Introducing AccessibilityPlus 2021, a Global Accessibility Summit for Business Leaders
We welcome leaders from various disciplines to join us, participate, and contribute to a new kind of accessibility conference that connects you with the...
Stay up to date with our Weekly Accessibility News Email
Accessibility news snippets
Get caught up, not tied up
Here's what's happening in accessibility news. We provide these news briefs for your information and convenience, and we don't endorse or recommend any of these publications or products. Check back for updates every weekday.
January 27, 2023,Law and the Workplace:
On January 24, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released updated guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) applies to job applicants and employees with hearing disabilities. The guidance provides information about hearing conditions as a disability under the ADA, outlines best practices for employers in dealing with confidential medical information, shares guidance on accommodations for applicants and employees, addresses employer concerns about safety, and details reporting procedures for employees.
January 27, 2023,BMC Public Health:
Sustainable and effective eHealth requires accessibility for everyone. Little is known about how accessibility of eHealth is perceived among people with various impairments. The aim of this study was to compare use and perceived difficulty in the use of eHealth among people with and without impairment, and how different types of impairment were associated with perceived difficulty in the use of eHealth.
January 27, 2023,The Registar-Guard:
The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce will receive $30,500 from Travel Oregon to partner with Wheel the World, an international organization focused on advancing access to travel for those with limited ability, according to the chamber.
The chamber said it plans to use the money to conduct a study to assess the accessibility of local tourism businesses and to receive accessibility training through Wheel the World Academy. It will also allow for viable local businesses to be included on WheeltheWorld.com, a website where people can search accessible travel opportunities across the world.
“The end result, after we receive the study’s findings, will be a more accessible Florence for visitors,” said Bettina Hannigan, president and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. “Tourism is our largest economic activity providing more than 1,400 jobs (about 40% of our local employment) and roughly $200 million in economic impact to our community. Eventually, this will boost tourism capacity and our local economy, and help more people to enjoy Oregon’s Coastal Playground who couldn’t before.”
January 27, 2023,Forbes:
EA notes Motive has made Dead Space more accessible and inclusive by building in a number of “customization options with some fine-grained control.” Amongst many others, they include colorblind settings, control customization, and aim assistance. There’s also the ability to have screen reader-like narration of menus, as well as options to reduce motion effects, enable subtitles for dialogue, and display content warnings in anticipation of more gruesome moments.
January 27, 2023,Forbes:
However, in this article, I’ve taken things a bit further by exploring the two major audit methods and which works best for testing against several essential Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) success criteria to meet ADA compliance. Let’s dive right in.
January 26, 2023,AT Today:
Today, assistive technology specialist Envision has announced that it is further enhancing the accessibility of its smart glasses for blind and visually impaired individuals by introducing two new editions to serve the different needs of its users.
Available now from Envision and its global distributor network, the upgrades offer the same hardware as the original smart glasses but provide a choice of feature sets at a range of price points.
Through its app and smart glasses, Envision enables those who are blind or have vision impairments to read, identify people and objects, and make hands-free video calls to people they trust.
In 2022, Envision made its app free for everyone; reduced the price of the Envision Glasses; and partnered with Aira, a professional visual interpretation service.
Now individuals have the option to select an Envision device and feature set that works best for them. There are three options available: Read Edition, Home Edition, and Professional Edition.
Read Edition offers a range of features that focuses on the need to read and scan text.
January 26, 2023,Campus Technology:
That focus on digital accessibility is central to instructional design practice at Colorado State University Global. As the nation's first fully online, accredited nonprofit state university, CSU Global strives to achieve universal design standards in all of its programs, and to make courses accessible to a wide range of learners. We spoke with Associate Vice President of Digital Learning Andrea Butler and Director of Instructional Design Diona Hartwig about the importance of designing for accessibility from the start, ways to engage students in the online environment, and how inclusive design ultimately serves all students.
January 25, 2023,Yahoo Finance:
AccessibilityChecker.org, a leading web accessibility knowledge center, has published the results of a study that explores the relationship between web accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). The study, titled Does Web Accessibility Have a Positive Impact on SEO? A Data-Driven Study, used data from Semrush and BuiltWith to analyze the correlation between accessibility and SEO.
The study found that websites that are fully compliant with web accessibility guidelines have a higher chance of ranking well in search engine results. The research team analyzed the data of 847 websites before and after they became accessible and compliant, and found that organic search traffic tends to grow following accessibility remediation, by an average of 12%
January 25, 2023,Daily Hive:
The need for assistive technology and accessibility accommodations — whether it’s an app to enhance cognition or a hearing aid — has increased in recent years, due in part to conditions like MS. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) expect the number of people who would benefit from assistive technology to grow to 3.5 billion in 2050, an increase from the current 2.5 billion people globally, as people age and as noncommunicable diseases grow.
This growing need is one of the reasons TELUS and March of Dimes, a national not-for-profit organization that provides support services to Canadians with disabilities, have come together in a multi-year partnership to deliver the Tech for Good program.
The program, which started in Alberta and B.C. in 2018, enables people with disabilities to independently control their mobile phone or tablet. Professionals from March of Dimes — called Assistive Technologists — will, for instance, help educate participants on how to use their devices’ built-in assistive technology features, such as text-to-speech and recommend software like apps that allow people to communicate more visually.
January 25, 2023,Marketing Brew:
One of Apple’s latest ads shows how its tech can make a whole host of things easier: parenting, waking up in the morning, navigating somewhere, and so on.
What makes the ad notable is the fact that it almost entirely features people with disabilities, a group that’s underrepresented in media and advertising. According to a 2021 Nielsen study that analyzed 450,000 prime-time TV ads, only 1% showed someone with a disability even though more than 60 million adults in America live with one, per the CDC.
Over the past few years, certain brands have taken steps to incorporate disability representation and accessibility into their marketing efforts, both on and off screen.
January 25, 2023,PR Newswire:
AccessibilityChecker.org, a leading web accessibility knowledge center, has published the results of a study that explores the relationship between web accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). The study, titled Does Web Accessibility Have a Positive Impact on SEO? A Data-Driven Study, used data from Semrush and BuiltWith to analyze the correlation between accessibility and SEO.
The study found that websites that are fully compliant with web accessibility guidelines have a higher chance of ranking well in search engine results. The research team analyzed the data of 847 websites before and after they became accessible and compliant, and found that organic search traffic tends to grow following accessibility remediation, by an average of 12%
January 25, 2023,The Washington Post:
Holden Foreman, The Post’s first Accessibility Engineer, shares insight on his new role:
The Washington Post is furthering its commitment to accessibility, and the work employees are already doing to make our content more accessible, by naming its first-ever dedicated Accessibility Engineer. I’ve long cared about accessibility, and I’m excited to serve in this new role (find me on Twitter @hsforeman). To make this blog post understandable to more readers, we also published a shorter version in plain language.
So what do we mean by accessibility?
According to Indiana University, “Accessibility is the degree to which a product, device, service, environment, or facility is usable by as many people as possible, including by persons with disabilities.” A common example of accessibility in practice is including wheelchair-accessible seats at event venues, which may be reachable via ramps and/or elevators instead of only stairs.
At The Post, we care about the accessibility of our digital products. We have a statement on our website outlining some of our goals. We aim to include alternative text (alt text) on images, captions on videos and transcriptions of audio content such as podcasts. We also know that accessibility considerations stretch far beyond these fundamental measures. The underlying code of our products should be written with accessibility in mind. There are extensive guidelines to consider, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) international standard. I’ve blogged in the past about some of our steps toward screen reader and keyboard accessibility.
January 24, 2023,Tech Monitor:
After a leaked internal document showed DWP services have accessibility problems, a new audit could help address the issue.
January 24, 2023,AdWeek:
For email marketers, our primary concerns are audio-visual challenges and conditions like dyslexia, colorblindness and astigmatism, which make it harder to digest written content. We recently surveyed over 250 email marketers to gauge their approach to accessibility: While we found that 89% of respondents are either considering implementing accessibility initiatives or currently doing so, only 7% agreed their company has a fully defined accessibility strategy.
There seems to be a disconnect here between awareness and action, through no fault of individual marketers; email teams are historically underfunded and underresourced. Email marketers may want to bolster their inclusion efforts on a broad, organizational scale, but this isn’t always realistic or possible.
Implementing basic aesthetic changes goes a long way. Here are some simple steps you can take to ensure your email marketing campaigns are accessible for all recipients.
January 24, 2023,Mintz:
Los Angeles Managing Member Joshua Briones, and Associates Sofia Nuño and Crystal Lopez co-authored an articled published by Corporate Counsel forecasting the consumer class actions trends to look out for in 2023. The authors summarized, 2022 saw hundreds of new consumer class actions. With the number of these cases increasing, it is more important than ever for businesses to stay on top of the latest trends, including the types of products, services, and data that are being targeted.
January 23, 2023,Jumpstart:
AI technology is changing how visually impaired people experience the world.
As technology advances, the potential for assistive devices to improve the lives of those with visual impairments is becoming a reality. One area that has seen significant growth in recent years is the development of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled smart glasses. Integrated with AI technology, these smart glasses can analyze the environment and provide real-time audio cues to the wearer, such as describing the objects around them or reading out text.
Some smart glasses also boast facial recognition functions, making it easier for the visually impaired to recognize and interact with people. This can be especially beneficial for those with difficulty recognizing faces due to conditions such as prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognize faces.
January 23, 2023,Digital Journal:
ColorScouts is a user-friendly color library with over 1 million colors for UI & Graphic designers and interior designers to design projects with perfect color combinations. It is a great destination for increasing brand recognition and awareness among target customers as it offers consistent color choices for interior design and is 100% free and accessible.
January 23, 2023,Digital Journal:
ColorScouts is a user-friendly color library with over 1 million colors for UI & Graphic designers and interior designers to design projects with perfect color combinations. It is a great destination for increasing brand recognition and awareness among target customers as it offers consistent color choices for interior design and is 100% free and accessible.
January 23, 2023,Tech Central:
Digital Business Ireland has published details of five emerging digital enterprises that are set to make their mark on the industry in 2023.
Titled Tech Companies to Watch in 2023, the campaign profiles a diverse cohort of digital businesses focused on accessibility, application development, online shopping and fintech solutions. The e-book also details the trailblazing nature of the products and services, with the key personnel in each company outlining their enterprise’s ambitions and the emerging trends for 2023.
Some of these trends include a focus on digital accessibility and inclusion; a greater shift to digital transformation; and the continued growth of Omnichannel
January 23, 2023,United States Coast Guard:
People with disabilities must be able to use technology to access electronic content in a manner comparable to what those without a disability can do. This includes viewing a website, reviewing electronic documents and forms, using mobile and desktop applications, or using other software. The U.S. Access Board issues rules to comply with laws related to Section 508.
In 2022, 3.5% of Coast Guard civilians reported having a disability. It is important to remember those with a permanent disability may not show outward signs of their medical condition. Also keep in mind that not everyone reports their disabilities, and military members may be disabled as well.
Procuring products and services that conform with Section 508 and ensuring their accessibility features and support mechanisms are accessibility enabled and tested, helps the Coast Guard reduce barriers that may be present in ICT. Additionally, it is often the case that accessible systems and software products such as mobile applications are much easier for all users. Accessible products such as electronic forms help provide equal opportunities to all employees. The Coast Guard is ensuring that publications – including forms – are tested and compliant.
