibility of a given product or service. Contact us to make sure the VPAT you write or review is accurate and meaningful.
Learn More About Digital Accessibility
Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.
Our most popular commentaries include:
- The WCAG 2.1 Update: A Brief Look at What’s Changed
- Introducing VPAT®0, the More Stringent Accessibility Reporting Tool Required for Government IT Procurement
- Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition: Updates on ADA Title III News and More
- What Lawyers Need to Know: A Primer on Digital Accessibility Terms and Today’s Legal Landscape
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