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Report: 1 in 5 Americans Have a Disability

April 30, 2009 | by

More than 20 percent of the nation’s population — or 1 in 5 Americans — have a disability, and this number will increase as baby boomers age, according to a new report by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of Americans with a disability rose 7.7 percent, or by 3.4 million people, to 47.5 million between 1999 and 2005, said the CDC in its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The aging of the population, particularly the baby boomers who were born during 1946 to 1964, has significantly contributed to the increase in disability rates. The three most common causes of disability continued to be arthritis or rheumatism, which affects 8.6 million people, followed by back or spine problems, reported by 7.6 million Americans. The third cause, heart trouble, was reported by 3 million Americans. Women had a significantly higher prevalence of disability compared with men at ... keep reading »
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Supreme Court To Weigh Special Education Funding

April 29, 2009 | by

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in an Oregon case in which a local school district contends that students should at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition. A federal appeals court sided with a high-school student identified in court papers only as T.A. The student enrolled in a $5,200-a-month private program and sought reimbursement from the Forest Grove School District. The Supreme Court heard a similar case from New York in 2007, but split 4-4 on the outcome. According to a Law.com article, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to hold the key vote, and his comments at the argument were difficult to interpret as favoring one side or the other. In the case before the Court today, T.A., now 23, was a public school student in Oregon. In spite of difficulties in school, he never used special education services. School officials evaluated ... keep reading »
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Report: iPhone OS 3.0 May Be Accessible to the Blind

April 22, 2009 | by

The next version of iPhone OS 3.0 is expected to have a voice recognition and synthesis feature, which would bring long-awaited voice dialing functionality as well as the ability to control the homescreen and launch applications via voice, according to Ars Technica. Reportedly, software frameworks discovered in the iPhone 3.0 beta represent the possibility of being able to control an iPhone by voice, which would make it more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Currently the iPhone and iPod Touch are virtually inaccessible for visually impaired users because multitouch screens don’t offer any tactile or verbal feedback. In fact, voice recognition in particular has been a heavily requested feature for the visually impaired, as well as non-disabled people who would relish being able to perform everyday tasks without having to look at the phone’s screen — say while driving or exercising. The discovery may not be such a stretch. Already, the ... keep reading »
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U.K. Scientists Develop Blindness Cure

April 22, 2009 | by

British scientists have developed the world’s first stem cell therapy to cure the most common cause of blindness: age-related macular degeneration, according to the Sunday Times of London. Surgeons predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be generally available in six or seven years’ time. The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells. It was pioneered by scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital. This week Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical research company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy to patients. keep reading »
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On Earth Day, A Pause for Universal Design

April 22, 2009 | by

Earth Day isn’t just about planting a tree. It’s a chance to remind ourselves and others about our responsibility to care for the environment for the next generation. When we talk about “green design,” such as emissions-friendly buildings, homes and cars, we’re not just talking about looking cool or doing our part. We’re actually taking steps — through design — to make our planet more sustainable. Interestingly, there is a parallel between the “green design” of products for the environment, and the “universal design” of products to be used by people with disabilities. Universal design is a framework for the design of products to be usable by the widest range of people in the widest range of situations. This includes, of course, people with disabilities. Where the green design movement addresses our core responsibility to the environment, the universal design movement starts with a responsibility to the ... keep reading »
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U.S. Steel Hit with Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

April 21, 2009 | by

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit today against United States Steel Corporation, a Pittsburgh-headquartered steel manufacturing company, claiming it violated federal law by denying a job to an applicant because of his disability. According to the EEOC’s suit, U.S. Steel’s Gary, Ind., plant rescinded an offer of employment and refused to hire an applicant when it learned of his disability through a post-job-offer medical examination. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. United States Steel Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:09-cv-093, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. “People in any workplace should be treated fairly and consistently,” said Danny R. Harter, director of the EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office. “Employees must be judged by their ability to do the ... keep reading »
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HealthReform.gov Adds Accessible Videos

April 21, 2009 | by

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is managing a new video-enabled Web site that is designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. The site, HealthReform.gov, features video messages from President Barack Obama and others on the healthcare reforms being proposed by the Obama administration. The video are streamed with a FeedRoom Access online video player, a new service by The Feedroom, a provider of online video and live streaming video. With the addition of FeedRoom Access, the site is fully compliant with Section 508, which requires federal agencies to make their electronic communications and information technology accessible to Americans with disabilities. For example, audio files have captions or transcripts for those with hearing disabilities. The site is compatible with screen readers, which are used by some people with vision impairments. Additionally the site supports alternative input devices and speech recognition technology. HealthReform.gov is serving as a model to other federal ... keep reading »
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New Yankee Stadium Shows Captions for Deaf

April 9, 2009 | by

A friend of mine alerted me to a neat addition to the new Yankee Stadium, and no — it’s not the steak sandwiches. The Yankees have installed two LCD screens on the first- and third-base facade that provide captions of all public address announcements made in between innings, including songs. The photos here shows the lyrics to the song, ‘New York, New York.’ Because all seats at the new Yankee stadium face second base, every fan will be able to see the captioning boards. It’s disappointing that the game itself isn’t captioned, but the giant, 103-by-58-foot high-definition video scoreboard in center field does have some captioning capabilities. The scoreboard is actually comprised of three adjoining, large, monitors — one in left-center, one in center, and one in right-center. Due to current captioning technology, live captioning can’t be showed on the center portion of the scoreboard, but will be provided in ... keep reading »
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Facebook to Make Site More Accessible to Blind

April 9, 2009 | by

Facebook is working with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) to make its social-networking service more accessible to users who are blind or visually impaired. The non-profit organization’s president and CEO, Carl Augusto, made this initiative a priority after finding that he and others with sight impairments had difficulties updating their profiles and using the site. Augusto, a self-described music fan who played in two garage bands when he was younger, uses Facebook to connect with former band members and fans. People who are blind or visually impaired can use computers with a screen magnification program that enlarges fonts, or they use a screen-reading program that reads the text aloud. These are quick, efficient and helpful solutions — that is, if the websites and computer programs are properly designed. Facebook presents some unique challenges because images and photos are are rarely described with a text caption, and the myriad of ... keep reading »
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Scott MacIntyre Voted Off American Idol

April 9, 2009 | by

After a weak performance on Tuesday night, Scott MacIntyre’s American Idol dream ended on Wednesday. MacIntyre received the lowest number of votes this week after Anoop Desai, and the four judges, although they said they had a 2-2 tie on whether to save MacIntyre, voted not to save him, which would have allowed him to remain on the show. In MacIntyre’s rendition of Survivor’s The Search Is Over, he chose to play electric guitar instead of his usual piano. Some of the lyrics sounded “screeched,” according to the judges, including Simon Cowell, who admonished him for not staying behind the piano — where he performs best. Still, MacIntyre raised awareness of the challenges of blindness with his talent. He’ll join the Top 10 on the American Idol Summer Tour, and says he won’t give up his dreams of being a recording artist. On the American Idol website, Scott said if he had ... keep reading »
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