McDonald’s Starts Making Self-Service Easier for Blind Diners
wsj.com
Fast-food chain says all company-owned restaurants will offer screen-reader technology on its kiosks by the end of the year.
Nike Go FlyEase is a hands-free shoe for people with disabilities
fastcompany.com
The Go FlyEase includes a unique hinged outsole that makes putting them on without using your hands a literal snap.
Accessibility-Minded Thoughts On Apple’s ‘California Streaming’ Event
forbes.com
Apple has moved away from the “S” nomenclature—the 2018 iPhone XS is the last iPhone to bear the name—but the iPhone 13 spiritually feels like an S-year update.
Truly Accessible Air Travel Could Be Coming Sooner Than You Think
travelpulse.com
A new report now offers science-based insights into developing a designated wheelchair spot on commercial aircraft.
The school that created a city for the blind
bbc.com
Marburg in Germany prides itself on being a Blindenstadt – a city adapted to make life for the blind and partially sighted as easy as possible.
Jamie McAllister: What assistive tech means to me
blog.yourdolphin.com
Jamie McAllister aka 'That Blind Lad' is a podcaster, student and football fan. His podcast features interviews with prominent people in the disability & chronic illness community.
Accessibility – The User’s Perspective
kurtosys.com
Where is accessibility on your prioritization list? Does it help define design and your fundamental user experience (UX) or is it an afterthought checkbox exercise? Is it part of your product MVP? Or retrospectively applied in relation to meeting minimum requirements in certain regions?
14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network
abilitynet.org.uk
An accessibility champions’ network is a great way to engender cultural change across an organisation. Here are some top tips from technology insiders on creating, managing, and motivating a team of like-minded people. Here are top tips for creating, maintaining and motivating your accessibility champions’ network.
What makes a design accessible: 9 best practices
blog.icons8.com
How do you design a product or web app that meets the needs of people with varied disabilities? Follow these nine best practices.
A big step forward for transcribing interviews
toolsforreporters.substack.com
Basically, it quickly transcribes your audio file and then, when you edit the text, it edits the audio accordingly! I’ve watched transcription evolve over the last six years (egad) of writing this newsletter, and Descript is a giant leap forward, technologically.
People With Disabilities Say This AI Tool Is Making the Web Worse for Them
vice.com
AccessiBe aims to make the internet fully accessible to the visually impaired by 2025—but activists say the company's AI is making things worse.
Overlay Fact Sheet
overlayfactsheet.com
An open letter about accessibility overlays.
Facebook Rolls Out News Feed Change That Blocks Watchdogs from Gathering Data
themarkup.org
The tweak, which targets the code in accessibility features for visually impaired users, drew ire from researchers and those who monitor the platform.
Businesses Score a Few Recent Wins in Website Accessibility Lawsuits
adatitleiii.com
Defending website accessibility lawsuits can be an expensive and difficult battle for public accommodations, but there have been a few bright spots for businesses this summer.
Beyond Britney: Abuse, Exploitation, And Death Inside America’s Guardianship Industry
buzzfeednews.com
For people under guardianship, the system can be dehumanizing, dangerous, and even deadly. For the professionals — who can control hundreds of people at a time — it can be very profitable. A BuzzFeed News investigation.
Ready to Rage – Disabled People Don’t Owe You Strength
cripplemedia.com
or about the past 10 to 20 years, we’ve seen an uptick in the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” mentality. The idea of building a “thick skin” is desired, and even required in a lot of careers, schools, and even environments that are supposed to be deemed as “safe”. The problem this can create though, is a million times more detrimental than if you were to be the most sensitive person in the room. This kind of thinking can lead to toxic behaviors and habits, and even sacrificing someone’s mental well-being.
Will The Lack Of Disabled Sports Clubs Stifle Future Paralympic Stars?
disabilityhorizons.com
Charity Leonard Cheshire has found a that less than 1% of places across the UK had specialised disabled sports clubs.
3 Ways Disability Culture Has Been Changing
forbes.com
Modern disability culture is old enough now that we can easily see significant shifts, from the practices, assumptions, and approaches of the 1960s and ‘70s, to those of disabled people in the second decade of the 21st Century.
Disability in Space
diaryofadisabledperson.blog
A couple of months ago, having not had the opportunity to play them as a teenager, I downloaded the remastered Mass Effect: Legendary edition. I knew almost nothing about the games beyond the fact that the choices you made in one game would impact what happened in the next one, and I was vaguely familiar with the names of a few important characters and places, but still had high expectations due to their reputation. Once I began playing I did indeed come to understand why they are some of the most celebrated video games in history; the gameplay was solid, the storyline was excellent, and the character-development and world-building were some of the best I’ve ever seen. One thing I didn’t expect, however, was to encounter some of the most impressive representations of disability in pop culture that I can find.
Unilever's Degree calls out fitness centers over disability access
adage.com
Ad in The New York Times says 81% of people with disabilities feel unwelcome at fitness centers.
Snapchat's new lenses and stickers can teach you basic sign language
engadget.com
Snap launched the new features to honor the Week of the Deaf.
Google Introduces New Accessibility Features For Android Designed To ‘Make Your Phone More Access…
forbes.com
In a blog post published Thursday, Google announced new features for Android that are designed to make controlling one’s phone more accessible for disabled people.
Microsoft to launch Surface Adaptive Kit, improving gadget accessibility
disabilityinsider.com
Thinking about form as well as function, Microsoft has revealed a new kit intended to make using gadgets more accessible for people with disabilities.
In Memory of Marilyn Golden - Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
dredf.org
Marilyn Golden, senior policy analyst for DREDF, died at home on September 21, 2021, surrounded by her family. A long-time disability rights advocate, she played a key role in the development, passage, and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Her advocacy molded and shaped accessibility in the United States and improved architectural access and standards worldwide. She spent more than three decades working to see that the ADA was implemented and enforced, and teaching others the value of disability civil rights via, and beyond the law.
What It’s Like to Be Black and Disabled in America
theatlantic.com
Being Black and disabled is a constant struggle.
Cuts to Biden’s Spending Bill Shouldn’t Harm Disabled Americans
nytimes.com
Proposed cuts to President Biden’s spending bill would hurt disabled and older Americans who have supported progressive agendas for decades.
When Is Covid a Disability? Courts Tackle Issue in Bias Cases
news.bloomberglaw.com
Federal courts are beginning to weigh Covid-19 as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, testing a legal gray area over whether workers who contract the illness are entitled to job discrimination protections.