On November 17, 2022, Lori Long of Salinas, California, filed a complaint with the Social Security Administration (SSA) seeking a waiver of a federal law that blocks her marriage to longtime fiancé Mark Contreras. The law cuts off Long's access to life-saving benefits if she marries. The complaint alleges that the law violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the U.S. Constitution.
THIS IS AN INCALCULABLE LOSS TO DISABILITY RIGHTS
Access Ready is in mourning with the passing of our friend Bobby Silverstein. His passing is a devastating blow to disability rights. Over the past year Bobby's thoughtful leadership and consultation put Access Ready on the disability public policy map in Washington and across the Nation. His understanding and insight into our concerns related to digital accessibility will be felt in our efforts for a long time to come. The following is from the Managing Partner of Bobby's law firm Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC.
Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and author of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today introduced the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA). The CVTA updates and amends the CVAA to keep pace with the proliferation of emerging technologies that have come online since Senator Markey’s 2010 bill was passed with bipartisan support…
AIRBNB USING AI TO VET ACCESSIBLE RENTALS
Airbnb is turning to artificial intelligence to make it easier for people with disabilities to find rentals that meet their needs. The short-term rental platform is introducing a new “adapted” category on its website this week. The new section will feature more than 1,000 homes worldwide “offering features specifically modified or designed for guests with mobility needs,” the company said. “These wheelchair accessible homes with wheelchair accessible features have been reviewed to ensure they have step-free paths into and through the home and to one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, and also at least one accessible feature in the bedroom or bathroom.”…
Philadelphia just became the latest U.S. city to agree to begin the slow process of making its sidewalks accessible to people who use assistive devices — though some say the win would be more significant if people with mobility challenges weren’t so often forced to sue to get basic access to the places where they live. On Nov. 7, the City of Brotherly Love announced the final terms of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit launched in 2019 that will require local officials to either install or fix 10,000 curb ramps over the next 15 years, at a pace of at least 2,000 ramps every three years…
WHY ACCESSIBLE SIDEWALKS FALL BY THE WAYSIDE
VOTING ACCESSIBILITY: WHY RESIDENTS SAY LANGUAGE SERVICES, ABSENTEE BALLOTS, AND MORE MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Sponsored by VOTEC
For Patrick Parkes, who was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, getting around looks different than it does for most people. Voting also looks a little different for Parkes. He says electronic voting systems have helped to ensure that his voice is heard, but he still has a lot of questions. "Are the polling stations even accessible to be able to access those stations to be able to fill out your ballot? Right? Are there curb cuts? Are there ramps? Are there accessible polling stations for folks who need to use the electronic entry points to be able to fill out their ballot?" asked Parkes…
VOTING WITH A DISABILITY: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO THE BALLOT
VOTING ACCESSIBILITY AVAILABLE AT EVANSVILLE POLLS
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR POLLS IN 24 STATES FOR COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS LAWS
HEADING OUT TO VOTE TUESDAY? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FINDING ACCESSIBLE POLLING PLACES
TEXAS VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES HAVE OPTIONS TO HELP CAST BALLOTS
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE CLASS ACTION CLAIMS WEBSITE NOT ACCESSIBLE TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED, BLIND VISITORS
Hair product company Bumble and Bumble does not make its website accessible to blind and visually impaired people using a screen reader, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Daniel Rodriguez filed the class action lawsuit against Bumble and Bumble LLC on Nov. 10 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Rodriguez is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who requires screen-reading software to read website content using their computer…
ADDING ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES TO DIGITAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES: ENHANCING INCLUSION AND THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE
A clinical trial population should mimic the patient population that will ultimately use the therapy that is being studied. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, this has not always been the case and there have been negative consequences, such as instances where people with disabilities or of certain racial groups experienced adverse effects to approved drugs that were not tested on “people like them.” Just one of the many challenges of ensuring that the clinical trial population accurately reflects the patient population, so is the challenge of the Digital Health Technologies (DHTs), such as electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO)…
BABY BOOMERS CAN'T STOP STARING AT THEIR PHONES
Too much screen time is something we usually associate with children. We think of little kids watching hours of CoComelon on iPads, or teens who would rather be absorbed in video games or YouTube than talk about their day. But there is another demographic that is struggling with putting down their devices: Baby boomers. Smartphones came into their lives late, but they were quickly won over. Now some of their children say they are hooked, staring at their screens constantly, even when they should be paying attention to their own grandchildren…
FOR MANY DISABLED PATIENTS, THE DOCTOR IS OFTEN NOT IN
Ben Salentine, associate director of health sciences managed care at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, hasn’t been weighed in more than a decade. His doctors “just kind of guess,” his weight, he said, because they don’t have a wheelchair-accessible scale. He’s far from alone. Many people with disabilities describe challenges in finding physicians prepared to care for them. “You would assume that medical spaces would be the most accessible places there are, and they’re not,” said Angel Miles, a rehabilitation program specialist with the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…
On October 28, Twitter users woke up to a new reality: Elon Musk had taken over the platform and almost immediately begun making changes. For people with disabilities who’d found an emotional support system on Twitter, anxiety over Musk’s upheaval was especially sharp. Twitter had been one of the most user-friendly social media platforms out there—with a world-class team that made sure it was usable by people who had a variety of different needs. Plus, it’d been a megaphone and a lifeline to the outside world, for those who’d been especially vulnerable during the pandemic and mostly stayed indoors. Everything was now up in the air…
TOP TECH TIDBITS NOVEMBER 30, 2022
Top Tech Tidbits. The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in adaptive technology.
