DCAD 2014 - A Day of Disability Unity, Education, Celebration... and AT!

Disability Capitol Action Day 2014 took place on May 21^st in Sacramento and we thought it would be nice to share some photos from this successful and enjoyable event! 

The day started off with a Solidarity March from the Capitol Rose Garden to the West Lawn. Participants made signs to express what they thought was important for legislators and the public to consider, and then they marched all together toward the Capitol chanting with signs in tow. 

During this time, the Annual Disability Resource Fair was open, which featured forty outdoor booths with information and resources for people with disabilities and their allies. 

Next up was the Education Rally on the Capitol West Steps, where a variety of speakers spoke about the important topics of the day. After the Educational Rally, music was enjoyed; provided by the “Dream Achievers,” a band of young adults who performed live music.

DCAD 2014 was truly a success and we know that next year’s celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) will be even better. We hope to see you there!

Disability Resource Fair in Sacramento - Wednesday, May 21, 2014

What are you doing on Wednesday, May 21st?

If you can make it to Sacramento, come join the disability community for the 11th annual Disability Capitol Action Day (DCAD). DCAD is one of the nation’s largest and most diverse cross-disability annual days of unity. Recognizing the important issues facing people with disabilities and their allies in 2014, DCAD's theme is “The Time Is Now.” People from every corner of California will come to march in solidarity, share resources, and listen to passionate speakers. We will also discuss important issues like the In-Home Supportive Services, building accessible communities for all and the potential of the disability vote in the 2014 elections.

For over a decade now DCAD has continue to grow. Last year we welcomed over 2500 people and the Disability Resource Fair had more than 45 exhibitors there, sharing accessible resources, educational tools and products.

The Disability Resource Fair has some very exciting new exhibitors this year, including Innovations Health Devices, WHILL, Inc., Saltillo and the Prentke Romich Company, just to name a few. 

Innovations Health Devices will be demonstrating the exciting JACO.  JACO is an assistive robotic device that gives you the power and the freedom to do for yourself.  Check out this video of this robotic arm in action!

Innovations Health Devices will also have a wheelchair accessory, the Wijit, that improves mobility and reduces injury.

Also at DCAD will be a demo of the WHILL - a personal mobility device that traverses over sand, snow, gravel, and woodchips, and has a sleek and narrow design. Read our  blog about the amazing WHILL by clicking here.

 

Both the  Prentke Romich Company and Saltillo Corporation will be at DCAD to demo the latest and greatest in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. AAC is a term that is used to describe various methods of communication that can help people who are unable to use verbal speech to communicate. AAC can benefit a wide range of individuals, from a beginning communicator to a more sophisticated communicator who generates his own messages. 

 

Be a part of the DCAD 2014 team on social media! You can like us on FACEBOOK, follow us on TWITTER or share your DCAD story on TUMBLR and YOUTUBE. On all of our social media outlets we will be asking disability community members to complete this personal advocacy statement: “The time is now for …”

DCAD is for everyone who shares our common goal of increasing access and equality for people with disabilities. Please invite your friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and caregivers…and don’t delay, the time is now to join us today!

Tips for Planning an Accessible Meeting

by Rosemarie Punzalan, Program Coordinator

In-person meetings are great ways to network and collaborate with peers. They give participants a chance to connect on a more personal level than even the most interactive online platforms allow. They are a great way to share resources, as well as give an opportunity to brainstorm ideas with colleagues. However, it is important to  make sure that every individual can participate fully in the entire meeting. Namely, it is extremely important that your meeting is fully accessible to all. A first step is to make sure you and all of the meeting's planners are familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act's Accessible Meetings document.

The meeting space should provide access to all attendees regardless of disability. Total accessibility includes not only the physical access of the building, room and parking lot, and the public transportation available, but also that other accommodations be made available by request. This could include the print materials being available in alternative formats such as large print, Braille, or on CDs for those that use screen readers. Additionally, a person may request live or closed captioning of the presentations. You should also be prepared to have the handout materials  in other languages such as Spanish or Chinese. Additionally, another accommodation that could be requested is a language interpreter that uses another language or American Sign Language.

Below are some basic tips to keep in mind when preparing for an accessible meeting:

• The indoor and outdoor routes and pathways to the site are accessible for someone who uses a cane, scooter, walker, wheelchair, or has a service animal;

• The signage wall mounts include Braille;

• The bathrooms are accessible;

• The meeting room's seating area is wide enough for pathway travel for someone who uses a wheelchair or scooter, etc. It is best to ask for floor plans of the room in advance of set up;

• Ensure the equipment such as a personal computer and/or laptop, assistive listening devices, microphones, projectors, TV decoders, and teleconference phones are available and in working condition; and

• Print materials are available in alternative formats as well as in other languages.

Below are some additional resources to learn more about ADA and planning accessible public meetings:

· Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act - http://www.ada.gov/

· California Department of Rehabilitation's Planning Accessible Public Meetings - http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/DisabilityAccessInfo/Planning-Accessible-Public-Meetings.html

· Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco's Accessibility for People with Disabilities: Practical Tips Word Document - http://www.communitychoices.info/adrc/docs/ACC-TIPS.doc

· Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco's Accessible Basic Guidelines Word Document - http://www.communitychoices.info/adrc/docs/ACCESSIBLE MEETINGS (2).doc

Do you have tips for making sure your meetings are fully accessible to all?  Let us know by typing in the comment section below. 

Donate Your Used AT for Earth Day

Do you have any gently used AT sitting around in your closet or garage?

 

Donate it for Earth Day!

It is that time of year again... time for some good old-fashioned spring cleaning!  Why not use Earth Day as your impetus to get organized, clean out that garage, basement or closet, and reduce, reuse, and recycle while you are at it. Chances are you have something collecting dust that someone else could use to be independent.

In honor of Earth Day and to promote our reuse partners, the AT Network is excited to announce our first annual Earth Day Reuse Drive with participating organizations throughout California .

 

Did you know that there are many organizations throughout California that accept gently-used donations of medical equipment and other AT devices?  Thanks to a generous donation from Molina Healthcare, the AT Network is kicking off its first annual Earth Day Reuse Drive to promote these amazing organizations' efforts. Not only are they keeping AT equipment from laying useless in landfills, but they are also getting it into the hands of people that really need it!  People like Araceli in Bakersfield. 

Araceli, a mother of two, uses a wheelchair because she has Cerebral Palsy.  She calls her wheelchair her "legs with wings" because it allows her to live independently and do all of the many things a mother of two needs to do. When she was in a car accident and her power chair was destroyed, Araceli's life stopped. She was distraught because she couldn't afford a new one or a rental and was told she would have to wait months for her insurance to cover it. Thanks to the Independent Living Center of Kern County and the AT Network's Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund, Araceli was able to use a refurbished power wheelchair in the meantime. Araceli was greatful to have her "legs with wings" - and life - back.

You can further this great cause by donating any gently used items that might be useful to individuals with disabilities. Please contact each program directly to find out what equipment they accept and please let others know about these programs.  

Click here for a listing of other Reuse Organizations in California. 

Earth Day Sponsored by Molina Healthcare

 

Kindle Fire HDX - The Saga Continues

by Chi Hung Luke Hsieh, AT Advocate at Community Access Center in Riverside

The annual CSUN conference on disability has come and gone, and despite it being slightly smaller this year, I nonetheless had the pleasure of attending an all-day workshop hosted by Amazon for the purpose of promoting their latest pet, the Kindle Fire HDX. And, since they touted the revamped accessibility features as one of its selling points, it's fitting for me to write a review about it.

Firstly, all models of the Kindle Fire HDX are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 - the standard state of the art processor for all high-end android devices since October of

Kindle Fire HDX

last year. The sheer sound of Snapdragon 800 induces a sense of excitement in yours truly the same way a cute anime girl such as Hatsune Miku would. Anyway, moving on, the HDX also features an amazing HD display - 300+ ppi (pixels per inch) which makes anime girls or any movies a joy to behold. Okay,  seriously now, moving on...

Due to the acquisition of Ivona, a Polish company that specializes in text to speech technology, in 2012 the HDX is equipped with multiple voice engines to boot: Australian English, British English, American English, (two of both male and female) a Canadian French, two standard French, two German, two Italian, two Brazilian Portuguese, one Russian and two Castilian Spanish. 

This obviously has implications for assistive technology users. For someone with dyslexia, it means your kindle is now multilingual and it can read books aloud not only in different languages, but also in clearly differentiated accents. For me, it means I can now have an affordable AAC device with a male adult voice with a British accent.  It means I can go to a bar and order a martini, shaken or stirred. I'm not sure how much more attractive it would make me, but it does make the device quite sexy. Of course, now Google, too, is catching up on the text to speech technology, so it will be interesting to see how much longer Amazon can hold on to this advantage.

As an often quoted Chinese Proverb goes, the deeper the love, the harsher the reprimand, and if there is one reason why the Kindle Fire should die a horrible death, it is because of the following: Amazon chose to run a forked version of Android and it decided to run its own closed app store. While on their own, the decision might still make sense, but together, these decisions are a folly. 

Let's stop for a moment and think about what it means to run a forked Android. This means that whatever improvement you make on your device is bound to be superficial because any fundamental development of the operating system is done by google. This would still be tolerable if Amazon allowed its forked version of Android to be regularly updated or allowed google play to update their third party apps. None of these is happening and none of the new accessibility features can be downloaded to the old Kindle Fire HD (2012 version). This means that they made a tablet, updated it once or twice, and then left it to rot. 

I even asked them, frankly, at the workshop if we are expected to purchase a new model every year. But they only replied, "We are not here to talk about that." However, that is essentially what has to be done in order for me to enjoy the new accessibility features. I have had to give my old Kindle Fire HD to my sister and buy a new Kindle Fire HDX.

The infamous eco-system of the Kindle Fire has been mentioned to death by just about every technology reviewer on earth. Running a closed app store that's essentially a rip-off of google play also means that your third party vendors sometimes forget about you. A case in point, the android app Speech Assistant on google play (and on my LG G Flex) is currently the version 3.20, yet the same app on the amazon app store is only version 2.72. This frequently means less features and inferior versions of the same android app;  running both forked Android and a closed app store severely limits the potential of the Snapdragon 800.

Ultimately, love it or hate it, Kindle Fire HDX comes with attractive hardware and at a affordable price. In my opinion, it is a flawed beauty limited by business decisions which are completely out of touch with reality and limit the potential of the Snapdragon 800.