More news about Springfield MO woman with monkey: Therapy or service animal status is main point in question

I’ve previously written here about
Debby Rose,
The Springfield, Missouri woman with a real monkey of a problem.

Rose has agoraphobia and a panic disorder and travels with a monkey at her side, which she claims is a service animal. She made national news headlines last year when the local health department sent 1,000 letters to local businesses, instructing them that her monkey is considered a therapy animal, and not a service animal as Rose has contended, under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Director of Health said that by that definition, businesses and establishments governed by the ADA do not have to admit Rose with her monkey named Richard. He stated that the monkey’s presence would violate food and health codes. Rose argued that point in a well-publicized effort, but I’d not heard any more on this matter until recently.

There’s been some news lately on Rose’s on-going battle with the Springfield-Grene County Health Department.

She is challenging the health department’s assertion in court. Just this week,
Rose filed a civil suit
against not only the health department, but also Wal-Mart and Cox Health, where she attempted to attend nursing school

She contends that the letters sent out by the health department stopped her from going to public places, but also denied her from getting an education.

Many businesses quit letting Rose and Richard in after the health department sent out the letters to ban the monkey because of food and health codes.

Rose says she was stopped before she could go into the Wal-Mart on Kansas Expressway.

Rose says, “A manager walked in with the letter in his hand laughing saying you’re not getting in here.”

Rose says she and Richard can’t go anywhere that serves food including her daughter’s soccer game, Wal-Mart and even nursing school at Cox Health.

One of the biggest sticking points that the health department cites is the lack of training for the monkey. Even though Rose asserts that Richard is registered as an assistance animal with three different organizations, and is even a required restriction for her driver’s license, she has not convinced the health director of any formal training process that her animal assistant has undergone.

I’m just wondering about that little matter of that driver’s license restriction, wherein Rose says she was told by the state licensing agency that she could not drive without her “service animal due to her disability.” If that is found as a credible and valid point, will that validate Rose’s case?

This matter again brings to light the important legal difference between a therapy animal and assistance animal under the ADA. It also illustrates the reason why colleges and universities need to be proactive in developing a service animal policy.

July is Disability Pride Month

Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month? I guess I’m slow on the uptake, because I didn’t know it, but am sure glad I found out.

I had just read about this and decided to Google the terms “July Disabled Pride Month.” The results brought back more than
1.3 million returns,
which was both surprising and encouraging.

It was surprising to me that there were so many returns, because I had expected a few hundred, or maybe a thousand or so returns. Granted, I didn’t spend the two months of non-stop 24-hour reading it would have taken to examine all the returns, but to have that many returns is great. And yes, I am fully aware that there are probably a good number of those returns that are not going to be disability related, but I expected that as well among the hundreds or thousands of returns I had figured on getting. Still, it is heartily encouraging to find this much published work on the subject of Disability Pride on the web.

Some of my findings included the following:

First, I initially read about the denoting of July as Disability Pride Month in
This Disability Pride, something to be happy about,
An op-ed piece byKathi Wolfe in the online edition of
The Progressive.

The disability and business communities support the bill. “This is a good change for America, and we urge Congress to pass this legislation,” said U.S. Chamber of Congress President and CEO Tom Donohue. “People … with chronic disabilities need to manage their disease and not be discriminated against for it,” said American Diabetes Association CEO Larry Hausner.

People with disabilities don’t want special rights. We want equal rights. And we want to be given a chance to work if we can do the job.

That should not be too much to ask.

(Kathi Wolfe is a poet and author. Her publications include “Helen Takes the Stage: The Helen Keller Poems,” by PuddingHouse Press.)

Secondly, for a good overview of Disability Pride, you might want to check out the extensive work on the
Disabled and Proud site.
Sarah Triano, the site’s producer has done some great work at putting together a good and solid presentation, encouraging leadership from within the community of people with disabilities. While the home page is a good starting point, you will do yourself a favor to click on the “Pride” link for a good discussion of Disability Pride.

And, finally, check out
Disability Rights Washington
For some further reading about Disability Pride.

So, those are your instructions: Go forth this month and be proud.

New and improved Disability 411; Review of The Short Bus by Jonathan Mooney

Okay, it is new and improved. It features a re-designed web page. And, the latest episode is out.

The “it” in this case, is the
Disability 411 podcast,
On whose latest episode your humble blogger makes his debut as a regular contributor. In this episode, D411 host Beth Case also announces some other guest contributors, putting me in some good company.

The other contributers are Day Al-Mohamed, of the
Day in Washington podcast,
Jacquie Brennan, from the
Disability Law Lowdown podcast,
And Chris Wright, a web designer, musician, and all-around idea generator for Beth.

Chris is also offering to do screen reader accessibility evaluations of web sites at no charge to D411 listeners (or readers, for those who choose to read the transcript instead of listening to the podcast). To contact him, send an email to
chrisw1@bestweb.net
and put “web site evaluation” in the subject line. Also, make sure you mention that you’re a fan of D411.

Do check out the D411 site's new logo and web page. It also includes disability news headlines, as well as some of Beth's favorite resource links.

For my beginning D411 contribution, I offer a review of
The Short Bus, A Journey beyond normal
By
Jonathan Mooney.

I first heard about this book a few months ago when the author emailed me through this blogsite and offered to send me a review copy. I replied to Mr. Mooney and asked if he had a review copy that was accessible to a computer screen reader and explained some formats that would work. Unfortunately, I never heard back from Mr. Mooney. I had checked out his web site and read a part of the introduction. I was really eager to read more, but that didn’t happen for a while.

I didn’t have access to check for the book’s availability through the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Disabled (NLS),
because more than five years ago, I had quit listening to those modified talking books on 4-track cassettes. I had grown tired of listening to books in that format due to what I felt was excessive space needs and effort to listen to books in what I felt was an antiquedated media format in a digital age.

The good news is that since getting my Victor Reader Stream, and its ability to play the protected digital files from the
NLS Downloadable Book and Magazine Service,
I’ve re-established my membership with the library. And, yes, The Short Bus was available as a download. It was actually the first NLS book that I downloaded and listened to on this accessible media player.

Jonathan Mooney is an author and speaker who has captured the essence of his own experience as a child with a learning disability, and turned it into a quest to explore how others with differing disabilities live their lives. Mooney was a boy who was dyslexic and didn’t learn to read until he was 12 years old. Along his way through the public school system, he heard many things, most notable of which was that he would do well to graduate high school and that college was all but out of the question. Like so many other people with disabilities, Mooney tapped into his strengths and survived, surpassing those glum predictions of his academic future. Not only was he able to parlay his atheletic skills into a scholarship to Loyola Marimount, but he later went on to graduate with honors from Brown University.

In the introduction, Mooney talks about how he began one presentation with an empathetic statement of, “Normal people suck.” In those three words, Mooney gives an indication of his approach to change his presentation to fit the situation and effectively reach out and connect with particular members of his audience.

The book’s title states exactly what the book is about. Mooney draws upon his childhood memories of when he rode that iconic symbol for kids in special education to school. However, what he has done now is make it a familiar means of recognition, and a very bold statement maker it is, as his means of transportation in this coast-to-coast journey exploring how people of different ages across the country manage their various disabilities. All the while he illustrates the defining personality of each person he visits, allowing us to see them for their abilities and not just their disabilities.

That takes care of explaining the title, for the most part, but that word “Normal” is there for a very specific reason. Children with disabilities are classified and treated as being outside the norm and Mooney examines the educational and social constructs for this. He also offers a brief history about many of the discussed disabilities and, peppered throughout the text, offers a good representation of the disability rights movement here in the United States.

More than just examining the definition of what it means to be classified outside the boundaries of “normal,” what each person he presents does, is present their own method of challenging what it is to be normal. Each of these people are presented, despite any limitations their disabilities impose, as normal people. They interact with their family, their community, and pursue life with zeal. That pursuit can be seen in the way the 8-year old deaf-blind girl understand so much more than what many perceive, or maybe how she plays a trick on her brother. Or it might be found in the older, transgender man named Cookie who has a deep understanding of art and paints a mural on the inside of Mooney’s bus, even though one of his darkest recollections was when he was six and his teacher called him stupid. Or, maybe it is in the heart of the boy who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, but has an undying love for roller coasters. It can be found in any of the variety of people Mooney meets up with. Pick any one of them and you’ll find out a new definition of what normal is.

The book is written in a style that is easy and comfortable to read, like sitting down with an old friend. While the language is direct and sometimes coarse, it usually fits the context. For anybody who works in the disability service field, The Short Bus should make a stop on your reading list. It is a good read covering a range of disabilities and profiles some strong people with attitudes that allow them to pursue life. While I had to wait a few months to get a copy I could read, it was definitely worth the wait.

There is a lot more than just my review of that book on D411. Go to the D411 home page and check out its new design and grab the latest episode.

Florida State University survey seeking visually impaired adults

Here’s another survey opportunity, this one seeking participants who are at least 18 years of age and have a diagnosed visual impairment.

The following information is from the survey’s informed consent page.

We are assistant professors in the Department of Childhood Education, Reading, and Disability Services, at Florida State University. We are conducting a research study to investigate the relationship between the amount and type of internet use and social support and well-being in individuals with visual impairments. You are eligible to participate in this study if you a) are 18 years of age or older and b) have a diagnosed visual impairment.


Your participation will involve completing an online survey that will take approximately 30 minutes. You will be asked a series of questions regarding your demographic characteristics, internet use, social support, and well-being. Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. The results of the research study may be published, but you will not be identified in any way.

There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts if you agree to participate in this study. If you choose to participate in the study, your confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent allowed by law. No personally identifying demographic information or information about your computer network or IP address will be collected.

Although there may be no direct benefit to you, the possible benefit of your participation is furthering knowledge related to factors that contribute to quality of life in individuals with visual impairments and any programmatic developments or improvements that may be made as a result of this study.

If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in participating, then go to
the survey site
to begin.

Survey seeking people with disabilities for input

Please forgive any formatting errors as I have copied the below text from an email. I tried to clean it up, but I am not certain how well the results came out in the visual presentation.

The participant qualifications for this survey seem to be open, but as a professional in the Disability Support Service field, you offer a very informed knowledge base. Also, please share this information with people with disabilities whom you know, as they will also have an informed opinion on the subject.

The due date on this is coming up soon, asking for responses by July 22, 2008, so if you're going to participate, jump on it quickly.


From: National Council on Disability
Public Consultation
June 16, 2008


Emerging Trends and People with Disabilities: Public Consultation

The National Council on Disability (NCD) is gathering public input for a study of emerging issues and trends affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Information gathered will be used in the development of NCD's next annual progress report to the President and Congress, "National Disability Policy: A Progress Report," which is required by Section 401(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

The purpose of this public consultation is to gather input to inform NCD's assessment of the status of the nation in achieving policies that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, and empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.

We are seeking input on disability issues such as health, housing, employment, insurance, transportation, assistive technology, recreation, emergency preparedness, training, prevention, early intervention and education. Your input will be used in the development of recommendations including, but not limited to, recommendations for changes in legislation, regulations, policies, or programs, as appropriate. NCD seeks input from individuals with disabilities, organizations representing a broad range of individuals with disabilities, and agencies interested in or serving individuals with disabilities.

How can you participate in our public consultation process? We will briefly outline the purpose, key issues and key policy topics of interest.


If you are interested in participating in this public consultation, you may want to respond or react to any of the policy topics of interest. If you do want to react or respond, please follow these basic guidelines:

* Be brief: Use one short sentence to explain each point you want to make, as this will help us understand your issue or opinion. You can add more detail afterwards if you wish.

* Focus on what is important to you: Write about the policy topic(s) you care most about first. If you want to make more detailed comments, put them in an appendix to your response or in a separate document.

* Provide evidence: Your comments will be more convincing if they are supported by evidence or information. If you are responding by regular mail or email, send in copies of supporting documents rather than information about where to find them.

* Submit your response as soon as possible: The earlier you send in your views, the longer we have to consider them. This is particularly important if you are providing new information or evidence.

* Tell us who you are: Say whether you are commenting as a private citizen, representing other people, or on behalf of an organization.

* Let us know if you want your response to be kept confidential: NCD may publish your views as part of the results of the consultation. If you do not want us to do so, state this clearly in your response.

* If possible, please react or respond by email: You can even insert your comment(s) or reaction(s) into this document following the questions you wish to answer or the subjects you want to discuss from the list below. If you are not able to respond by email, please share your written comments with us in a format that you choose, but please identify the "policy topic" you are addressing at the beginning of your response.

Now we want to hear from you. Please provide comments and specific examples about any or all of the following:

1. Describe the most current and/or emerging issues facing people with disabilities.
* Identify what you believe are the personal challenges of living with a disability and individual barriers to full participation - e.g., finding and keeping a job, lack of accessible housing, transportation or access to the technologies that assist people with disabilities in independent living and access to the workplace.
* Address how opportunities for people with disabilities are affected by the attitudinal challenges that still exist among people who do not see the value of potential contributions of people with disabilities to society.

2. Provide your assessment of how well existing government programs address the emerging issues and needs of people with disabilities.
* Address systemic challenges that exist in areas such as employment, education, housing, transportation, health care, etc.;
* Explain how the Federal government and its partners should distribute funding resources to better meet the future needs of people with disabilities, including describing programs and services that will be needed to address the short- and long-term needs of people with disabilities.

Your comments will help NCD provide a guide for America's programs and services to be modernized to reflect the changed and changing needs of people with disabilities in our communities.

Please send your information to NCD by July 22, 2008, in one of two ways:

Email to:
ncd@ncd.gov
Type "Emerging Trends" in the subject line

Or by U.S. mail to:
National Council on Disability
ATTN: Emerging Trends Committee
1331 F Street NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004

Blind Climber "Sees" With His Tongue

I just read an article that is personally fascinating to me for a couple of reasons.

First, the article,
The Blind Climber Who “Sees” With His Tongue,
Which Appears online in

Discover Magazine,
Is about Erik Weihenmayer, a personal hero of mine. For those who do not recognize the name, Weihenmayer is the blind mountain climber who reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2001.

Secondly, the article, discusses the latest advancements made with the BrainPort,an assistive technology device that allows blind people to see using their tongues, rather than their eyes. In the early years of adjusting to the adventitious blindness in my life, I was seeking a miracle that would reverse the severed optic nerves and, for a time, put my life on hold waiting for this to occur. Accepting the reality of my situation, I let myself move forward with life, but I still long to hear of news such as the Brainport device. When I came to the point of accepting the blindness, I realized that the technological and medical advances that were to come during my lifetime were most likely going to allow me to see in some form again at some point. One thing I never dreamed about, though, was that this might mean using my tongue to see.

From the article:

In normal vision, light hitting the retina provokes electrical impulses that the brain translates into images. What the tool, called the BrainPort, does is convert light into electrical impulses that stimulate the tongue instead of the retina. With more tactile nerve endings than any other part of the body except the lips, the tongue can discriminate two points spaced less than a millimeter apart. That degree of resolution is far beyond what the current BrainPort array, with only 611 electrodes, provides. But tests have shown the BrainPort delivers enough information for users like Erik to navigate with.

“Climbing!” Erik calls out to his partner. He places the device in his mouth, raises his head, and “surveys” the wall before him. Electrical impulses from the BrainPort become to him “a tactile image that I’m interpreting in space.” Erik reaches for a handheld slider that controls the zoom level and field of view of the BrainPort so that he can “see” one or two rock climbing holds on the wall some 2 or 3 feet above him. Then he slowly and deliberately raises his right hand, reaches up, grabs hold, and begins to pull himself up the wall. His feet secure, he hangs for a moment, adjusts the zoom again, then tentatively puts his hand out and above him again, this time missing the hold by half a foot. Judging the distance of an object in space is particularly difficult even with the device, Erik says. To help him figure out how far away something is, he sometimes waves his hand—an object of known size and distance—in front of himself first to get a sense of scale via the BrainPort array. The feedback helps him assess the distance of his next rock climbing hold.

Testing the BrainPort, Erik says, involves “learning to climb in a new, different way. I’m learning another language in the same way someone would be learning Braille or French for the first time. I’m figuring out how to map it spatially.” The challenges are significant. The BrainPort provides information in two dimensions, like a line drawing on a piece of paper, but the user’s brain must learn to translate this information into things like perspective, dimension, and location in space. When Erik first used the BrainPort, the images in his brain appeared as unidentifiable shapes and lines, but over time, through practice, his brain adapted, eventually translating the tactile sensations into recognizable patterns and symbols.

Thanks to the assistive technology news site,
Axistive.com,
For this encouraging and interesting news update.

Updated: Serotek makes System Access Mobile free to K-12 students

The folks at
Serotek
Have done it again! They are offering another piece of their powerful System Access Network at no cost to a slice of the population that might otherwise not have access to it.

With their new
Keys for K-12
Program, Serotek is allowing blind students in grades K-12 to have at no cost, a license for using the company’s System Access Mobile that is carried on a thumb drive. Serotek is supplying everything but the thumb drives, which are available at a low cost from most retailers of electronics.

It is very benevelant of Serotek to do this, especially in light of the company previously donating the license costs that allows any blind person to use their
System Access To Go
screen reader at no cost via the
Accessibility Is A Right
foundation.

From the official KK12 web site:

“For children in the 21st century, using a computer is as basic as learning to read or riding a bike. Serotek Corporation is introducing a program today that will put blind children on the same page with their sighted peers -- giving them the ability to use a computer anytime, anywhere, with help from Keys for K-12 (kk12.)”

“Keys for K-12 is a free license to carry the System Access Mobile capabilities on a portable thumb drive. With the SA Mobile Software, your student can plug his or her flash drive into any computer, anywhere, and have instant access -- through text-to-speech and/or magnification -- to all Windows-based applications already there.”

“At school, the library, Grandma's house or a sleepover, a blind child can access the same information on the computer as any sighted student who can see the screen.”

“A licensed copy of System Access Mobile sells for $499.00, and now students K-12 can have it for free!”

For more information, including student application procedures, go the the official KK12 site linked above.

Update: 07/11/08

One might ask, “Why does Serotek do this?” For a good understanding of the reasons why this innovative assistive technology company operates in this giving and compassionate manner, read company president and founder
Mike Calvo’s recent blog post.

I have followed Mike’s ascent in the assistive technology field for some time now, to see him rise to his current point of prominence , and continue to be impressed by this intelligent and caring man. His star continues to rise and I predict that it will do so for some time to come. Read that post and you'll also understand why I say that .

Back from absence; Announcing affilliation with Wellsphere

I’m back after a prolonged absence. Please pardon me for that, but there was a much needed family trip and a longer than expected period necessary to set up my new smart phone with a screen reader.

I’ll be back soon with more news.

However, before I close this post, I’ve got a new affiliation to announce here. Access Ability is now an official part of the
Wellsphere
Community.

I have been invited to become part of the Wellsphere network, as a featured blogger in the Disability Support Service community. That means that posts from Access Ability will be available to Wellsphere community members from within the site.

If you’ve not heard of Wellsphere, the information I was provided in the invitation read:
“Wellsphere is a fast growing, next-generation online platform that is revolutionizing the way people find and share health and healthy living information and services. Our platform connects millions of users with the valuable insights and knowledge from health leaders and knowledgeable writers.”

And, if that isn’t enough, the following text is from the Wellsphere “About” page:

Wellsphere builds online healthy living communities that help people ‘Get active, Eat better and Unwind’. Wellsphere’s groundbreaking platform works by connecting each member with local health and wellness resources, classes and activities that match their unique interests and goals, and with the personalized advice and social support they need to sustain healthy habits. The company hosts a public website for consumers at http://www.wellsphere.com and creates proprietary communities (such as BeWell@Stanford ) for large organizations seeking to improve the health and well being of their members and reduce their healthcare costs. Wellsphere is headquartered in San Mateo, California.

Founders Ron Gutman and Dave Kashen started the company based on a vision for helping to solve the country’s health crisis and a passion for helping people improve their well-being. From the obesity epidemic to the rise of inactivity to the high levels of stress found across America, our country is not exactly in good shape. Most of us know at least a few things we could do to improve our well-being, but haven’t quite gotten around to doing them yet. Both Ron and Dave know from personal experience the incredible impact that becoming more active and eating better can have on people’s lives (yea, they’re still working on the relaxation part, but 2 out of 3 is a good start). Turns out making changes is HARD. So, they gathered a group of some of the brightest minds across Stanford’s graduate schools and asked one simple question: “How do we help people improve their own lives?” Hundreds of interviews, research papers and concept tests later, they uncovered two big ideas that have formed the core of Wellsphere:

• Personalization. There is a TON of generic information in print and on the web about how much cardio you should do, how many calories you shouldn’t eat, etc. etc. Unfortunately, most of us actually have a lot going on in our lives beyond reading books to figure out what a cardio is and how many calories are in our raspberry vinaigrette dressing. So, we need solutions that are simple, relevant, easy to understand, and (drum roll please) actually work for real people. And, who best to uncover these mystifying solutions? You! And you, and you, and you. The ‘right’ solution is the one that works for you, and the best way to know what that will be is to find people like you and see what worked for them. No more reading articles from unknown scientists in hidden laboratories. Find out what really works from people just like you, and once you do, tell a few more people (and they’ll tell 2 friends, and they’ll tell 2 friends) and before we know it, we’ll all be a bit happier, a bit healthier and having a LOT more fun in the world.

• Social support & community. We heard the proverb that ‘It takes a village.’ Improving your life (now matter how much you want to do it) is a hard thing to do. In our research, we found nothing more helpful than having the support and motivation of friends in enabling people to make whatever changes they want in our lives, and keeping them accountable for sticking with it. Of course, not everyone wants to make changes, some people just want to have more fun, get outside and play more. Well, it turns out community is great for that too!

• Incentives. Of course the best reward for making healthier choices is how great it makes you feel, but sometimes it takes a little while before you really notice. Getting rewarded for making even small changes can give you that little extra push you need to stay motivated.

With this in mind, we created Wellsphere, and have had a great experience testing out some of the concepts from our research. We heard firsthand from community members what they thought would be helpful.

For more information, check out:
Wellsphere.com.

Meeting the challenge of finding employment

One of the regular RSS feeds I subscribe to is
Fred’s Head Companion,
sponsored by the American Printing House for the Blind and of general interest to blind and visually impaired readers. However, I often find that the items discussed or information being offered would be useful and of interest to a broader scope than tjust the BVI population.

This is definitely the case with the recent post,
Meeting the challenge of finding employment.

The insight offered covers many subjects -- from resume writing, filling out an employment application, interviewing tips, and some information that would be of use to anybody just entering the world of work. The information would apply equally well to a high school student looking for a summer job or to a college graduate entering the professional world. It works just as well for somebody managing an onset disability trying to think through the sometimes daunting prospect of re-entering the job market. The post raises job issues that others will need to address, but also poses these questions, such as transportation, in the light which are essential issues to be answered by job applicants with a disability.

Check out Fred’s Head Companion for this post, but when you’re finished, either bookmark it or put it in your RSS feeds. If you’re reading Access Ability, then FHC has relevant information that will suit your needs just as well.

Review of KNFB Reader Mobile in Braille Monitor

Thanks to the
Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday
newsletter for letting me know about the review below.

There is a very good and informed review of the
KNFB Reader Mobile
in the May, 2008 issue of the
Braille Monitor.

In the review, Michael Barber discusses features of the KNFB Reader Mobile that he likes and also offers up some input on aspects he wishes the unit had. He gives a descriptive and detailed account of how easy it was to use and what he learned via the portable talking OCR device upon arriving at his hotel room. He also gives a quick comparison of the handheld reader against the two big names in computer-based OCR programs.

While Barber does note some shortcomings, the review highlights the key points that are, what I believe, the device’s strong points.
* OCR in a device that has complete portability
* User adjustable settings
* Its lightweight and compact design.

From what I discern in Barber’s review, it appears that one of the biggest hang-ups I had with the original product – bulky design that didn’t really lend itself to being convenient – has been totally eliminated. On the flipside, though, there is still a significantly noticeable delay in processing time, even though this sounds like it is quicker than its predecessor.

New assistive technology blog to share with you

I just learned about a new assistive technology blog that I want to tell you about.

James Bailey’s
Managing Assistive Technology in Higher Education
Blog is one of those “right on target” resources for postsecondary disability service professionals.

I learned of this blog through a news alert about his most recent post,
Faculty Development and Document Accessibility,
Which gives some great suggestions for helping faculty understand just what some assistive technology can do. The post offers the idea that by conducting this type of outreach, the DS coordinator can also open the faculty members’ minds to what the needs of different students are as well. Bailey uses this piece to stress the positive aspects of universal design and shows how this can be implemented by proactive involvement by the DSO.

Even if you are in some other role besides postsecondary disability services, this blog may provide useful information. If you have an understanding or need of assistive technology, then check it out. It is definitely on my list of blogs to watch. I’m adding it to my RSS feeds and to my blogroll.

And, if you like what you see and want more, Bailey also has a personal web site,
jamesbailey.org
where he offers additional AT resources and also promotes his consulting business.

Survey attempting to define aspects of assistive technology decision making

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s
Midwest Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
is in need of some input on how
people with disabilities make decisions prior to purchasing assistive technology.

The survey, which has the approval of the Institution Review Board, Is seeking input from people with any type of disability.

The survey is attempting to define two aspects of decision making, both pre-purchase and pre-acquisition:

• how users receive or find information regarding AT before a purchase and their level of participation in and satisfaction with the process; and

• who is involved in the AT purchase decision, and (c) primary funding sources of AT.

The Midwest Alliance is a consortium of researchers, educators, disability service providers, and engineers promoting the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and careers.

If you have any questions or comments, or would like any information about the Midwest Alliance, please contact Liam Martin at either 608-239-0264 or
liamgmartin@yahoo.com

Access Ability is joining the Disability 411 podcast

I’m excited to share this news with the regular readers of Access Ability.

A couple of weeks ago, Beth Case, of the
Disability 411 Podcast
Invited me to be a regular contributor to the program. The latest episode of D411 is now up and ready to download , on which, she makes this announcement publicly official.

Needless to say, I’m eager to do this. The opportunity to do something in audio as well as in print here on Access Ability is something I’ve considered for quite a while. Now, thanks to Beth, this is becoming a reality.

I’ve written here before about how much I enjoy the ease of use and accessibility of the
Goldwave
Digital Audio editing program. Now, I’m going to be able to use it even more regularly to produce my segments on D411.

And, on the current D411 show, Beth gives a good primer on transitioning from high school to college for students with disabilities. She raises some key issues that all students with disabilities need to be aware of, so do check it out for that important information.

So, now you know what you need to do…make sure to download the current episode and then check out the future episodes of Disability 411 for news and information regarding the world of disability and accessibility. This has always been a quality, professional podcast, and I am looking forward to adding value to the high standards Beth has set.

I’ll see you soon on D411!

Latest news regarding ADA Restoration Act of 2007

There seems to be some stirring on the legal front regarding the ADA Restoration Act of 2007.

According to this Human Resources Executive Online article,
a compromise is in the works
between advocates for disability rights and the business community. These represent the two factions in the legal tug of war that has been going on in Congress as the lawmakers attempt to retool the Americans with Disabilities Act.

While the fine points are still subject to change, it is good to see that things are progressing. Two of the biggest sticking points for employers have been the language of the proposed change in defining the criteria for a qualified disability and the use of mitigating devices, such as hearing aids . I'm glad to see that these have apparently been worked out.

The following information is from the article:

The proposed language, which could still change, would redefine "disability" to be any actual, past or perceived physical or mental impairment that "substantially limits a major life activity" and then defines this phrase to mean "materially restricts a major life activity," according to details released by the American Association of People with Disabilities.

The proposal also includes a non-exhaustive list of covered major life activities, and defines the operation of major bodily functions as a covered major life activity.

According to the language released, the proposed compromise:

* States that mitigating measures should not be considered when determining whether an impairment materially restricts an individual's major life activity, including medical devices, assistive technology, behavior adaptations, reasonable accommodation or auxiliary aids. This would reverse the ruling in the Sutton vs. United Airlines decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that "mitigating measures" should be taken into account when determining whether a plaintiff is disabled.

* Excludes minor impairments and impairments with an actual or expected duration of six months or less as disabilities.

* States that employers would not need to provide reasonable accommodations to employees they regard as disabled.

* Includes a section with examples of major life activities such as caring for oneself, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. The high court, in Toyota vs. Williams, ruled a disability must "substantially limit [an individual's] daily life activities," not just abilities at work. The case involved the inability of an assembly worker with carpal tunnel syndrome to do her job.

Both Michael Layman, manager of employee and labor relations for the Society for Human Resources Management, and Michael Imparato, AAPD CEO and president, say technical details are still being worked out, but they are confident a compromise will be reached soon, possibly within two weeks.

"We know the clock is ticking and we want to move forward with a deal," Layman says. "We are close to coming up with a proposal that will be fair to both employers and employees."

Interesting, intriguing interview with Ray Kurzweil

It is early on Saturday morning and I’m buzzing. No, it’s not due to the second cup of coffee I’m enjoying right now. I awoke around 3 a.m. and tried without success to go back to sleep. Resigned to staying awake for a while, I grabbed the TV remote and began flipping through programs. There were a number of news talk shows airing the latest flap in the Democratic Presidential race and I finally found an episode of The Brady Bunch to dull my senses, hoping to relax me back to sleep. However, when that show ended, it was 4 a.m. and I began surfing channels again.

I then stumbled upon a program that instantly energized me. When I heard the host say that he had been trying to get his next guest on for the last ten years, I became curious. But, when he announced his guest’s name, I knew I was going to be up for awhile and was beyond going back to sleep. I got up and put on the coffee so that I could take it all in.

I’ll bet that my ears visibly jumped. I was immediately pumped up when I heard that Ray Kurzweil was the guest on the
Glenn Beck show
on CNN Headline News. This was a repeat of the show's original broadcast from the night before, Friday, May 30, 2008.

I don’t know if CNN airs entire one-hour shows such as Beck’s online, but if they don’t, they should make an exception for this one. It is a riveting exchange with this fascinating man. However, if you missed the program and cannot see it in any re-airing, you can
Read the show’s transcripts here.

If you are not familiar with his name, Kurzweil is an author, inventor, futurist, and man of many other appropriate titles, but most of all, I believe that he’s one of the smartest men of our time. His name is synonymous with assistive technology. One of the first pieces of AT that I purchased was a Kurzweil Reading Edge, a stand alone optical character recognition (OCR) scanner that sold for more than $5,000 in late 1994. I remember that being the year when I made that purchase, because I made it shortly after leaving the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center, which is where I first learned about that innovative machine.

Kurzweil is in high demand as a speaker at numerous conferences and events whose subjects range on a variety of issues from music to science. While the conferences might vary, his focus always centers on information technology. If you didn’t catch it in my recent post, He was one of the two noted keynote speakers at this year’s CSUN.

I mentioned that I had purchased my Reading Edge in 1994. That might have sounded like cutting edge technology for that year, but that invention was actually already two decades old at that time. Kurzweil invented the world’s first character recognition machine that was the size of a washing machine and sold the first model in 1976. Watch the interview or read that transcript to hear how that whole idea evolved. I think you’ll find it interesting.

(Extra credit if you can guess the name of the first customer of this product. Read to the end of this post for the answer.)

Later in the Beck show, Kurzweil demonstrated the latest incarnation of his reading machine, the
KNFB Reader.
He scans a document and lets the product do its thing, reading on the show for the entire world to see and hear. Kurzweil does promote the KNFB Reader for its dual purposes of assisting people who are both blind/visually impaired and dyslexic. To emphasize this aspect, he shows the phone’s screen to demonstrate how the words being read from the scanned document are highlighted, and how the highlights move as the speech progresses.

Thing about what that says. From a behemoth, washing machine model to a four-ounce cell phone that can be held in the palm of your hand in just over 30 years…Wow!

To understand the evolution of that OCR system is to understand most of what Kurzweil discusses. Exponential growth is key to understanding how things evolve in our world. Kurzweil is a highly intelligent man, but in this interview, he doesn’t come across as an overly intellectual person speaking in language that the layperson can’t understand. With Beck providing the questions, Kurzweil explains his understanding of life and technology in very understandable terms.

Don’t even get the idea that Kurzweil is one-dimensional. Kurzweil speaks of many things during this program and assistive technology is just one of them. I mentioned that he is a futurist. Don’t confuse that with some flaky person who says they are a fortuneteller. Futurists examine history, technology, and trends on several planes and make predictions from the understanding gleaned from that examination. Kurzweil’s been doing this for thirty years and has been pretty accurate on many fronts.

Here are a few points from this interview I find totally intriguing.

* Exponential growth is based on numbers doubling and the time needed to do this.

* The energy produced by the sun is more than 10,000 times to power needed to support our world today.

* Solar power technology is doubling every two years.

* We are only five years from solar power being more affordable than current coal or gas.

* We are only seven doublings away from solar energy being the dominant power supply for our earth.

If you can find it, do check out the interview. You’ll discover that there is a good discussion of health and the integration of technology with our bodies, as well as a good delving into the subjects of fossil fuels, computers, information storage, global economics, and even briefly touches on the applications of information technology as it applies to terrorism. You'll also learn a little bit about Kurzweil himself.

And, here’s your extra credit answer: Kurzweil sold his first character recognition machine to Stevie Wonder. The two forged a friendship from this that led to further collaboration. The offspring of this work was the invention of the world’s first electronic piano.

By the way, my coffee’s now all gone and I’m still buzzing.

Assistive Technology Blog Carnival is open for business

Greetings, fans of assistive technology.

I’m here today to let you know that the latest edition of the
Assistive Technology Blog Carnival
Is up for public consumption. The best news is that you don't need any tickets to enter the carnival. Better yet, there is no inaccessible CAPTCHA keeping posters from providing information.

This edition of the carnival has entries discussing Natural Reader’s floating toolbar, yakitome, speech synthesis on the Mac OSX, and, my own entry about transitioning between speech synthesizers.

Submissions to the carnival this month were less than last month, but I think that Lon might have it correct that some might have found it to be too limiting to post on the theme of synthesized speech. Next month, though, will be an open forum, so submit your favorite assistive technology entry to Lon at
lonthornburg@nolimits2learning.com
for the June carnival.

I hope you can join us at the carnival.

Updated: Xerox includes accessibility on copiers via USB port

If you’ve read any of my previous posts concerning the iPhone, then you probably understand that I believe that this device has helped touchscreens to grow in popularity and this type of input method will, undoubtedly, continue to proliferate in the future technology and electronics landscape. But, that popularity is something that has to be taken in stride, especially when accessibility is not a consideration, such as with the iPhone.

However, touchscreens and their visual display predecessors are not new for operating office machines. If you’ve ever worked around any of the high end office copiers that are out there, you can understand just how inaccessible these can be. Even when I still had sightnearly 15 years ago, there were visual displays on copy machines that one had to be able to see by viewing from a vantage point of standing with one’s head above the machine. Operating a machine with this type of display would pose problems for people with myriad visual disabilities, as well as anybody who uses a wheelchair.

Peter Abrahams has written a great article, with a good discussion of relevant issues, on how
Xerox has implemented USB accessibility
On an assorted selection of their copier products.

The key to accessibility lies in the Xerox Copier Assistant™, software that runs on a compatible Windows machine and connects to the Xerox machine via a built-in USB port. The software allows for providing accessibility to people who have various disabilities, of which Abrahams provides a good overview of as well. Input is allowed via mouse, keyboard, or with the proper combination, voice command.

This article offers a good examination of touchscreens and lists how they provide a superior user experience. Additionally, Abrahams lists how they make good business sense, but balances this all out with how they have been inaccessible in the past. He wraps up by looking at the under-promotion Xerox is giving this landmark achievement and offers some tips to help make the most of what they have done.

Hat’s off to Xerox. You rock.

(Thanks to T. Reid at
Reid My Mind
For the initial information about this news.)

Update: 05/28/08

Thanks to an anonymous commenter, I am reminded that, back in March and July of 2006, the American Foundation of the Blind’s great bimonthly magazine
Access World
Discussed this problem in two articles and offered an accessibility review of some conventional brands of office copiers. While these articles are two years old, I believe the information is still relevant and appropriate to share in this post, so here they are:

March 2006

July 2006

I personally recall reading those articles and don't know why it didn't dawn on me before to include them in this post originally. I appreciate the useful feedback.

Congressional opportunities for people with disabilities

I’ve got some worthwhile news to share from the
Day in Washington blog.

The content which follows below is from Day’s blog. I’m providing it here in its original form to spread the word.

RG

Recently, I attended a meeting with Dena Morris, Legislative Director in Senator Durbin’s Office. She wanted to emphasize the importance and need for people with disabilities in Congress. Below is a note from her. I strongly encourage anyone with a disability and an interest in policy to seriously consider her offer. It is a wonderful opportunity and would have a significant impact on increasing the diversity in congressional staff.

From Dena Morris:

Senators Durbin and Harkin are eager to help us change the face of the U.S. Senate, with a staff that better reflects the diversity of the country. Historically, we haven’t done a very good job of finding, hiring and growing people with disabilities in legislative jobs. We’d love your help in turning that around.

We are looking for talented young people, hoping to get started on the Hill, who are willing to learn in an entry level position and grow with the job. Mid-career hires are less frequent, but we’re looking for talent and don’t want to discourage anyone.

In general, we look for are people who are smart, eager and willing to work hard. Political sensibilities are important, along with discretion, judgment and a level head. Communication is critically important, so an ideal applicant will write clearly and be confident and articulate in speaking. As I mentioned last week, you need to be able to juggle several tasks at the same time.

Please feel free to send interested candidates my way and I’ll do my best to either talk with them or help direct them to an office that might be a good fit for them.

Thanks again for your help.

Dena

If you feel you are a good candidate for positions on the Hill, or know someone who is, please contact:

Dena Morris
Legislative Director
Sen. Durbin’s Office
202-224-8466 (phone)
dena_morris@durbin.senate.gov

ACB Radio's Main Menu to host panel on CAPTCHA, alternatives, and accessibility

I, for one, am very glad to hear about the following information and am interested to see what is coming down on the accessibility front.

Anybody interested in internet visual verification systems, such as CAPTCHA and other solutions, like the accessible ReCAPTCHA alternative, will be interested in the
Upcoming Main Menu program
on
ACB Radio.

From the Blind Access Journal post linked above:

“We are proud to introduce our panel of experts and their primary areas of focus: “
“* Matt May from the Adobe Systems Accessibility Team will discuss his 2005 W3C note on the inaccessibility of CAPTCHA.”
“* Luis von Ahn from ReCAPTCHA at Carnegie Mellon University will describe their accessible solution.”
“* Steve Dispensa from PhoneFactor will tell us all about an innovative, telephone based two-factor authentication system. “

“Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream channel. “

To listen to the show, the link is:
http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=8

Props go out to Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow at Main Menu for putting together such a well qualified panel of guests to speak on this important matter.

And, I have one more note on this subject:
Hello, Yahoo mail! Hello, BlogCarnival.com! Do you know about this? More than that, do the clowns at the BlogCarnival even care?

Initial impressions of the pilot site for NLS digital talking book downloads

In case you missed it, a little while back, The excessive cheering I’ve noticed in the blind community got to be too much and I had to find out for myself what this hot, new, accessible media player was all about. I treated myself to a Victor Reader Stream so that I could see for myself if this product was worth all the hoopla.

But, this post isn’t about my affection for this powerful piece of assistive technology. What I want to share here today is news about the
digital talking book pilot program
of the
National Library Service for the Blind an Physically Handicapped.
After all, being able to play these books on the Stream was the final, convincing argument that prompted me to get mine.

This library service, or NLS, as it is commonly referred to, makes books available in an accessible, modified format to approved patrons who have a verified disability which keeps them from being able to read regular pring books. The NLS is a division of the United States Library of Congress, and is supported with federal funding.

For background, more than five years ago, I had quit ordering books from the state talking book library, which includes books from the NLS. The main reason for this was that I was discouraged about the slow speed with which they were adopting digital media. I was tired of fumbling around with those 4-track cassettes and keeping the tapes in sequence for each book I read while I saw digital audio springing up all over the web. It didn’t make sense to me that the patrons of the NLS library still had to fool with these tapes when the rest of the world was quickly making the switch to digital media. Another reason was that when traveling for extended length, I would often pack along three or four books just to ensure I didn’t run out of reading material. I felt it was excessively cumbersome to pack along all these plastic boxes of tapes in addition to the heavy HandiCassette player I had for playback. It just seemed that the digital age was leaving accessible media for the blind far behind.

Instead of the tapes, I chose to listen to books on CD. It wasn't that the CDs were any less of a hassle to tote and keep organized, but I would rip the CDs into mp3 format and listen to the books on my computer. Being that I use a home computer and not a laptop, though, this meant I was only able to listen to the books while on the computer. This was a little restrictive in that sense, but I liked it better than the 4-track tapes. It still didn't give me the portability I longed for, though. And, this is where I jump to the present, and also, to the Stream.

The Stream is one of a small group of authorized, accessible media players that will playback books from the NLS, which was one of the reasons I made the leap and purchased it. (For the other authorized players, read the comment left to this post by Wayne.) I had checked out the web site for the pilot digital talking book program and read that there were more than 10,000 titles already converted to digital format and available for download. That was enough to sway my decision and convince me to make the Stream purchase.

However, because the books will only play on one of these devices that the NLS doesn't issue, means that only people who have purchased one of these accessible media players can use this digital book program. That is true, at least for now. when the NLS goes fully digital and this is no longer a pilot program, to ensure access to all, the NLS will have to provide some form of digital book players to consumers for playing the protected audio files. But for now, they have this ever-growing collection of titles already in a digital format and there is an authorization process to validate the players, so this makes these digital talking book files available today to anybody with one of these players.

The authorization key is emailed to the owner and is specific to that one, unique player. This authorization process requires the NLS to coordinate communication by email with the manufacturer, as well as the user. Once authorized, that player can play any of the digital audio files from the NLS site, which includes magazines. Users are limited to 30 downloads in any 30-day period.

Initially, I must say I’m very impressed with the NLS pilot site. It is searchable by author, title, subject, or NLS catalog number. The entire process has run seamlessly for me and authorizing the Stream to play these files was a simple procedure.

The first book I downloaded from the NLS site was one I have wrote about here previously,
The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal
By
Jonathan Mooney.
(I’ll write more here later with my review of that book.)

Playback on the Stream was a breeze. Even the time when I didn’t lock the keys and accidently bumped some key that stopped the book while I was more than half way through the ten hour work. I pressed play again and it took me back to the beginning of the book. Within seconds, I was able to get right back to the spot I had previously been. The NLS books are designed to allow users to skip by sections or chapters. That is how I was able to move back to where I had been so easily.

There are some aspects of the digital book program that will seem comfortably familiar to anybody who has previously spent any time listening to NLS books on tape. They will quickly recognize the familiar names and voices of narrators from previous talking books. The NLS catalog numbers of these digital books are also numerically identical for these books as their recorded cassette brethren, except these are preceded by the designation DB instead of RC. That makes sense…these are digital books and the taped version are recorded cassettes. Keeping the numbers the same only serves to simplify the process.

I’ve got to hand it to the folks at the NLS; they’ve done something really good here. My former frustration with the outdated, analog 4-track cassettes is today supplanted with an immense joy generated by their digital talking book program. I am once again throwing myself into reading for pleasure.

Access World offers good recap of CSUN 2008

Each year, the Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference is held in California. Perhaps you may know this international gathering better as CSUN, its unofficial name, which is derived from its original host site, the California State University at Northridge.

The American Foundation for the Blind’s online magazine
Access World
Has a good recap of this year’s edition of the event.

This ever-growing event has blossomed from an initial crowd of 200 to more than 4,500 participants in 23 years. The escalating number of attendees tends to tax the creativity of its organizers to find means of hosting the showcase while still accommodating the burgeoning crowds that come to see and hear from professionals in the fields related to assistive technology.

It is one of those events that is of high interest to me personally. Perhaps, next year, I might attend and be able to give some direct feedback. A man can dream, can’t he?

Updated: MathTalk program integrates assistive technologies to make higher level mathematics accessible

I just learned about the following software that definitely has its place as a tool for students with disabilities.

On its home page,
MathTalk
Proudly proclaims “Do math without keyboard or mouse.”

MathTalk operates with either the Dragon NaturallySpeaking or the Microsoft Speech voice input systems to allow the user to use speech input to write math calculations. And, we’re not just talking basic, four function arithmetic here. MathTalk allows users to correctly write and work through pre-algebra, algebra, calculus, trigonometry, graphing, and statistics problems.

One feature I find particularly interesting is that there is a specific math to Braille program,, employing the Duxbury Braille translator. Using this, students could do their work in MathTalk and export it into a Braille file so that it can be loaded into a Braille notetaker. That's definitely some cool technology integration.

There are several
Videos on the MathTalk web site
demonstrating the program in action. Take a little time and check these out for yourself. Most of the videos are short and won’t take long to watch. They will give you and idea of what the program does and also what it doesn’t do.

I checked out several of the videos and was generally impressed with the MathTalk program. It would take some work for those who are unfamiliar with either of the voice input programs to get the voice files set up and running correctly, but once that was done, MathTalk appears to have a definite niche as an assistive technology.

As one disability does not preclude a person from having another, it is easily possible that somebody who already uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking could also have a Learning Disability that would make this program a great fit for them. The same goes without saying for somebody who is blind and a Braille user. For purely mental processing reasons, the ability to take in the Braille display of the problem and your work would be priceless, I would think. Also, just as well, being blind doesn’t exclude a person from having an LD which could again make berballizing one’s work a very realistic and accessible option.

From watching the last video link on the demo page, which is for MathTalk for Visually Impaired, I don’t believe that the program was working with an additional screen reader. It sounds like the developers have an integrated screen reader that works within the program.

The MathTalk for Visually Impaired program is still under development, so it is difficult to draw concrete conclusions, but, it apparently does not require visually impaired users to be Braille users. This is good, as it is widely reported that only about ten percent of blind people use Braille. Still, the ability to mentally process, verbally state, and then hear your work read back to you is a definite plus when working complex equations. Also, the ability to work through problems using correct mathemathical language is always a benefit.

There are only a few downsides of the Math Talk program that I can see. First, in the event that there is a speech disability, I don’t see where this would be the best alternative path for obvious reasons. Additionally, the user must be sufficiently cognitively sophisticated and able to manage the proper diction with a clear speaking voice. And, blind users will need to get an interface like J-Say to allow their screen reader to work with Dragon NaturallySpeaking first, just to get their voice files working properly before even working with MathTalk. Any of these problems could arise when working with students with disabilities and render this as an unworkable solution. However, for many others, it should be a very realistic solution.

Thanks to Lon Thornburg’s
No Limits to Learning blog
for this information. And, I hope this post answers some of your questions, Lon.

* * * * * * * * * *
Update 05/21/08
The additional information is basically the text of my comment replying to Lon's initial comment. After thinking about it, I feel there are some worthwhile points in the additional thoughts I had. RG

Speaking as a man who was totally blind when taking classes in macroeconomics, algebra, and two semesters of statistics as an undergrad, as well as another year of graduate statistics, I personally know how important it is to have correct phrasing of algebraic and statistical expressions. For that reason, I requested somebody who was knowledgeable in the language, when taking these classes, to proctor my exams as an accommodation.

When using MathTalk to work through problems, that correct expression is one aspect of the program that I see as a strength, but don’t believe they tout strong enough as a feature on the MathTalk web site.

Being I am not a Braille user, I used a Type ‘n Speak to take notes in class. I had my professors read aloud the problems they were writing on the board so that I could write them down. And, because I needed to be able to understand the correct phrasing when later reviewing my notes, I would write these problems out in long hand. One example might be: 325 plus (x) squared, all over (T minus 1). If you’ve ever taken statistics, you know that this is just one part of some of the problems you need to solve and that a complete solution would require an extensive amount of typing of text along with the correct numbers when solved.

With all that said, I again emphasize my point about this program having a lot of value with the blind population that doesn’t use Braille. It gives feedback of your work in a form that is correcty enunciated.

However, I think that also has to be traded off with the need to learn a voice input program in order to use MathTalk. Additionally, that also has the need to implement an integration tool like J-Say to do that. It’s a trade-off, for sure, but I firmly believe that MathTalk presents another option for some people, and it is one that is a better solution than anything that is currently available, at least that I'm aware of.

Court says U.S. Treasury Department discriminates against blind people

I think change is in the air.

And, I’m not talking about loose change. Its bigger than that. The change of which I speak is concerning our paper money here in the United States. You see, an appeals court judge has just ruled that our current system of
paper money discriminates against blind people.

Whether you agree with the lawsuit brought by the
American Council of the Blind
(ACB), or not, the legal arguments made in the suit requesting change are valid.

Of all the major developed countries in the world, only the U.S. has nothing in place to make possible tactile discrimination between different denominations of our paper money. So, the Treasury Department cannot argue that it isn’t possible. Nor, due to the constantly reworkings almost every bill has received in recent years by this department, can they argue undue hardship. And, the legal argument striking down the Treasury Department’s defense of the current system due to the adaptability of most blind people having a way to cope are just as strong.

From the Associated Press article:
“The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.”

I may be wrong, but I expect that the Treasury Department will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Even if they choose to accept the current ruling as the right thing to do and quit appealing, change will be slow in coming. Still, I do believe change is in the air.

Glove converts sign language into speech

I read a tech article in Barron’s earlier this week in which some folks, recognized for their ability to see current trends and how they might evolve to meet future needs, made a list of their
Top 10 tech trends for the future.

In that list, there seems to be a general acknowledgement that the cell phone will continue to evolve into something much more complex and useful than its current incarnation. However, one possible application of the cell phone that wasn’t mentioned was a potential for it to act as the translator for a
Glove that converts sign language into sound.

The glove will allow somebody who communicates using sign language the ability to communicate with almost anybody and do so without the need for an interpreter. When it is completely developed, somebody who uses sign language will be able to wear this glove and sign as usual. Then, the programmed glove will recognize the fingers and hand positions and will then send the associated word or phrase to the user’s cell phone. The cell phone, running an off-the-shelf text-to-speech program, will then speak out the word or phrase.

The glove, a product of a team of graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, is still undergoing refinement and is working on the learning curve. It knows only 32 words so far. Additionally, it seems like the team has taken some liberties and created some signs to work through the process, instead of using strictly ASL. However, of the 26 letters of the American Language alphabet, the glove has learned 15 of them.

Granted, it is not perfect, nor is it a completed, working model yet, but that latter outcome certainly seems like a given.

I believe the students’ hearts are definitely in the right place, integrating existing text messaging and text-to-speech applications with their vision. I hope they don’t catch any flak from deaf/hearing impaired purists for inventing a basic primitive language instead of striving to make it work with existing ASL. If they arise, I hope the critics aren’t too harsh, though, as innovation is where great projects begin.

This is just another embodiment of people thinking outside the conventional limitations to imagine what is possible, instead of resigning themselves to what is not.

Changing colas and switching relationships: Reflections on synthesized speech

I’ve written previously that I’ve been using JAWS for more than 10 years. In those years, I’ve also grown in the amount of time I spend on the computer. I’ve gone from 2-3 hours at the computer each day to probably spending 8 or more hours a day. Today, I would like to offer this experience as a qualifier to validate what follows as the perspective of a well experienced veteran of assistive technology and synthesized speech. Here goes…

Although I haven’t used Job Access With Speech, better known in assistive tech (AT) circles as JAWS, since its inception, I have been around for quite a bit of transition in the life cycle of this powerful tool. When I began using JAWS, it came on four floppy discs (yes, those 1.4 MB storage devices that wouldn’t even hold one song in mp3 format) and one of those disks was used only for the installation and removal of authorization key. It was also still being made by the company known as Henter Joyce. I marveled when, I believe it was, JAWS 3.0, or maybe 3.5, arrived on a neatly packaged CD-ROM. I just thought this was AT taking a big step forward and catching up with the rest of this modern world.

I also recall that this first distribution of JAWS on CD was my first introduction to the Eloquence speech engine. I have grown to use this as my default speech synthesizer and prefer it over all others that I’ve tried. I think it offers the best sound clarity and understandable speech. I do understand that not everybody feels this way, but this is my opinion.

However, before the switch to Eloquence, I had been using DECTalk Express, an external, device that had its own volume dial and needed to be plugged into one of the computer’s com ports. I also remember feeling at that time that a shift in reliance from a hardware-based speech synthesizer to one that was just another piece of software was something near blasphemy.

The DECTalk Express unit was small and sat nicely atop the rear half of the top of my CPU on the folding table turned computer desk, which was the Wal-mart version of the kinds used universally in school cafeterias. I had selected the Express model because it could be unplugged from my pc and plugged into any other computer that I needed to use. That portability feature was one of the selling points on choosing DECTalk over the other synthesizers I had been shown.

During my tech evaluation at the Assistive Technology Unit in Austin, I was shown JAWS and Window Eyes for screen reader choices and, obviously for what I wanted to do on the computer, I felt JAWS would be the best option. I was then shown three or four speech synthesizers. By far, I felt that DECTalk voices were the best. I was very sold on this selection and actually felt a little snobbish glee inside as a result of the inference the evaluator had made, when I said that I liked DECTalk best, was that this was the Cadillac of synths.

I used the DEC Express, as I came to call the talking box, for a couple of years without problems. I would adjust the volume up and down depending on the noise around me. That took place several times a day. Even though the new company Freedom Scientific assured me that I didn’t need to, I still chose to use it after JAWS introduced Eloquence. Sure, I installed Eloquence and tried it out for pure curiosity reasons. But that new technology sounded plastic and just didn’t have the warmth and realism that the DEC Express, with its nice collection of voices, gave me.

Then one day, I noticed the DEC Express began to emit a loud, scratchy noise whenever I turned the volume knob. That was bad, but not quite a killer for me. I just had to either get used to it or leave the volume at one level. Over the period of a couple of months, this degenerated to an untenable situation and I opted to try that new-fangled JAWS’ software synthesizer.

“Okay,” I thought, this isn’t too bad once you get used to it. But, I still preferred the soothing tones of DEC Express.

The final blow came when I got a new computer and the disk with the drivers for the DEC Express was hopelessly lost. With no other alternative, I made Eloquence my default speech engine on that new machine. Periodically, I would get this longing for my old friend DEC Express and fiddle around with it, trying to make it work. I even tried to find some resources online for the manufacturer, Digital Equipment Company. The company had been sold and finding online support in the late ‘90s was difficult for me to locate. All of this effort seemed to be of no avail, though, and I mostly abandoned my old friend, completely trading his companionship for that new kid on the block.

I kept that neat, little box atop the pc for a long time, thinking I would still find something that could fix it, but eventually began to store it on one of my bookshelves with other assorted, still viable tech equipment. Down the line, after I got married, we moved and it went from being stored on the bookshelf to being in a box that never got unpacked. From there, I think it went out with some other discarded material I didn’t have need for nor the room to store any longer.

I continued to use Eloquence over these years while JAWS has advanced to version 9. Along the way, I’ve watched the screen reader and assistive technology fields for news and breakthroughs in technology, mostly forgetting about my old friend DEC Express.

Then, last year, I tried out Serotek’s System Access To Go,which was good, but the speech didn’t work great for me. I was too used to the voices on Eloquence that the SAToGo speech engine didn’t even sound right. It sounded too mechanical. I looked at the overview of SAToGo to find what type of space alien voice box it was using for a speech engine.

What’s that? Did I read that correctly? SAToGo uses DECTalk. And, yes, I am the one who said this sounded too mechanical. Was I the one who is now blathering blasphemy?

Since finding that out, I felt like somebody who had been a die-hard drinker of one kind of cola, and when it became unavailable, switched to the other one and stuck with it. Now, years later, I’ve become accustomed to that other cola and think the first one just doesn’t taste right.

I know that the feelings I had for the DEC Express were warm, genuine, and right for where I was at the time. Since letting go and moving on to Eloquence, I’ve grown very fond of it and definitely prefer it over any other synth I’ve heard. Its sort of like a relationship. You get a lot out of it because you rely on that other part of you for so much, but when looking back at it from the safety and security of the new relationship, that first one just isn’t as magical as it once was.

Make what you want from this examination of my transition from DECTalk to Eloquence. It is still a little puzzling to me how my loyalty has shifted so much to land where it is today, but it is what it is.

Transitioning from high school to college; the LAMP model

I want to thank Tanesha Antoine the Special Populations Coordinator at
San Jacinto College (South Campus)
for inviting me to meet yesterday with a group of
Clear Creek ISD
high school students who are blind and visually impaired, and are considering college after graduation.

So the group could understand what qualifies me to speak with them, I began by giving them some background on myself. I described my personal history before blindness, the adventitious blindness, and my decision to go to college as a first step in doing something meaningful.

I emphasized that I had more than 13 years of great working experience that nobody could ever take away from me, but that this was not going to be enough for me to be seriously looked at for employment. I needed something to go with this experience, something else that, once earned, could not be taken away. That was an education.

I highlighted that my first contact at the college was at the DSO at the community college near my parents’ home, where I lived after the accident. I also highlighted to them how soon it became clear how important that office was going to be in my educational experience.

I continued by talking about my educational journey that took me On to the upper level university path and had me picking up two necessary classes, right there at San Jac South. I filled in about my three years as a Graduate Assistant experience in the university DSO and how it taught me so much more than just the student experience of disability services, which was augmented by the time I spent as a DSO Coordinator. I let them know I knew the experience from both sides of the disability service window-- both as a student receiving services and as a coordinator providing these services.

I strongly emphasized the importance of understanding the difference between students receiving services at the high school level and when going to college, outlining the laws governing these two domains. I really wanted them to understand how the onus was going to be on them for gaining accommodations when in college.

I’m one who finds acronyms a simple method of remembering more broad concepts. I also find that these make it an easy way to pass along information when speaking as well. After writing down the basics of what I wanted to discuss, I looked at the central idea of each point and created the LAMP model. Below are the basics of that model.

Limitations - Understand which limitations you truly have and do not set false ones for yourself.
If you cannot see to drive, then it is a true limitation that you cannot drive. However, do not use this as a cop-out and say, “I can’t drive, so I can’t get somewhere.” I illustrated this point by explaining the one-hour drive I had made that morning to meet with them. As another example, I pointed out that just because you’re unable to see doesn’t mean you can’t do algebra.

Advocacy - Self-advocacy is one of your greatest tools.
Nobody can speak up for you better than you about what resources you have at your disposal and what your accommodation needs are. Resources are not only the adaptive or assistive technology you have, but are also your skills, such as Braille or computer access with assistive technology, as well as your network of contacts. You know what works best for you and it is up to you to communicate these to your DSO Coordinator, professors, and classmates.

Meeting - Meet with your professors as soon as possible to discuss your accommodation needs.
This is critical for both the student and the professor. Meet with them in person, over the phone, or by email, but make it a point to meet with your professors as soon as possible. Do this before the semester starts, if at all possible. If you get that nasty old professor “Staff,” or otherwise do not know who your professor will be before the first class day, then by all means, stay after class that day and meet with him/her. Most professors are in this profession because they want to teach, but don’t always know what you need to learn. If you make the effort to learn and show them what you need, then most often you will develop a good working relationship with the professor. I emphasized that there will be some who might resist some specific accommodations, like recording lectures, but stand firm and call on the DSO Coordinator as your facilitator.

Planning - Planning to be successful means you must be successful at planning.
Planning has to do with everything from O&M to books, to how you’re going to address things like notetaking, projects, and any specifics of the class. You will need to learn the routes to class before the semester starts so that you can be at class on time starting that very first week. Communicate with your professors before the semester starts to learn which books are required so that you can, in turn, coordinate your needs with the DSO Coordinator so that accessible formats of the books can be gathered.


There was a good Q&A session following my presentation where a few final items were discussed. These subjects varied, but included the importance of registering with the DSO, advocating for your technology needs with the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitive Services, owning your assistive technology versus using loaners provided by the DSO, and some aspects of the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center, located in Austin. During this time, I also got to beam when demonstrating my Victor Reader Stream and showing some of the great features of this powerful piece of assistive technology.

BlogCarnival.com says they don't allow blind people and they don't care if that's offensive

I’m putting on my advocacy hat today. I’m steamed, so that cap might be riding a little cockeyed right now.

Any regular reader knows that a royal thorn in my side is inaccessible CAPTCHA. That is initially what this post is about, but moreover, it is about web sites that turn their nose at providing accessibility.

I recently posted about the
Assistive Technology Blog Carnival,
Which at first used a widget to allow user submissions via a site called
Blog Carnival.
(That site hereafter is referred to as BC).

However, it was soon discovered that to submit a post via the BC site, users were required to complete a CAPTCHA with no accessibility feature. Lon, the host of the Assistive Technology Carnival, promptly removed that widget as soon as he learned about the inaccessibility of the BC site. Users can still submit to the carnival through comments on the AT Carnival site linked above, or via an email to Lon, whose email address is posted on the page.

Lon, myself and a few others have taken the issue up with the BC site and written letters asking for the site to consider using accessible CAPTCHA technology which would allow blind users to access their site. These letters have included suggestions of accessible CAPTCHA solutions such as
RECAPTCHA.
Unfortunately, nobody has received a response. Until today, when I read that T. Reid, of the
Reid My Mind blog
Wrote about the response he got from BC.

I’ve taken the liberty of copying the text of the infuriatingly smug letter from a woman named Denise at the BC site. (See below).

After reading her letter, please make a choice and do something proactive on behalf of people with disabilities. Write an email to the BC site and express concern for providing an accessible web environment for all. The email address for contacting Denise is:
Support@BlogCarnival.com
If you’ve written a letter to BC already, then write again. Let them hear from you that the stance BC is officially taking is just wrong.

I coined a phrase several years ago: “If you’re not including somebody, then you are excluding them.” From the letter Denise wrote, it is very ovvious that BC is making a choice to exclude members of the blind community.

Here is the letter he received:
From: "BlogCarnival Support"
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:12 PM
Subject: Re: Blog Carnival Refuses to admit the blind community

Thomas -

Thanks for your email about CAPTCHA and about the visually impaired community.

Unfortunately, Blog Carnival doesn’t have plans at this time to implement CAPTCHA. We are considering redesigns of the site, but we do not have a timeline for that. We will keep CAPTCHA in mind as we look at redesign options.

Good luck with your efforts to make the web a better place!

Yours,

Denise
Support@BlogCarnival.com


His response was:

—– Original Message —–
To: "BlogCarnival Support"
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 6:34 PM
Subject: Re: Blog Carnival Refuses to admit the blind community

Denise,

Thanks for the response.

You said,"Unfortunately, Blog Carnival doesn’t have plans at this time to implement CAPTCHA."

By this I am assuming you mean no plans to introduce alternative CAPTCHA solutions. That’s really too bad. Blog Carnival is missing out on an opportunity to make a statement not only to those with visual impairments, but the entire disability community. The statement, "Your participation is important to us."

I guess there is the possibility of an alternative statement based on the future redesign.

Based on this response, I personally will forgo from participating in carnivals that use BC. I will continue to make others aware of the official statement.

Feel free to let me know if there are any changes in Blog Carnival’s position on visual only CAPTCHA.

Respectfully,
T.Reid


What are you waiting for? Go send that email to Denise at BlogCarnival.com!

ATHEN seeking survey input about Information Technology and accessibility

The information below is initially targeted to those of you who work in the DSO at postsecondary institutions, but will also involve other departments on your campus. It is interdepartmental, but the results will be most impacting to your department, so it is up to you to do the legwork and bring the other departments onboard.

The Access Technology Higher Education Network
(ATHEN) is conducting a survey regarding higher education institutions' practices, procedures, and policies for addressing information technology accessibility needs of students.

The deadline for participating in the survey is Friday, May 16.

Results will be published in the upcoming ATHEN e-Journal, and will be announced first in a pre-conference session at the AHEAD Conference 0n July 14 in Reno, NV. The session is titled "Creating Intersections that Connect Students with Disabilities and High-Tech Careers". This is an all-dayCapacity Building Institute, and there will be plenty of opportunities to discuss the implications of the survey results.

For details of the ATHEN survey, its six component sections, and which departmental official they are seeking to complete each section, click the link above to go to the ATHEN blog site.

However, if you are already familiar with who is best suited to complete each section on your campus, then the survey is located at:
http://www.athenpro.org/survey/

Man's finger is regenerated, including the nail and fingerprint

In February of last year,I reported on a substance manufactured from an extract of dried pig’s bladder that was used to
Regenerate a man’s fingertip.

Here’s an update on that item.

Fox News shares an
Associated Press article
Discussing how a man’s fingertip was regrown in only four weeks, to include fingernail and fingerprint, with the aid of this dried porcine bladder extract (which the man calls “pixie dust.”)

Now, I don't know if the man in the Fox News story is the same man mentioned in the article I had previously reported about. The Fox News report does include the extent to which the finger regenerated, which is fantastic to even conceive and why I'm writing about it today.

What else can I say? Science continues to impress and amaze me.

The iPhone now has some accessibility...sort of

Well, the iPhone is coming along in providing accessibility to customers with disabilities.

Maybe that should actually read that AT&T, the exclusive provider of voice and data plans for the popular Apple product, has finally made a jump to address some specific
accessibility concerns on the iPhone.

While the news article linked above is an umbrella announcement about accessibility, what it offers is more specifically AT&T providing a plan for internet and messaging for iPhone customers who are "deaf, hard of hearing, have a speech disability and/or hearing loss."

This really is great news for this group of customers and I applaud AT&T for doing the right thing. After all, why should customers have to pay for a voice plan that is of limited use or value to them?

The text Accessibility Plan for iPhone
is a $40 a month flat-rate feature and will allow customers who have a qualifying disability to have unlimited access to web browsing, email, and text messaging.

But didn’t AT&T promise a plan like this some time ago, like, um, back in December? I suppose almost six months late is better than never.

It appears that AT&T used that announcement to demonstrate their sincerity in making the iPhone accessible to even more customers with disabilities. That announcement also included information about the use of a mobile magnifier to help people with limited vision see their screens. This would be good news, if true, and another great step forward in providing accessibility.

But, I have to ask what magnifier program that might be? Is this the same Mobile Magnifier by Code Factory that AT&T has been selling for use on phones running the Windows Mobile or Symbian operating systems? Is that same application now Apple compatible?

Finally, the article also said that an option will also be for the Mobile Speak screen reader (also manufactured by Code Factory) to announce the menu options. This one has me scratching my head. Unless there is some voice command aspect, how will a person who can not touch the correct spot on the touch screen make the Mobile Speak software work? Unless there has been some change in the physical build of the iPhone, there are no buttons on it and the sole input is via the touch screen, which, without modification, would make navigation by the blind completely impossible.

And, I have to ask again, can the Mobile Speak program now run on the Apple operating system?

Maybe I just missed the press release announcing Code Factory products now working across the competing Windows and Apple operating systems.
Or maybe not.
Check out the official Code Factory list of supported products.

Good work on getting some accessibility options rolling, AT&T, but I think maybe there’s a hole in that umbrella.