Access To Public Spaces Depends On Who Is Fighting For It

Chalkboard sign with "Welcome, Please Come In" written on it. Advocates for website accessibility remind their readers that customer services is another benefit of website accessibility.Accessibility in the News — 5/1/2026.

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Accessibility in the News (AITN)- Knowledge is Power

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” ― C. Everett Koop

Access. Dignity. Justice. For everyone.

 

Feature Stories

 

Myrtle Beach urged to restore beach accessibility services for people with disabilities

April 28, 2026    |   Source: WPDE

Myrtle Beach council considers free beach wheelchairs for accessibility

April 28, 2026    |   Source: WMBF News

Myrtle Beach looks to bring back free beach wheelchairs

April 29, 2026    |   Source: The Post and Courier

Myrtle Beach city manager faces backlash after beach wheelchair access debate

April 30, 2026    |   Source: ABC Myrtle Beach leaders are facing renewed calls to make the city’s shoreline more accessible for people with disabilities, after beach services dedicated to handicap accessibility stopped during COVID and were never brought back. The issue was discussed at a Myrtle Beach workshop Tuesday morning, where Adaptive Surf Project founder Luke Sharp asked City Council to reinstate resources for people with mobility issues. Sharp offered to supply the city with a mat and beach wheelchairs. “Buildng some ADA ramps is great, but having zero matting and zero beach wheelchairs is not saying that you’re welcome at our beach,” Sharp said…

Denver accessibility advocate upset after RTD paints bus with her image: “Wild and maddening”

April 30, 2026    |   Source: CBS Denver’s Kalyn Rose Heffernan isn’t afraid of being loud. Not when it comes to her music, nor when it comes to fighting for what she believes in. “I rolled for mayor in 2018 through 2019 and a big part of my platform was free, accessible transit,” Heffernan said. “I’m an advocate.” The former Denver mayoral candidate, local musician, and accessibility advocate says if people want to get in touch, it isn’t hard. “I’m really easy to find,” she said. So she was shocked when, earlier this week, someone sent her a photo of her image, front and center, on a Regional Transportation District bus…

Portland’s TriMet accessibility upgrades help riders with disabilities navigate the system

April 29, 2026    |   Source: FOX12 TriMet’s phase-out of its original Type 1 trains addressed more than aging equipment. Riders with accessibility issues had trouble getting on and off the trains, and others couldn’t navigate the platforms. Patricia Kepler has navigated Portland’s transit system since 1995. Years ago, the system looked different for riders with disabilities. “We didn’t used to have the audible stop announcements on the vehicles, so we had to rely on asking a driver, Hey, let me know when you get to the stop, and sometimes they remember it, sometimes they didn’t,” Kepler said….

National News (U.S.)

 

New focus on autism fuels debate over splitting the spectrum

April 27, 2026    |   Source: PBS News Last year, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thrust autism into the national spotlight, calling the developmental disability an epidemic and vowing to investigate what he characterized as its environmental causes. His speech and the reaction to it struck a nerve in the autism community and reignited debate about whether the autism spectrum is too broad and whether those with the highest needs are being left out of the conversation. Judy Woodruff and producer Mary Fecteau have this story. It’s part of our series Disability Reframed…

‘Don’t mind if I do’: Northampton exhibit brings art to visitors in a unique and accessible way

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Valley Advocate Brooklyn-based artist Finnegan Shannon, who is disabled, has often wondered what it would be like to experience art without limitations. Shannon, who has trouble standing and walking and experiences pain doing both, dreamed of a museum exhibit where they could sit down — and the artwork would come to them. “As an artist, I’m excited about seeing other artwork,” they explained. “Often museum or gallery visits are not structured in a way that feels easy or supportive.” Shannon, whose most recent exhibit, “Don’t mind if I do,” is on display at the Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA) until June 28, wasn’t new to probing these limitations…

House Passes Tartaglione Bill to Modernize Accessibility Standards in Pennsylvania

April 28, 2026 Source: PA Senate Democrats Senator Tina Tartaglione (D-2, Philadelphia) today announced that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed her legislation, Senate Bill 867, with overwhelming bipartisan support, marking a major step forward in restoring and modernizing the Commonwealth’s process for adopting updated accessibility standards in building codes.“For people with disabilities, accessibility is absolutely essential,” said Senator Tartaglione. “With the House’s strong support, we are one step closer to ensuring Pennsylvania no longer falls behind and instead moves forward with modern, practical standards that allow everyone to fully participate in their communities.”…

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families

April 28, 2026    |   Source: ProPublica Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college…

The Cost of “I Do” in the Disability Community

April 28, 2026    |   Source: Ford Foundation When Patrice Jetter and Garry Wickham became engaged, the first decisions were of small, giddy consequence: where to hold the ceremony, who to invite, what to wear. But soon enough, a far weightier question eclipsed them all: whether they could afford to marry at all. They learned that, as people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid coverage from the American government, their benefits will likely be cut if they wed, or even moved in together. “People with disabilities need their benefits for survival, and there’s no reason that a person with a disability shouldn’t be able to get legally married and keep them,” said Jetter…

DPI finds Durham County Youth Home residents were improperly denied special education access

April 28, 2026    |   Source: WRAL Durham County Youth Home residents with disabilities were improperly denied special education services in early 2025, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has found. The students did not have access to their required special educational services while the facility was in lockdown during that time, DPI found. The Durham County Youth Home is a county-run facility that provides a home and services to juveniles accused of an offense who are awaiting a court disposition of their case. Children housed there can still receive education…

Missouri lawmakers send website accessibility lawsuit bill to governor

April 29, 2026    |   Source: Greenway Magazine and Missouri News Network

Calvert, Obernolte propose bill to minimize ‘meritless’ ADA lawsuits

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Ripon Advance Last week, Missouri lawmakers sent Governor Mike Kehoe a bill aimed at curbing what supporters describe as abusive website accessibility lawsuits, a legal issue that has affected small businesses, nonprofits, and regulated industries across the state, including Missouri’s cannabis industry. Senate Bills 907, 1154 and 1272, combined under the “Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation,” have been delivered to the governor and carry an effective date of Aug. 28, 2026, according to the Missouri Senate’s bill page…

Sgt. Bluff story walk adds braille for accessibility

April 29, 2026    |   Source: KTIV The Sgt. Bluff Public Library has added braille to its story walk at the town’s recreation complex trail, making the children’s stories accessible to visually impaired readers. The library started the story walk a couple of years ago as a way to add to the community center and for people to be able to walk and read with their grandkids and kids, said Mary Torgerson, Sgt. Bluff Public Library director. The walk highlights a 20-30 page children’s book that is switched out once a month. “We have a young patron who is visually impaired,” Torgerson said…

Early Dementia Signs May Have Two ‘Breakpoints’ Years Before Diagnosis

April 29, 2026    |   Source: HuffPost A new study, published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, has found that early symptoms of dementia may appear in two “windows,” years before diagnosis. They found that cognitive tests, blood biomarkers, and brain scans changed beginning from people’s late 50s. Dr Mingzhao Hu, an assistant professor in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Quantitative Health Sciences and first author of the study, said: “By estimating the ages when changes in health markers become more noticeable, the results show that many of these shifts tend to happen from late 50s through early 70s.”…

Her Sweet Spot Is Helping Legislative Staff Do Their Best Work

April 29, 2026    |   Source: National Conference of State Legislatures Molly Rosentreter didn’t plan to work in the Minnesota Legislature. She began her career in tech support at an alarm and home automation company. But gradually, she sought out chances to coach and train new employees and expand her responsibility. “I started in the tech support role and then took on any opportunities I could, like coaching new people,” she says. “So, I’ve just found myself often either coaching or teaching.” Eventually, she became an external technical trainer. She’d been working at the company for a few years when she began to explore new career opportunities…

Mass of Inclusion highlights faith, accessibility, community

April 30, 2026    |   Source: Catholic Star Herald Faithful from across the Diocese filled the pews inside Saint Frances Cabrini Church, Saint Damien Parish, on April 26 in celebration of faith and inclusivity. The Mass of Welcome and Inclusion is celebrated every April, which is Autism Acceptance Month. Planned with accessibility in mind, the liturgy incorporates softer lighting, omits incense, features a briefer homily and includes gentle music. Attendees are invited to engage in ways that suit their needs, including using items such as headphones, sunglasses, fidget toys or stepping out as needed…

Justice Department Settles Disability Discrimination Case Against Property Management Company for $750,000

April 30, 2026    |   Source: Department of Justice The Justice Department announced today a $750,000 agreement to settle allegations that Indian Oaks Apartments LTD, Russell Management Services LLC, H.J. Russell and Company, and The Russell Realty LP violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a mother’s requests for a ground-floor unit because her son had been diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes permanent mobility impairment. This settlement is the second largest ever obtained by the department in an individual housing discrimination case…

States Continue Legal Attack on Section 504 and the Right to Live in the Community

April 30, 2026    |   Source: Disability Belongs Advocacy is continuing in the nine states still involved in Texas v. Kennedy. The court has set a schedule—from May 4 to July 7—for when each side will submit their written arguments. This is a key window for people to contact their State Attorneys General and urge them to withdraw from the case. Disability Belongs™ is re-sharing this Action Alert because the case continues to raise serious concerns for Section 504 enforcement, community living, and protections against unnecessary institutionalization…

Autism Misinformation Widespread On Social Media, Study Finds

May 1, 2026    |   Source: Disability Scoop As people increasingly turn to social media for health advice, a new study finds that much of the content circulating on these online platforms about autism and mental health issues is misleading. Researchers looked at more than 5,000 posts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X about topics ranging from autism to ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, anxiety and phobias. Misinformation was most common in posts about neurodivergence topics including autism and ADHD, according to findings published recently in the Journal of Social Media Research…
Jack Fact — According to the WHO, globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. For at least 1 billion of these people, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. Hit The Road Jack — Ireland Takes the Lead in Accessible Tourism and Brain tumour survivor lists 10 accessible walks in North Cumbria and Is Madeira truly an accessible paradise? I tackled its famous Levada trails to find out

International News

Mother calls for a more accessible world after daughter’s cerebral palsy diagnosis

April 26,2026    |   Source: ABC News- Australia Three-year-old Ayla Moyle is her mother’s whole world. And while Linley Moyle acknowledges “every mother in the world thinks their child is the most amazing”, she is adamant her young daughter “really is the most incredible little girl”. At age two, less than 12 months ago, Ayla was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, after a long journey for a diagnosis. “She has so many challenges every second of the day … and she’s such a little fighter.” Now, Ms Moyle is calling on others in her community in South Australia’s south-east to help make their region more accessible…

Basic Income for the Arts: how accessible is it for artists with disabilities?

April 26, 2026    |   Source: The Irish Times- Ireland Like many artists, Aoife Ó Ceallacháin was pleased to hear the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) scheme was being made permanent. Under the pilot, 2,000 artists received €325 a week from September 2022 to February 2026. A successor scheme, which will run from 2026 to 2029, opened to applications last week. Ó Ceallacháin, a writer and disability advocate, was not selected to take part in the pilot. She was, however, chosen to be part of a control group who received six weeks of the payment in return for taking part in surveys…

How young leaders are advocating for more inclusive and accessible urban mobility in Indian cities

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Your Story- India As Indian cities expand, urban mobility becomes central to economic and social participation. An important question arises: who are our streets and public spaces really designed for? For many women and persons with disabilities, navigating public spaces is not easy. It is marked by safety concerns, inaccessible infrastructure, and the constant need to adapt to systems that were not built with them in mind. In this scenario, youth-led initiatives are beginning to shift the conversation from abstract policy to lived experience…

More needed to improve accessibility for those with disabilities, says CPA board member

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Cayman Compass- Cayman Islands After a serious automobile accident left him paralysed from the chest down, Kenneth Ebanks, who was – and remains – a board member of the Central Planning Authority, spoke to his fellow board members about making Cayman more accessible for people with disabilities. “I made an appeal to my fellow board members that we have been overlooking many things in George Town and in the Cayman Islands in general for people with handicaps,” Ebanks said. On 21 April, Ebanks – who also sits on the National Council for Persons with Disabilities – took a trip along the George Town waterfront in his wheelchair to demonstrate how difficult it could be to navigate the roads…

Outrageous: Airport Worker Threatens Wheelchair User With Fine For Using Accessible Pick-Up Zone

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Simply Flying- Australia and ABC News Adelaide Airport (ADL) in Australia has found itself in hot water after an interaction between a wheelchair user and one of its members of staff went viral online. The video in question was recorded by 41-year-old Shane Hryhorec, a disability advocate who has been using a wheelchair since 2007 due to a spinal injury, who was threatened with a fine by the worker while waiting to be picked up from the airport’s disability pick-up zone. With the interaction having garnered millions of views on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, Adelaide Airport has confirmed that neither Shane nor his mother, who was at the airport to pick him up, would be issued a fine…

Charity Digital – Topics – What does a digitally inclusive future look like?

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Charity Digital- UK In today’s digitising society, exclusion from digital connection has consequences. As society goes digital, not being online can impact on a person’s health, reduce access to information, create barriers to essential services, and make it harder to connect socially. Since the internet became a staple in most people’s lives in the 2000s, public services, bank branches, and employment opportunities have shifted online. The way many people consume media, engage with politics, and interact with each other has transformed. Digital technologies have advanced more rapidly than any other innovation in our history and have become a defining feature of our world today…

China’s draft law calls for more accessible, efficient social assistance

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Xinhua- China Chinese lawmakers are advancing a draft law aimed at strengthening basic living support and building a stronger safety net for vulnerable groups. The draft law on social assistance calls for optimizing procedures based on practical needs and improving accessibility and convenience for the public. It was submitted on Monday to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the national legislature, for its third reading. A newly added provision seeks to refine the financial verification mechanism for applicant households and enhance the efficiency of the eligibility assessment and approval process…

Getting the most out of barrier-free tours for yourself or someone with a disability

April 26, 2026    |   Source: The Associated Press- Germany For people living with disabilities, barriers to tourism can range from the obvious — such as an out-of-service elevator — to the unseen, like an outing that’s too long or a setting that’s too loud. As the baby boom generation ages, the travel industry is increasingly catering to older adults with the time and money to sightsee internationally and who sometimes need additional assistance. Truly inclusive accessibility, though, accommodates a much greater range of tourists, from individuals with physical disabilities to people with autism or dementia…

Bill 101 a ‘smokescreen,’: disability, education advocates

April 27, 2026    |   Source: Northwest Ontario News- Canada A number of organizations representing students with disabilities say a recent education bill will centralize too much power in government and weaken parents’ voices. At Queen’s Park on Monday, representatives from the Ontario Autism Coalition, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, and Ontario Parents for Education Support, held a press conference to sound the alarm over what they say Bill 101 will do the province’s education system and changes they’d like to see. It came hours before two of those groups were scheduled to speak to the bill in the legislature…

Manitoba Possible launches campaign to help build new accessible space

April 28, 2026    |   Source: CTV News- Canada A local non-profit aimed at eliminating barriers for people with disabilities is raising funds to help transform its new home. On Tuesday, Manitoba Possible launched its Breaking Barriers Capital Campaign – an initiative to raise $3.8 million for the organization’s new space in Winnipeg’s North End. “The Breaking Barriers campaign is incredibly important to us,” said Lindsey Cooke, CEO of Manitoba Possible. “It wouldn’t be possible without community and donors who are supporting this work to make spaces like this come to life and really be possible.”…

Countryside accessibility for disabled people remains a national failure

April 28, 2026    |   Source: The European Magazine- Wales The British countryside is often described as a shared national treasure — a place to breathe, think and recover. It is tied to our very identity: open fields, public footpaths and rolling landscapes that are supposed to belong to everyone. But for many disabled people, that sense of shared access does not exist. Access instead remains conditional. A recent case highlights this starkly: a new £1million “accessible” countryside route in Denbighshire, Wales, that has turned out to be anything but accessible to wheelchair users…

Event planners want to deliver accessible events but lack confidence, clarity and support, new research reveals

April 30, 2026    |   Source: Event Industry News- Wales A lack of clarity, confidence and budget is preventing event planners from delivering accessible events, according to new research from The Business of Events and ICC Wales, conducted with accessibility specialist Dr Shani Dhanda and supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events. Based on feedback from over 50 event planners last month, this latest phase of the ‘Access All Areas: Closing the Accessibility Gap in Events’ research builds on findings released last November, which revealed 93% of disabled delegates encounter barriers when attending events…

Disability group to sue French state over accessibility failures

April 30, 2026    |   Source: The Connexion- France The disability rights group APF France handicap is suing the French state over what it describes as systemic failures in enforcing accessibility laws, starting with legal action against six prefectures in the Centre-Val de Loire region. The case follows long-standing concerns that, despite legislation requiring buildings and transport systems to be accessible to people with disabilities since 2005, implementation remains incomplete. According to estimates cited by Franceinfo, less than half of France’s two million public establishments comply with accessibility standards..

Government invites feedback on disability law online, but target group is locked out

April 30, 2026    |   Source: The Kathmandu Post- Nepal The Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens published a public notice on April 10, inviting feedback on a draft amendment to the Act Relating to Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2017. The notice and the draft remain available on the ministry’s website. However, the very people the law is meant to serve remain shut out of the information itself. Although the document explicitly calls for making information accessible, the published notice is, in reality, not accessible. The documents were uploaded in image-based files and in Preeti font formats that screen reader software used by visually impaired people cannot interpret…

Survey finds most disabled passengers are satisfied with accessibility on ferries and cruise ships

April 30, 2026    |   Source: Disability News Service- UK Disabled passengers appear to be broadly satisfied with the accessibility of ferry and cruise ships, according to the results of a government survey. The latest survey, carried out in 2024, shows that 88 per cent of disabled passengers who received assistance to access services or facilities on the ship were satisfied or very satisfied with that support, the same proportion as in 2023, and higher than the 84 per cent in 2022. The satisfaction level rose to 92 per cent for assistance with boarding or disembarking the ship, compared with 91 per cent in 2023 and 90 per cent in 2022, according to the results of the maritime passenger accessibility survey…

Freedom of movement is a right, not a privilege: World Accessibility and Mobility Day

April 30, 2026    |   Source: GOV.UA- Ukraine On April 30, the world observes Accessibility and Mobility Day. For modern Ukraine, this day has become a symbol of a new social contract, in which the right to freedom of movement is an integral part of human dignity. The war leaves behind challenges that we see every day on the streets of our communities. This is the experience of thousands of defenders returning from the front lines, and thousands of civilians—adults and children—who are now learning anew how to interact with the world around them after sustaining injuries or complex traumas…

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