
Accessibility in the News — 1/31/2025.
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AITN Quote of the Week
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead
Standard Accessibility Reporting- Consumers Demand Accessibility
Feature Stories
Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained
January 24, 2025 | Source: ACLU
Federal agencies begin removing DEI guidance from websites in Trump crackdown
January 24, 2025 Source:The Associated Press
The ‘A’ in ‘DEIA’ that stands for ‘accessibility’ and its involvement in Trump’s recent executive orders
January 24, 2025 | Source: Wolters Kluwer
It’s Unclear Whether Trump Administration Removed ASL Interpreters From White House Videos
January 24, 2025 | Source: Snopes
Trump’s DEI attack may halt progress for disabled workers
January 24, 2024 | Source: Axios
What Does President Trump’s DEI Rollback Mean For Disability Inclusion?
January 24, 2025 | Source: Forbes
The FDA pulls key DEI initiative for cancer studies from its website
January 25, 2025 | Source: KACU
Trump’s dismantling of DEI
January 26, 2025 | Source: NPR
Trump brings swift changes to U.S. government websites
January 27, 2025 | Source: CBC- Canada
Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained
January 27, 2025 Source:Creators Syndicate
Federal Digital Accessibility Disappearance on Trump Day One
January 27, 2025 | Source: Eve Hill- LFLegal
Researchers are terrified of Trump’s freeze on science. The rest of us should be, too.
January 28, 2025 Source:Vox
Can You Have Accessibility Without DEI?
January 29, 2025 | Source: Sheri Byrne-Haber
Deaf non-profit considers fresh legal action against Trump administration as it drops Deaf access
January 29, 2025 | Source: Liam O’Dell
Explaining the Impact of the Federal Funding Pause on People with Disabilities
January 29, 2025 Source:American Association of People with Disabilities
The Trump administration’s three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a “shock and awe” approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed. In his first few days, President Donald Trump is undertaking a deliberate effort to obfuscate and weaponize civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether it’s for a job, a promotion, or an education…
National News (U.S.)
More Workers Are Caring For Aging Parents. Why Should Employers Care?
January 21, 2025 | Source: Forbes
The American workforce is getting older, and people are living longer. As a result, more workers than ever before are caring for aging parents during the peak of their own careers. Over 37 million Americans are providing unpaid eldercare to someone aged 65 or older, according to 2023 data from The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers can’t afford to ignore the shifting demographics of the U.S. labor market, which will accelerate this trend. Although employers have invested more in parental leave since the pandemic, far less attention has been paid to workers who are providing eldercare…
State accessibility panel weighs conflict between two worthy aims
January 23, 2025 | Source: News From The States
A meeting of the state Architectural Access Board Subcommittee on Regulations doesn’t sound like a setting for passionate debate pitting talk of civil rights against the challenge of revitalizing the state’s most economically distressed communities. But amid the invocation of obscure acronyms and weedy talk of building code subsections, that conflict was at the center of a public hearing on Wednesday, marked by emotion-filled testimony with potentially far-reaching consequences…
Personalization and Accessibility: Are Banking Apps Doing Enough?
January 24, 2025 | Source: The Financial Brand
The discourse around personalization in banking often centers around product features. But while tailoring accounts, loans, and other products to individuals’ lifestyles is undoubtedly important — according to MX, 48% would happily give banks more data in exchange for more personalized service — enabling customers to do this to the interface itself matters, too. For one, putting the individual in charge of the way their banking app looks and feels improves the user experience, boosting loyalty, trust, and engagement…
Built for access
January 24, 2025 | Source: Adirondack Daily Enterprise
A crew of locals has been working to make the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace accessible to all people this year. he Ice Palace Workers 101 builders are keeping accessibility in mind as the create the icy structure, and DJ Fowler is organizing the second annual “accessibility day” at the Palace on Feb. 4, where anyone, any age, with a mobility, mental health, physical health or chronic illness challenge can see the spectacle, park on-site or get a free bus ride to the site…
Disability advocates illustrate the importance of accessible public spaces
January 24, 2025 | Source: Iowa Public Radio
Rob Fisher has made it his mission to get all the buildings in his hometown Adel to have power assist doors. He shares his story, and then ADA liaison Molly Wuebker shares ADA requirements and mobility challenges for people with disabilities that aren’t addressed. Later, Pathfinders is partnering with the University of Iowa to lead a project that is mapping accessible parks across the state. Lastly, Pastor Le Anne Clausen de Montes serves a rural United Methodist congregation in Franklin County…
How accessible is the subway? News 12 gets a look at how a rider navigates the system
January 24, 2025 | Source: News12 The Bronx
Woodhaven Blvd JZ station becomes fully accessible with $140 million upgrade
January 25, 2025 | Source: QNS
Riding the rails can be difficult if there is bad weather or if you are running late, but it is a different challenge for wheelchair users. News 12 took a closer look at those difficulties and what the MTA is doing to help. Monica Bartley is a 70-year-old motorized wheelchair user. She was born with polio and said that never slowed her down: “It didn’t stop me from doing things that I wanted to do.” Bartley is also an advocate with the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York (CIDNY)…
Fashion Undergarment Brand Slick Chicks Expands Accessibility
January 24, 2025 | Source: Forbes
Adaptive fashion is a movement reshaping how the world approaches style and inclusivity. For decades, the one billion individuals living with disabilities have been excluded from mainstream fashion conversations, often left without clothing options that meet both their functional and aesthetic needs. However, the rise of accessibility-focused brands challenges these norms, proving that fashion can be empowering and practical. This shift isn’t just about designing for necessity—it’s about celebrating individuality and fostering a sense of belonging…
ED: How to Prioritize Accessibility in K-12 Technology
January 24, 2024 | Source: Government Technology
More collaboration among IT, special education and curriculum departments is needed to make digital learning accessible to K-12 students with disabilities, according to a brief issued by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) this week. Staff from these departments should not only team up with each other but also involve students with disabilities in decisions regarding their needs and services, and adopt an accessibility rubric to make better tech procurement decisions, the 17-page document states…
Bentonville progress clashes with accessibility for wheelchair users
January 24, 2025 | Source: 5NEWS
Gary and Eve Isbell love the perks of living in downtown Bentonville. When they moved to the city in 2019, the couple purchased a lot and built their home about a half mile from the Square. They appreciate its proximity to restaurants, shopping and recreation, allowing them to get around often without the need for a car. For Gary, however, navigating downtown sidewalks can be a perilous challenge. After losing both his legs in a farming accident at age 18, Gary, now 76, has lived the majority of his life using a wheelchair…
The Filmmakers Behind ‘Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore’ Want to Prove That ‘Accessibility Builds a Better World’
January 25, 2025 | Source: IndieWire
For almost 40 years, actress Marlee Matlin has shown how what some may deem a disability can actually be made a strength. Winning the 1986 Academy Award for Best Actress for her stunning turn in “Children of a Lesser God,” Matlin became the first deaf performer to receive such an accolade and quickly rose as a representative for the deaf community at-large, promoting the implantation of closed-captioning and serving as a celebrity ambassador for disability rights with the ACLU…
Houston Museum of Natural Science has new technology for visually impaired
January 25, 2025 | Source: Chron
More Houstonians will now be able to enjoy the Houston Museum of Natural Science even more. The museum is continuing its effort to expand its accessibility for vision-impaired visitors with a new partnership with Baltimore-based assistive tech company ReBokeh Vision Technologies. Through the partnership, all visitors will have free, automatic, and unlimited access to ReBokeh, an app that lets people with low vision modify how the world looks to suit their individual needs…
It’s true, skiing can be an accessible sport: How travelers with disabilities can enjoy
January 26, 2025 | Source: USA Today
Any skier will tell you that there’s nothing quite like the feeling of whizzing down the mountain. It’s peace and adrenaline all at once. The ski industry is also always looking for ways to bring that feeling to more people, and over the years various nonprofits and resorts have worked together to make the sport an option for athletes across the disability spectrum. For disabled athletes, getting on the slopes with adaptive equipment can be a great equalizer…
Senator McConchie announces resignation, launches Accessibility Policy Institute
January 27, 2025 | Source: WAND and NPR Illinois
Senator Dan McConchie announced his resignation Monday morning, while also launching a policy organization advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. Serving the 26th Senate District of Illinois for nearly nine years, State Senator Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) announced his resignation from the Illinois State Senate, effective February 2, 2025. McConchie uses a wheelchair himself. McConchie said, ‘With the goal of ensuring everyone has the freedom to live…” he has launched a new advocacy organization seeking to improve accessibility for the disabled nationwide…
CTA yet to improve accessibility at Evanston ‘L’ stations
January 27, 2025 | Source: The Daily Northwestern
Evanston resident Michael Pearce, who uses a wheelchair, used to ride the CTA’s Purple Line to visit his grandparents. However, Pearce said he ran into so many issues around platform accessibility that he has stopped using the trains. “When I pressed the button to call for elevator assistance, I’ve had no one come,” Pearce said. “I don’t want to run into those issues again.” He added that sometimes stations’ elevators don’t work at all. The Purple Line currently has three stations that are considered accessible based on the Americans with Disabilities Act…
How an online map is making birdwatching more accessible
January 28, 2025 | Source: North Country Public Radio
The Adirondack Land Trust is teaming up with Birdability to host a free virtual event showcasing accessible birding opportunities across the Adirondacks. The event will feature Virginia Rose and Cat Fribley from Birdability, a national nonprofit dedicated to making birdwatching more inclusive for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. “Often when we say accessibility or access, we think immediately about mobility issues,” said Fribley, the organization’s executive director. “The reality of birding is that it can and should be a gateway to nature for anyone.”…
Disney World Quietly Updates Disability Access Service Program Language
January 28, 2025 | Source: AllEars.Net
The wording for the Disability Access Service (DAS) at Disney World received a small change on the website. Disney took out one word, “only,” but it could impact those who use DAS or are hoping to utilize DAS on their Disney World trip. Disney made a slight change to the wording for their Disability Access Service, also known as DAS. On their information page for DAS, Disney changed the wording of the first bullet point under “What to Know About DAS.”…
How the Super Bowl may help New Orleans become more accessible
January 29, 2025 | Source: Axios
The Super Bowl has been tapped as an excuse to catch up on years’ worth of overdue infrastructure improvements in downtown New Orleans, but it’s also kickstarting new projects that can make living here day-to-day a bit easier, too. Why it matters: Some of those projects are making the city easier to navigate for people with disabilities. The big picture: New Orleans’ hundreds-year-old infrastructure isn’t without its well-documented challenges, and historic spaces are already often some of the most challenging to bring up to speed for today’s accessibility standards…
Carnegie leaders receive state grant to improve accessibility at local parks
January 29, 2025 | Source: CBS News
Thanks to a state grant, leaders in Carnegie will soon be able to improve accessibility at local parks. Lou Ann Chapple of Scott Township has a special needs daughter about to turn 25. “They get stuck in their own little world,” Chapple said. Through the years, she’s loved taking her to the local parks by Carnegie and Scott, but she always felt they could use some enhancements that benefit her child. “Living with an autistic child is challenging as it is, and to ease the parent’s mind, too,” Chapple said…
Bill to improve accessibility in Colorado buildings passes committee
January 29, 2025 | Source: KDVR and Colorado Democrats
A state House committee passed a bill Wednesday that aims to help increase accessibility for people with disabilities to new and renovated buildings in Colorado, the Colorado House Democrats announced in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. The bill, HB25-1030, was sponsored by Rep. Junie Joseph and Rep. Rebekah Stewart. The House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee reviewed the bill on Wednesday morning, before approving the piece of legislation in a 9-3 vote…
How Marquette officials help keep the city accessible in the winter for people with physical disabilities
January 29, 2025 | Source: Upper Michigan’s Source
Snow and ice can make walking more challenging if you have mobility or accessibility needs. For people with physical disabilities like Jamie Glenn, walking outside in the winter can be a challenge. She has cerebral palsy and dyslexia. Glenn works for the Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL). She says in the winter, clear sidewalks make her day easier. “Instead of using white ice melt, we need to start using colored ice melt so that people know what areas have been treated,” Glenn said…
Student project seeks better accessibility on school campus
January 30, 2025 | Source: Kentucky New Era
The youth pointed to the physical barriers at Trigg County High School that make the building and grounds not easily accessible to students and community members with physical disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs. “We wanted to bring awareness to the physical barriers that are encountered on a daily basis at the high school,” said Caroline Kosak, who along with brother Carter Kosak and Anna Roeder, is a member of the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA…
Jack Fact — On average, people wait nearly nine years between an identified need for hearing aids and actually getting them, according to a 2019 study published in the National Library of Medicine.
Hit The Road Jack — This is the world’s most disability-friendly airline and Groundbreaking Autism Travel Series Rockets Myrtle Beach Tourism and Read our Accessible Beaches brochure for the Central Coast
International News
Jordan launches inclusive education campaign to promote equality, accessibility for all students
January 23, 2025 Source:Jordan Times- Jordan
The Ministry of Education has launched its inclusive education campaign, “No Difference Makes a Difference: Inclusive Education for All,” aimed at raising awareness about inclusion and diversity in education, covering topics ranging from the definition of inclusive education to its social and economic benefits, which positively impact individuals, local communities, and Jordan as a whole. Deputising for Minister of Education Azmi Mahafzah, Director of Education Management Ahmad Masafa emphasised that the ministry places significant importance on children with disabilities…
How to merge accessibility and marketing to reach a bigger audience in 2025
January 24, 2025 | Source: The Drum- UK
Legislation deadlines hover over much of Europe, with governments requiring more accessibility in marketing frameworks. The key question is, do you understand how that legislation impacts the work you do for your clients? If you’re a digital marketing agency doing a website for an e-commerce store, a banking, travel or streaming service in Europe, then, yes, you’ll have to deliver accessibility before the end of June due to the European Accessibility Act. But if you’re not, it doesn’t apply to you…
Larnaca’s tourist sites lack accessibility, study finds
January 24, 2024 | Source: Cyprus Mail- Cyprus
Many of Larnaca’s tourist attractions are inaccessible to the disabled by their lack of wheelchair ramps, suitable parking, inadequate signage, dangerous pavements and limits on free movement caused by tables and other objects, a study has found. According to the Larnaca Tourism Development and Promotion Company (Etap) the accessibility study was carried out with Ablebook, an innovative platform that promotes accessibility. The study focused on 35 of the city’s landmarks and attractions…
ICFJ Voices: Olakunle Mohammed, Making Fact-Checking Accessible to People With Disabilities
January 24, 2025 | Source: International Center for Journalists- UK
In 2022, myself and Zainab Oyiza Sanni (co-founder) participated in ICFJ’s Leap Solutions Challenge. The innovation lab gave us the opportunity to develop a product that will improve trust in news. We embarked on a 10-week solutions challenge which was insightful and learned from experts on how to build trust in news. It was a learning curve, being the only organization in the solutions challenge ideating for a fact-checking platform. A few weeks into training, we were given the task to ideate and develop a solutions-oriented product that would build trust in news…
How to help remove barriers facing disabled people on set
January 24, 2025 | Source: Cinematography World Magazine- UK
Inclusion and accessibility are essential to a thriving creative industry. When everyone can participate fully, we unlock diverse stories, perspectives and talent that enrich our industry and connect with audiences in new, profound ways. And with nearly 24% of the UK population being disabled, this presents a commercial opportunity as well as cultural gains for an industry looking to improve representation and better reflect our audiences. As part of our efforts to improve access to creative careers, BAFTA has joined other industry organisations in partnering with the TV Access Project (TAP), whose goal is to remove all barriers to access for disabled people…
Calls to expand disability access and appropriate facilities at South Australian beaches
January 24, 2025 | Source: ABC- Australia
Pat Foley felt petrified at the thought of swimming in the ocean. The Adelaide woman, who is paraplegic, had not swam at the beach for more than two-and-a-half decades before she took her first plunge off the New South Wales coast about eight years ago. “[At the time] I thought, was I going to be able to swim? Was I going to drown?,” she said. “I was very, very nervous because I didn’t know … how it was going to be in the ocean. Now, the self-described “water baby” enjoys an ocean swim every summer thanks to South Australia’s beach access program, which supports people with disabilities and mobility issues to swim in the ocean…
Dementia hits clever people harder, study finds
January 25, 2025 | Source: The Telegraph- UK
Dementia claims the lives of smarter people sooner, scientists have discovered. People who spend more years at school or in education are likely to deteriorate from the neurodegenerative disease faster, according to the biggest study of its kind. Scientists have dubbed the phenomenon the “cognitive reserve paradigm”. A person’s cognitive reserve is their brain’s ability to cope and keep working, including in the face of diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s…
Railways Directed To Retrofit Stations For PwD Accessibility Compliance
January 25, 2025 | Source: ETV Bharat- India
The Railway Ministry was asked to modify existing infrastructure at railway stations to comply with laid down standards of accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) on transportation, information and other facilities provided to the public. The Court of Chief Commissioner for PwD gave directions to the ministry on a detailed complaint by Dr Satendra Singh, a doctor with a locomotor disability, who highlighted the numerous challenges he faced at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) and other key locations…
Accessible India: Action over aspiration
January 25, 2025 | Source: Deccan Herald- India
Chennai accessibility issues for people with disabilities
January 26, 2025 | Source: The Times of India- India
As India celebrates its 75th Republic Day, it is a good opportunity to reflect on the health of our democracy. A crucial metric for assessing any democracy is how it treats its marginalised populations, including persons with disabilities (PwDs). Accessibility, a seemingly technical issue, lies at the heart of this assessment; it is a vital precondition for the enjoyment of rights by PwDs. When a building lacks a ramp, a movie does not have audio descriptions, or a government document is not provided in an accessible format, it denies individuals with disabilities the opportunity to exercise their rights to equality, participation and dignity…
Accessible Ontario Pledge offers next step for disability advocates bent on change
January 26, 2025 | Source: The Record- Canada
When many people woke on New Year’s Day with their own personal resolutions, a group of Ontarians with disabilities had one specific goal in mind. And it’s all because a solemn legislative promise to the 2.9 million Ontarians with disabilities has been broken. We’re furious, but we’re tenacious. Two decades ago, the Ontario Legislature unanimously promised that by Jan. 1, 2025, the Ontario government would lead this province to become accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities when it passed the historic Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)…
Striving to improve accessibility and inclusion in Delta
January 26, 2025 | Source: Delta Optimist- Canada
The Delta School District is looking for student, staff and community volunteers interested in serving on its Accessibility Advisory Committee. The school district notes that the committee’s role “is to identify barriers that prevent people from fully participating in school life and to advise on strategies to reduce them, ensuring a more inclusive and accessible environment.” The Accessible BC Act stipulates that advisory committees should feature a broad spectrum of people to represent B.C.’s diverse population…
Towns, businesses miss out unless they provide accessible tourism for people with disability
January 26, 2025 Source:ABC- Australia
Last summer, John Wilson went to the beach for the first time in 30 years. It was all thanks to an accessible beach day hosted by a surf lifesaving club at Port Campbell, on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Volunteers used a hoist to help Mr Wilson into a wheelchair designed for sand and wheel him onto the beach via the surf club’s access ramp — a process he cannot do alone. “As my disease progressed, it got harder and harder to do these things,” he said. “I guess at the time I didn’t worry too much about it because I thought, ‘Oh well, that’s what it is.’…
Barriers to accessibility related to behaviours, misconceptions or assumptions
January 27, 2025 | Source: Statistique Canada
This study uses the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) to explore the experiences of persons with disabilities, aged 15 years and older, with barriers to accessibility that resulted from behaviours, misconceptions or assumptions made about them from different sources in their lives. Progress towards an accessible Canada involves removing barriers within the physical and social environments of persons with disabilities, which requires an understanding of the attitudinal barriers they encounter within their interactions with others…
Woman who aided accessibility on Wicked ‘honoured’
January 27, 2025 | Source: BBC- UK
A woman said she had been “overwhelmed” by the amount of support she had received for her work as an accessibility co-ordinator on the movie Wicked. Chantelle Nassari, who uses a wheelchair, was headhunted to work on Hollywood’s take of the Broadway musical. The 53-year-old from St Albans, Hertfordshire, said she fell in love with the production after her job interview, but admitted: “I got submerged in it without any context of the enormity of what I had just accepted.”…
New upgrades make Canadian sports venues more accessible
January 27, 2025 | Source: The Globe and Mail- Canada
Renovating an old sports venue isn’t just about upgrading seats or providing better food options. It’s an opportunity to make facilities accessible to all fans, including those with mobility needs, and vision or hearing loss. At the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, a multiyear renovation that began in 2022 brought upgraded player facilities, new bars and social spaces to the stadium. But it’s the increased seating options that Paul VanderGriendt, a quarter-season ticket holder, is most excited about…
In pursuit of true accessibility: How infrastructure fails persons with disabilities in Bangladesh
January 28, 2025 Source:The Business Standard- Bangladesh
Having contracted Polio at the age of two, Nigar Sultana Sumi has since had the lower half of her body paralysed, robbing her of mobility entirely. Nigar was born and raised in Narayanganj district where she attended her school, college and university. It was her mother, who carried her every day, holding her as she climbed the stairs of her school. Other than a few high-end schools in Dhaka, few other educational institutions in the country have lifts or ramps that make them accessible to people with disabilities…
How the V&A is Transforming Accessibility for Dementia-Friendly Museum Experiences
January 28, 2025 Source:MuseumNext- UK
The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington is setting an inspiring precedent for how museums can support people living with dementia. In a recent conference presentation for the Museums, Health and Well-Being Summit, Abigail Perry, Polly Harknett and Holly Power—representing the learning, interpretation, and audience insights teams—shared the museum’s efforts to deliver meaningful dementia-friendly programming and redesign gallery spaces to be more accessible…
Welsh ombudsman names three landlords in latest accessibility report
January 29, 2025 | Source: Inside Housing- Wales
Its latest report, titled Equality Matters, explores the challenges people in Wales have faced when accessing public services. It draws on cases closed between April 2023 and September 2024. In one case, it said that a resident of Hafod, identified as Miss C, complained the housing association had failed to carry out its policy on anti-social behaviour (ASB) complaints and had not taken her disability into account. The PSOW found that Hafod “had not always acted in accordance with its ASB policy and procedure, or indeed best practice, as set out by the Welsh government”, which added to Miss C’s distress…
Blind Bungee Jumpers Welcome
January 30, 2025 | Source: Reasons to be Cheerful- UK
Mark Colman has swum with turtles in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, basked on a beach with marine iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, bungee jumped in New Zealand, braved the 166-story “edge walk” off the CN Tower in Toronto and skied in the Austrian Alps. That’s an impressive list of accomplishments for anybody — activities that Colman himself, for many years, considered out of reach. “I had convinced myself that I didn’t want to travel, because it wasn’t a possibility — I can’t do it, so I won’t,” recalls Colman, who is based in County Durham, U.K…
Accessibility commissioner resigns after suing federal government
January 30, 2025 | Source: CBC- Canada
Canada’s first accessibility commissioner has resigned during a legal battle with the federal government involving an external investigation into allegations he mistreated staff. The lawyer representing Michael Gottheil said the commissioner submitted his notice last week that he wished to leave his job effective Tuesday. “Going forward, he will do what he has done for more than 35 years, which is championing human rights, accessibility for persons with disabilities and the rule of law,” his lawyer, Peter Engelmann, told CBC News…
Accessibility Blogs, Information, and Videos
- Medicaid: What to Watch in 2025- KFF
- Returning to the Office- Grace Dow Writes
- Full Frame: Accessible Future – Mike Buckley- CGTN America (YouTube)
- What It’s Like to Shop Online When You’re Blind- Maxwell Ivey
- The Future of Travel is Inclusive and Accessible- TravelPulse Canada
- How accessibility in digital content can help with inclusion- Telefónica
- Creating accessibility systems to fix accessibility issues- Devon Persing
- Accessibility requirements offer a strategic opportunity- Jonathan Hassell
- Making accessibility an imperative when designing workplaces – PBC Today
- I AM ready for the Invictus Games in Whistler- Resort Municipality of Whistler
- Accessibility Essentials Every Front-End Developer Should Know- Martijn Hols
- Your Answers: Why is accessibility important for kids?- Ideastream Public Media (Video)
- Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard: February 2025- The Martha’s Vineyard Times
- New research: Wheelchair service delivery process in need of reform- HME News
- Paralympic Games venues prove competitions are designed for all- Olympic News
- The Importance Of Accessible PDFs And Documents For Businesses In 2025- Forbes
- Column: Ensuring a safer, more accessible future for our neighborhoods- Bronx Times
- Creating Accessible Websites Using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – InfoQ
- “Navigating Together: Empowering Blind Leaders to Lead the Way”- Conchita Consulting
- Struck out- Physical education’s lessons of exclusion and ableism- Lea Labaki- Disability Debrief
- ‘A real sense of betrayal’: Doug Ford’s ghastly treatment of Ontarians with disabilities- The Pointer
- Why accessibility should be central to lifelong learning in all organisations- Channel Life Australia
- Was A Deaf Person’s Dream of Seeing Captioned Broadway Show Finally Realized?- Meryl Evans
- Driving Inclusion: Why Accessible Travel Is Key to Retaining Employees With Disabilities- SHRM
- Overwrite Bad Image Alt Tags via My Alt Tag Generation App Built with OpenAI API- HackerNoon
- Bridging the accessibility gap as content for the visually impaired is to be digitize- KTN News- Kenya (YouTube)
- Exploring the nuances when telling stories on the impact of climate change on disabled people- Priti Salian
- The Mystery Shopping Charade- Talk to disabled people and use competent research companies- Christiane Link
- A Guide to Audio Description for Inclusive Presentations and Webinars- Minnesota Department of Human Services
Federally Speaking
- Digital Asset Accessibility Under ADA Title II- Microassist
- Conditional VRS Certification for ZP with New Ownership- FCC
- President Trump Ends Affirmative Action Requirements for Government Contractors- Holland and Knight
- Recording of Section 508 Best Practices Webinar in Archives: Highlights from the Fiscal Year 2024 Government-wide Section 508 Assessment
Higher Education Blogs and Information
- Accessible Computing- Nature Research Intelligence
- How To Create Accessible Content- Princeton University
- ‘Barrier-Free at ETH Zurich’ becomes ‘Accessibility’- Staffnet
- Project Sidewalk: Improving accessibility and safety – Knox Pages
- JCC Professor Named SUNY Accessibility Advocates Fellow- Post Journal
- EDI Changemaker strives to design with accessibility in mind- Brock University
- Power of the Pack: Digital Accessibility Starts with Us- University of Washington
- Penrose Library Receives National Award for Accessibility and Diversity- Whitman College
- Help Conserve Energy: Please Only Use Accessibility Doors if Needed – Drexel University
- U.S. Department of Education Takes Action to Eliminate DEI- U.S. Department of Education
- Accessibility to Become Essential Part of University Culture – UZH News – Universität Zürich
- OCTC awards DePasquale, Bristow, and Hagan, Accessibility Service Awards- Messenger-Inquirer
- Editorial: When it comes to accessibility, Carleton should put its money where its mouth is- The Charlatan
- U of T’s Accessibility Services fails to support mental health- The Medium – UTM’s Independent Student Newspaper
- Students’ on-campus accessibility hindered by winter weather, university officials discuss available resources- The Lantern
- Digital accessibility workshops offered by Center for Transformative Teaching- Nebraska Today – University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- Innovative one-minute video game boasts 80% success rate in diagnosing autism- Kennedy Krieger Institute and Nottingham Trent University
Legal Blogs and Information
- Legal Update: January 2025- Ken Nakata
- Navigating the Belgian Accessibility Act- DLA Piper
- Strengthening Accessibility Measures in India – Drishti IAS
- Revisiting the Second Circuit’s ADA Lawsuit Standard- Klein Moynihan Turco
- The Law is Changing on Digital Accessibility Compliance: Are you Ready?- UC Today
- Key Insights on the European Accessibility Act from a German Perspective- TaylorWessing
- Accel-backed BrowserStack wins legal battle against Deque Systems in US court- YourStory
- ADA claims in NY State Courts – is there a winning strategy that makes sense?- Richard Hunt
- Affordable Care Act Section 1557: New Language Accessibility Requirements- Morgan Lewis
- The DOJ Provides Practical Guidance on How to Implement a Digital Accessibility Program- Seyfarth Shaw
- Websites Under Attack — Defenses to ADA Claims for Retailers and Online Businesses- Katten Muchin Rosenman
Accessibility Announcements
- County improves accessibility in parks
- BLR Airport wins ACI accessibility accreditation
- Accessibility colors the canvas at Stony Point Art Studio
- Mobility Mojo taps investor to boost accessibility in buildings
- City making progress, but still behind on accessibility projects
- Artificial Intelligence and Accessibility for All with Sign Language
- RBC Invests $1 Million in Glenbow to Drive Increased Accessibility
- What would improve accessibility in Morden? The city wants to know
- Advisory Committee positions available for Accessibility and Inclusion
- Library and Archives Canada’s Accessibility Plan: 2024 progress report
- Ice Palace Accessibility Day returns to Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival
- Kinosoo Ridge offers new features, events, and accessibility enhancements
- ATJ Commission awards grants to local courts to improve disability access
- Plaza Premium Group becomes first IATA strategic partner in accessibility
- Dublin accessibility start-up Mobility Mojo to receive €4.25m in investment
- The City of Rehoboth is seeking public input for individuals with disabilities
- Public consultation on WHO rapid diagnostic test accessibility considerations
- The Egg to undergo major renovations, enhancing accessibility and technology
- Rossland council adopts the Path to Inclusion: The Rossland Accessibility Plan
- Destination BC Welcomes Two New Members to Accessibility and Inclusion Committee
- Rep. Bradford, Sen. Collett Announce $50,000 for Variety to Build Accessible Playground
- Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Enhances Accessibility, Becomes a Certified Autism Center™
- The Ad Accessibility Alliance Launches Resource to Assist in Creating Advertising That Is Accessible to All
- Acrisure Arena Achieves Certified Autism Center™ Designation, Enhancing Accessibility for Neurodiverse Guests
- The AAA Foundation Jill Botkin Hearing Health-Care Accessibility Scholarship, Sponsored by HearUSA, is Now Open for Applications
- Accessibility today and tomorrow- What’s going on beyond inclusion in the broader world of access?- Special Education Today with John Wills Lloyd
- The Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB), Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Introduces New Voluntary Sign for Reserved Van Accessible Parking Spaces
Accessibility Products and Services
- Evri to drive accessibility improvements
- Full Frame Accessible Future: Davide D’ Alena (YouTube)
- Hearing Loss Assessment and Screening Technologies
- EMR expands accessibility efforts with new wristbands
- AI to Make STEM Content for Neurodivergent Learners
- Mothership Coffee serves up accessibility with new braille menus
- TF Green strengthens accessibility with new indoor navigation app
- FIA launches new disability and accessibility mentorship programme
- One UI 7.0 makes accessibility more accessible with quick panel buttons
- Harmony In Action reveals new upgrades of accessible ramps and sensory room
- FITUR 4ALL Shares Insights to Promote More Accessible and Diverse Tourism
- Handheld retinal scanner makes vision screening possible for primary care offices
- Air Canada Leads in Accessibility with Innovative Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program and Enhanced Services
Accessibility Forums, Tips, and Gaming
- The GAconf Accessibility Awards 2024
- Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft praised at gaming accessibility awards
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows Accessibility Options Are The Series’ Most Robust Yet
- The Twitch Streamer Using Face Recognition to Make Video Games More Accessible
Accessibility Statements
NasdaqWizz AirTestPartyETH ZurichFednav LimitedWest Hills CollegeJust Eat TakeawayWyoming Game and Fish DepartmentPennsylvania House Democratic CaucusUniversity of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Microassist Digital Accessibility Services
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.
Services include:
- 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.
Learn More About Digital Accessibility
Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.
Our most popular commentaries include:
- What is a VPAT®? A VPAT Primer
- Understanding Digital Accessibility in the Procurement Process
- Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition: Updates on ADA Title III News and More
- What Lawyers Need to Know: A Primer on Digital Accessibility Terms and Today’s Legal Landscape
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