Debra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
I am often asked in my global travels, – “Why does the United States litigate so much?Why do you always sue each other?”Or I get comments that start like this: “You Americans..” That always make me smile and cringe because I figure the person is going to take a shot at my country. I am proud to be an American, but I also believe that the United States can learn a lot from other countries on many subjects, especially on Disability Inclusion, ICT Accessibility and Accessibility of the Built Environment.So why does the United States litigate so much?
Recently, an accessibility expert from Sweden asked me a question during #AXSChat, a tweet-chat held each Tuesday at 3pm on Twitter about #Disability Inclusion and Accessibility.She said, “Debra, do you think the United States would have made as much progress without litigation?”I have been asked that question many times in my travels.
I answered, “Unfortunately, I do not think we would have had the same progress.Our reality is that in the US we create legislation and then pound out our laws by litigating with each other.Then we refer to the legal cases to determine the best way to follow and strengthen our laws.”
Neil Milliken, Head of Accessibility and Digital Inclusion at Atos and co-founder of #AXSChat, sees litigation for accessibility as a possible solution elsewhere.
Neil Milliken
“In the UK disability legislation has since 2010 been part of the broader Equality Act (EQA2010). Whilst there have been a few cases they have predominantly focused on services and employment the law places a duty on organizations and people not to discriminate and to be proactive in doing so.
Although I am not a fan of the sometimes parasitic model of litigation that we see outlined by Debra in the US, I do feel that accessibility in the UK could benefit from a test case much like some of the early class action cases in the US so that case law can help define and refine the understanding of Digital Accessibility and companies can meet what are currently poorly understood and often ignored legal obligations.”
Although the process took many years to achieve, I will never forget the brave leaders who fought for our rights for so long. Staging protests, rallying, speaking to the press, and organizing events all strongly affected the eventual passage of the ADA. One protest stands out to me. It became known as “the Capital Crawl”. Over 1,000 disability rights activists and protesters left their wheelchairs and mobility devices and crawled up the 83 steps of our Capital Building, simply asking for the same rights and equality any other American had.
These amazing leaders fought for the Civil Rights for Persons with Disabilities. As a result, the
Image Credit. Capital Crawl – American with Disabilities Act of 1990, ADA supporters crawling up the steps of the U.S. Capital building on March 12, 1900
American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George Bush on July 26th, 1990. Our family applauded these leaders knowing that they were fighting for all of our rights, including those of our daughter, Sara Ruh who was born in 1987 with Down syndrome.
Would the United States have made as much progress without laws like the ADA or Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508, 504 and 503?I do not believe we would have made the progress.I also believe that these leaders efforts encouraged other countries to fight and to continue to fight for their rights.Now we have the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (CRPD).I am hopeful the United States will ratify that convention in 2016.
Could we have made as much progress without these laws and litigation?I do not think we would have.Why?Organizations mean well, -but they have many competing interests.For clarification, -I use the word “organizations” as a placeholder for corporations, nonprofits, universities, local, state and federal agencies.
President George Bush signs the ADA into Law on July 26, 1990 – Surrounding him on the South Lawn of the White House are (left to right, sitting) Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Justin Dart, Chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities; (let to right, standing) Rev. Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability. Image from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. Photo Credit linked in Image.
Most organizations create an annual strategic plan and update it throughout the year.The organization has to determine their strategic focus by considering many moving parts including changing laws, standards, industry changes, business climate, and risks.
Inclusion of individuals with disabilities has become more of a risk in the last few years.A few years ago a colleague mentioned a conversation with a General Counsel of a Fortune 100 firm.The General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer noted that he had accessibility on his risk list for many years but it was way down on his list – maybe on the 15th page of things he was worried about. He noted that recently it has moved up to about page 3.Still not the top three things that kept him up at night, but it had moved up significantly on the things that were adding risk to the firm.What is keeping him up at night? These organizations have a lot of risk to worry about- such as privacy, security, globalization, branding, changing technology, and many other items.
For years, the United States has seen ADA complaints and lawsuits about disability discrimination and inaccessible websites.Most of this litigation is settled out of court.The most famous case was the complain against www.Target.com that turned into a class action lawsuit and was eventually settled out of court.It is interesting to note that www.Target.com is now one of the most accessible websites.
A Handicap Symbol with Target Logo within the wheelchair. Image Credits.
There is a troubling trend happening in the United States with a significant uptick in legal complaints and filings.Recently a law office sent a letter out to many major online retailers threatening them with lawsuits because their websites were not compliant or accessible.The letter told the retailers not to reach out to accessibility consultants.Instead, they were told to contact the law office and they would arrange to get them accessibility help with their websites.
A growing group of lawyers seems to realize that they can make a lot of money filing complaints against businesses. Image Credits – Laptop Image created by Emily Ha
Most of these attorneys are conscientious and want to assure that the websites are accessible to individuals with disabilities. However, a growing group of lawyers seems to realize that they can make a lot of money filing complaints against businesses and universities.Why?Well, most websites are still inaccessible to persons with disabilities.They understand that inaccessible websites can be a gold mine if lawsuits are won or settled on the behalf of the plaintiff.
Lady Justice with money tipping the scale.
Some lawyers actually do not care if the website is ever made accessible.They work with clients with disabilities and go to different websites and see if they are accessible.If they are not accessible, the lawyer files a case and hires an accessibility subject matter expert to validate that the site is not accessible.Then the organization being litigated against agree to pay a settlement.The attorney takes the lion share and then pays out the plaintiff.Those law firms keep accessibility experts on retainers and some are getting a large lump sum for each case. Generally, these cases do not go to trial.The problem is that the websites are not made accessible so individuals with disabilities lose.
This also happens with ADA complaints against small businesses because the business was not physically accessible.I understand the ADA is over 25 years old and it is past time that the Built Environment and Internet, Communications and Technology should be accessible.My complaint is directed to lawyers who make money via litigation but there are no expectations of access.
“ADA Requirements” on a laptop’s screen. Image Credits. Laptop ADA Image created by Emily Ha
Universities are also being targeted because of inaccessible websites, student portals, eLearning and other accessibility issues with their ICT.Individuals with disabilities are attending and graduating from universities in record numbers in the United States.It is critical that all students have full access to every aspect of the educational process.
Dr. Christopher Lee
“It’s true that U.S. higher education institutions face liability for inaccessible web content and technologies much like they did in the 1990s with inaccessible buildings. In fact, at last count, we’ve had over 27 higher education accessibility lawsuits, complaints, and settlements in recent times. However, there is very limited advocacy coming from people with disabilities compared to the ‘Capital Crawl’ movement. The driving force for change has been the National Federation of the Blind and the U.S. Department of Labor and their federal agency counterparts.
What can Universities do to protect themselves from legal complaints while still meeting the needs of the students with disabilities? The first and primary step is to develop and implement an information and communication technology (ICT) accessibility institutional policy and procedure.
There are several resources and good examples to draw upon. One helpful resource is the summary web page that has been published by The University of Washington. What we’ve seen is that ensuring compliance, securing the resources and maintaining procedures as technology shifts are usually the primary challenges institutions face.” -Dr. Christopher Lee, Department Head of AMAC Accessibility Solutions and Research Center
Some lawyers are adding a lot of value to these conversations.One of the best recognized attorneys in my opinion is Lainey Feingold.Lainey has become a champion to many in the community of persons with disabilities.
I visited her website, and gathered this information.
Lainey Feingold is a disability rights lawyer who works primarily with the blind and visually impaired community on technology and information access issues. She is nationally recognized for negotiating landmark accessibility agreements and for pioneering the collaborative advocacy and dispute resolution method known as Structured Negotiations.
Structured Negotiation is a collaborative and solution-driven dispute resolution method conducted without litigation. The goal is to help the organization become accessible so that the community of persons with disabilities and many other parts of the population, including aging citizens and non-native speakers, can have access to the content of your website with no ulterior motive.
Structured Negotiation appears to be a win win for everyone because the goal is to reduce the digital divide and provide access to everyone.
What do you think?Are we moving equal rights to technology, employment, transportation, housing and other parts of society forward by litigating in the US?
Join Neil Milliken, Antonio Santos and me on our weekly Twitter Chat. Just search the hashtag #AXSChat at 3pmEST and join the conversation. We chat about disability inclusion, empowerment, employability and accessibility.
So many people are sad and have lost their ability to find the simple joys in life. My Mom is one of those people and as she has aged she has become more and more negative and sad. She has always been the half-empty type person but when we lost my Dad last year her filters went with him. She struggles seeing the world as a good place and often gets lots in the darkness.
I try to gently remind her of all the joys and wonders all around her. Instead she tells me that I am in denial about the sad state of the world. She also thinks that I should lose the Rose Colored Glasses. I love her and will always be there for her but her view of the world makes me sad. I see the world as such an amazing place and as I get older want to continue to contribute to the world.
I have been blessed by a happy marriage for over 32 years and we have two grown children – Sara and Kevin. Our oldest daughter Sara was born with Down syndrome and we named her after my mother. Everywhere we looked we were told the dark, negative stories associated with raising a child with disabilities. We decided the experts were wrong and proceeded to prove them wrong.
Our beautiful, loving, joyful and simply amazing daughter has been a great teacher to us. She lives the great spiritual truths: “stay in the moment”, “see the good in everyone”, and “Life is about Love”. I also practice these truths but it is truly a walk in faith sometimes. If our intelligence was measured on how a person lives the greatest spiritual truths – Sara would be a great sage.
Sara and Kevin
Sara’s brother Kevin has also been positively impacted by his sister. Read his blog “Lessons Learned From my Sister” http://ow.ly/COnrj
Sara has inspired my work and I have spent the last twenty years in the disability field working hard to empower persons with disabilities (PwD). I have worked with countries all over the world to create programs and policies to include PwD in every aspect of society with an emphasis on the workforce. I have had the pleasure to work with huge corporations (national and multi-national) to help them understand how to include this segment of the population in their workforce and marketing efforts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 1 in 7 people are impacted with a disability. In the United States 1 in 3 families are impacted. Source: NOD
Disability is part of life and we all will experience disabiity in our life times. As we age more of us are acquiring disabilities. I have worked hard to shine a different light on disabilities. Instead of seeing it as a tragedy – we should realize it is part of life. Obstacles allow us to find our greatest strengths and treasures in life?
My Mom has been a great teacher to me and she has been trying her entire life to manage her mental illness. Life is tough for her and I try to be authentic with her and love her regardless of her negative view of the world. I have heard experts say to stay away from negative people but at this time in my Mom’s life she needs me. So I try to be authentic with her and try not to make her walk more difficult.
I view her negative lens of the world as an inspiration for me to always be grateful and see beauty in all things. Maybe it is a defense mechanism but I have become a better person because of my Mom.
I also believe we can learn a lot from people like our daughter Sara Ruh. She inately seems to understand the value of staying in the moment. Eating when she is hungry, sleeping when she is tired (no matter where she is – smile), and staying 100% in the moment and fully authentic. She is an amazing soul and I am so blessed to be part of her life. Both the Sara’s in my world – my Mom and my Daughter have been great teachers and gifts to me.
Kevin Ruh – Chief Marketing Officer at Ruh Global Communications
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the scariest ailments facing mankind today. The idea of not being in total control of your mind is a prospect most cannot fathom. Many will be negatively and personally impacted in our lifetimes by this scary disease. With the large generation of the baby boomers (76 million Americans) beginning to come of age, this threat becomes more and more frightening. To add to the problems recent studies show that people with Down syndrome have a much higher rate of developing Alzheimer’s and as early as their forties.
According to a recent article: Increasingly, Adults with Down Syndrome Face Alzheimer’s “Adults with Down syndrome are at high risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, and at an earlier age than the population as a whole. At least 25 percent of those older than 40 have Alzheimer’s, and more than 50 percent of those over 60 do, compared with 6 percent of those over 60 in the overall population.” Source: National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices
My older sister, Sara, was born with Down syndrome makes these statistics even more troubling.
I have been a vegan for over ten years and Debra, my mother has been an on again off again vegan and vegetarian for years. Our family exercises and tries to eat healthy diets. Like many other Americans our family tree includes diseases like cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and diabetes.
We all realized that Sara’s best change might come from a dramatic change in Sara’s diet.
Debra was worried even before her own mother had an accident and was diagnosed with dementia. We began looking into the topic and trying to see what could help those we loved. We read several studies that show diet plays a very big part in disease prevention.
When my mother saw the studies about Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s she remembered the work that Dr. Neal Barnard has done on Vegan diets and Alzheimer Disease. Barnard has been researched how a vegan diet can reduce your risks for many diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes and Alzheimer.
Barnard writes a blog on The Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine website. In his blog: Eating to Prevent Alzheimer’s disease he notes that a vegan diet can reduce the risks associated with these diseases. One reference: “The Ninth Annual Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Harvard researchers discussed the role that fruits and vegetables may play in AD. Jae Hee Kang, Sc.D., and colleagues evaluated approximately 13,000 participants in the Nurse’s Health Study. They calculated the women’s intake of fruits and vegetables between 1984 and 1995 and correlated these values with performance on tests of cognitive function conducted between 1995 and 2003, when the women were in their 70s. Women with the highest consumption of green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables—both high in folate and antioxidants such as carotenoids and vitamin C—declined less than women who ate little of these vegetables.”
So the rest of my family including Emily Ha of Ruh Global Communications have committed to Dr. Barnard’s recommended 21 Day Kickstarter Vegan Diet. On 10/3/2014 they began a diet that is free of animal products for twenty-one days.
Dr. Neal Barnard
With some help from a health and exercise coach, Jo Beardsley at American Family Fitness we are all going to help Sara to lose weight healthily with the goal to significantly lower her risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Sara eats a healthy diet now, but with this pledge, we stack the odds in her favor by eating her healthiest diet available. The rest of our family is also committing to eating the same way. We all want to see an end to these horrible diseases.
Emily will be keeping a blog tracking the journey that provides recipes for Debra and Sara to check daily with ideas for meals and other information.
The blog is at Rawesomeveganrecipes.tumblr.com and will include many raw vegan recipes too. Join us as we focus on Sara’s journey. We also welcome your stories and recipes.
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.
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.
Ruh Global Communications Logo designed by Emily HaDebra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
By Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications
I am writing a series about people with abilities and am proud to tell the story of one amazing woman named Jessica Cox.
Pilot, Jessica Cox standing by a plane. Image from www.katolik.ru
I am blessed to meet interesting people all over the world that are making a difference. It is time to celebrate our differences and understand that we come in all shapes, sizes, colors and abilities.
Many years ago a neighbor told me that she cried for me
A photo of Sara Ruh as a baby
every night because our daughter Sara was born with Down syndrome. I was shocked because I never thought of Sara being born with Down syndrome as a “tragedy”. Sara has so many gifts and I believe she is perfect the way she was born. She was born with hazel eyes, brown hair, a beautiful soul and Down syndrome. As she grew she complimented these god given talents with a good sense of humor, quick smile, compassionate heart and other talents.
My daughter, Sara Ruh, using different Apple Products simultaneously. Sara has Down Syndrome and loves the Accessibility Features that Apple’s Products offer
It is time to rethink the negative connotation of a person with disabilities and instead focus on the entire person. Each of us has abilities and disabilities. As we live our lives our gifts, ability and disabilities shift and change.
Jessica Cox is a perfect example of someone that is using all her abilities to make a huge difference in the world.
Jessica Cox a 30 year old born with no arms but born with many other talents. From a young age she was determined to make a difference and fully embrace her life. She is a beautiful, talented and amazing young woman.
Jessica cox, Pilot and Motivational Speaker. Image from: http://media.azw.s3.amazonaws.com/
Jessica Cox has achieved more using just her feet than most people. She also decided at a young age to not let anything get in the way of accomplishing her dreams. She achieved a black belt in Taekwondo at the tender age of 14. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona by typing papers with her toes.
She always dreamed of becoming a pilot, and in 2008, after years of persistent effort, she achieved this goal by soloing a single engine 1946 415C ErcoupeAirplane. Cox loves adventure sports—rock climbing and snowboarding to name a few—and she just made her first sky dive in January. Cox is named in the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person certified to fly an airplane.
Jessica cox, Pilot and Motivational Speaker. Image from: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/
She is also a sought after motivational speaker, mentor, and advocate for living your life to the fullest. She has traveled the world from Europe to Australia and Africa, sharing her inspirational story. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum and the Pentagon, met Pope Benedict XVI and President Obama, and appeared on The Ellen Show and CNN. She also recently won a Susan G. Komen Inspiration Award.
Her speeches emphasize the importance persistence and dreaming big. “There are two words I’ve eliminated from my vocabulary,” Cox says. “’I can’t.’ Because once you say those words, you’ve already failed.” She also emphasizes the importance of inclusion and opportunities of for persons with disability.
Jessica Cox sitting on the side of a plane. Image from www.marieclaire.com
A documentary called RIGHTFOOTED is being created to document Jessica Cox’s life. Her goals are to change attitudes about
what’s possible, and to inspire change. Want to learn more about Jessica Cox and her most recent project? Visit her Indiegogo campaign at bit.ly/Xyx15O where she is currently raising funds to support a trip to Ethiopia to advocate for disabled kids. For more information please see the press release at http://bit.ly/WfxlZj.
Please help me spread these stories by sharing them with your networks. You can find more information about my work at www.RuhGlobal.com. Please follow me on Twitter, Linked-in, SKYPE, Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest: @debraruh
To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications
TecAccess, Making the world of technology accessibleDebra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
The ROI of Hiring Technologists with Disabilities
By Debra Ruh, Founder of TecAccess, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global Communications
Employers looking to gain a strategic edge may find that hiring technologists with disabilities provides an attractive return on investment. Technologists with disabilities give everyone from private industry to educational institutions a way to improve the accessibility of their technology, hire a diverse workforce, and drive in more business by focusing on social responsibility and inclusion.
“ADA Requirements” in a laptop
Individuals with disabilities represent a huge market segment and a large untapped workforce. Additionally, with the recent amendments to the ADA and the updates coming soon to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, technological accessibility needs to keep pace with the new legislation. These developments will require employers to address accommodation issues in the workplace, something that can be helped by having employees with disabilities in high tech and management positions.
However, disability related myths can impede this process. I worked with one large company that basically said, “We are going to decide what jobs can be done by persons with disabilities and then direct individuals with disabilities to those positions”. But it’s not the place of the employer to determine what jobs people with disabilities can do. An employer simply need to make sure that its HR systems and processes are fully accessible, and if a candidate applies and is qualified for the job, interview them and hire them to do the job. Period.
Employers can make a wise investment in hiring technologists with disabilities. A recent Department of Labor report indicated that workers with disabilities consistently meet or exceed the job performance of coworkers without disabilities. One good example can be found in a Canon facility outside of Chicago that began refurbishing cameras. They hired people with intellectual disabilities and the first year the program saved over $19 million. They also noticed that the plant’s overall productivity increased at a higher rate than other locations. Employees at the plant also reported increased morale and pride to work for the company. Such intangibles can be valuable to employers seeking a competitive edge in the marketplace.
To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications
TecAccess, Making the world of technology accessibleDebra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Communications, Founder of TecAccess
What type of mobile phone user are you? Are you a Blackberry, Android, iPhone or another device? I am still a Blackberry user and fairly happy but peeking over the fence at iPhone and Androids. At first I stayed with the Blackberry because I travel internationally and they seemed to get better coverage. Plus I work all the time (bad habit of mine) and Blackberry really met my needs. However after I started using an iPad in May 2011, yes I was a slow adopter but thanks to Tim Springer I went to the other side and I really love my iPad. I like it so much that now I am considering moving to the iPhone to replace my Blackberry. Now I am not willing to give up my windows based Laptop but using all these devices together is sublime.
My daughter, Sara Ruh, using different Apple Products simultaneously. Sara has Down Syndrome and loves the Accessibility Features that Apple’s Products offer
I have a lot of choices however many people have very few choices because there are still a lot of accessibility problems with mobile phones not to mention the Digital Divide where many consumers cannot buy the latest device available. It is discouraging to see my friends and family not having the same choices that I do because of accessibility issues.
In February CBS News did an article stating that the number of mobile phone subscriptions had reached 4.6 billion and was expected to hit 5 billion in 2011. It is critical that everyone have access to communications and technology and that includes people with disabilities.
“Mobile phone providers in rich countries offer advanced services and handsets, while people in developing countries increasingly use the mobile phone for health services and banking, said the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). “Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services,” said the agency’s Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure.” (1)
Accessibility Features on an iPhone. Image Thanks to AMAC Accessibility Solutions
Mobile devices are being used to access all kind of data including financial data. “Between 500 million and 1 billion people will access financial services by mobile by 2015, depending on estimates. The MFS market will be dominated Asia, driven by mobile operator-led initiatives in developing nations to bank the unbanked. Remittance/transfers by mobile is growing three times faster than m-banking.” (2)
So what needs to be done to assure everyone can participate. A good first step is to design the device following Universal Design and Accessibility Standards. Blind, Vision Loss, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Mobility Impairments, Intellectual Disabilities and the Elderly are impacted by inaccessible devices.
W3C logo. image from: wr.org
According to the W3C:
“More concretely, many of the mobile devices’ limitations match a number of well-known disabilities:
the small screen can easily induce pages with very small characters,
the limited viewport makes layout and browsing context changes as disturbing as for someone with limited vision,
the sometimes difficult lighting conditions (e.g. from using a phone screen under the sunlight) can make colors and contrasts as difficult to identify as for a person with colors perception problems,
the lack of mouse matches the inability of some persons to use a mouse due to motricity difficulties,
likewise, the very limited and often hard-to-use keyboards available on mobile devices is evocative of the difficulties some persons with disabilities can have to interact with a keyboard
the social and mobility context of some mobile users make the use of some modalities (sound, video) for multimedia content inappropriate, matching the inability for some people to hear sounds or see images
in a mobile context, a user might have a very limited or patchy attention span, as someone with a cognitive disability might have
on mobile networks where time and cost are often limiting factors, being able to determine what an image is before it gets downloaded matters — at having such a description would help a blind user
the use of some technologies (plug-ins, scripts) might not be possible on a number of mobile devices, like they wouldn’t be usable with a number of assistive technologies” (3)
Everyone needs access to the internet, communications and technology. I applaud companies that have made accessibility part of the development life cycle. In the future, I will be blogging about some of these amazing best practices.
To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications
TecAccess, Making the world of technology accessible
It is critical to assure that the workplace is accessible for your current employees and future employees. Sometimes people think workplace accessibility is only critical to new hires but it is also critical to retain your talented employees. Replacing employees is very expensive.
A study by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley evaluating the effects of the US Family Medical Leave Act found that “turnover costs for a manager average 150% of salary, including tangible costs of hiring new workers and relocation, and intangible costs such as the new worker’s inefficiency and lost productivity while the job is vacant.” The same study, incidentally, found that the cost of a temporary replacement is only 39%).
How can workplace accessibility help you retain the talented employees currently working for your firm? As employees move through the lifecycle they sometimes are impacted by temporary and permanent disabilities. It might be because of age, or a stroke, disease like cancer or diabetes or maybe an accident like a sports or car accident. However, many employees can still be productive if the workplace is accessible and accommodations are provided. Companies want their employees to be productive and do not want to lose the value assets of the employee or their intellectual capital.
What can you do to make your workplace accessible?
Assure that all HR systems are fully accessible including benefit programs, PTO, and any other internal systems.
When you hold training programs online and in-person be sure the training is fully accessible. Assure all intranets and internal service programs are fully accessible.
Train your managers, recruiters, managers, supervisors and team members about accessibility and inclusion. Be sure your employees understand that diversity is critical and part of your organizations culture.
Offer accommodations to all employees. Sometimes employees need an accommodation because they broke their arm or hurt their leg. An accommodation can be as simple as a closer parking place or a one handed key board or allowing an employee that is hard of hearing utilize and instant messenger program.
Also be sure that all videos are captioned so all employees can have access to the data.
Look at all the touch points you have with employees, clients, vendors, partners and other stake holders and assure all touch points are accessible
Websites
Online HR Systems
Intranets
Service Centers
Products and Services
Promotions – Marketing & Communications
Procurement
Training
Make workplace accessibility part of your culture and blend it into your processes. Workplace accessibility will allow your employees to be more productive and creative and assure a solid ROI for all stakeholders.
For further information about TecAccess and their current endeavors, visit their website at SSB Bart Group
To follow up on Debra Ruh’s current endeavors, follow her on social media: @DebraRuh or visit Ruh Global Communications
