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The Great Big List from the 2012 CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference

Christopher Phillips — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:34:40 +0000

Here’s the thing– 2012 California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Center on Disabilities Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference is a really big deal. It is a gathering of people and ideas unlike any other in the world.

As a follow up to the 2011 Great Big List, below is a collection of people, ideas, presentation and other resources from the 2012 conference. If you see anything I’ve missed or that should be corrected please send me a note at @mactoph or mactoph@gmail.com. Thanks!

Round Ups

Conference Presentations

Photos

Blog and News Coverage

Video Interviews

Podcasts

Events and Meetups (Formal and Otherwise)

CSUN Tweetup Thursday, March 1st at 6:30PM in the Elizabeth Ballroom (2nd floor), Manchester Grand Hyatt.
SS12: Code for a Cause Finals Saturday, March 3rd at 9:00AM in the Elizabeth Ballroom A Suite (2nd floor), Manchester Grand Hyatt.
RESNA Standards Committee on Cognitive Technologies Wednesday, February 29 at 7pm at the CSUN Cyber Café, located on the 2nd floor in the registration area.

Getting Ready and Attending the Confernece

Tips for the CSUN Conference Newbie from Deque
Let others know you are attending the event on Lanyrd, Facebook or Linkedin.
Welcome to San Diego, CSUN 2012 Attendees! Includes some specials for CSUN attendees from the Yahoo! Accessibility Blog
Accessible San Diego is non-profit information center for travelers with disabilities. Check out the site for walking tours of Seaport Village.

Vendors, Sponsors and Exhibitors

Following the Conversation

Be sure to follow the conversation using the #CSUN12 hashtag that you can follow on Twitter, Easy Chirp, your favorite Twitter client or one of the options listed below.
You can also follow the #CSUN12 conversation at Twazzup, hashtags.org, TwitterFall or HashParty.
Visualize the conversation at hashtagrify or the archivist.
View images or videos from Topsy.
There are some other conversations you may also be interested in: #a11ysociety hashtag (the need for a professional accessibility society), and #wacol (web accessibility community collaboration), and #road2csun (promoting accessibility on the way to CSUN).

Other Resources

The official CSUN Conference Twitter account is @CSUNCod and you can contact the hotel host at @ManchGrandHyatt.
Tip: Sign up for Hyatt Gold to get free wifi. (Wifi not available in most places. Speeds guaranteed to be slow.)
3 must-have apps while attending CSUN 2012 from the Yahoo! Accessibility Blog
A11y Buzz
Websites for converting files to accessible formats– Sensus Access and The SCRIBE Project.
Android: Designing for Accessibility

Not Attending?

Besides following the conversation online, Jeffrey Stark has offered to answer your questions from the conference or you might consider following the lead of this “Wish we could be at CSUN” commiseration event” in Canberra Australia.

Thank you!

Thank you to the following people for sending me tips and resources, please remind me if I forgot you: Jared Smith, @blindbargains, Mika O Pyyhkala, Jennison Ascunsion, Jon Hassell.

Picture a Day, Cancer and Disability

Christopher Phillips — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:23:34 +0000

A photographic essay of someone acquiring a disability. For me, it served as a beautiful reminder of the thin line between the sometimes meaningless categorizations of people who are temporarily able bodied and people with disabilities. Enjoy.

(warning: brief nudity and graphic medical imagery)

Jeff’s Website

Explanation of Autism from a Blogger with Autism

Christopher Phillips — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:06:46 +0000

You may feel like you know it when you see it, but do you know exactly what autism is? Lisa Daxer writes in her post titled How to Diagnose Autism, “autism really is a complicated subject”. You should take her word for it, Lisa has Asperger’s syndrome. In the post shed does an incredible of outlining some differences “between autistics and neurotypicals” in three categories:

learning and cognition
sensory processing
language/communication.

In the end she acknowledges that:

… Unfortunately, it’s just not possible. Autism is a complicated diagnosis to make and a complicated subject to study. The more traits you have, the more likely you’re autistic.

In general, a diagnosis of autism is made when someone determines that you have a lot of autistic traits, and that these traits mean you need help with something, and that a diagnosis would help. But defining autism–the essential cognitive style–is a project I think we’ll take decades to finish.

If you’re not already following Reports from a Resident Alien, take a moment to do so now, here are just a few of my favorite posts that have helped me to better understand what it means to have a disability:

Read How to Diagnose Autism

A Credo of Support

Christopher Phillips — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:46:46 +0000

Must watch video for anyone who knows anyone with a disability:

Read by People with Disabilities

Read by a Narrator

Full Text

Throughout history, people with physical and mental disabilities have been abandoned at birth, banished from society, used as court jesters, drowned and burned during The Inquisition, gassed in Nazi Germany, and still continue to be segregated, institutionalized, tortured in the name of behavior management, abused, raped, euthanized, and murdered.

Now, for the first time, people with disabilities are taking their rightful place as fully contributing citizens.

The danger is that we will respond with remediation and benevolence rather than equity and respect. And so, we offer you:

A Credo for Support

Do not see my disability as the problem.
Recognize that my disability is an attribute.

Do not see my disability as a deficit.
It is you who see me as deviant and helpless.

Do not try to fix me because I am not broken.
Support me. I can make my contribution to the community in my own way.

Do not see me as your client.
I am your fellow citizen.
See me as your neighbour.
Remember, none of us can be self-sufficient.

Do not try to modify my behavior.
Be still & listen. What you define as inappropriate may be my attempt tocommunicate with you in the only way I can.

Do not try to change me, you have no right.
Help me learn what I want to know.

Do not hide your uncertainty behind “professional” distance.
Be a person who listens and does not take my struggle away from me by trying to make it all better. Do not use theories and strategies on me.
Be with me.
And when we struggle with each other, let that give use to self-reflection.

Do not try to control me. I have a right to my power as a person.
What you call non-compliance or manipulation may actually be the only way I can exert some control over my life.

Do not teach me to be obedient, submissive and polite.
I need to feel entitled to say No if I am to protect myself.

Do not be charitable towards me.
The last thing the world needs is another Jerry Lewis.

Do not try to be my friend. I deserve more than that.
Get to know me, we may become friends.

Do not help me, even if it does make you feel good.

Ask me if I need your help.
Let me show you how you can assist me.

Do not admire me.
A desire to live a full life does not warrant adoration.
Respect me, for respect presumes equality.

Do not tell, correct, and lead.
Listen, support, and follow.

Do not work on me.
Work with me!

Credits

In Memory of Tracy Latimore
Written by Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift
Copyright 1995 Norman Kunc & Emma Van der Klift

Purchase

Copies available through NormEmma.com

2011 AHEAD Conference and Changing Attitudes

Christopher Phillips — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:51:44 +0000

I’m attending the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference in Seattle this week. Many of the sessions are typical fare for a disability conference, but I’ve found a strand of conversations pushing the conversation beyond where many disability advocates in attendance are comfortable. I love it.

The conference brings together professionals from disability service offices that provide support to students with disabilities in colleges and universities.

Here are some of the questions that were asked:

How do disability simulations used for disability awareness reinforce existing power structures and negative stereotypes?
How do disability service offices act as the gatekeeper rather than door opener?
Why is so much time spent evaluating and diagnosing disability that could be spent on creating more accessible environments for everyone?
How is the disability rights movement similar and different from movements of other oppressed groups?

There was a great discussion on the power of language where the power of words was affirmed, but Alberto Guzman put the language discussion into perspective when he said, “If the goal is to be politically correct, then we should just forget about it”.

There is tremendous value in examining our own ideas and perceptions. There was a palpable energy felt as as ideas and attitudes were challenged and changed. I will leave this conference with a renewed sense of purpose and direction in the work that I do.

The presentations from the AHEAD conference can be found on the AHEAD Conference website.

Comparing Notetakers and Mainstream Alternatives

Christopher Phillips — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:21:03 +0000

Presentation from the 2011 CSUN Technology Conference.
Presenters: Anne Taylor, the Director of Access Technology at the National Federation for the Blind and Michael Barber, Michael Barber, President National Federation of the Blind of Iowa

Comparison

Anne began by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of mainstream devices such as the iPhone and iPad versus dedicated devices such as the The Braille Sense Plus, BrailleNote, Pac Mate, and Sendoro GPS devices.

It may be unfair to critique Apple and their iOS when they are doing so much in the area of accessibility, but as the current market leader and with their accessibility efforts they are the only experience that can even be compared with dedicated notetaker devices.

Advantages of Dedicated Devices

You don’t have to worry whether functionality is accessible or not, it’s going to be accessible.
More tuned into the needs of the blind community.
Accessibility is the bread and butter for those companies.
More training agency resources in the industry focused on the dedicated devices (than iOS devices).

Disadvantage of the Dedicated Devices

They are more expensive to purchase and users who are blind have less buying power than the sighted population.
More expensive to maintain– changing the battery in one (unnamed) device cost $400.
Lag time in development compared to mainstream technology.
Lack of versatility in what you can do (there’s no app for that).
Tools are not as powerful (i.e. advanced functions in Microsoft Word).

Advantage of Mainstream (iOS) Devices

More affordable.
They keep pace with technology better (i.e. using iOS devices to control appliances).
Wide availability, better distribution channels.
Less expensive to maintain.
Great compatibility with other mainstream devices– one device for the sighted and the blind.
Easier to find support from other people who have similar devices.

Disadvantages of Mainstream (iOS) Devices

The accessibility documentation and training can be difficult to find.
Accessibility is great on iOS devices and is woven into Apple’s culture, but it is still a secondary feature.
Accessibility provides access to text, not braille. Third-party soulutions are available, but support for Braille integration is still weak.
Less understanding of the needs of the blind community.
Individual applications may or may not be accessible.

Summary

Anne asked whether or not mainstream devices were able to adequately replace dedicated device. While some blind users already have already replaced their dedicated devices for a mainstream device, the needed functionality still isn’t there yet for many users.

Other Resources Mentioned

How Many People are Deaf or Hard of Hearing?

Christopher Phillips — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:25:14 +0000

As with any disability statistic, it depends who you ask. Here are some statistics from different groups with a brief summary at the end:

From the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS):

In the year 2008, an estimated 3.5 percent (plus or minus 0.03 percentage points) of non-institutionalized, male or female, all ages, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported a hearing disability.

In other words, 10,393,100 out of 299,852,800 non-institutionalized, male or female, all ages, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported a hearing disability.

This statistic was gathered in response to the question:

“Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing?”

Source: The percentage of non-institutionalized, male or female, all ages, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported a hearing disability in 2008 (filter by Disability Type, “Hearing Disability).

2000–2006 National Health Interview Surveys

In response to the question:

“Which statement best describes your hearing without a hearing aid: good, a little trouble, a lot of trouble, deaf?”

83.7% of adults in the United States report “Good hearing”, 12.9% report “a little trouble hearing” and 3.3% of people report themselves as “Deaf or a lot of trouble hearing”.

Source: Health Disparities Among Adults With Hearing Loss: United States, 2000–2006

From the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

About 8,000,000 people (3.7%) over 5 years of age are hard of hearing (that is, have some difficulty hearing normal conversation even with the use of a hearing aid).

Source: Can you tell me how many deaf people there are in the United States?

Summary

There you go, according to these three survey’s (or at least someone’s interpretation fo the survey data) somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 4 percent of people can be classified as “hard of hearing”. Each of the studies goes into more detail on what that means and how their data was gathered.

Something I am missing? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Wretches and Jabberers

Christopher Phillips — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 07:07:24 +0000

I am at the TASH conference this week and watched a pre-screening of the movie Wretches and Jabberers directed by Gerardine Wurzburg. The movie follows the worldwide travels of Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher who both have autism. Growing up, both Larry and Tracy were limited in their speech and seriously misunderstood until as adults they learned to communicate through typing. Now they have travelled around the world and are doing incredible work as advocates to help others presume competence when they meet a person with a disability.

They are still working distribution, but it will probably be available on video sometime next summer. Here is my favorite clip:

Gary Barber on Killing Accessibility

Christopher Phillips — Thu, 20 May 2010 06:07:27 +0000

This is well worth the read, here are just a couple of gems from Gary Barber’s article titled Kill Accessibility:

The old UX catch call is never truer here – we are not the users. The disparity between us and the people we are really working for, with accessibility, is sometimes just too great for us to even get a idea of what it is like, no matter how many videos of people using assistive technology we see.

And this zinger:

In reality there is no socially inspired public relations value in accessibility. A business can be seen to get more value out of sponsoring a guide dog than making their web site accessible.

The rest of the article is well worth the read. (via @scenariogirl)

Accessibility Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail and a Win

Christopher Phillips — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:35:55 +0000

After seeing a number of accessibility fails posted on the Fail Blog:

It was great to see this one on their companion blog, Epic Win:

Mad Pride

Christopher Phillips — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:33:15 +0000

Newsweek tagline: “Why some mentally ill patients are rejecting their medication and making the case for ‘mad pride.’”

From The Growing Push for “Mad Pride”.

I am familiar with various movements that celebrate the positive aspects of difference such as Disability Pride, Deaf Pride and Crip Pride, but only recently came across the idea of Mad Pride, a movement that celebrates the positive aspects of mental health diagnoses. The movement has been around for awhile, but a recent Newsweek article was the first I learned of it, at least that I remember since I received my own mental health diagnoses.

There is much good that comes from accepting a mental health diagnoses and “coming out” to friends and family. Benefits include an increased understanding, a sense of community with others with like experiences and a greater openness to receiving help and managing lifestyle. Of course there can also be negative consequences, but I believe that the perception of those is generally greater than the reality.

On the other end of the spectrum from “mad pride” there are many who suffer from the debilitating effects of “mad shame”- an unwillingness to acknowledge a mental health diagnoses in ones self. In between those two extremes are the masses of people who have a mental health diagnoses that treat it as an illness managed through some combination of pharmaceuticals, self-medication or other treatment options.

When first diagnosed with a mental illness, I found myself somewhere in the middle– never ashamed, but neither was I anxious to shout it from the rooftop. Since that first diagnoses there have been long periods of darkness and frustration, I’m in a good place now with a completely different diagnoses (ADHD). I now freely share my diagnoses and am feeling successful in work and family life and my ADHD is a an important part of that success.

Additional Resources

‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma (New York Times article)
MindFreedom (non-profit organization focused on human rights and alternatives for people labeled with psychiatric disabilities)
Mad Pride Wikipedia Entry

Disability Perspective

Christopher Phillips — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:51:52 +0000

A “man on crutches” is sharing the experience of just one small part of his day affected by his disability, getting a seat on the bus in the seats reserved for riders with disabilities. He has done an excellent job of conveying his experience and perspective through images:

People Who Sit In The Disability Seats When I’m Standing On My Crutches

See the Person, Not the Disability

Christopher Phillips — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:55:23 +0000

Great video I came across at walking . is . overrated:

In his post titled, Some Sweet Disability Thinking, Red references a post from Mark Smith:

If you told me of all of the complications of your disability – physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, economically – and I simply replied, “So what?” would you be offended?

In fact, I give this very response to my friends – and, more importantly, myself – every day when it comes to the challenges of living with disability: You and I have disability hardships, so what?

Read the rest from Mark Smith’s post titled Three Pages in the Trash.

“So what?”

Never Leave Home Without a Spider-Man Costume

Christopher Phillips — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:08:44 +0000

This is a great story from Thailand where a student with autism had a panic attack and climbed onto the ledge outside of his third floor classroom. It was the student’s first day at a new school and no one was able to convince him to come back inside, so the local fire department was called.

Fireman Somchai Yoosabai shows up and hears that the student loves comic book heroes. It just so happens that Somchai hasa Spider-Man costume that he keeps in his locker. He puts costume on and quickly and safely convinces the student to come back inside.

More at:

Web Accessibility vs Life Accessibility

Christopher Phillips — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:25:22 +0000

After lacking the motivation to write a post for almost a year, I was finally able to admit that I don’t care about web accessibility as much as I thought I did. If you are looking for good, current information on web accessibility issues there is a long list of people who you should follow before Curb Cut.

That said, I care very much about disability issues. Curb Cut has been an accessibility blog written primarily for readers already interested in accessibility issues. However, depending on your past experience you may or may not give a crap about disability issues.

My interest in web accessibility originated from my relationships with two of my brothers who were born with Down syndrome. Like a good brother should, I wanted to make the web a friendlier place for them. Well, it turns out that Patrick has no use for the Internet. Dallin Paul is a heavy Internet user, but thus far has been able to find every America’s Funniest Home Video People Getting Hurt Collection and Power Ranger video on YouTube without any problem. If my goal is really to make the world a better place for them then it is time to refocus my efforts. There is little I could to for the Internet that would make it more useful to Patrick or Dallin Paul, but consider the following:

Patrick has worked for over 10 years at a University food court. He works hard, is dependable and well-liked by colleagues and customers. Nevertheless, there is very little chance that he will be offered a full-time position or any kind of benefits.
Dallin Paul still has a fear of attending church with my family because of some very unfortunate experiences he had with Sunday school teachers growing up. When he does attend, he is welcomed by some, tolerated by others and ignored by everyone else.

I have spent a number of years as a teacher in special ed classrooms, traveling with Special Olympics teams and volunteering with various disability organizations. You wouldn’t know any of that from reading Curb Cut in the past. My disability experience is the only real value I have to offer and I purposefully kept it out of my writing on web accessibility. Shame on me.

Here’s to a more authentic Curb Cut.

Curb Cut » Disability

The Great Big List from the 2012 CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference

Round Ups

Conference Presentations

Photos

Blog and News Coverage

Video Interviews

Podcasts

Events and Meetups (Formal and Otherwise)

Getting Ready and Attending the Confernece

Vendors, Sponsors and Exhibitors

Following the Conversation

Official Conference Stuff

Vendor News, Announcements and Press Releases

Side Conversations

Other Resources

Not Attending?

Thank you!

Picture a Day, Cancer and Disability

Explanation of Autism from a Blogger with Autism

A Credo of Support

Read by People with Disabilities

Read by a Narrator

Full Text

A Credo for Support

Credits

Purchase

2011 AHEAD Conference and Changing Attitudes

Comparing Notetakers and Mainstream Alternatives

Comparison

Advantages of Dedicated Devices

Disadvantage of the Dedicated Devices

Advantage of Mainstream (iOS) Devices

Disadvantages of Mainstream (iOS) Devices

Summary

Other Resources Mentioned

How Many People are Deaf or Hard of Hearing?

From the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS):

2000–2006 National Health Interview Surveys

From the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

Summary

Wretches and Jabberers

Gary Barber on Killing Accessibility

Accessibility Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail and a Win

Mad Pride

Additional Resources

Disability Perspective

See the Person, Not the Disability

Never Leave Home Without a Spider-Man Costume

Web Accessibility vs Life Accessibility