Delta Airlines Fined Record Amount for Mistreatment of Travelers with Disabilities | Wheelchair Accessibility Blog and Disability News

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Delta Airlines was fined a record $2 million by the US Department of Transportation for not following federal rules regarding accommodating air travelers with disabilities, including lack of accommodations for boarding and exiting airplanes as well as not responding to complaints in an appropriate time frame. A portion of the fines will be paid directly to the Dept. of Transportation for violating federal statues, while the rest are to be used by Delta to raise awareness within the company and improve their services for disabled passengers.
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New York City Sued for Lack of Wheelchair Accessible Taxis | Wheelchair Accessibility Blog and Disability News

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Disability Rights Advocates, a non-profit law firm, have filed a federal class action lawsuit stating that there is a lack of wheelchair accessible taxicabs in New York City, which violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuit was placed against the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The disability rights group was not pleased with their failure to require that taxis be accessible to people with disabilities and also state that their actions are violating multiple civil rights laws. Citing the fact that out of 13,000 taxicabs in New York City, only 231 of those cabs are accessible to people with disabilities, the Disability Rights Advocates assert that the TLC ignores the needs of the disabled.

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The Accessibility Features of the iPad - Disability.gov

By Guest Blogger Amanda Johansson, Testfreaks.com

Today, computers have infiltrated almost all aspects of modern life, and they serve as great tools in those activities. On the heels of desktops and laptops are electronic tablets, and they are now being accepted en masse in our everyday lives. In fact, the most popular tablet to date, the iPad, has been sold by millions to people across all walks of life.

But to someone with special needs, using a tablet might be difficult. Luckily, like most modern computers, the iPad has accessibility features built into the device, and such features may prove to be handy for a wide variety of users. Exactly what are these accessibility features? Let's take a look.
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New Rules Aim to Make Travel Easier for the Disabled - NYTimes.com

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By TANYA MOHN

People with disabilities never have an easy time traveling, but a rash of recent improvements, including more wheelchair-accessible taxis and rental vehicles — and even Web sites for people with dexterity or vision problems — have made it easier.

New regulations updating the Air Carrier Access Act, for instance, extend coverage to flights by foreign airlines originating or landing in the United States, or ticketed through American carriers.

Airlines are required to provide accommodations for people who travel with oxygen and other respiratory assistance, fly with service animals or have impaired hearing or vision. If passengers are unable to use automated kiosks to check in or to print boarding passes, for example, carriers must provide assistance at the kiosk or allow them to go to the front of the line.
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Making Broadway Accessible for the Disabled - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

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By ERIK PIEPENBURG

The next time you complain about not being able to see the stage from the nosebleed sections of a Broadway theater, think about not being able to see the stage at all.

“No one wants to feel left out of a performance,” said Lisa Carling, the director of the Theater Development Fund’s accessibility program, which offers assistance to theatergoers with physical disabilities. “If you miss a punchline or a dramatic statement, everyone else is included but you are not.”

The Theater Development Fund, which also runs the city’s TKTS discount ticket booths, helps coordinate services for the blind or those with low vision, the deaf or hard of hearing and patrons who can’t climb stairs or need wheelchair seating.

“When we started 13 years ago, advocates for the disabled came to us and said, ‘Please, I haven’t been able to go to the theater for years because my hearing has deteriorated,’” said Ms. Carling. “People were staying away from the theater.”

Ms. Carling recently spoke to The Times about what kinds of services the TDF Accessibility Program, or TAP, offers to the disabled. Following are excerpts from her conversation. Continue Reading

JFActivist: Judges Laugh at Arguments that Theaters Aren't Bound by the ADA

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From the Hearing Loss Law & Wash. CAP Blog:

...The Arizona Attorney General's Office sued the Harkins theater chain, claiming that the business violated both ADA and Arizona state law by failing to show captioned and described movies. The AG was not suggesting that the theaters themselves had to provide the captions or descriptions, but only that they need to install the equipment necessary to show the captions and descriptions provided by the studios.

The theaters took the position that ADA does not regulate the contents of their products or services, and that they offer non-captioned movies. "We have the right to choose what services we provide, and that is our choice," said the attorney for the theaters. "We let everyone come into our theaters and see our (non-captioned) movies, and that is what ADA requires us to do."

The AG's office, on the other hand, said that captions are the kind of "auxiliary aid and service" that the ADA requires to enable people with hearing and vision losses to gain the "full enjoyment" of the businesses' offerings.

The judges basically said flat-out that they thought the theater argument is preposterous. Alex Kozinski, the chief judge, said, "What if we took the position that this building is a building with steps, and if someone in a wheelchair wants to come in, they can find somebody to carry them?"

Kozinksi went on, "Actually, that case happened, and some lawyer argued that being able to crawl up the steps was good enough. Today, people are laughing at that argument, and I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years, people are laughing at your argument."

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Blind architects have a real feel for the site lines - latimes.com

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By Maria L. La Ganga

The architects met on a damp October Saturday and set off to visit a modern New York landmark, the American Folk Art Museum.

The building is clad in lustrous bronze panels that shift in color as they catch the sun's slow trek across the sky. Inside, a skylight shoots brilliant beams into a grand interior space.

But the two men hadn't traveled to Midtown Manhattan to look at the structure's famous features.

Instead, they slid their curious fingers along the pocked surface of the alloyed bronze facade. Inside, their hands explored a smooth, round railing of warm cherry wood, a counterpoint to the chilly glass panels of the main staircase. Their canes clicked along the intricate floor, sensing the shift from swaths of concrete to planks of Ruby Lake fir.

"We were exploring how we could sense it with a cane, sense it with our fingers, sense it with our feet," said Northern California architect Christopher Downey. "There is this great palette of textures. . . . All of a sudden, it starts to engage your brain in a different way."

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Blind People Want to Play, Too: Lawsuit Against Sony

by Tom Babinszki in Even Grounds

Alexander Stern filed a lawsuit against Sony because according to ADA the company does not make games more accessible. And before we shrug this off by saying that they can't make blind people see anyway, let's look at some of the implications.

Certain games cannot be made accessible for the blind for the simple fact that they require vision. But what kind of vision? Many blind people play games because based on the sounds they are able to navigate them without having to see the screen. Maybe they are not achieving the same results as their sighted peers, but really what's important here: to score high, or to get out of everyday duties and play a bit.

And there is more to this lawsuit. Stern also wants to auction his characters which other people are able to do, but this feature is not accessible. Well, this should not require any vision, even if the game itself does. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be able to do if there is a possibility out there and technology would allow him to do it if it was used properly.
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And this is still not the end of the implications of this lawsuit, because it is not the first case that a company got into trouble because of ADA. Section 508 demands accessibility at the Federal Government, but many companies tried to get away without making products accessible for people with disabilities. However, in the recent years, ADA is getting a more thorough interpretation, and it is actually applicable to the private sector, as the Target settlement shows for example

Stern's lawsuit will actually be very helpful to continue making the precedence that at this age, we cannot ignore people with disabilities.
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Limitations of Web Accessibility

by Tom Babinszki in Even Grounds

Many documents have been written about web accessibility. This is only appropriate as web accessibility covers a considerably large amount of topics. However, similar to any principle, web accessibility also has its set of limitations.

Here, we will try to point out those limitations in order for you to better understand web. Accessibility. It is important to note though that experts are presently working on these issues to address or improve them.
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Will Section 508 Be Taken More Seriously?

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from Even Grounds

Just recently, the National Federation of the Blind filed the third Section 508 related complaint in a row. Will this change how seriously Section 508 compliance will be taken?

It is rather frequent that a government agency or a contractor states Section 508 compliance because this is the law. But these statements do not always correct. There is a large number of federal sites and applications which do not meet the mandated Section 508 requirements.

The National Federation of the Blind recently filed complaints against the Department of Education, Social Security Administration, and the Small Business Administration. The first two are known to have one of the most well-known and effective Section 508 programs. It was rather unexpected that in case of a Section 508 complaint, these agencies will come to the spotlight.

While NFB filed a Section 508 complaint, they are primarily monitoring accessibility for visually impaired people. NFB is committed to continue monitoring federal sites, and filing more complaints as necessary if they find issues which interfere with accessibility for people with visual impairment.

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• Social Security told to modernize for the blind (San Francisco Chronicle) (slumpedoverkeyboarddead.com)

Petition to Google to Develop Accessible Sites

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By Tom in Even Grounds blog

Just recently, Mike Gifford (@mgifford) started a petition to google for developing more accessible sites. Gifford is asking google to create standards compliant, accessible sites, to set an example as google code and design is often copied by developers. But let's see what happened behind the scenes.

There has been a very healthy competition between Google and Yahoo! over the last five years in terms of accessibility. As AOL started publicly leading the way in accessibility, shortly after that Google and Yahoo! compiled their accessibility teams, and made several public appearances to promote it. About five years ago, Google was quite accessible in many ways given that at that point accessibility wasn't in the center of attention, while Yahoo! still had a long way to go.

As Google is setting the standards of Internet search, they are also rolling out a bunch of products, adding to their gain of their market share. Most people are using Google for their internet search, e-mail, and other activities. As a socially responsible company, Google made a commitment to make its products accessible to people with disabilities.

However, many of the updated Google products became less accessible than they were before. In addition, Google accessibility received public attention in September, 2009, when Steve Faulkner (@stevefaulkner) wrote a post about the accessibility of the Google Chrome Frame on the Paciello Group's blog. Steve Faulkner concluded that users of assistive technologies are locked out of Google Chromes technologies, until Google makes the Chrome Frame accessible.
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Hairstylists Often Privy to Older Clients' Health Issues - Forbes.com

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(HealthDay News) -- Hairstylists can do more than make their clients look good, they may also be helpful in getting some elderly people the health-care services they need, an Ohio State University study suggests.

A survey of 40 stylists in the Columbus, Ohio-area found that most develop long-term relationships with their older clients, and these seniors tend to talk freely about their troubles -- including those with family, health, depression and anxiety.
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What Can You Do to Make A Document More Accessible for People with Disabilities?

Submitted by Tom to Even Grounds

I receive documents of all formats on a daily basis. In many cases, these documents could easily be made much more accessible for people with disabilities with very little effort. I put together a checklist you could run through when you are done editing your document. See how much of a difference you can make in a matter of minutes. Better yet, once you get used to doing it, it will become second nature.
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What Can You Do If Your Business Does Not Have The Finances To Make Your Web Site Accessible? | Even Grounds

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There are many situations when companies are willing to make their web sites accessible, but they do not have the finances. Of course, the answer is obvious, an accessible web site will extend your market and you will have m ore finances. But what happens if this is still out of the reach of a small business? This will give you a couple of ideas on how you can improve your site's accessibility without finances.

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The Accessibility Tips And Tricks Newsletter | Even Grounds

by Tom Babinszki

I have started my Accessibility Tips and Tricks newsletter about a year ago. Today, I just would like to stop for a moment and thank my subscribers, as this week the 1000th reader has signed up.

I have designed these tips to be not longer than what you can display on a screen in an email message. Every other week, my users receive a short tip on making technology accessible to people with disabilities in their own lives, in their own environment.

These tips apply to all people who use technology to any extent. The tips are written in plain language, and understandable even for those who have never heard of accessibility before.

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