On Friday, Oct 8, 2010, 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act will be signed into LAW!!!

NAD Applauds Passage of 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

On Friday, October 8, President Barack Obama will sign the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 into law and deliver brief remarks on the impact of this law on individuals with disabilities. Bobbie Beth Scoggins, President of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) with Chief Executive Officer Nancy Bloch and Law and Advocacy Director Rosaline Crawford will be on hand to witness this historic event at the White House, which will be streamed on whitehouse.org/live.

The NAD applauds Congress for passage of this landmark legislation will improve access to communication, television, and the Internet for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened and deaf-blind.

“The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act is one of the most significant victories for our community since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed 20 years ago. It will enable 36 million deaf and hard of hearing people to participate in the Internet age by ensuring captioning of television programs on the Internet, a closed caption button on television remote controls, hearing aid compatibility for Internet telephones, and communications equipment for individuals who are deaf-blind, and more,” said Bobbie Beth Scoggins, NAD President. “While we fell short in some areas, such as requiring web TV episodes distributed only on the Internet to be captioned, this is a step in the right direction to make
the web accessible. For many of us, the quality of our lives depend on an accessible Internet and we appreciate Congress’ recognition of this essential civil right.”

The passage of this Act culminates a legislative process that has involved congressional hearings, intensive discussions with various companies and trade associations, and extensive advocacy by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) of which the NAD is a co-founder, leader, and steering committee member. COAT, a coalition of more than 300 organizational affiliates, promotes full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. Other COAT co-founding organizations include the American Association of People with Disabilities, American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, and Communication Service for the Deaf.

The Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (S. 3304) will significantly increase accessibility for Americans with disabilities to the indispensable telecommunications technology tools of the 21st century by:

Making access to the Web possible through improved user interfaces for smart phones
Enabling Americans who are blind to enjoy TV more fully through audible descriptions of the on-screen action
Making TV program guides and selection menus accessible to people with vision loss
Providing Americans who are deaf the ability to watch new TV programs online with the captions included
Mandating that remote controls have a button or similar mechanism to easily access the closed captioning on broadcast and pay TV
Requiring that telephone equipment used to make calls over the Internet is compatible with hearing aids
For low-income Americans who are both deaf and blind, providing up to $10 million per year to purchase communications equipment to access the telephone system and the Internet so these individuals can more fully participate in society.
“This Act was achieved through bipartisan support.” said NAD President Scoggins. “The NAD looks forward to working with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the rulemakings expected over the next several years to fulfill the requirements of the Act. With the continued support of our members we will ensure that the final regulations provide the access that deaf and hard of hearing people need.”

The NAD would like to recognize and thank a number of members who played a key role in moving the legislation forward. In the U.S. Senate, the bill was championed by Senator Pryor (D-AR), with the support of Senator Kerry (D-MA), Senator Rockefeller (D-WV), Senator Hutchison (R-TX), and Senator Ensign (R-NV).  In the U.S. House, it was authored and championed by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), with the support of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA). In addition, the NAD would like to recognize AT&T, Verizon, USTelecom, and Windstream who provided early and staunch support for the legislation. Furthermore, the NAD would like to thank the COAT steering
committee representatives -- including NAD Law and Advocacy Director Rosaline Crawford -- who provided amazing dedication and commitment in shepherding this legislation through Congress.

Courtesy of NAD

Verizon Awards $55,000 to Nonprofits That Use Technology to Help Individuals With Disabilities

Verizon Awards $55,000 to Nonprofits That Use Technology to Help Individuals With Disabilities

"Technology is the pipeline to opportunity, especially for people with disabilities.  That's why the Verizon Foundation, which is committed to improving access to information and services that address the needs of people with disabilities, is awarding $55,000 to five Massachusetts nonprofit agencies that are dedicated to improving accessibility."

5 Non-Profit Organizations that received grants are:

1. Lowell Association for the Blind
1.  Help the Visually-Impaired children to do radio shows
2. Children's Hospital Deaf and Hard of Hearing program
1. Develop a series of webcasts that cover a wide range of topics important to caregivers and parents of children with hearing loss.
3. Easter Seals Massachusetts
1.  Enable people with disabilities to participate in all aspects of their lives through the use of assistive technology
4. National Braille Press
1.  Develop a refreshable Braille PDA (personal digital assistant) that will give blind students of all ages access to e-mail, the Internet, text files and digital textbooks.
5. New England Homes for the Deaf
1. Train individuals, all of whom are over the age of 50, have minimal experience with computers and are not comfortable with technology. 

I think it's awesome for those organizations to focus on incorporating technology with our everyday lives. Technology has already changed some people's lives, but at same time there are still millions of people out there who still are not exposed to all the benefits technology can offer. We need to improve that. Right!?

For more details; 
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verizon-awards-55000-to-nonprofits-that-use-technology-to-help-individuals-with-disabilities-101378594.html

American Disability Act (ADA): How far have we really come?

Today marks the 20th anniversary of American Disability Act (ADA). I congratulate everyone for all their hard work. It's truly an accomplishment.

However, I do wonder how far have we really come? Have we made a lot of progress or is it still all talks?

How many times have we heard or see this?

"Your disability isn't significant enough." 

"A number of Supreme Court cases (have) greatly weakened the law. Many cases have focused on the degree of an individual's disability, rather than whether discrimination took place." Often times people are being told, 'your disability isn't significant enough,' even though they need accommodations to work." "We have many, many strides to make. It hasn't solved everything for us, not by a long shot. But it certainly has made a dent in equal access." (Link 1)

"Since the ADA was passed, studies have shown that the unemployment rate remains very high for people with disabilities compared with people without disabilities, according to Disability Rights Director John Herrion of the state Division of Human Rights." " (Link 2)

"The biggest challenges that the state continues to face are old attitudes and stigma" (Link 3)

Lastly, many people are saying that ADA itself is simply outdated. The definition for "reasonable accommodations" are no longer acceptable. We have newer technology that have a much significant impact upon people with disabilities. Yet, they are rejected because they weren't simply stated or included in the ADA 20 years ago. (I.E. TTY over Videophone for the majority of Deaf population). 

What do you think? 
 

Soon DeafBlinds will be able to drive independently!

A blind man said "has hope (is) that one day he might earn his driver's license -- something he never before imagined possible...." This is absolutely remarkable. I certainly did not foresee this happening anytime soon. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) challenged USA to build a vehicle for the Blind. They had certain requirements that must be met in order to be considered an acceptable solution. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) took it a step further and held several different contests with the goal to inspire the students to come up with an innovative solution. A nine-person team of students from Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory got it!

http://autos.aol.com/article/students-design-car-for-blind/?ncid=AOLCOMMauto

"Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory developed a driver-assist system that uses laser range finders, an instant voice-command interface and a host of other cutting-edge technologies to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake and accelerate. The new system was put to good use last year (2009) at a summer camp where 20 blind and low-vision teens were able to take the wheel of a retrofitted dune buggy and navigate a course completely on their own."

Soon enough, there wouldn't be any excuse for Blinds and DeafBlinds to not be able to navigate to anywhere in the world. How sweet is that?