Feb 5, 2013
NEW YORK: For the millions of Americans with vision disabilities looking for a simple, convenient way to take notes at work, at school, or at home, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) launched the AccessNote™, a specialized notetaker for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Read more at
http://oldhatguide.com/a-new-app-for-notetaking-on-your-ios-device/
January 29, 2013|By Ben Wolford, Sun Sentinel
When visually impaired people gush over iPhones, they swear they aren’t just following the sighted onto the Apple bandwagon. The device isn’t simply the trendy choice for them. It’s pretty much the only choice.
Out of the package, there’s nothing you need to see and no setup necessary. Just turn it on. There are GPS apps to help navigate, count currency and detect color. Meanwhile, the iPhone is competing with Braille, and nonprofit workers in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere are offering classes on how to use it.
By Victor Schwartzman
Human Rights Nudge
February 1, 2013
Yes, even Yoda would turn cynical after the history of AODA in Ontario. Where is the Force when you need it?
Advocates who worked tirelessly in Ontario to push the Government into creating and implementing a new law (AODA) to eliminate access barriers currently do not know whether the Provincial Government has been/will be Darth Vader or Obi Wynne Kenobi.
Read more at
http://enforcement.aoda.ca/yoda-on-aoda-hmmm-the-more-aoda-faith-have-you-greater-the-disappointment-shall-you-see/
Users must register 1st, as texting alone still won’t reach emergency services
CBC News Posted: Jan 24, 2013 3:22 PM ET
Canadians who have hearing or speech problems will soon be able to send text messages to 911 services.
Other Canadians, however, must continue to communicate with 911 services over the phone, says Canada’s telecommunications regulator.
By Jan. 24, 2014, all telephone and wireless companies must upgrade their networks to support text messaging communication with Canadians who have hearing and speech impairments. The service may become available before then in areas where the upgrades are completed early.
By BusinessWirevia The Motley Fool
Posted 4:50PM 09/24/12
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Regal Entertainment Group (NYS: RGC) , a leading motion picture exhibitor owning and operating the largest theatre circuit in the United States, announced a milestone with 200 theatres nationwide now offering the Sony Entertainment Access System at theatres across the country. Regal Entertainment Group is working exclusively with Sony for this cutting-edge technology to assist moviegoers who are deaf, hard of hearing, have low vision or are blind.
Posted 09/03/2012
[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]
London, 3rd September 2012: today sees the launch of a comprehensive developer guide to addressing the accessibility issues faced by over 20% of video gamers. www.gameaccessibilityguidelines.com has been created by a group of developers and experts, coordinated by Ian Hamilton, an accessibility and usability specialist with a background in game development.
The website offers all developers guidelines on how to better serve the needs of gamers with a range of visual, hearing, speech, learning and motor conditions. The hope is that by highlighting the relatively simple changes needed, the games industry as a whole will be able to ensure that they quickly become part of its normal working practices.
By Philippa Willitts
August 1, 2012
An ‘inspirational’ photo has been making its way around Twitter and Facebook. The photograph is of Oscar Pistorius, a disabled athlete, running with a small, disabled girl. The caption, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude”, is a quote from Scott Hamilton, a former figure skater who is also a cancer survivor. There are others, too, in the same vein, including one of a small child walking with prosthetic legs and the caption, “Your excuse is invalid”.
by Elizabeth Sweeney
Posted July 18, 2012
The Roadside Memorial (Study), 2009 Montreal, Choreography by Marie-Hélène Bellavance, Dancers depicted are Marie-Hélène Bellavance and Simon-Xavier Lefebvre, Photo: Caroline Hayeur
It’s a tiny, slightly blurry, pixilated video. You can barely make out Catherine Frazee, a Canadian disability arts guru, or
the Sign Language interpreter in the bottom right-hand corner.
The video is of Frazee’s speech “Contributing to Culture,” given in 2005 during the UN International Day of Disabled Persons.
Catherine spoke eloquently about the significance of the cultural and artistic contributions of people with disabilities.
Canadians with disabilities aren’t “just looking for a few wheelchair spots in the audience,” she explained, they want
By Victor Schwartzman
A recent article in Accessibility News—Toronto Woman Wins Second Victory Ordering Government Websites Accessible to Blind (http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1203749–toronto-woman-wins-second-victory-ordering-government-websites-accessible-to-blind) illustrates the depth of the problems blind people look at.
If that last phrase was a bad joke, the Government’s actions are worse.
The Government, supposed to be our rights protector and enforcer, instead continues to fight making its own websites fully accessible. The article mentions a lack of access to possible employment, which is certainly an important problem. But the situation is worse than that.
By Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of Canada
Published: Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2012 – 5:17 am
TORONTO, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Today, the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) launched Canvassing the Country: A Moving, Canadian Art Story, an ambitious, national collaboration of disabled artists across Canada who share the determination to overcome physical adversity and use art to help achieve financial independence.
Over the next six months, selected MFPA artists across Canada will work together on a single canvas that will travel the country in anticipation and support of September’s Self-Help Awareness Week.
Each artist will paint a regional Canadian scene that serves as a source of personal inspiration.
