Accessibility and Kobe

May 14, 2024

a sign that says be kobe Photo by Weichao Tang on Unsplash I know nothing about basketball and very little about Kobe Bryant. Wheelchair basketball wasn’t a...

Accessibility and Design Thinking don’t work together automatically

May 14, 2024

Alt: Six-step methodology for design thinking from NNGroup.com. Empathize and Define (belonging to the “understanding” phase) Ideate and Prototype (belonging...

Accessibility Abbreviations and Acronyms

May 13, 2024

ACA: Affordable Care Act or Accessible Canada Act depending on context. “The ACA must comply with the ADA, not the ACA” is actually a legit sentence. ACR:...

7 Things that Turn good Accessibility into Great Accessibility

May 13, 2024

grand canyon photo by Jad The difference between good and great is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon— Rob Light, Creative Artists Agency (speaking about...

10 Tips for More Effective and Accessible WFH Communications

May 13, 2024

a desk with a laptop, an open book and pen. Pick the Appropriate Method of Communication Email, Slack, text message, phone, chat, conference call there are...

10 Reasons to Switch to Centralized Budgeting for Accessibility

May 13, 2024

an image of a hand holding a phone on a desk filled with paper It is the second half of April, and in the accessibility world, that means three things: IEP...

Canadian Summer

May 7, 2024

View of the Northumberland Strait at summer sunset from my deck in Point du Chene, New Brunswick, Canada

63503870.stop-saying-there-are-no-federal

January 17, 2024

Cartoon lightbulb with the words “Treat Everyone Equally” on a blue background I just read yet another article, this time quoting a New York state government...

Seven 2024 Accessibility Projections

$ · December 28, 2023

Here are the topics I think will be in the forefront of disability inclusion and accessibility next year

This Week in Accessibility: Griffin v. Dept. of Labor Credit Union

$ · December 28, 2023

Another rare defendant’s victory, but really not substantially different than Diaz v. Kroger

Life Before the ADA

December 24, 2023

The ADA turned 29 last week. These are things that people thought were acceptable before the ADA passed.

Why accessibility bugs are a good thing and how to handle them

$ · December 19, 2023

Hint: “fix the bug” is probably the least important item on the list

Online Mentoring

$ · December 18, 2023

Why giving back should be the obligation of everyone who has had the privilege to be successful.

My favourite books on accessibility and related topics

December 15, 2023

Since I’m wrapping up authoring my first book on accessibility, I’ve been reading a lot. Here are my thoughts on the most impactful books I’ve read recently

This Week in Accessibility: Mendez v. Apple

$ · December 15, 2023

A cartoon apple with diagonal rainbow stripes and a bit taken out of the top right corner A rare defendant victory. Will this change the strategy for either...

Where is the best organizational location for Accessibility?

$ · December 15, 2023

Wooden sign post showing three directions: This Way, That Way, and the Other Way Accessibility is the little red hen of the business world. Almost everyone...

The web is getting less accessible to people with disabilities

$ · December 15, 2023

And that’s a miserable thing during the current COVID-19 crisis if you are one of them or close to someone who is

Running Accessible Meetings and Events

$ · December 13, 2023

A primer to make the lives of participants with disabilities better. Blurred man in a business suit holding a card that says “everyone matters” As someone in...

Policies that support employment of people with disabilities

$ · December 12, 2023

Attracting candidates with disabilities is just one part of the complete “increasing representation of employees with disabilities” conundrum. Policies supporting PwDs is the next part

Retaining employees with disabilities

$ · December 12, 2023

The final part of the “employing people with disabilities” puzzle is creating an environment that supports their success

The accessibility issue more people with disabilities should think about

December 8, 2023

Graphical representation of Blockchain identifying 5 uses: smart contract, digital voting, data storage, mining, and digital identity Accessible...

Prioritizing Accessibility Defects for Remediation

$ · December 8, 2023

You have run your favorite automation tool. You’ve sifted through the results, suppressing duplicates, false positives (there aren’t many tools that...

This Week in Accessibility: ADA lawsuits alleging defendants trespassed onto digital devices

$ · December 8, 2023

What are the potential ramifications if your users with disabilities can’t access consent notice information ?

You might be #Diversish if . . .

December 7, 2023

Cartoon with six identical white men with the first one saying to the second “Diversity is Good. Pass it Down” (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy) ‘Diversish’...

Serving Customers with Disabilities

$ · December 7, 2023

Whether it’s in-person, by phone, chat or e-mail, anyone in a customer-facing role should receive training specifically on how to serve customers with disabilities without being offensive.

You don’t get a “pass” to discriminate against people with disabilities in an emergency

December 6, 2023

People with disabilities are the ones guaranteed to get disproportionately ****ed over in any type of emergency

This week in Accessibility: Gomez v. GNC

December 3, 2023

Multi-colored pills Gomez v. GNC should serve as a warning to any company facing an accessibility lawsuit regarding the importance of their accessibility...

My multi-day PG&E power shut off diary

December 3, 2023

PG&E and AT&T stupidity has devastating effects on everyone near where I live

This Week in A11Y: Are gift cards w/ Braille a good idea or required by law??

$ · December 1, 2023

The firms that brought you website accessibility lawsuits have now moved into litigating over the lack of Braille on gift cards

Elements of an accessible hotel room

$ · November 28, 2023

It takes more than a roll-in shower to make a hotel room accessible

What’s more expensive than getting sued over inaccessibility?

$ · November 19, 2023

Getting sued *twice* over the same (or different) inaccessibility

Overlays are not the solution to your accessibility problem

$ · November 18, 2023

In the long run they will hurt, not help your approach to people with disabilities

Out-of-state ADA lawsuit revived by Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

$ · November 15, 2023

Yeah, it’s a bathroom case. But digital accessibility stakeholders should pay close attention to this one

Starting an Accessibility Consultancy

$ · November 14, 2023

You may want to do this because it makes business sense for you, Or you may NEED to do this because of AB5

My Superbowl hangover

November 11, 2023

It is the Tuesday after the “big game” as I write this article. My annual headache is back. I don’t drink.

Measuring Accessibility Outcomes

$ · November 6, 2023

Peter Drucker said “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Here’s how to gauge the success of disability inclusion / accessibility initiatives

Simulating Disabilities

$ · November 5, 2023

When is it OK? When is it disrespectful? My thoughts on a complicated topic

Staffing accessibility — Consultants vs. employees

$ · November 4, 2023

It’s a complicated decision, here are the factors to look at to decide which route is right for your organization

There is no such thing as “perfect” accessibility

October 27, 2023

Accessibility is a really bad place for perfectionists. Here’s why.

Managers as caregivers during COVID

October 26, 2023

All of us are facing one challenge right now, but many are facing several. How managers handle that will dictate their post-COVID work relationships

This Week in Accessibility: Initial Ruling in Braille Gift Card Cases

$ · October 23, 2023

Dominguez v. Banana Republic — SDNY says lack of Braille gift cards in a retail setting NOT an ADA violation

“Work as usual” after COVID-19 will be different. Get over it.

October 22, 2023

At least some of us will refuse to return to pre-COVID19 work styles.

Ten things to improve conference call accessibility

$ · October 20, 2023

WFH has made video conference accessibility more critical than ever, especially for participants with disabilities. Try to avoid these pitfalls.

Remote user research utilizing participants with disabilities

$ · October 18, 2023

WFH is also resulting in RFH (Research From Home). This requires adaptations for participants with disabilities

Why COVID-19 contact tracing apps *must* be accessible

October 17, 2023

People with disabilities should benefit from emergency software. They also WANT to participate. Contact tracing won’t work without them.

Post-COVID employment changes that will benefit everyone, but especially people with disabilities

$ · October 16, 2023

Who wants to “go back to normal” when “normal” wasn’t so hot anyway?

People with disabilities control $8 trillion in spending

$ · October 15, 2023

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash I use the figure “$8 trillion” in many of my accessibility training sessions as the value of the global disability...

The US Pharmacy System — A cautionary tale

October 8, 2023

This is what I had to go through to get my Rheumatoid Arthritis medication reinstated post-COVID, and the costs in time, money, and pain

Why ERG volunteer work is both important and masochistic

$ · October 7, 2023

ERG roles can contribute to the fatigue/burnout that *every* underrepresented minority experiences at least once (and sometimes continually) in their lives

Ten basic accessibility facts

$ · October 2, 2023

All accessibility managers should be comfortable communicating the following facts and the reasons behind them.