The 25th Anniversary of the ADA Series: Disability Inclusion in the Workforce – Training & Finding Champions
Training will save an organization a lot of time and effort as well as reduce risks. Disability inclusion should be integrated into all corporate training, writes Debra Ruh.
– To see the full article by Debra Ruh, visit G3ict
25th Anniversary of the ADA Series: Marketing to Persons with Disabilities is a Business Advantage
Making it possible for stakeholders with disabilities and age-related limitations to access your goods and services is not only an important part of complying with federal – as well as international — accessibility standards but also a strategic aspect of any organizational management plan.
– To see the full article by Debra Ruh, visit G3ict
Science and medical technology advancements are helping people with disabilities see, hear and walk again. In a recent BBC article Cyborgs: The truth about human augmentation reveals exciting technology and scientific advances that are augmenting people’s lives. Exciting times for people with disabilities assuming you have the means to pay for these life-changing advancements. Let’s look at a few examples:
Bionic Eye
Another BBC Article is about Argus II or the Bionic Eye: I am Blind…now I have Bionic Eyes. It is a system that includes three parts: glasses, converter box and an electrode array. The glasses have attached a camera and they transmit images to the converter box. The converter box sends signals to the electrode array that was implanted on the retina.
What is it like to see again after years of blindness? Fran Fulton’s sight was restored with a remarkable new eye implant, price tag: $150,000.
Bionic Ear
The bionic ear is being credited as the first device to replace a sensory organ. The ‘bionic ear’: the couple who helped the world to hear explores the topic. A cochlear implant or Bionic Ears is a small, complex electronic device that can help provide a sense of sound to people that are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The Computerized Exoskeleton Could Help Millions of People Walk Again. ReWalk is a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion allowing individuals with Spinal Cord Injury walk.
Gene Laureano walks with the aid of ExoSkelton made by ReWalk, price tag: $69,500
These scientific and medical breakthroughs are changing people’s lives. The problem is that these advancements are out of reach for millions of people. The good news is that we have the funding, knowledge, and the social drive to eliminate many of the barriers.
Here are a few programs bringing scientific and medical advancements to people in developing countries.
World Wide Hearing provides access to affordable hearing aids to youth in developing countries.
Fred Hollows Foundation has helped restore the sight of more than 1,000,000 people worldwide.
The Nippon Foundation is assisting with the operation of schools to train them, in the hope of restoring the mobility and independence of persons with disabilities in Southeast Asia.
Clinton Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank expand their fundraising and eye care programs to help reach the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and WHO’s VISION 2020 initiative to eradicate avoidable blindness globally by 2020.
Society needs to expand on these types of programs to assure these advancements are available to more people in the future.
To learn more about our work please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com
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.
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
TechAccess, works with businesses large and small to ensure the disabled can use their products.
By David Karas, Contributor / August 2, 2011
Christian Science Monitor
Debra Ruh’s life changed dramatically when her four-month-old daughter, Sara, was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
While the news was devastating, Ms. Ruh decided to turn her family’s challenge into a blessing and a redirection.
Harnessing her technological expertise, Ruh started TecAccess, a company with the core mission of making Information and Communication Technologies more accessible, notably to those with disabilities.
“We make sure technology is accessible to everybody,” Ruh says. “Everything that we choose to put out on the internet [as well as the newest gadgets on the market] … all of that should be accessible to people with disabilities.”
Working with corporations and businesses large and small, Ruh’s Rockville, Va.-based company aims to ensure that those with any disabilities, whether physical, developmental, or mental, have the same access to web pages, videos, programs, and tech products as do those without disabilities.
Her firm has worked with prominent companies such as Canon, Dell, HP, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Bank of America, among others, to help them meet accessibility mandates, serve as models for best practices, and reach an audience that is often left out of the market.
Her firm has also studied the accessibility of websites for Best Buy, Walgreens, and CVS, among others.
“These large, multinational companies – they truly do want their products and services to be fully accessible,” says Ruh, adding that there is a business opportunity in broadening the market for a given company’s products. One in three American households is touched by a disability, Ruh says, making these families a sizable market.
It’s also important that those with disabilities have access to social media sites. “By not including people with disabilities, we are increasing the digital divide,” she says.
“Practice what you preach” has not been lost on Ruh: A majority of her own employees are disabled.
“We just welcome technologists with disabilities into our workforce,” Ruh says. Her staff includes members who are blind, hard of hearing, quadriplegic, and bipolar, as well as those diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and severe depression.
“Companies still don’t see the value in employing people with disabilities,” she says, adding that her company sees it as making sense, especially given its mission.
Many people are not born with disabilities, but rather acquire them at some point in their lives, she says. But that does not mean they cannot be good employees whose expertise and skills can be harnessed.
The recession has hit her company hard, and Ruh has worked out a merger with another company with the same mission – SSB Bart Group. Today, the two function together, harnessing shared resources and client bases.
Ruh says she feels a purpose behind what she is doing and a calling that she strives to serve.
“I have a story that is unfolding, and I’ve been fascinated watching it unfold – and at times stressed out watching it unfold,” she says during a phone interview.
At the center of that story is her daughter, Sara.
She recalls the shock that came after her daughter’s diagnosis, which neither she nor her husband had even considered during her pregnancy. While there have been struggles, Ruh says, she calls her daughter to be a blessing.
“We’ve always lived our lives like that,” she says. “Sara was always a gift. It’s not a tragedy.”
Sara is now 24, and she remains the focal point of her mother’s efforts.
Ruh says there’s still a need for a better understanding of disabilities in America.
“We still tend to look at people with disabilities with sadness or the charity model,” she says. “People are still very uneducated on the topic … [but] there are too many people impacted to ignore it.”
For further information about TecAccess and their current endeavors, visit their website at SSB Bart Group
