accessibility_fail | Entries tagged with accessibility

Hi folks. I'm back with some more questions regarding ADA paratransit. First off, does anyone happen to know if the powers-that-be keep records of any kind regarding disabilities of paratransit riders in a given locale? This question may seem on the surface to be a bit confidential, but here's why I'm asking. Several weeks ago I was told that my requests for door-to-door assistance are not that common. I took that to mean nobody or hardly anyone in my area needs the drivers to actually get out of their vehicles and assist people to said vehicles, provided passengers aren't standing outside specifically waiting for their ride. A few weeks ago when I booked a round trip, I didn't let the reservationist know that I needed door-to-door assistance until she was about to give me the estimated pick-up time, and she informed me that she was going to have to reschedule my trip. Just for needing door-to-door assistance but not specifying that at the correct time. On a related note, do any of you paratransit riders have the option of scheduling online and creating a profile? This would be so much easier. I'd rather not have to specify my exact needs every single time. I used to not mind doing this, but now I'd really prefer not to repeat myself if at all possible. I'm wondering if this may somehow be confusing the dispatchers? A lot of the paratransit vehicles here nowadays seem to be hybrids, which inandof itself is not a problem with me. However, I have difficulty hearing these hybrids with all the other traffic. This can present quite the dilemma when one only has light perception. Update: The local bus company rolled out an online portal about a year ago. The good news is that it is accessible at least with the 2 screen readers I'm currently using. But the bad news--or perhaps somewhat bad--is that it is not currently possible to book trips online. I read that trips can be cancelled online, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.

Current Mood: confused
Current Location: just returned from a neighbor's place across the hall.
Current Music: theme from the Winter Olympics.

jazzyjj

Hi everybody. Subject line pretty much sums it up. I'm wondering if anyone could test out the following website for accessibility: http://www.afb.org . I realize that this is probably a loaded request, especially given that accessibility means different things to different people. However, I've been having some issues with some parts of the website and am wondering if other people also experience these issues. I have been trying to purchase a free course from the AFB eLearning Center with no luck. It seems that this site is logging me out constantly, unless I tick the box that says "Remember My Username and Password." Even then, I am sometimes automatically logged out. Please see a prior entry of mine in this comm. I realize this is probably a security measure to protect against spammers and so forth, but the frequency with which it happens seems to be much greater than on other sites. The other issue I'm having is with the online store. It seems that, with VoiceOver at least, the navigation is somewhat off. It wraps around in a loop, but just a few days ago I was able to read a bit of information that was not accessible to me before. For the most part this website with its accompanying portals seems to work pretty well with VoiceOver and the latest version of Chromevox Classic, but I've not had good luck contacting the admins. Thanks in advance for anybody's assistance with this.

Current Mood: surprised
Current Location: bachelor pad, Illinois.

zdashamber

I'm going to give a five-minute presentation tomorrow evening on basic web accessibility (what to do re: designing and developing a website)... Here are the slides: https://slides.com/madelinebernard/webaccessibility

I'm interested in taking feedback on it, if you have any!

zdashamber

There are some useful links on this tumblr, http://a11ywins.tumblr.com/, if you create internet things or apps, or know someone who needs pointers.

sarah

The Kengaru is a hatchback electric car designed specifically for wheelchair users: the hatchback opens up, you roll right in, and it's driven using airplane-style controls.

This is a remarkable design, but the story of how Stacey Zorn made it a reality is even more amazing (link includes animated gifs and a video). The initial version is for manual chair users (expected to run ~$20,000), with a second model for power chair users coming next.

adrian_turtle

I live in an apartment building that makes no pretense of being accessible to wheelchairs. Sure, there's an elevator...but every door to the outside has a nasty trip-ledge and several steps up to street level. I don't need wheelchair access, personally. I need doors I can open, despite chronic hand and shoulder problems. I had thought I was coping ok. Then I noticed how often I was staying in the apartment to avoid the additional pain flares caused by pulling open the heavy building doors.

I haven't asked the landlord to install automatic door openers. I don't know if it's something they're legally required to do under the ADA or some Massachusetts law. It's not a workplace or any kind of public building. It's just a 40+ year old building with a few dozen apartments. I don't even have a sense of how difficult and expensive it is to install an automatic door opener (for an outside door that has to be locked). If it's a small thing, I think I'd feel more willing to push for it. I also don't know how my neighbors feel about it. Demonstrably, they can all get the door open, but some may well find it painful or difficult. My disabilities are not generally visible, and I've lost jobs for disclosing them. It makes it feel dangerous to speak to landlord or neighbors about a situation that's painful but not intolerable.

Any suggestions--diplomatic, legal, or technical? Or reassurance that of course nobody would try any kind of retaliation?

alexseanchai

Less an accessibility_fail, more an accessibility_insult: an image where the alt tag begins "[PLEASE ENABLE IMAGES]". Capslock and all.

phoneutria_fera

This is just a short note, and I'm not sure if it is right for me to post it or not. I am an avid blogger, using WordPress (and DW on occasion) for my own blog, but participating on a lot of Blogger/Blogspot (Google) blogs as a commenter. Now the thing is, there is this commenting mode where you have a drop-down menu that says "Comment as:". This mode to my annoyance is inaccessible with my (admittedly rather old) version of JAWS, and it seems it at least used to be inaccessible to some mobile devices. Is anyone else experiencing this problem, or does anyone know a solution to the inaccessible comment mode?

mathsnerd

So I am wishful of obtaining a second Gmail account, since my mail email is used for communicating with family, and for a myriad of reasons, I am forced to be permanently invisible on chat, and that makes me sad. Also, I'd like an email address that doesn't use my legal name in the handle for my internet stuff. So, I go to the sign-up page and try my usual options (mathsnerd, mathsie), only to find that they're both taken. Okay, no problem. I start trying logical workarounds to see which ones are available.

Oh, wait, what's that, Google? After trying more than three names, I have to go through CAPTCHA to prove I'm a real person? Okay, that's kind of soon, but whatever. Gee, you sure scrunch those letters together and make them all wavy so that I have a real hard time figuring out what the hell you want me to enter...

Huh, okay, I've tried eight times, Google, and I can't seem to read it well enough that you're satisfied that I'm a real person. And while you offer a "read-aloud" accessibility option for the CAPTCHA down below for submitting the form (which, incidentally, doesn't work in Chrome, yeah, you know, YOUR BROWSER!), for the CAPTCHA to keep trying different handles you conveniently don't offer any alternate options.

So, in conclusion, FUCK YOU, GOOGLE, AND FUCK YOUR UTTER LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY ON THIS PAGE. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Right now you're not living up to your usual standards. And I'm seriously wondering why I bother with Gmail accounts.

No love and a fuck-load of frustration,

mathsnerd

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Music: Big Roy and the Twigs - Snow Globe

gblvr

I recently stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn in Alexandria, VA, and I ran into a case of accessibility fail.

The automatic front doors of the hotel are at the top of a small flight of stairs; there is a narrow ramp that goes to the side door, but doesn't lead onto the 'porch' area in front of the automatic doors. In order to enter the vestibule, one needs to be able to open a door that swings out, or to have someone hold the door for them, which leads to other problems, as the ramp isn't quite wide enough to fit a person side-by-side with a wheelchair.

While we were waiting to check-in, I overheard an older gentleman who was pushing his wife's wheelchair commenting on the poor set-up of the doors; when attempting to use a luggage cart, I discovered first hand just how difficult the set up was.

I'm sure this meets the letter of the law, but it certainly doesn't fulfill the spirit.

flora

Short notice, but the U.S. government is rewriting the ADA and Section 508 regulations for Information and Communications Technology. These are the laws that describe how American companies and government websites need to be accessible. I thought some folks in this community might be interested in commenting on the draft legislation.

The US Access Board (the agency writing this) is especially looking for ideas on making government websites accessible to people with cognitive disabilities. They also want input on what should and should not be reasonable exceptions to the law.

The ADA revision is very short, but far-reaching. A new section now covers walk-up kiosk interfaces, not just ATMs. For example, if you've ever ordered food in a restaurant or cafeteria using a touch-screen, the new ADA law would apply there.

The first public comment period ends today (Monday) June 21 at midnight Eastern time.

Press release:
http://www.access-board.gov/news/ict-hearing-may.htm

Draft Regulations for comment:
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=ATBCB-2010-0001

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: Washington DC

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You Fail At Accessibility

Entries tagged with accessibility

More on ADA Paratransit

Request For Accessibility Testing of a Website

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New ADA & section 508 regulations - public comments due today June 21