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Month: October 2019

Listeners Share for Blindness Awareness Month, Google Accessibility News And Sleep Phones Discussion with Maria Johnson
October 31, 2019
Tim Schwartz
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Listeners Share for Blindness Awareness Month, Google Accessibility News And Sleep Phones Discussion with Maria Johnson

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Maria Johnson from Girl Gone Blind joins me on Life After Blindness for the entire show this week. We discuss Blindness Awareness Month, Accessibility news from Google as well as our experiences with a special bluetooth device called Sleep Phones.

If you would like to support Life After Blindness, please donate here. Thanks!

Commiserating on cruising

In October, I went on a big family cruise to the Caribbean. As the show opens, Maria and I commiserate about vacationing on cruises.

On this recent cruise, Carnival provided me with a large print event calendar that was almost 6 feet long. They also had audio description playing on their information TV channel in my cabin. Maria and I go on to discuss other aspects of our cruising experiences that have been fun and accessible.

On episode 33 of the Life After Blindness podcast, I interviewed the Senior Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Line John Heald about the accessibility of cruising.

October is Blindness Awareness Month.

Throughout the month, Life After Blindness has been sharing submissions from listeners about things they would want others to know about blindness. Whether you are blind or visually impaired or a person who is sighted who knows someone blind, these stories are meant to inform and educate others about blindness.

This week, we hear from three people with very similar messages. They want people to know that just because you are blind, you are not helpless. However, if you are blind, they suggest that you should not be afraid to ask for help. They say it is also important to communicate with others about your level of vision.

Following the listener comments, I ask Maria for her perspective. She references an article entitled, “5 Things Blind People Shouldn’t Have To Justify To Anyone.”

How do you feel about what Maria the listeners and myself had to say? What else would you want others to know about blindness? Please comment below or send us an email. You can also leave a voicemail by calling 1-201-855-5221.

in the news.

Google has announced a couple of new updates. First, Google has added more specific walking directions for their popular Maps app. This update will provide you with more detailed information about intersections and your proximity to things. The other update from Google is within their Chrome Browser. They have added a feature that will attempt to describe images online.

Discussion about Sleep Phones.

Since February or so, we have both been using a product by Acoustic Sheep called Sleep Phones. Sleep Phones are headphones that are found inside a comfortable headband and are soft and flexible. They connect to any device that uses bluetooth and come in various colors and fabrics. Maria and I give examples of using Sleep Phones to listen to nature sounds or meditations as well as podcasts, music or anything else that will help you get to sleep.

The Sleep Phones tie into a final story about a recent study. The study states that severe sleep apnea is a risk factor for developing diabetic macular edema, a complication of diabetes that can cause vision loss or blindness.

A Blind Point of View.

Also in this episode, we tease an upcoming roundtable podcast we are working on. This special conversation is a deep dive into coping with blindness. Maria, Derek Daniel from Life After Sight Loss and myself will share our experiences with losing vision and talk about ways that we have coped with sight loss.

If you have any questions or comments, please send your emails to: tim@lifeafterblindness.com

US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Domino’s Pizza Accessibility Case
October 8, 2019
Tim Schwartz
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US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Domino’s Pizza Accessibility Case

Posted in News, and Podcasts

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On Monday October 7, the United States Supreme Court decided which cases they would consider for their fall session. The Court chose to deny a petition from Domino’s Pizza to hear whether its smart phone app and website is required to be accessible to people who are blind or disabled. This leaves in place a lower court decision against the company.

A blind man named Guillermo Robles had sued Domino’s after he was unable to utilize the companies app and website to successfully order food while using a screen reader. Screen reading software is commonly used by the blind and visually impaired as a tool that provides voice feedback about what is showing on a computer or smart phone screen. A screen reader can be used to navigate computer operating systems, apps, games and websites using a variety of keyboard commands.

In court papers, Attorneys for Robles argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses with physical locations to make their websites and other online platforms accessible to those with disabilities.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Robles, writing that the “alleged inaccessibility of Domino’s website and app impedes access to the goods and services of its physical pizza franchises—which are places of public accommodation.”

Attorneys for Domino’s, backed by a variety of business groups, had argued that the ADA does not apply to online platforms that were not envisioned when the law was passed in 1990. And, they said, no clear rules exist for how to make their platforms properly accessible.

Robles’ attorney, Joe Manning, said in a statement Monday that the decision by the Supreme Court was “the right call on every level.”

“The blind and visually impaired must have access to websites and apps to fully and equally participate in modern society – something nobody disputes,” he said. “This outcome furthers that critical objective for them and is a credit to our society.”

Domino’s released a statement saying that it was disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision, but “we look forward to presenting our case at the trial court.”

“We also remain steadfast in our belief in the need for federal standards for everyone to follow in making their websites and mobile apps accessible,” the company said.

Disability advocates have argued that if businesses do not have to create and maintain accessible websites, disabled people could be effectively shut out of substantial portions of the economy.

There has been an increasing number of lawsuits  filed over website accessibility in recent years. In 2017, more than 2,200 such suits were filed in federal courts, according to the accessible technology firm  UsableNet. That nearly triples the number from 2016.