COAT advocates for accessibility and usability of technology for people with disabilities. Enacting the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (21st CVAA) was a huge step forward and we are working to implement this new law. COAT’s overall aim is to ensure accessibility, usability, and affordability of all broadband, wireless, and Internet technologies for people with disabilities.
Other Access Issues
Consumers' Digest article-- Spread of Touch Screen Technology Worries Advocates With Disabilities
Article by Katie Fanuko, published in Consumers Digest, January 2012: "Spread of touch-screen technology worries advocates for visually impaired"
From airline travel to banking to renting movies, the use of touch-screen technology now is routine for many consumers. But just because this technology is ubiquitous, it doesn’t mean that it’s accessible to all consumers: The visually impaired can’t operate touch screens easily.
Resolve To Be More Emergency Ready in 2012--Use Technology to Support Your Planning
January 12, 2012. COAT affiliate TDI's Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) has sent out a reminder to everyone to resolve to be more ready for disasters in 2012. They report that 2011 had more billion-dollar natural disasters than any year on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. For instance, storms like Hurricane Irene, spring tornadoes that brought devastation from Wisconsin to Texas and many remember being shaken here in the Washington DC area during the August earthquake. TDI notes that during the first 11 months
People with Speech Disabilities Need Advocacy Support For FCC Rulemaking
January 4, 2012. As COAT members may recall, affiliate SCT is spearheading a movement to ask the FCC to approve a new version of the Speech-to-Speech (STS) form of relay service which will allow Communications Assistants (CAs) to see the consumer with a severe speech disability. This will make telephone access possible for people whose speech is so hard to understand that they need to be seen to be understood. Advocates are needed to tell the FCC to change its rules by going to the SCT website and clicking on the box (on left side) that says “New FCC filing information request
COAT Members Speak at Access Board Hearing to Freshen the Section 508 Refresh
On Wednesday January 11, 2012 the US Access Board held yet another hearing intended to collect further comments in the process to modernize existing Section 508 regulations and guidelines for information and communications technologies. Among the testifiers were Mark Richert of AFB
AFB Launches Accessibility Survey of Travel Services Websites
January 5, 2012. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has launched a survey of accessibility of travel-related websites for people who are blind or with low vision. AFB asks users to recall recent holiday-related travel and to take the AFB survey on the relative accessibility and usability of any travel-related websites used to book plane or train tickets, hotel tickets and related travel services. The survey is intended for occasional Internet users, regular web surfers, and by family members, friends or colleagues of someone who is blind or has low vision. Click to take survey here.
Braille: A Technology Invention and Innovation Key to Accessibility
January 4, 2012. COAT honors Louis Braille today, on the anniversary of his birthday, January 4, 1809, for inventing the braille code. This and related technology systems, expanded literacy and independence for blind people everywhere. Two hundred years ago, a blind child or adult had no effective way to read and write independently. Braille's invention—a system of raised dots representing letters, numbers, and punctuation—revolutionized independent communication for blind people.
US Access Board Releases Another Sec. 508/ICT Proposed Rule: Public Hearings Upcoming
On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Access Board released a new draft of the Sec 508 "refresh"/ICT rule for Public Comment. The draft rule jointly refreshes the Board's Section 508 standards and its Section 255 guidelines which address access to computer hardware and software, websites, media players, electronic documents, telephones and cell phones, PDAs and other ICT products. Comments are due by Wednesday March 7, 2012. The Board will also hold two more hearings as follows:
Washington, D.C.
- Wednesday January 11, 9:00 – Noon
- Access Board Conference Center
- 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 800
- Washington, DC
San Diego, CA
Closed Caption button on remote.