IT Accessibility Review
Volume 1, Number 7
Accessibility Resources
Associates Degree Program for Students with Developmental Disabilities
Bellevue Community College has launched the nation´s first Associates Degree program for students with developmental disabilities. The program, called Venture, combines academic, social, life skills, and workplace training into a 90 credit curriculum for high functioning students with learning, cognitive, and intellectual disabilities. The goal of the program is to prepare graduates for challenging employment.
To learn more about the Venture Program, go to www.conted.bcc.ctc.edu/ , or contact the program´s director, Cynthia Johnson, at cjohnson@bcc.ctc.edu.
Source:
GW HEATH Resource
Transition Services for Students with Significant Disabilities in College and Community Settings
There is a valuable new resource designed to increase postsecondary opportunities for students with significant disabilities. Transition Services for Students with Significant Disabilities in College and Community Settings, by Meg Grigal, Debra A. Neubert, and M. Sherril Moon and published by Pro-Ed, is the latest in a series about transition for students with disabilities. The book is a distillation of the authors´ years of work identifying the best programs, practices, and supports available to students with significant disabilities during the transition to life and learning after high school. This reference identifies guidelines and establishes a framework for individuals and institutions to develop the best possible college or community based transition services programs.
Transition Services for Students with Significant Disabilities in College and Community Settings is available for $16 from Pro-Ed Inc. ( www.proedinc.com ).
Source:
GW HEATH Resource
The Able Trust´s New Disability Resource Listing
Contributed By: Mike Murray , Lockheed Martin, EIS Customer Care
The Able Trust recently updated their website to include an expanded disability links and resources section for employers, service providers, and people with disabilities.
The new section, which can be found at www.abletrust.org/links/ , now includes an extensive list of service providers, sorted by geographic region through an interactive map of Florida. Each region includes a list of local agencies with contact information and a short description of the agencies´ services. If your agency is not listed, or you would like to update your contact information, you can use the electronic form to submit updated information directly to The Able Trust.
The updated section also includes the following:
- State and National Links to organizations and resource sites
- State and National Toll Free numbers of agencies and service providers
- Grant Links for individuals with disabilities and agencies serving those with disabilities
- Communication Terms - a reference to words and terms used about people with disabilities
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information - a list of telephone numbers and Internet and electronic bulletin board addresses of federal agencies and other organizations that provide information about the ADA and information guidance in understanding and complying with different provisions of the ADA
- Research Summaries - studies and statistics related to persons with disabilities
- Publications produced by The Able Trust
Be sure to also visit the updated employer section, which includes new and improved resources about hiring people with disabilities. This section can be found at www.abletrust.org/bln or through the Florida BLN webpage www.floridabln.org.
ViewPlus Adds HP Inkjet Printing to Braille Documents
CORVALLIS, Ore. - ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. announced the release of the Pro Ink Attachment (PIA) Solution for adding ink print to Braille text and tactile graphic documents. ViewPlus worked with Hewlett-Packard Specialty Printing Systems to incorporate HP Inkjet into their professional series Braille printers.
Braille documents can now be shared with sighted colleagues and teachers - even with friends and family. The PIA prints the corresponding ink characters above or alongside the Braille embossing. The PIA also allows for images to be embossed and printed. Anything that appears on the computer screen can quickly be made into a raised, printed image on paper.
Attaching the PIA instantly transforms the fast, robust ViewPlus Pro Braille printer into a high-speed embossing printer, creating the only compact integrated solution for high volume Braille and ink production. The PIA is the only embossing printer capable of double-sided Braille and ink printing thus saving paper costs in production.
"Braille readers often have difficulty communicating with sighted people at work and in the classroom," says Jeff Gardner, ViewPlus Vice President, Sales & Marketing. "Combining HP Inkjet with the ViewPlus Pro Embosser means Braille documents can now be shared with anyone."
"It is exciting and satisfying to be able to extend the value of any Hewlett-Packard solutions in supporting new users such as the visually impaired users segment," says Clay Higgins, Hewlett-Packard Director, Sales and Marketing.
Pro Ink Attachment comes with software to translate text to Braille in MS Word and Excel, and unlike other Braille printers, the Pro with PIA is quiet so it can be used in a normal office environment. The PIA is now available for purchase. Please call your local ViewPlus dealer, or contact ViewPlus directly (sales@viewplus.com, 541.754.4002) for more details.
Source:
ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
A private firm that develops and manufactures hardware and software for people with sensory disabilities, including people who are blind, low-vision, and learning disabled.
Web Site: http://www.viewplus.com
The Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities
By: The Editors of DiversityInc
This year, for the first time, we have added a specialty list for people with disabilities. This group is an increasingly important workplace and marketplace constituency, although it has been difficult to obtain quantifiable data from companies on their efforts to recruit, retain, and market to people with disabilities.
So, here is how we did it: We asked in our survey if companies had special recruiting programs and affinity groups for people with disabilities (next year, we plan to add several more questions on this group). We also talked with leading disability-rights´ organizations about their criteria and we surveyed the websites of companies under consideration for this list to see if they included people with disabilities.
After the list was completed, we found a few commonalities between these 10 companies. All the Top 10 companies for people with disabilities actively recruit people with disabilities, compared with 70 percent of the Top 50 and 40 percent of companies ranked 91+. They all have a strong commitment to women in management. The top 10 companies for people with disabilities promote 17.3 percent more women than the Top 50 and 37 percent more than companies ranked 91+ on the survey.
Here are the top 10 companies for people with disabilities:
No. 1: Merrill Lynch & Co. The New York-based financial-services company has a company-funded resource group, the Disability Awareness Professional Network. Merrill Lynch has a special-needs financial-services program with specially trained advisers for people with disabilities or people with relatives with disabilities and lists this first, with a photo, on its Advice and Planning page on its Web site. The company also has services for hearing and visually impaired clients.
No. 2: Procter & Gamble, No. 27 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based consumer-products giant has a company-funded affinity group called the People With Disabilities Team. The company has a People With Disabilities Task Force, whose mission is "to enable hiring, on-boarding, retention, advancement, and contributions to people with disabilities. We seek to achieve this by providing guidance and recommendations in five main areas: Accessibility/Work Accommodations, Education and Training, Policy, Recruiting, Hiring and Retention Practices, and Business Partners."
No. 3: Hewlett-Packard, No. 1 on the Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity, also on the 25 Noteworthy Companies list. The Palo Alto, California-based technology company has an employee-resource group for workers with disabilities. The company´s excellent website lists disability organizations, educational institutions and other resources for people with disabilities. Hewlett-Packard also has an Accessibility Program Office, a worldwide effort to improve accessibility to technology and information.
No. 4: JPMorgan Chase, No. 25 on The Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, No. 9 on the Top 10 Companies for Latinos. The New York-based financial-services company has an employee-resource group for people with disabilities. The company´s mission statement on its diversity page specifically mentions people with disabilities.
No. 5: Verizon Communications, No. 9 on The Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. A long-time Top 50 winner, New York-based Verizon has a Disabilities Issues Awareness Leaders (DIAL) employee-resource group. Its supplier-diversity efforts specifically include companies owned by people with disabilities.
No. 6: SSM Health Care The St. Louis, Missouri-based health-care company actively recruits people with disabilities and includes companies owned by people with disabilities in its supplier-diversity initiatives.
No. 7: General Motors, No. 48 on The Top 50 Companies for Diversity, No. 5 on the Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity. With its People With Disabilities Affinity Group, the Detroit-based automaker is a leader in this area. Its GM Mobility program specifically markets to people with disabilities.
No. 8: Sodexho U.S.A. , No. 10 on The Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity, also on 25 Noteworthy Companies. The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based hospitality-services company makes a strong effort to use suppliers owned by people with disabilities and to partner with disability organizations.
No. 9: Merck & Co., No. 24 on The Top 50 Companies for Diversity, No. 6 on the Top 10 Companies for GLBT Employees. As a pharmaceutical company, the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based company naturally markets to people with disabilities. However, Merck is also a national leader in recruiting and promoting people with disabilities.
No. 10: Prudential Financial, No. 32 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. With its Abled and Disabled Associates Partnering Together (ADAPT) employee-resource group and its long-term financial-planning products for people with disabilities, the Newark, New Jersey-based financial-services/insurance company is a leader in this area.
Source:
DiversityInc © 2005 DiversityInc.com®, June 06, 2005
Access Board Training
The Board regularly provides training and briefings on its guidelines and standards at various events across the country.Often, these sessions are part of larger programs organized by different groups and associations.Sessions can be tailored to focus on particular areas of interest, such as specific types of facilities or spaces.
Training is available on new guidelines the Board issued last July for facilities covered by the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). While it will take some time before these new requirements become mandatory as standards under the ADA, new ABA standards covering most of the federal sector will take effect later in the year. Training is also available in areas to be addressed by future guidelines, such as outdoor environments and public rights-of-way.Besides programs on its facility guidelines, the Access Board offers training on design criteria for transportation vehicles, electronic and information technology, and telecommunication products.
For further information, or to arrange Board training, contact Peggy Greenwell, the Board´s training coordinator, at training@access-board.gov (e-mail) or (202) 272-0017 (v) or (202) 272-0082 (TTY).
Training Calendar
Some upcoming events where the Board will provide training:
September 8th -11th - National Institute on Recreation Inclusion, Palm Springs, CA
October 24th -27th - National Association of ADA Coordinators Fall Conference, Miami, FL
November 15th -17th - Build Boston, Boston, MA
Source:
Access Currents
Volume 11, No. 3 May / June 2005
Assistive Technology, Disability & Adventure Conference
By Lori Gillen
On Friday, May 6, 2005, I visited a world where accessibility for people with disabilities was on the forefront of everyone´s mind - inventors, software designers, educators, athletes, parents, and children. I was at "Assistive Technology, Disability & Adventure," Hampshire College´s seventh annual forum in assistive technology. The conference was presented by the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center (LATDC) and the School for Interdisciplinary Arts of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Changing the Image of the Disabled
The overall message from this one-day event was for disability advocates to change the perception of how the mainstream world views people with disabilities. The disabled can no longer be seen as helpless, needy, dependent, and relegated to the sidelines. People with disabilities are kayaking, skiing, mountain climbing, and participating in Olympic sports. These examples were heavily portrayed throughout the conference.
The keynote speaker was Mark Wellman, a mountaineer and avid outdoorsman, who suffered a mountain-climbing accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Mark talked about how he has been able to continue his passion for mountain climbing with the help of his climbing partner, Mike Corbett. Mark talked about several of his adventures, which included his 1989 climb of the 3,000 foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park . Mark wrote an autobiography called Climbing Back , and he documented several videos showing physically disabled people enjoying outdoor activities and the equipment they use to help them do so.
Patrick Miller, a Hampshire alumnus with CP, who is currently studying public policy at the University of Massachusetts , briefly discussed his experiences on a canoe trip explaining that he pushed his own physical limits to enjoy the trip and emerged as a much stronger and happier individual as a result.
A panel of Olympic athletes discussed the Olympics and the role of the Paralympic games within this movement. The panel as a whole suggested that the disability image can be shifted by publicizing people with disabilities performing accomplishments that break barriers. They discussed the need to give the Paralympic Games the same media coverage that is given to the core Olympics, possibly by combining the two events in the same venue, and running them at the same time.
Panel members included:
- Dr. Ted Fay, an Associate Professor of the Sport Management Program of SUNY - Cortland . Ted has extensive background in international sports and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
- Jon McCullough, a member of United States Paralympic Soccer Team since 1996 and advocate for promoting sporting opportunities for people with disabilities.
- Artemis Joukowsky, III, co-author of the book Raising the Bar: New Horizons in Disability Sport, which features the words and portraits of athletes with disabilities, and which last month was on display at the United Nations.Artemis trained for the Paralympics in table tennis, and has been active in disability sport for years.
- Eli Wolff, the Program Director of the Disability in Sport Program at Northeastern University´s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. Eli competed on the United States Soccer Team during the 1996 and 2004 Paralympic Games.
Creating Assistive Technology to Break Barriers
The other strong conference "take-away" message, was that with the right tools and technology, people with disabilities can accomplish as much as their able-bodied counterparts. Hampshire College paves the road to accessibility through the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center where students are trained to design their inventions with humanity as their main focus. This conference exemplified how Hampshire College is responding to the needs of the disabled with a showcase of student inventions.
Participants visited individual tables where students were on hand to demonstrate their inventions. Some of the projects included: a hands-free book holder, a prosthetic arm for frisbee, a canoe footrest to improve the posture and increase the stability of users with lower body disabilities, and a wheelchair trailer. For other examples of student inventions go to: http://lemelson.hampshire.edu/Projects.html.
Vendors and program leaders conducted one-hour workshops on the equipment that they provide to allow people with disabilities to enjoy outdoor activities. Participants were able to attend two workshops. I attended a presentation by Bill Allen, owner of Forever Young Treehouses, who showed us some samples of accessible treehouses he has designed for personal and commercial use.
Then I attended a demonstration of adaptive cycles for the disabled. I tried out one foot-pedal tricycle designed for people who do not have the energy level needed to ride a two-wheeler, and then two cycles that were pedaled by hand. Presenters for the cycle exposition included Mike Augsperger from One-Off Titanium, Bill Darby of Special Purpose Vehicles, Marcy Marchello from Massachusetts DCR Universal Access Program, and Megan Briggs from All Out Adventures. Other workshops included Real Windsurfing and Accessible Setups for All, Adaptive Scuba Diving, Inclusive Flat-Water Kayaking, and Adaptive Climbing.
The Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center was founded by an inventor by the name of Jerome Lemelson. The mission of the center is to provide students with an experiential education in applied design, invention, and entrepreneurship through engagement in assistive technology and universal design problem solving. LATDC achieves this mission through a combination of courses, activities, internships, collaborations with business and non-profit organizations, and through teams of students who design, develop, and make equipment available for people with disabilities worldwide.
Summary
The cover of the conference brochure reads, "Push Limits. Create Access. Break Barriers." The world that I entered when I attended this conference portrays people with disabilities as those who can do anything given the appropriate assistive tools and equipment. Hampshire is a leader in teaching future generations of designers and inventors the importance of providing this equipment and designing for humanity.
