News and Notes 422 July 22

birgitta.chaiken - Wed, 07/22/2020 - 13:42

In continuing observance of the ADA Anniversary Month, NARIC lists research and resources on Title III of the ADA, nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities, including digital accessibility, in its Spotlight Blog; Research in Focus looks at improving working conditions and benefits of Direct Support Professionals to improve services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; the Americans with Disabilities Act Participation Action Research Consortium (ADA PARC) Advancing Participation Equity for People with Disabilities releases video, The Right to Live in the Community: A Long Journey for People with Disabilities; WayFinder, app developed by AbleLink Technologies, Inc., is featured in news story, New App Makes Mass Transit Accessible to People with Cognitive Disabilities, in Streetsblog USA; the Great Lakes ADA Regional Center hosts webinar, Digital Accessibility: What Have We Learned and What Does the Future Hold?; project on Effects of Customized Employment on the Employment Outcomes of Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities: A Randomized Clinical Trial hosts webcast, Customized Employment Topics: Information Interviewing; the Livewell RERC - Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Living, Health, and Function opens its 2020-2021 annual App Factory Grant Competition, focusing on mobile health (mHealth) and mobile rehabilitation (mRehab); the US Access Board will host a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ADA with a virtual public meeting.

Date sent: 
2020-07-20
NARIC news: 

This third week of the ADA Anniversary Month, we're looking at Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities. Public accommodations can include privately owned or operated facilities such as hotels and restaurants, health care facilities, retail outlets, health clubs, and sports venues, among many others. This title sets minimum requirements for accessibility in updating or new construction of facilities, and requires removal of barriers in existing spaces where it is easy to do so. It requires that businesses make reasonable accommodations to serve their customers with disabilities generally and to take steps to communicate effectively with those who have vision, hearing, and speech disabilities. In some recent cases, the courts have decided that websites and apps fall under Title III as well (see the Digital Accessibility webcast below). Learn more about research and resources on Title III from the NIDILRR community and elsewhere in this Quick Look from our Spotlight Blog.

Research In Focus:
Improving Working Conditions and Benefits for Direct Support Professionals May Reduce Turnover and Improve Services for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
This week's Research In Focus looks at how improving working conditions and benefits may help keep the Direct Support Professional workforce stable as they provide critical services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in the community.
 
Resource Highlight: 
Video: The Right to Live in the Community
The NIDILRR-funded Americans with Disabilities Act Participation Action Research Consortium (ADA PARC): Advancing Participation Equity for People with Disabilities (90DP0026) has released a video, The Right to Live in the Community: A Long Journey for People with Disabilities. The video features interviews with several people with disabilities currently living in nursing homes, describing their struggles to be independent within these institutions and their desire to move back into the community. The video also briefly explains the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, which stated that Americans with disabilities have the right to live in the community with reasonable supports, instead of being housed in institutions. The video is available on YouTube.
 
News items: 
WayFinder App Bridges the Transportation Gap for People with Cognitive Disabilities
WayFinder, an app developed by AbleLink Technologies, Inc. (H133SO50015), under a NIDILRR-funded Small Business Innovation Research grant, is featured in a news story, New App Makes Mass Transit Accessible to People with Cognitive Disabilities, in Streetsblog USA. The smartphone app provides customizable support and communication tools for users with cognitive disabilities navigating public transportation systems. The article describes a pilot project in Columbus, OH to test the app in real world transit situations, where administrators hope it will bridge the gap for residents with disabilities who may not qualify for paratransit services. Streetsblog is a daily news site that connects people to information about how to reduce dependence on cars and improve conditions for walking, biking, and transit.
 
Grantee event: 
Webinar: Digital Accessibility - What Have We Learned and What Does the Future Hold? TOMORROW
The NIDILRR-funded Great Lakes ADA Regional Center (90DP0091) will host a webinar, Digital Accessibility: What Have We Learned and What Does the Future Hold?, July 23rd, 2-3:30 pm ET. Presenters will discuss how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to the accessibility of the virtual world and the devices and mechanisms utilized to access it, and what the future may hold as technology rapidly advances. Presenters will also discuss strategies that have been successful in achieving accessibility and compliance in digital accessibility and lessons learned from these strategies. Registration is free and required. Continuing education recognition is available upon request.
 
Webcast: Customized Employment Topics - Informational Interviewing
The NIDILRR-funded project on Effects of Customized Employment on the Employment Outcomes of Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities: A Randomized Clinical Trial (90DP0085) will host a webcast, Customized Employment Topics: Information Interviewing, July 29th, 2-2:45 pm ET. Presenters will discuss informational interviewing for discovery and job development and will describe different strategies for conducting these interviews. Presenters will share case studies that include an interview with an important person in a job seeker's life. Registration is free and required.
 
Participate: 
App Factory Opens to Fund mHealth and mRehab App Development
The NIDILRR-funded Livewell RERC - Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Living, Health, and Function (90RE5028) has opened its 2020-2021 annual App Factory grant competition to fund development of assistive and accessibility mobile apps. This year's competition focuses on apps that improve health and function, commonly referred to as mobile health (mHealth) and mobile rehabilitation (mRehab). This year’s funding range for individual projects is between $10,000 and $120,000. The submission deadline is August 21, 2020. Submission guidelines are available from the competition website. For more information, contact App Factory Project Director Raeda Anderson, PhD at raeda.anderson@shepherd.org.
 
Elsewhere in the Community: 
US Access Board Celebrates the ADA
The US Access Board will host a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a virtual public meeting, July 29th, 1:30-3 pm ET. The event will feature a discussion of the ADA and its achievements with Access Board members and guest speakers, including Judy Heumann, former Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the Department of State. The discussion will include a look at the world before the ADA, achievements of the ADA, how the ADA has advanced accessible design, and some of the key figures in disability rights and the roles they played in the ADA's passage and implementation. No registration is required. Log-in details will be posted on the meeting website.
 
Archive link: 
http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=654309&f=1190&s=26993&m=912531&t=635cba0a9267f719dd304fcd1ae764b160681b0bc4432192fe4b80b0dffecb7c#Events1