A11Y – Page 3 – Pruebas

February 12, 2016

I support the UN Campaign “HeForShe” Emma Watson launched by Kevin Ruh

Kevin Ruh - Chief Marketing Officer at Ruh Global Communications — Kevin Ruh – Chief Marketing Officer at Ruh Global Communications

My name is Kevin Ruh and I support the United Nations “HeForShe” campaign. I hope other men will join this conversation and show women that we support their rights to not be seen only as sexual objects. I believe that men are evolving. We need to raise our voices and show our support of women.

I was raised by a strong mother (Debra Ruh) and have a wonderful sister (Sara Ruh) born with Down syndrome. I am also proud to be in a committed relationship with another strong woman (Emily Ha).

Emily Ha - Chief Creative Officer at Ruh Global Communications — Emily Ha – Chief Creative Officer at Ruh Global Communications

I have seen men treat women as sexual objects or inferior beings – the weaker sex syndrome. It has always annoyed and angered me. I have debated this topic with many male friends and pondered what can be done to stop the violence. Men should never be violent for any reason. If you are in a bad relationship – step away – violence is never the answer. Women should be allowed to dress, walk, or act any way that they choose without fear of men preying upon them.
To make this situation even worse women with disabilities are often victims of violence and the statistics are very troubling. According to the National Rape Response Service:

U.S. National studies estimate that almost 80% of people with disabilities are sexually assaulted on more than one occasion and 50% of those experienced more than 10 victimizations.

Women with disabilities are raped and abused at a rate at least twice that of the general population of women.

Among adults who are developmentally disabled, as many as 83% of the females and 32% of the males are victims of sexual assault.

Source: www.MECASA.org

We must stop the senseless violence against women and people with disabilities.
I was intrigued by Emma Watson’s speech on this topic at the United Nations. Emma Watson is a household name for most. Her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies is where I was first introduced to this talented actor. She has gone on to do over fifteen films during her acting career.
More importantly though, are her efforts to help the human race. She has done a lot to help women’s rights over the years. Promoting the education of women is a huge issue. Watson has traveled the world to places like Zambia and Bangladesh to promote her views and aid the women’s rights movement. She believes in equality regardless of gender, I wholeheartedly agree with this and also believe it is a critical issue.
Watson was appointed the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in July this year. In September she delivered an address that launched a new UN Women campaign called “HeForShe”. It is a program that asks for men to advocate for gender equality. Watson notes that it is impossible to see a change in the violence if only one side is advocating equality.

She is right – often this is a conversation being held by mostly women. It is time for men to join the conversation. We need to teach boys of all ages that a “Real Man” does not hurt anyone. Emma Watson’s efforts are being applauded globally.
Many Hollywood stars are self-proclaimed “feminists” and are often scrutinized for not practicing what they preach. Emma Watson is the image of a feminist who says equality is for all.Find out more about the “HeForShe” campaign here: www.HeForShe.org
I hope my brothers join me in my efforts to support women. Many of us are evolved and we need to stand with women and stop the violence. I challenge other men and parents raising sons to stand with me. It is Time to STOP the ABUSE.

Pic Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/581799/emma-watson-s-heforshe-gender-equality-campaign-gains-major-traction-in-hollywood

February 12, 2016

Social Media Response by Kevin Ruh

I am an advocate of using social media to bring awareness about the community of people with disabilities (PwD) and accessible Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT). I believe that the community of PwD is starting to find their voices via social media. However, there are some significant accessibility problems with social media. There are leaps in accessibility that have been made and are in progress. Yet we find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products and when they are, it does not seem to be a priority. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation and movement because the devices are less accessible.

We find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation because they apps are inaccessible. This is difficult to deal with due to the fact that most don’t seem to have accessibility in mind until there is a problem, instead the devices and applications need to be thought of as opportunities for universal access.
Social media has to be accessible or we continue to widen the Digital Divide, it is as simple as that. As long as there are access problems we run the risk of alienating a portion of our community.
The Internet has opened up many opportunities as well as greatly improving the quality of life for these users, but there are still barriers. Many people think of disabilities in extreme terms such as blindness and deafness, but it also includes many others with visual or hearing impairments that are increasingly common in our aging population, and other challenges such motor and cognitive impairment. The spectrum of ability for all users is variable.

Can an organization really afford to lose this audience?

I think not, and this community is chattering on more accessible platforms, about the good and the bad. If social media tools are not accessible those platforms stand to lose out on major benefits, or risk being singled out as not worried about the less able part of the population and their advocates.

Sometimes we hear that it is too hard to make an application or platform accessible. This makes sense only if the organization wishes to put forth the message that their customers are not worth a re-tool of an app. Accessibility should be built into the system similarly to building in privacy, security or usability. The second thought of accessibility as “not an easy add on” and will be noticed by those left out.
The good news is that Social Media applications can be made fully accessible allowing everyone to use them; all aspects of use just need to be considered.

In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less creative or innovative or other security issues. The good news is we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is innovative developers take pride in blending accessibility into the process level. This seems to be the future of technology and it should be our end goal to reach universal access.

Is participation for all out of the question? If we don’t make social media accessible than we continue to widen the “Digital Divide” and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in seven people are impacted with disabilities worldwide. Plus 1 out of 3 households in the U.S. are impacted by disabilities, there for this is an issue that affects family and community. Worldwide, this group numbers 500-750 million people and is a key influencer of the public’s perceptions.

There is no excuse to not make your Social Media applications fully accessible so that everyone can use them. In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less usable or “dumbing” the system down. Once again, ridiculous – we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is BAD design if you do not blend accessibility into the process level.

February 12, 2016

Apple iPhone 6, innovative as long as it is accessible By Kevin Ruh

Finding new aspects to accessibility within the new devices that are forthcoming is exciting and sometimes troubling if accessibility has not been consider. With the recent release of the Apple iPhone 6 questions loom about the added features that make this new device unique and innovative can also cause accessibility concerns.
The screen is slightly larger for the new edition of the iPhone. A larger screen is good for users with a visual impairment as it is simply easier to see. A person with fine motor impairment can make navigating a tiny touch screen accurately very difficult. In that case a larger screen can be an upside to the user. Users that manage the small motions fine may find the larger strokes create a challenge and find it cumbersome. Limited motion due to size has caused some users to criticize the iPad.
The battery life has been improved on the iPhone 6. This is usually seen as a positive to all users. Especially when the user uses their device as communication device or as assistive technology. Longevity is also a huge benefit to everyone but is especially helpful to consumers with disabilities and anyone that needs the device to be accessible.

iPhone 6.0 1
iOS 8 has strived to be an accessible operating system and has accessibility features that previous iOS’s versions inspired. The new iPhone 6 will run iOS 8 when it is released which many hope will include access features that have not yet been announced.
The new OS also promises to run the new Apple Pay, which is a new type of program that is striving to replace credit cards entirely. The accessibility implications of this are numerous. The idea is to use your iPhone to securely transfer money is one that is astounding and would allow many of us easier access to monetary transactions. When the iWatch is released it may too have many accessibility accomplishments that we have yet to imagine. These devices show that accessibility can be a great way to widen the use of mobile technology for all.

Apple has been a leader in accessibility and their innovation has change lives. I hope they continue to blend accessibility into every device, app and service that is offered.

February 12, 2016

Introducing Dr. Christopher M. Lee in “Leaders Making a Difference in the World” : A Story of Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities and Finding his Greatness

Debra Ruh - CEO of Ruh Global Communications — Debra Ruh – CEO of Ruh Global Communications

I believe that the best way to further inclusion of persons with disabilities is to tell the stories of the organizations and leaders that are making a difference. Progress is being made all over the world and I want to highlight efforts coming out of Atlanta, Georgia. I have had the pleasure to collaborate with Dr. Christopher Lee and his team at AMAC Accessibility Solutions and Research Center (AMAC). AMAC is part of the Georgia Institute of Technology located in the College of Architecture.

Dr. Christopher Lee has been an advocate and pioneer in promoting social entrepreneurship to benefit humankind and further strive for sustainable social change in the field of disabilities.

Why does Dr. Lee care about the community of persons with disabilities? He is part of the community and was diagnosed with a cognitive deficit disorder in the second grade. He was placed in special education and speech classes.

Dr. Lee describes his dyslexia in this way: “Nothing I hear seems to stick with me and nothing I say seems to come out right. It is as though I am in a world where the air is packed with floating symbols. I watch as everyone swallows the symbols, digesting them to produce something that everyone else understands, but I can only swallow bits and pieces. Choking, I remain hungry in my struggle to find a way to communicate and comprehend effectively.”

He recalls being a student and standing in front of the classroom, he did his best to recall the ways to spell, to read and to say the right words and phrases. He understood that he needed to recall and use the words and phrases in the correct order to be able to connect and communicate with his peers and teachers.

He spent hours organizing his thoughts and preparing for presentations in front of his classmates. He tried to find ways to help him get his thoughts across to his peers and teachers. The efforts left him feeling very alone and frustrated, and in his mind and heart he longed to decipher the code of language.

“Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” Albert Einstein

Dr. Lee has built a lot of character and drive to make the world a better place for individuals with learning disabilities and other disabilities. He admits to being a perfectionist and he worked very hard to fit in and succeed in a world that is not set up for his “twisted perception of language.”

He was determined to go to college and scored low scores on his SAT due to his severe visual and audio process disorders. He had to work his way through developmental studies before he was mainstreamed at the University of Georgia (UGA).

“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” Wayne W. Dyer

He notes that his story is not unique from the high percentage of people in the United States and all over the world who are also dealing with learning disabilities. This story is experienced by parents and teachers globally. Many “experts” expected him to fail, but he worked hard and decided to become a success story and a beacon of hope for others with learning disabilities.

His motivation to become a collegiate swimmer athlete at UGA drove him hard to create his own academic action plan which included strategies, tools like assistive technology, and most importantly, a strong tutoring and mentoring network.

He also developed a communication strategy that included the use of role-playing activities where he perfected how to disclose his learning disabilities. He became an expert in and promoting his strengths and managing his weaknesses.

Today he holds multiple college degrees including a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Speech Communication from University of Georgia. He also earned a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Social Psychology from Union Institute and University.

His work has centered on the innovation of new models and techniques to support accessible electronic information in corporate, governmental and nonprofit entities. Dr. Lee is an internationally recognized advocate, author, speaker, principal investigator and leader in the fields of learning disabilities and assistive technology.

In1992, at age twenty-three Christopher wrote his first book, Faking It: A Look into the Mind of a Creative Learning. This book can be purchased on Amazon by following this link: http://ow.ly/Avs8V

In 2003, he was highlighted in Microsoft “Accessible Technology for Everyone”, a Microsoft video and publication. http://www.microsoft.com/enable/

In 2007, he was featured in the PBS series “A Chance to Read”, hosted by Molly Ringwald, which highlights new strategies driven by emerging research that shows what’s happening across the country to help children with disabilities find success. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us8-tG6R024

Today Dr. Christopher Lee is the Founder, Director and Department Head of the AMAC Accessibility Solutions and Research Center (AMAC), located in the College of Architecture of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. AMAC is committed to promoting technological innovation and developing effective user-centered products and services for individuals with disabilities.

AMAC’s mission is to address unmet accessibility needs in government, non-profits, and corporations by providing products that benefit those with physical or cognitive impairments. AMAC has pioneered a cost-effective, replicable, scalable, full service center for alternative, digital and captioned media for college students with disabilities, along with the downloadable assistive technology software. AMAC receives baseline operational funds from the University System of Georgia (USG).

AMAC services and costs vary depending on the annual membership status of its 2,287 participating institutions. AMAC offers a variety of services to meet the individual needs of students with print-related disabilities and post-secondary institutions.

Christopher has been recognized for his advocacy and leadership many times and most recently was awarded a “Campus Technology Innovators Award for 2014”. AMAC was also awarded a coveted “Zero Project Award 2013” from The World Future Council and the European Foundation Centre.

To learn more about Dr. Christopher Lee’s work, please visit AMAC at http://www.amacusg.org/

To learn more about Ruh Global Communications, please visit www.RuhGlobal.com

February 12, 2016

Mobile tech & access By Kevin Ruh

Kevin and his sister, Sara Ruh who has Down Syndrome

Building accessible mobile technology is becoming more and more a topic of discussion and with good reason. The world is affected by disability; if you do not have any form of a disability then it is likely you know someone who does, so this is a topic that comes very close to home for many of us. As the number of people connecting through the internet grows and people begin to share more and more it become easier to see that even if you don’t have anyone in your life affected by disability, you need only look a short distance to find thousands of stories about how much people care about one another and how awareness can spread, this is the beauty of the internet, and to take this power and harness it for good is forward thinking.

Apple is undoubtedly the leader in accessibility on mobile platforms. Many visually impaired users say that Apple is unmatched at the moment in this regard. One only needs to look at Siri or the iPhone’s voice control options to begin to comprehend the steps taken and with more of Apple’s third party Apps striving to bring themselves up to the bar of Apple’s accessibility standards. Just being in the App store is driving developers to consider wider access.

This is a great accomplishment to say the least. If this is the future of development across multi platforms, as we have seen with things like the accessibility features of the Microsoft Surface, which have given a boost and Microsoft is collaborating with others to unlock the full potential of that device. We need make sure there is not a demographic left out, but where we always have the mindset in development that accessibility is integral, it is the lifeblood of our industry and of the future.

The internet is still inaccessible to a large portion of the world just due to the troubles of lines not reaching far enough. These wires that are necessary to connect until we can active the global wireless network. With such a thing in the future shouldn’t access for all be one of the top concerns of this innovation?

The recent discussions that have been going on across the internet on the #A11Y is interesting because with a hashtag comes internet awareness. If you agree with the A11Y hashtag or not, it looks as though it has been embraced and is becoming part of the internet culture. With awareness and discussions abounding I believe right now is a very important moment in our history, and that it will be seen as a turning point towards access for all. Perhaps not today or this year, but soon, and with the strides that are continuing to be taken it’s not too far around the river bend.

February 5, 2016

Deb Dagit, President of Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC

Ruh Global Communications Logo designed by Emily Ha

Photo of Deb Dagit. Image from: http://www.leadershipexcellenceanddevelopment.com/

Debra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess

Deb Dagit, President of Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC has 22 years’ experience as a diversity practitioner and has worked as a top executive in both the Information Technology and Health care fields informing both HR and business practices and strategies.

She is known for her pragmatism, subject matter expertise with regards to all dimensions of diversity, and results orientation.

She recently retired from her role as the Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President at Merck, where she spent over a decade advancing the Company’s global diversity and inclusion strategies.

Deb Dagit. Image from: http://www.lpad12.org/D12_links.html

From an early age most people’s expectations for Deborah Dagit were very low. Doctors told her parents when she was born that it was unlikely she would live to see her second birthday. They asserted that if she did live beyond that milestone, she would not be able to engage in any normal life activities. Educators were similarly pessimistic about her ability to learn. Her first two years in school she was segregated with other children who were considered too disabled to participate in a regular classroom, in an environment that was in essence a babysitting service for children with a disability.

Deb’s working-class single mother knew that although her daughter was physically fragile, she was also bright and capable of learning. Deb had learned how to read before Kindergarten, and was described as precocious by most adults. Deb’s mom pleaded with a local elementary school Principal to allow Deb to attend public school in the second grade. At that time (1966) there were no legislative policies or protections to promote school mainstreaming, and she would be the only child in her school with a disability through the remainder of her K-12 experience.

Despite more than 70 fractures and 25 major operations to repair and straighten her legs, Deb was always a straight A student and graduated from high school with honors in 1977, just before her 18^th birthday. She was also active as a student leader and received many accolades at public speaking competitions. She went on to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in Clinical Psychology. She applied her academic and leadership skills to become one of the premier Fortune 100 corporate leaders in an emerging HR discipline that came to be known as Diversity. Along the way she married her husband Dan, and they adopted three children, who also have various disabilities. She also became very active as a community leader serving on the boards of a broad array of national nonprofit organizations.

Deb Dagit Speaking Image From: http://www.educationupdate.com

Advocates and thought leaders for people with disabilities are often from the medical or health care community, who often consider people with disabilities as a population in need of a cure and/or relief from the symptoms associated with their diagnosed condition. No other diverse population is subject to this type of assessment in modern society. While women, racial minorities, and gay people have historically been labeled as genotypically predisposed to be weaker, less intelligent, and or medically compromised – only people with disabilities continue to bear this burden in modern times.

Throughout her career Deb has been a compelling and vocal advocate for people with disabilities. As the only Chief Diversity Officer with a visible disability, she has often found herself in the unenviable position of being the sole voice in the room to advocate for societal and workforce inclusion for people with disabilities.

Deb Dagit on Diversity Magazine. Image from: http://abilityaxis.com/debdagit.html

Her journey to achieving personal and professional success is all the more remarkable given the lack of belief that these achievements were even remotely possible.

Deb has an anonymous advice column called “Dear Deb” on her website www.debdagitdiversity.com. It is a unique resource for practitioners to seek support, affirmation, and ask questions re: how to cope with the emotional roller coaster that can come with performing diversity and inclusion roles.

Visitors can pose questions and provide a name that is anonymous to others. Only Deb will know the original author from their e-mail address and any other identifying information they wish to provide. (e.g. signature that appears could be something like “Troubled in Toledo”)

Typical topics may include:

expectations of colleagues who share the same demographic affiliation as the practitioner who are requesting a primary focus on their needs and interests
concerns about how to respectfully address and show up as an effective ally for groups a practitioner is not familiar or confident with
addressing internal conflicts that can arise when what is expected in the diversity role and how a person was raised to think about and interact with people from different backgrounds creates stress and/or confusion
demonstrating confidence and executive presence when working with senior leaders
friction that can arise with colleagues who do not share a similar priority/passion for diversity work

To learn more about Deb’s firm please visit:

Please visit Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC at www.debdagitdiversity.com

Follow Ruh Global Communications — To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications

February 5, 2016

Love, Compassion, Tenacity and Desire to improve his Sister’s Life – a story about Eric Zeiberg

Ruh Global Communications Logo

Love, Compassion, Tenacity and a Desire to improve his Sister’s Life: A story about Eric Zeiberg

By Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications

What can we accomplish when we put our minds to it? Eric Zeiberg of Connecticut believes we can accomplish anything even helping his big sister learn to communicate with him.

Andy Zeiberg Image from: whatsnext.nuance.com

It is always interesting when a friend or family member creates a product to help another friend or family member. This is a cool story about a young man that wanted to make a difference in another child’s life. At the time Eric was in the 6^th grade and 11 years old. One of Eric’s family friends has muscular dystrophy and has trouble speaking. She is practicing physician and writes on a simple notepad that she wants to say, and shows to people to communicate. Eric was fascinated as she wrote something on paper and showed it to others. “It could have been so much better if she could write on iPad and iPad would “speak” for her,” Eric thought.

Eric was intrigued and did some research to discover there were no handwriting-to-text applications. He decided to create one because he knew it could help his friend but also could help his sister Julie. Julie now 23 was born with Autism and has speech impairments.

Eric Zeiberg, 12, and his sister Julie work on an iPad. Eric designed an app that converts handwriting to speech. Photo by Harlan Levy/Journal Inquirer. Image from JournalInquirer.com

Eric says “Julie was my inspiration for the whole project. She can’t communicate, and it’s really hard for her to get words out. This is a starting point for helping her.” The app was finally ready on Dec. 2 with the debut of HandySpeech at Apple’s app

store, the only handwriting-to-speech iPad and iPad Mini. The application can help anyone with speech problems including people with Autism, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, CP, stroke, muscular dystrophy, and post-operation voice difficulties.

Plus it is easy to use. All it takes is a finger or a stylus to write in the yellow section at the bottom of the iPad screen, then hit the speech button, and the writing turns into a male or female voice.

Was HandySpeech easy to produce? “I started from scratch,” Eric said. “I didn’t know anything about the programming languages you use. I just had experience with computers. First I had to learn how to build the application — all the technologies and the Internet and how to code, and I used tutorials and websites to help me build it.”

iSpeech Logo Image from: www.ispeech.org

Eric also gained two partners — text-to-speech software company iSpeech and handwriting recognition software maker PhatWare.

The app provides for automatic corrections, learns user writing patterns, and allows simple finger gestures to insert special characters such as space and return.

Young inventor Eric Zeiberg, 12, created the HandySpeech mobile application. Image from: http://pvamag.com/pn/

Eric has a new version with several new features including:

Phrases: you’ll be able to scroll down a list of phrases such as “Please wait while I am writing” or “How are you?” and click on any one, and a voice will say it.
Speech speed control, so you can slow down or speed up the voice.
Ability to upload the app to an iPhone.

As you can imagine Eric’s father Boris is very proud of his son’s tenacity and desire to help not only his sister but millions of other people around the world.

Eric Zeiberg, 12, left, sits with mother and father, Maya and Boris, Zeiberg and big sister, Julie Zeiberg, 22, in their West Hartford home. Johnathon Henninge/ Hartford Courant

“I am very proud of him because he put his mind together, saw it through, and did something significant, but mostly because he shows that he cares about people.” Boris Zeiberg

The App sells for $29.99 and can write and “speak” in 13 languages, including Dutch, French, German, Danish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Italian, U.S. English, British English, and Portuguese as spoken in Brazil and as spoken in Portugal.

For details, call 860-874-8212, email info@iSpeak4u.com, or visit www.iSpeak4u.com

February 5, 2016

Take Disability Travel Survey

Ruh Global Communications Logo

Ruh Global has created a survey for clients to determine travel preferences for people with disabilities and all stakeholders. Please take this survey and pass to others to complete. Thanks for helping us gather this critical data. Our goals are to encourage hospitality and tourism to value, accommodate and include people with disabilities. Please share and take the survey. It is not only for people with disabilities but family members, friends and other stakeholders.

Take the Survey Here!

February 5, 2016

Ruh Global Communications

Ruh Global Communications Logo

I have had an interesting career and am grateful to follow my passion for inclusion of people with disabilities in every aspect of society. I have been consulting in the ICT Accessibility and Disability Inclusion industry since 2001 and recently founded a new consulting firm, Ruh Global, which will focus on Inclusion of People with Disabilities via Digital Marketing and Communications.

Ruh Global provides innovative yet personal marketing and communication consulting with a superior level of expertise and a strong professional reputation. Our services span communication channels including mobile, social media, websites and digital media, email, direct mail, sales activities and call centers. The firm will design and implement targeted marketing and social media programs that reach and resonate with the disability community while complementing and extending an organization’s current communication efforts. We will also partner with other PR, Marketing, Branding and Communications firms to assure people with disabilities are included in marketing campaigns.

TecAccess, Making the world of technology accessible

In 2001, I founded TecAccess, one of the leading providers of accessible Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and Section 508 compliance for the largest and fastest growing minority group – People with Disabilities, Baby Boomers and Veterans with Disabilities in the world.

It is always interesting creating a new business because there are so many ways to fail. The reality is that there are many potholes and ways to take a false step, and there was no roadmap to create the kind of business that I envisioned – a for-profit technology firm which could thrive by hiring a diverse group of technologists many with disabilities.

Photo of Debra Ruh and Sean Stapleford, a brilliant Engineer who also happens to be quadriplegic.

Most of the team members at TecAccess were people with disabilities that were hired because they were uniquely qualified to be Accessibility Testers, Trainers and Consultants. Over 80% of our team had disabilities, including individuals who were blind, had vision loss, were deaf or hard of hearing, had CP, MS, MD, TBI, Down syndrome, Autism, Severe Depression, Bipolar, Quadriplegia, Paraplegia, and many more. To say we were a diverse group of individuals is an understatement.

A photo of Ed Ziegler, TecAccess Accessibility Tester who sustained two Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

TecAccess merged with another ICT Accessibility firm, SSB BART Group (SSB), in April 2011 and I took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for SSB. The decision to merge the two companies was an easy one to make, as SSB very successful, had a similar culture and also employed a diverse staff which included technologists and project managers with disabilities.

Although I greatly enjoyed working for SSB, I eventually decided to step back out on my own in late 2012 with the full support and blessing of the SSB executive management team. I created my new company, Ruh Global, to focus on strategic marketing and communications to help ensure the community of people with disabilities (PwD) is included in a meaningful way in every aspect of society with a special focus on employment.

Ruh Global services will enable corporate and public organizations to easily navigate the legal maze and confusing messages about and from the community of PwD.

Our goal is enable business success through innovative marketing and communications programs that are:

Strategically and creatively aligned with corporate goals
Seamlessly integrated across traditional and digital mediums
Tailored to the specific needs of each client
Scalable with measurable results
Delivers integration of messaging for all customers, not separate but equal opportunities for different diversity groups

As part of a family that has been impacted by disabilities, I believe that Ruh Global has the ability to have a unique and empowering voice. My daughter Sara Ruh was born with Down syndrome in 1987. At the time, she was the first person in our family with a disability. Sara’s positive influence has given us the ability to have a unique and empowering voice.

It is believed that 1 in 3 American families are impacted by disabilities. This is an enormous market, but still a very confusing one to many corporations. This market has many stakeholders, including not only people with disabilities, but also their parents, children, spouses, siblings, extended family and friends.

An individual who is considered a Thought Leader in the disability community once told me that the stakeholders without a disability were often much more insistent that their loved ones be included and have equal access than the actual person with the disability. I believe that he is correct, because it has been my observation that people will often fight for another person’s rights more passionately than their own.

I believe we all have abilities and disabilities and it is time to move from a deficit/charity only message to a message of empowerment.

Ruh Global provides innovative yet personal marketing and communications consulting with a superior level of expertise and stronger professional reputation with the community of PwD than any of the larger consulting firms.

We work with our clients to assess and determine gaps between current conditions and future goals across all areas within their marketing and communications plans. In partnership with your team, we will develop innovative solutions for closing these gaps.

SSB Bart Group Logo. Image from: www.ssbbartgroup.com/

“SSB BART Group and TecAccess share the same commitment to ICT accessibility, and both firms recognize the value of employing people with disabilities, as well as the value of their subject matter expertise when working with clients to achieve compliance both with the technical and functional requirements of leading accessibility standards. We wish Debra Ruh great success with Ruh Global and look forward to collaborating with her on future projects.”

Tim Springer Image from: http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/

Tim Springer, CEO of SSB BART Group.

“When I merged my company The Bartimaeus Group with SSB Technologies in 2005 it was a natural fit because each firm brought different strengths to the table. When TecAccess and Debra Ruh joined us in 2010 it added yet another layer of diversity to the firm. It has been a pleasure working with Debra. Her passion for the value and inclusion of people with disabilities is inspiring and infectious (so much so that the two of us are writing a book together about using Social Media to follow your passion). I believe it is this passion that makes her such a fantastic marketer for the disability community.”

Contact Information:

Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications
Ruh Global
(804) 749-3565 (office)
debra@RuhGlobal.com
Follow us on: Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, BlogSpot, SKYPE @debraruh

For more information please visit www.RuhGlobal.com