By Douglas George Towne
What is happening to Ukrainians with disabilities caught in the middle of a war? It is difficult to say or be accurate about. Rumors abound that some are being forced across the border into Russia and herded into camps. Some are being used as human shields in the middle of combat by Russian forces. Some are falling victim to physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Some are unable to receive the medical and other services that are a necessity for life. Some are having their homes, schools and families destroyed. Some are trying to flee and are unable to take their caregivers with them out of the country because of the need for people power to fight the Russians. There are many views, calls and opinions coming from many points of view, but what is happening for real? We don't know. War is hell on the innocent bystanders. The old, the young, civilians, people with disabilities. Who will stop this???
THROUGH THIS CONFLICT IN UKRAINE, WHAT HAPPENS TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES?
FATE OF UKRAINIANS WITH DISABILITIES A 'CRISIS WITHIN A CRISIS'
ESCAPING THE HORROR IN UKRAINE IS NOT AN OPTION FOR MANY DISABLED CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES
FROM UKRAINIANS WITH DISABILITIES COMES A DESPERATE PLEA: ‘WE HAVE NO CHANCE WITHOUT HELP’
The Department of Justice published guidance today on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It explains how state and local governments (entities covered by ADA Title II) and businesses open to the public (entities covered by ADA Title III) can make sure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with the ADA’s requirements.
AS THE WINN-DIXIE SAGA FINALLY CONCLUDES IN FLORIDA, 181 ADVOCACY GROUPS URGE DOJ TO ISSUE WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY REGULATIONS
On March 2, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied Winn-Dixie’s request that the full panel of judges reconsider a single Eleventh Circuit judge’s order dismissing the appeal and district court proceeding as moot. This ends what had been an over-six year saga in one of the most-watched website accessibility cases in the country. Here’s your Cliffs Notes version of this drama: In June 2017 a Florida federal trial court ruled in favor of the blind plaintiff, finding Winn-Dixie’s inaccessible website violated the ADA, holding Winn-Dixie responsible for third party content on its website…
DOL, ASA WEBSITE BRINGS BEST PRACTICES TO EMPLOY WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES
The American Staffing Association partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy to launch a new website aiming to help employers be more inclusive of workers with disabilities. The organizations announced the effort Feb. 15. The site includes resources that explain best practices for recruiting, hiring, retaining and advancing talent with disabilities. Resources also touch on management practices and accessibility. The website points employers to a number of organizations providing similar assistance.
WE CANNOT DENY DISABLED VOTERS EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW
Sponsored by VOTEC
New state election laws have prompted debate about whether they will make it more difficult for people to vote. Missing in that national conversation is consideration of equal protection for an often-overlooked class of American voters: the disabled, who have special accessibility needs. Important strides have been made to ensure that Americans with disabilities can exercise their right to vote. Nevertheless, too many disabled individuals face persistent risks and challenges that other voters do not, it is an untenable situation that may deny them equal protection under the law.
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN INDIANA'S MANDATORY ABSENTEE VOTER TRAVELING BOARD AS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES FOR MAY 2022 ELECTION
Yesterday, the Honorable Jane Magnus-Stinson of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana struck down Indiana’s rule that absentee voters who could not independently mark their own ballot may vote absentee by mail only by appointment with a “traveling board” of elections officials in the May 2022 election. The traveling board rule was the most restrictive in the country for voters with disabilities and had resulted in at least one voter being unable to cast a ballot in the November 2020 Presidential Election because a traveling board never came to her home to help her vote…
NEW RESTRICTIONS CAUSING ROADBLOCKS FOR VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES
Don Natzke, who lost his sight at age 12, says still being able to vote has played a pivotal role in his life. "It's true of all citizens, but certainly for people with disabilities, the people who are making the policies are very important to us," he told ABC News. "For example, what my community chooses to do to have accessible transportation available affects how I'm able to move around my community." Natzke, who is now retired, grew up in Wisconsin and says the only way he could vote was to appear at a polling place and have someone read, mark and cast the ballot for him…
8DOJ, TRAVIS COUNTY AGREE TO BRING POLLING PLACES TO ADA STANDARDS
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday it has come to an agreement with Travis County to address issues with accessibility to voters with disabilities. Ashley C. Hoff, an attorney for the Western District of Texas, said the DOJ investigated the county in regards to its “compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by a state or local government in any of its programs or services.”…
SOUTH JERSEY NONPROFIT JUMPS INTO ACTION TO BUILD WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE BATHROOM FOR SPECIAL NEEDS MAN
A group of contractors spent their Saturday making badly needed repairs at the home of a South Jersey couple. Hammering away at what will soon be a renovated wheelchair-accessible bathroom. “We’re going to make a full shower accessible that way a wheelchair can get in here,” Scott D’Antonio, of Hometown Heroes for Special Needs, said. Ray Rowand has been married to Debbie for six years. Within a year of tying the knot, a slew of health issues began. “Four strokes, colon cancer, C. diff, a super pubic catheter,” Debbie said…
COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT WON'T TAKE DISABILITY CASE TO SUPREME COURT FOLLOWING PROTESTS
Responding to intense protests from the disability community, the Los Angeles Community College District’s Board of Trustees has backed down from appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court over a lawsuit filed by two blind students claiming they were denied equal access to education. During a closed session meeting Wednesday night, the board voted unanimously ahead of a deadline to direct its lawyers to refrain from appealing to the high court over the 2017 lawsuit and to continue instead with mediation…
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SECURES SETTLEMENT TO RESOLVE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE WITH OPIOID USE DISORDER
Today the Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Ready to Work, a not-for-profit residential, work and social services program for individuals who are homeless, with facilities in Aurora and Boulder, Colorado. Under the agreement, Ready to Work will not deny services on the basis of disability, including OUD, or apply standards or criteria that screen out individuals with disabilities. The agreement also requires Ready to Work to adopt non-discrimination policies, train staff on its non-discrimination obligations, and report on compliance. Ready to Work will also pay damages to the Complainant…
LAWSUIT TO FORCE CHICAGO TO RETROFIT INTERSECTIONS FOR VISION-IMPAIRED PEDESTRIANS ADVANCES
Andy Slater, a legally blind 47-year-old media artist and singer for The Velcro Lewis Group psychedelic funk band, calls Chicago’s dearth of accessible pedestrian signals “a huge pain in the ass.” Installed at stoplight intersections, accessible pedestrian signals (APS) are devices that constantly emit a “tock” sound to alert people with visual impairments of their locations. When a person pushes a button on the gadget, they’re provided with a recorded message or other auditory and tactile cues that tell them whether or not they have a walk signal…
DESIGNING ACCESSIBLE PRODUCTS FOR USERS WITH DISABILITIES
Designing Accessible Products For Users With Disabilities : Accessibility is the need of people with disabilities regarding using specific services, products, and facilities. To ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy the same comfort as others, various companies are creating devices and products to meet their needs. The attempt to meet the diverse requirements of millions of people with disabilities through product design is generally termed as accessible design. Many companies are approaching accessibility as a major input mode, to designing something to offer a complete user experience.
ADA LAWSUITS SKYROCKETING, WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS NOT FOLLOWED
Owning and operating a campground has never been a piece of cake. The same holds true for most small businesses, but campground owners had the added burden of dealing with weather, natural disasters, and a mostly seasonal/transient labor force. Now, you can add legal liability for their website content to the liability list, thanks to skyrocketing ADA lawsuits. For the past few years, the number of Americans with Disabilities Act Title III (ADA) lawsuits related to U.S. websites has skyrocketed….
BIDEN'S HHS PUSHES 'DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, ACCESSIBILITY' AGENDA TO RACIALIZE GOVERNMENT
The Department of Health and Human Services is creating a “strategic plan” to advance goals for “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” in the federal workforce, according to an internal document obtained by The Daily Signal. The strategic plan at HHS, implemented in response to Biden’s executive order in June 2021, will build on existing diversity initiatives already in line with administration policy. Because HHS is the largest grant-making agency in the federal government, awarding more dollars than all other agencies combined, its final strategic plan to increase diversity likely will influence who or what entities will be awarded grants in the future…
PEOPLE KEEP TELLING ME I'M 'TOO YOUNG TO BE SICK.' HERE'S WHAT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND
My mother, who is 70, takes only one pill a day. I am 30, and because of all the pills I take, my bag sounds like a rainstick. I have a primary care doctor, a rheumatologist, a pain management doctor, a gastroenterologist, an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, a physical therapist, a talk therapist, a psychiatrist and a rectal surgeon — all of whom I started to see with regularity over the past two years or so. Acquiring this endless buffet of specialists started about five years ago, when I was trying to narrow down a diagnosis for my worsening gastrointestinal issues…
A 31-YEAR-OLD MAN BECAME BLIND WITHIN A MONTH. UNDIAGNOSED DIABETES WAS THE CAUSE
In early September 2021, Luis Riollano, 31, noticed everything looked cloudy. He had long worn glasses to see distances and wondered if his prescription had changed. But soon, his vision worsened so much that he could barely see shapes and movements. When he visited an eye doctor, he learned the unexpected cause of his sudden blindness. “When I got diagnosed with advanced cataracts I was really really scared,” Riollano, 32, of Brooklyn, told TODAY. “Due to my age the doctor was telling me that he suspected that maybe diabetes was in play.”…
HOW DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT WILL EVOLVE IN 2022
The growth in remote-first digital communication shows no sign of slowing in 2022. The ongoing pandemic has accelerated the reliance on connected infrastructure and digital services for the daily functioning of society, meaning that digital interactions now define how we communicate. But this transformation has created a host of challenges for organizations as they struggle to keep up to date and compliant with the ever-evolving regulatory landscape. The problem for regulated industries is particularly acute
TOP TECH TIDBIT, MARCH 24 2022
