February 6, 2021, euronews: For many families and individuals, travel - be it abroad or a staycation - follows a very typical routine. From booking and packing to flying, everything is planned and mostly predictable, something which can be taken for granted. However, for my family, and many other families like us, travel can be stressful to plan and execute. Disabilities come in many forms and manifest in many different ways, so it’s difficult to fully encompass all aspects of a single condition when planning travel, particularly for invisible disabilities. Although my mum now travels in a wheelchair, and is visibly disabled, in the years before her mobility worsened, articulating her needs and access requirements presented many challenges.
February 6, 2021, The Ada News: Telephone and assistive equipment is available for eligible Oklahomans who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind and those with speech communication needs through the Oklahoma School for the Deaf’s Equipment Distribution Program.
February 5, 2021, Inside Higher Ed: The United States Department of Justice and Old Dominion University settled a disability discrimination complaint brought by a graduate student who was retaliated against for requesting accommodations, according to a press release published by the department Wednesday. The university will pay the student $40,000 in damages, the release said.
February 5, 2021, DIS: Wondering if a galaxy far, far away is accessible to visitors with disabilities? Worry not: accessible it is. (Guilty! I am a big Yoda fan!) During our last two trips to Disney World, my husband and I visited Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios to check out this new, faraway land. Not only did we enjoy our visits, but we had the opportunity to experience the land with full wheelchair accessibility.
February 4, 2021, The National Law Review: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the appellate court responsible for the federal district courts of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, recently made clear that claims asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) cannot be subject to contractually shortened limitation periods. In Thompson v. Fresh Products, LLC, No. 20-3060 (January 15, 2021), the Sixth Circuit held that the statute of limitations for claims arising under the ADA and ADEA is a substantive right that cannot be waived by agreement of the parties. This decision was an extension of the Sixth Circuit’s 2019 decision in Logan v. MGM Grand Detroit Casino, which held that the statute of limitations for claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 could not be shortened by agreement of the parties.
February 4, 2021, GCN: Much of the conversation about government technology compliance is in an either/or context: addressing either accessibility or security requirements. The two tend to be separate in their communities of practice and also in their assessment and implementation.
February 3, 2021, New York Post: The city’s former transportation accessibility czar starts as the MTA’s first ever Chief Accessibility Officer on Thursday after a brief stint in the private sector where he landed in hot water with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.
February 3, 2021, The Wall Street Journal: Evinced Inc., a startup that aims to help companies make their websites and software accessible to people with disabilities, has raised $17 million in Series A funding.
February 3, 2021, London Post–UK: Activity Alliance is urging decision makers in sport and leisure to prioritise disabled people as they strive to recover from the pandemic. The leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity is seriously concerned about the potential long-term damage on the nation’s least active. The call comes on the day the national charity releases their latest Annual Disability and Activity Survey. The new research shows twice as many disabled people felt that coronavirus greatly reduced their ability to do sport or physical activity compared to non-disabled people.
February 3, 2021, The Salem News: A judge is considering whether an online travel agency should be liable for a botched vacation trip for a Peabody man who uses a wheelchair.
February 2, 2021, THIIS–UK: The Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub is launching the Assistive Technology Impact Fund (ATIF) Global Call, which looks to make assistive technology innovations more readily available in the African market. Assistive technology innovators can apply for up to £200k of funding under the ATIF to drastically improve the lives of disabled people in Africa.
February 2, 2021, The New York Times: In a year of intense isolation, I’ve never felt more connection to my children’s school.
February 1, 2021, Yahoo! Finance: Ready, set, go — that’s the mantra for Nike’s newest innovation: Its first completely hands-free sneaker. Called Nike Go FlyEase, the shoe features a bi-staple hinge to keep it open — or in the ready position — when waiting to be used. Once the foot is inserted and the wearer steps down, the hinge releases and the shoe snaps shut to fit securely. It also features a flexible tensioner around the outside made from material used on the bottom of shoes for durability.
February 1, 2021, The Harvard Gazette: More than 80 percent of U.S. physicians reported that people with significant disabilities have worse quality of life than nondisabled people, an attitude that may contribute to health care disparities among people with disability, according to recent research published in the February issue of Health Affairs.
February 1, 2021, Law360: The COVID-19 pandemic has raised new questions for disabled individuals taking standardized tests such as the bar exam, and their advocates.
February 1, 2021, USA Today: The day President Joe Biden was sworn into office, the nation saw fire captain Andrea Hall, the child of a deaf parent, recite the Pledge of Allegiance — spoken in English and signed.
February 1, 2021, Kokomo Perspective: MHS, in partnership with the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), has awarded 12 healthcare providers across Indiana with grants to make their facilities more accessible to people with disabilities. The awardees applied for grants which are part of the health plan's Provider Accessibility Initiative (PAI), with the full list of grantees including...
February 1, 2021, Business Insider–IN: Some disability rights NGOs have expressed disappointment over differently-abled people being allegedly "neglected" in the 2021-22 Budget unveiled on Monday.
January 31, 2021, Harper's BAZAAR: NBCUniversal has committed to auditioning disabled actors for each of the studio's future productions, in an attempt to level the playing field when it comes to disability representation onscreen.
