Accessibility in the News — 10/17/2025.

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Feature Stories

State IT work ‘moves pretty fast,’ NASCIO 2025 survey shows

October 13, 2025 | Source: StateScoop

NASCIO Survey: CIOs Look Ahead With Accessibility, AI

October 13, 2025 | Source: Government Technology

Accessibility emerges alongside AI as priority for state tech leaders at NASCIO annual conference

October 14, 2025 | Source: StateScoop

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers on Monday published the results of its annual membership survey. The group, which represents state governments’ highest ranking technology officials, this year prodded the broad range of jobs that CIOs must surmount — from guiding AI policies and adapting new accessibility guidelines to managing relationships across their wide enterprises — and encapsulated the current state of affairs by borrowing from the 1986 teen comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, in which the eponymous hero, played by Matthew Broderick, intones: Life moves pretty fast…

National News (U.S.)

Why Accessibility At Work Must Also Include Mental Health

October 10, 2025 | Source: Forbes

When people think about disability inclusion at work, they may often think about physical access, ramps, captions, ergonomic setups. But one of the most overlooked dimensions of accessibility is mental health. For millions of employees, anxiety, depression, and trauma are invisible disabilities that shape how they experience work. And too often, disclosing or requesting accommodations still feels risky. Now, new forces are reshaping the equation. AI is becoming embedded in hiring, performance reviews, and wellness programs, while younger generations bring higher expectations for transparency and psychological safety…

New resources coming for Charleston County voters with disabilities in 2025

October 10, 2025 | Source: WCSC

The Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections launched a new program to help voters with disabilities cast their ballots. Voters with disabilities now have access to a tool called the Accessibility Menu. The menu lists accessibility services and options for voters, including audio ballots and in-person poll assistance requests. The menu can be found at the check-in desk at all polling centers at early voting and election day locations. Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections Community Engagement Manager Haley Oryell says voters tend to be unaware of the options that are available to them at the polls…

“It doesn’t limit us.” Downtown brewery hosts blind/deaf awareness event

October 10, 2025 | Source: NBC15

It was chance to understand the challenges faced by those who are vision and/or hearing impaired. Braided River Brewery in Downtown Mobile hosted an awareness event for blindness and deafness Friday night, organized by the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Mobile Regional Center. The vision and vibes event featured blind and deaf artists and musicians.The event included braille menus and live demos of a braille writer, as well as games simulating the effects of vision and hearing impairments…

Around the World, Chronic Diseases Are Rising

October 12, 2025 | Source: Think Global Health

A new study, published in The Lancet, charts how the 25 leading contributors to global diseases have shifted between 2010 and 2023. Some leading causes of premature death and years of healthy life lost to disability or illness have plummeted—especially risks related to child and maternal health and unsanitary environments. Other challenges, mostly those connected to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, have surged. The findings speak to the power of development assistance and public health interventions to improve lives across regions—as well as to the significant impediments rising anew…

Oregon is the first state to be ‘Accessibility Verified’ by platform for travelers with disabilities

October 12, 2025 | Source: KLCC

Wheel the World is a travel planning platform focused on helping people with disabilities find locations that can accommodate their needs. The platform was founded in 2018 and has since verified over 5,000 accessible locations around the world. Through their website, travelers with disabilities can set the accessibility features they need and find hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions that align with their needs. After Wheel the World mappers visited more than 750 locations across Oregon, the platform gave out its first state-wide stamp of approval…

Americans to get $4k checks from $5.14m accessibility settlement if they live in certain state – act by October deadline

October 12, 2025 | Source: The US Sun and Lainey Feingold

Fashion giant Fashion Nova has agreed to pay $5.15 million to settle a major class action lawsuit claiming its website was inaccessible to blind users. The deal brings to a close a years-long legal battle over allegations that the retailer’s site didn’t work with screen-reading software. This locked out visually impaired shoppers from a proper online experience. The settlement covers a nationwide group and a California subclass of legally blind individuals who tried to use Fashion Nova‘s site with screen readers since February 2018…

Powerful CEO Doesn’t Let Her Disability Stop Her From Denying Employees’ PTO Requests

October 12, 2025 | Source: The Squeaky Wheel

Elizabeth Bamford holds many titles: CEO, Daughter-In-Law, Half-Marathon Participant. But in her opinion, her most important title is “Disabled Warrior”: because no matter what, she does not let her disability stop her from achieving her goals. This includes denying her employee’s PTO requests. “When I was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it was a shock” Bamford tells us. “I thought: ‘wow, is this really happening to me?’ I went to therapy. Then I went to Japan – then I went back into therapy because of some stuff that happened in Japan…

Kids enjoy accessibility-friendly Halloween near Rockford

October 12, 2025 | Source: WOOD

Halloween came early this year. A neighborhood near Rockford hosted a trick-or-treat event that was accessible for kids with mobility, sensory and neurological disabilities. One in 10 kids have a disability preventing them from doing things like trick-or-treating but this one-of-a-kind event gave kids the opportunity to participate in an accessible way. “The sidewalk is flat, there’s no bumps, we don’t have to pick up the wheelchair,” said Amanda Engstrom who brought her son, Alex, who uses a wheelchair. “On Halloween, we sometimes have to skip houses just cause we can’t get there.”…

Blind Angelina County woman receives free ramp for home, courtesy of Texas Ramp Project

October 12, 2025 | Source: KTRE

Disability accessibility is a necessity, but that doesn’t always mean it’s affordable or readily available. For the past 40 years, the Texas Ramp Project has been working with people across the state to build free and accessible wheelchair ramps for their homes. Today, a woman from Angelina County was a recipient, and it’s something she’s been waiting for for a long time. “I was so happy and I am so grateful, I don’t know how we got him, but we got him,” Sylvia Martinez, the ramp recipient, said…

Researchers making AEDs more accessible for deaf users

October 13, 2025 | Source: Spectrum News

A sudden cardiac arrest comes with no warning signs. And the survival rate is low. Nearly 90% of cardiac arrests that happen outside of the hospital each year are deadly, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. However, chances for survival can go up significantly if a bystander uses an automated external defibrillator. “Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, anytime,” Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub Executive Director Tiffany Panko said. “Often people assume that it’s only older people, but it can be younger people with a variety of different situations, whether they’re athletes or they’re just in their dorm…

Kewaskum mothers work to build Washington County’s largest accessible playground by next fall

October 13, 2025 | Source: TMJ4

A playground in Kewaskum is getting a makeover so people of all abilities can do things like go down the slide. The Creekside Camp All Abilities Playground committee is working to build the biggest all abilities accessible playground in Washington County, with construction planned to start in the spring and open in the fall of 2026. Kewaskum native Anna Cain’s son, Baylor, was born with spinal muscular atrophy and died as an infant nine years ago. She chairs the committee working to build the playground in his honor…

Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education

October 13, 2025 | Source: NPR

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

October 13, 2025 | Source: USA Today

Education Department layoffs threaten special ed system, advocates warn

October 14, 2025 | Source: USA Today

Explainer: What the Government Shutdown Means for SNAP, WIC, and Disability Programs

October 14, 2025 | Source: American Association of People with Disabilities

Sweeping layoffs announced Friday by the Trump administration landed another body blow to the U.S. Department of Education, this time gutting the office responsible for overseeing special education, according to multiple sources within the department. The reduction-in-force, or RIF, affects the dozens of staff responsible for roughly $15 billion dollars in special education funding, and for making sure states provide special education services to the nation’s 7.5 million children with disabilities…

Philly officials pledge to make 250th anniversary festivities accessible to people with disabilities

October 13, 2025 | Source: Audacy

Officials involved in the city’s 2026 semiquincentennial have pledged that the festivities will be accessible to all Philadelphians, including those with disabilities. City Councilmember Kendra Brooks called a hearing last week on the matter because of her own difficulties helping people with disabilities navigate past city events. “We have an opportunity this year to do better,” she said. “With so many people affected and so many public dollars going into preparations for 2026, the city must take the time to listen and respond to the needs of people with disabilities.”…

North Little Rock takes a big step to make city websites more accessible for the disabled

October 13, 2025 | Source: KATV

North Little Rock leaders are taking steps to make the city’s website more accessible, including for those with disabilities. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 requires government websites to be accessible to everyone. The National Federation of the Blind- Central Arkansas Chapter is grateful that one city council member in North Little Rock is taking the next step to implement it, and will be present at NLR’s City Council meeting Monday night at 6:00. “I think this will be a stepping stone to improvements online for the blind community,” said North Little Rock resident and president of the National Federation of the Blind, Arkansas Central Chapter, Wesley Hillman…

Historic Vergennes Opera House takes major step toward accessibility

October 13, 2025 | Source: VTDigger

For years, nearly every event at the historic Vergennes Opera House has seen attendees with accessibility needs either turned away or a struggle up the stairs or to the auditorium, longtime volunteers said. Come summer of 2026, that issue will be history, thanks to the efforts of a nonprofit residents group managing the building. Construction is underway for a $2.2 million All Access Project that will make the building ADA accessible. The project has been long overdue, according to Gerianne Smart, president of the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House, a nonprofit created in 1993 that reopened the theater in 1997, an achievement celebrated with a sold-out Vermont Symphony Orchestra performance, according to its website…

Disability groups urge against assessment and accountability waivers

October 14, 2025 | Source: K-12 Dive

A coalition of disability rights groups is raising concerns about states and districts waiving K-12 accountability and assessment requirements, saying these standards help set high expectations for all students, including those receiving special education services. In a letter last month to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the coalition — made up of 24 organizations including the Autism Society of America and the National Center for Learning Disabilities — urged the U.S. Department of Education to deny any state or district requests to waive accountability and assessment requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act…

The Radical Life of the Father of the Independent Living Movement

October 14, 2025 | Source: Mother Jones

Even attending university in the 1960s was a revolutionary and complicated process for Ed Roberts, who was paralyzed by polio in his early teens. Now known as the father of the independent living movement, Roberts—faced with many structural hurdles to moving through society—began pushing as a young man to win disabled people the resources to live in their communities, rather than in restrictive and often brutal institutions. His activism led to the development of independent living centers, which assist with everything from helping people find personal aides to helping to sign them up for affordable, accessible housing in to guarantee as much personal freedom and agency as possible…

For some wheelchair users, navigating Grays Ferry is a scene out of ‘Mad Max’

October 14, 2025 | Source: WHYY

William Keiper sometimes can’t leave his apartment. The 48-year-old wheelchair user lives in housing designed for people with accessibility needs, a seven-unit complex on a small side street in Grays Ferry. Due to construction on the left side of the building, there’s only access to one curb cut. When cars park and block the ramp, he has no way of getting from the sidewalk to the street. He has to call the police and wait for a tow truck. “I’m held prisoner in my own home,” Keiper said. Navigating Philadelphia’s neighborhoods poses a challenge for wheelchair users in the city…

The Trump Administration’s Plans To Covertly Cut Social Security Disability Benefits

October 14, 2025 | Source: Center for American Progress

Trump Administration Abruptly Cut Off Highly Effective Support for Disabled People Experiencing Homelessness

October 6, 2025 | Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Social Security, including disability benefits, is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in the United States. As of August 2025, 8.1 million people received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and 7.3 million people received federal Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI). Yet the program is now under threat: The Trump administration has plans to propose regulatory changes that, if finalized, could represent the biggest Social Security disability cut in history. Among the expected proposals are changes that would prevent people, especially older adults, from qualifying for disability benefits—with devastating consequences…

Disability advocates continue to aim towards accessible future in SC

October 14, 2025 | Source: WIS

Disability advocates across South Carolina see more efforts for an accessible future in public spaces statewide. In recent memory, accessibility to restaurants, theaters, stadiums, and many other venues has become common for people with disabilities. Randolph Dong, a legal director with Disability Rights South Carolina, says that in the past, this was not the case, and it can lead people with disabilities to feel isolated. Over the years, it has become a mandate in many areas for places to install ADA-compliant ramps, bathrooms, and other amenities, but that was not the case for quite some time…

Disabled Idaho Students Lack Access to Playgrounds and Lunchrooms. Historic $2 Billion Funding Will Do Little to Help

October 15, 2025 | Source: ProPublica

At an elementary school in southwest Boise, Idaho, in the fall of 2020, children in pre-K went to their recess on the playground, laughing and climbing ladders to reach the slide. One 3-year-old boy sat on the sidelines. The loose woodchips prevented the boy, who uses a wheelchair, from joining his classmates. There were no swings he could use or textured panels or blocks he could play with. The only student in the class who used a medical stroller, he was relegated to watching his classmates play as a staff member stood with him…

Queens library agrees to major accessibility upgrades after disability rights lawsuit

October 16, 2025 | Source: Gothamist and The Architect’s Newspaper

A Queens library that made headlines for leaving disabled visitors behind — despite its striking design — will soon undergo major renovations to improve accessibility. The Hunters Point Library in Long Island City will now need to improve its accessibility as part of a class-action settlement finalized last week. The settlement resolves a yearslong legal case filed in 2019, shortly after the popular library branch opened. It was brought in federal court by Disability Rights Advocates, a nationwide nonprofit, on behalf of plaintiff Tanya Jackson…

Hiring people with disabilities makes organizations stronger

October 16, 2025 | Source: Fortune

In recent years, leaders from the private sector, government, and nonprofits have increasingly recognized the value a diverse workforce brings to their organizations. More and more employers are realizing that having different perspectives in the room to inform and make decisions creates a stronger and more resilient organization. The concept is simple: People with different backgrounds bring different, often complementary skill sets to an organization. These in turn help make organizations better suited to navigate a complex and dynamic world…

Jack Fact — According to the CDC, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house. There are 234,000 annual bathroom-related injuries in the U.S, with 81% caused by falls.

Hit The Road Jack —Changes make Rocky Mountain National Park more accessible for people with disabilities and Get outside and enjoy NH’s accessible spaces! and Canberra’s best accessible trails and How Oregon became first state to earn ‘accessibility verified’ travel designation

International News

Government ‘has lost its way’ on accessible housing, after new towns report ignores disabled people

October 9, 2025 | Source: Disability News Service- UK

The government has been accused of losing its way on accessible housing, after refusing to explain why a report by its “taskforce” on delivering a series of new towns across England does not include a single mention of disabled people. The independent report – commissioned by the government – recommends 12 potential locations for new towns across England, with at least 10,000 new homes in each location. But the 135-page report contains only two brief references to the need for accessibility, either with the new homes themselves or the built environment surrounding them, and there is no mention of working-age disabled people…

Canadian employers rethinking absence management practices as disability claims rise: report

October 10, 2025 | Source: HR Reporter- Canada

Employers are refining their short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) benefit structures to accommodate the changing needs of employees, according to a Gallagher report. Most companies maintain a 17-week STD benefit, but more are extending coverage to 26 weeks to align with public programs, notes the report. Employers are tailoring elimination periods and income replacement formulas to better suit workforce needs. For LTD, 93 per cent of employers continue to offer coverage, but there is a trend toward cost containment and plan transparency, with more organisations codifying LTD policies and capping extended health and dental benefits during LTD to manage long-term costs…

Lack of manpower hinders accessibility for students with disabilities in colleges

October 10, 2025 | Source: Times of India

Lack of manpower is responsible for colleges not being made accessible for students with disabilities, Spandan, Inclusion Accessibility Consultancy Services, founder Neha Trivedi said on Thursday at International Purple Fest. “Teachers are definitely overworked and cannot handle inclusive education services. Inclusive education services is an activity of its own account. It’s like counselling services… you cannot expect teachers to be counsellors. Just like you need specialised counsellors on campuses, you need dedicated disability officers at least in institutes that have more than 25 students,” she said…

‘I’m not equal’: The ‘demeaning’ access issues faced by disabled passengers

October 10, 2025 | Source: ITV News Anglia- UK

Disabled passengers using the UK railways have described the “demeaning” experiences that leave them feeling they are not being treated equally – as groups call for rail renationalisation to be a moment for change. With Greater Anglia due to be nationalised on 12 October and C2C having done so in July, the charity Transport for All has called on the government to “overhaul” accessibility under Great British Railways. To find out what that could look like, ITV News Anglia has filmed with disabled rail users to understand the barriers they face – and asked them what they want to see change in the future…

BusinessAI is rewriting accessibility for a more inclusive Canada

October 10, 2025 | Source: Digital Journal- Canada

“Whether you identify as having a disability or you don’t, at some point in your life, you’re going to benefit from an access feature.” Maayan Ziv, founder and CEO of AccessNow, wasn’t speaking in abstractions. She’s talking about a reality that touches the estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide experiencing significant disability, according to the World Health Organization. That’s nearly one in six people navigating daily environments built with varying levels of inclusion, and often, none at all. At Elevate Festival in Toronto, Ziv joined Google Canada’s Natasha Walji to talk about how artificial intelligence is changing that landscape…

OTT players welcome Ministry of I&B’s accessibility draft; flag rollout hurdles for smaller platforms

October 10, 2025 | Source: Storyboard18- India and MediaNews4U

When the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) released its draft Guidelines for Accessibility of Content on OTT Platforms for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment earlier this week, it marked a historic moment for India’s digital entertainment ecosystem. The draft, open for public comments until October 22, 2025, proposes a phased plan to make online curated content inclusive through features like closed captions, audio descriptions, and Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation – a move that brings OTT regulation closer to the principles of equality and accessibility enshrined in the Indian Constitution and international human rights conventions…

Boardwalk at Miramar gives PwDs taste of accessible beach

October 12, 2025 | Source: The Times of India

On the occasion of International Purple Fest, Goa govt’s installation of a dedicated boardwalk at the Miramar beach for persons with disabilities (PwDs) was a powerful statement on inclusion and accessibility. By creating space where mobility is not a privilege but a right, the initiative reimagines public infrastructure as equitable and universally accessible. Anu Jain, an artist from Bengaluru who is bound by a wheelchair, said she finds it difficult to access many parts of the city she lives in because of a lack of inclusive planning…

International Purple Fest: Three landmark initiatives launched to promote accessibility for persons with disabilities

October 12, 2025 | Source: DD News- India and Deccan Herald

On the second day of the International Purple Fest Goa 2025, three transformative initiatives were unveiled to strengthen accessibility in listening, reading, and writing for persons with disabilities, marking a step forward in inclusive education and skill development. The International Purple Fest Goa 2025, held from October 9 to 12, is a landmark global event promoting inclusion and accessibility. It was hosted by the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Goa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and United Nations India…

Consultation for public transport accessibility reforms

October 13, 2025 | Source: Infrastructure Magazine- Australia

The Federal Government is seeking feedback on legislative reforms that will improve public transport accessibility for people with disability. The government is updating the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 to improve accessibility and support independent travel, meaning travellers can plan and undertake their journeys with a greater level of certainty. This is the first major reform to the Transport Standards since they were introduced over 20 years ago. These reforms include…

Autism myths and misinformation in a ‘grey zone’ of legal ramifications

October 13, 2025 | Source: Law Society Journal- Australia

Annie Crowe is a human rights lawyer turned CEO of NeuroAccess, a consultancy specialising in neurodiversity, disability rights, and inclusive workplace design. She is recognised as a leading voice on systemic accessibility reform, helping organisations and governments build environments where neurodivergent, disabled, and chronically ill people can thrive. She tells LSJ Online, “Once misinformation enters the public sphere, especially around something as deeply personal and emotional as pregnancy and disability, it’s almost impossible to undo the harm. Even if studies are later debunked or retracted, the initial headlines tend to stick in people’s minds far more than the corrections.”…

Youths with autism harvest corn, hope on north China farm

October 13, 2025 | Source: Big News Network- China

On a sunny autumn day, teenagers and their parents were busy harvesting corn and sweet potatoes on a piece of farmland in north China’s Tianjin Municipality. “We ate the corn we grew ourselves. It’s very yummy,” said Yunyao, a pseudonym, who is a 17-year-old autistic youth, smiling shyly as he shucked corn. Located in Tianjin’s Xiqing District, Hui’ai Farm, which translates to a farm that collects love, was established by eight families with autistic or intellectually disabled children. Yunyao’s father, Zhu Xijun, is one of the founders of the farm…

Disability economy offers untapped millions, accessibility advocate tells Jersey

October 14, 2025 | Source: Jersey Evening Post- UK

Businesses and destinations that embrace accessibility are opening the door to a vast, often overlooked market, according to the founder of ‘Purple Tuesday’. Mike Adams, who was in Jersey to promote disability inclusion last week, highlighted the “purple pound” – the spending power of disabled people and their families – was now valued at £274 billion and rising by 14% each year. “Unlock accessibility, and you open up a market for businesses and organisations and you drive a better quality for people like me,” Mr Adams said. “It’s a win, win, win.”…

52% of disabled music fans avoid gigs due to lack of accessibility

October 14, 2025 | Source: Mixmag- UK

52% of disabled music fans say they avoid gigs due to a lack of accessibility at venues, a new survey has found. Accessibility platform Transreport asked 1,000 people with disabilities in the UK about the primary issues in partaking in live music events – nearly 7 in 10 said that concert venues are “ill-equipped” to accommodate them. According to respondents, some of the biggest barriers in attending gigs include difficulty getting in and out of venues, overcrowding, and a restricted view of the stage…

OTT accessibility guidelines for hearing, visually impaired to be finalised in 3 months: Delhi HC told

October 16, 2025 | Source: Mint- India

The Centre on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that it would finalise the accessibility guidelines for hearing and visually impaired persons on over-the-top (OTT) platforms in the next three months. Justice Sachin Datta took on record the government undertaking that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has published the draft guidelines on its official website for comments from stakeholders and public. The court was hearing a petition filed by visually impaired persons who were aggrieved by the lack of disabled-friendly accessibility features in recently released Bollywood movies on OTT platforms…

Dining accessibility on rise as restaurants cater to swallowing disorders

October 16, 2025 | Source: Kyodo News- Japan

An increasing number of restaurants in Japan are offering meals designed for individuals with dysphagia, a swallowing disorder that makes eating and drinking difficult. This movement has been warmly welcomed not only by those affected but also by their families, who see it as an opportunity to reclaim the joy of dining out together. Tonden Holdings Ltd., which operates 95 Japanese restaurants in Hokkaido — the country’s northernmost main island — as well as in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, and Gunma, is one restaurant group that has introduced meals for people with swallowing difficulties…

Disabled Bristol hotel guest said he had to sleep in wheelchair

October 16, 2025 | Source: BBC- UK

A man said he had to sleep in his wheelchair in a hotel for three nights despite the room he booked being advertised as accessible. Wheelchair user Rohan Tarry, from Fishponds in Bristol, has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). He and his wife booked a room at The Bristol Hotel from 27 to 29 August, but Mr Terry ended up having to sleep in his wheelchair and unable to use the toilet, something he said had “destroyed” the holiday. The Bristol Hotel said it “cares deeply about how we look after all of our guests” and it followed the required disability rules…

ACTA’s Accessibility Advisor Directory: A Step Forward But a Long Way to Go

October 16, 2025 | Source: Travel Market Report- Canada

Many years ago, at 23, I worked as a publicist for the late David Onley, who was then a reporter with Citytv and would later serve as the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Part of my job was to arrange for our on-air personalities to speak at events. I unknowingly arranged for David to speak at a venue that wasn’t accessible. Rather than get mad, he took me aside afterwards and gently explained what questions I needed to ask when I was vetting him to attend an event; is the washroom on the main floor? Are the doors at the venue wide enough for his scooter? How many steps is it to get onto the stage?…

In the parish: Simple adaptions to maximise your church’s accessibility

October 17, 2025 | Source: Church Times- UK

Picture this: a young man walks into his kitchen. He sits down at the table and picks up an apple from the fruit bowl. He looks at the apple, then bites into it, and chews slowly with a smile. What colour is the apple? Most people can immediately see the picture, even with those few words, and can describe the colour, shape, and size of the apple — and probably what the man is wearing, and the colour of the office walls. For others of us, myself included, we get a weak image, or no visual imagery at all…

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Have you received an accessibility demand letter because of your website or application? Please contact us for any questions you have about our accessibility services and how we might support your organization.

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Accessible Website and Application Development— We rely heavily on accessibility best practices and using HTML5 and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) standards to build WCAG-compliant and human-tested accessible environments. Our teams are proficient in open source technologies such as WordPress, Drupal and Moodle, as well as custom frameworks in .NET, PHP, AngularJS, and other frameworks. Our Learning and Development team can also help you create accessible custom training.
Accessible Document Services— Whether you’re dealing with a few or a warehouse of Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, or other files, there are several ways Microassist can enable your team to offer documents and materials that meet stringent accessibility standards.
Accessibility Remediation— Our accessibility remediation services help you fix existing materials so that they conform to WCAG, Section 504 and 508, Department of Education OCR, and ADA Title II/III requirements. We remediate websites, applications, documents, and elearning, recommending re-creation when that is more efficient and economical. Especially for website and applications, to find out what is in need of remediation, we’ll start with an Accessibility Audit.
Accessibility Training— With several courses available for developers, testers, and content creators, your team can become equipped to consistently and expertly produce accessible digital products and online environments.
VPAT^®Evaluation Services— Primarily used by government purchasers and government vendors during the procurement and sale of ICT products and services under Section 508, a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template^® (VPAT) attests to the accessibility of a given product or service. Contact us to make sure the VPAT you write or review is accurate and meaningful.

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Beyond AI: NASCIO Survey Puts Accessibility On Top of State Tech Priorities