Tag: Accessibility

A loving dad wanted his toddler son with spina bifida to have more mobility, so he created a device to help.

Accessibility activist Rick Hansen has a new poster to show you. One with adjustable text at an eye level so people in wheelchairs can read it, text in multiple languages, a braille pad and even a recording of someone reading it.

Don’t ever call me ‘wheelchair bound’. My wheelchair doesn’t bind me — it liberates me

The wheelchair represents many different things, depending on the beholder’s personal experience. Many is the time I have been acutely aware that my wheelchair makes me the living embodiment of that blue symbol that adorns bathrooms and parking spaces.

I hadn’t really given wheelchairs much thought myself, until 13 years ago when I fell from a tree and sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI), causing instant and permanent paraplegia.

Chicago (CBS) — O’Hare International Airport now offers a new level of service for travelers with disabilities, and advocates say this is just the beginning.

Located at Terminal 2, the new “Changing Places” restroom features an adult changing table, motorized lift system and a wheelchair-accessible shower as well as a toilet and sink.

Advocacy groups believe it will open up travel opportunities for people with significant disabilities and their families and caregivers.

Half Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to making live music accessible. Our database provides accessibility info on venues to help prepare disabled folks on what to expect before arriving at a show, and will be used by us to work with venues on improving accessibility in their spaces.

In a win-win outcome for patients with spinal cord injuries and Japanese startup tech company Ory Lab, robotic waiters are working full shifts, allowing spinal cord injury sufferers to work by proxy.

Technological innovations, whether nano-sized or full-scale, have been offering a range of surprising capabilities that offer improvements in quality of life or life expectancy.

In fewer areas, the impact has been more dramatic than with people suffering from various spinal cord injuries.

Everyone can benefit from hands-free support when using technology, but for the 62 million people in the U.S. with motor and mobility impairments, it can be a vital requirement. For Stefanie Putnam, a quadriplegic and a para-equestrian driver, tasks like taking photos, sending texts and composing emails could be daunting.

Stefanie was one of several people the Google Accessibility team worked with to test early prototypes of a feature which allowed people to control their Android device using voice-only commands. Her feedback—and that of other testers—was instructional in shaping a new product we’ve just released called Voice Access.

Wheelchair access gets a whole new meaning

Her studies were almost over and alumna, Helen Smith, had plans. Then a single event meant she had to reach her goals via a very different path. Now she’s pushing against the barriers.

In many ways, the bushwalk through Wolgan View Canyon in Wollemi National Park was like dozens of others that Helen Smith (BSc(Hons) ’09 PhD ’15) and her friends had previously done together.

Beach Trax is a lightweight, foldable temporary pathway designed to increase access for wheelchair users over uneven terrain such as sand, gravel, dirt, or grass.

The latest design provides universal access to wheelchair users, pedestrians, carts and strollers. With Beach Trax, you can spend more time doing the things you want and need to do, instead of worrying how you’ll get there. Our pathway provides Access for Life.

A modified wheelchair pieced together so that a campaigner could use it to climb Mount Snowdon is one of the winning pieces of equipment at the Remap awards, which took place recently.

The “Snowdon Push” is a fund-raising challenge organized by Back Up Trust – a charity that supports people with a spinal cord injury.

Teams of between 10 and 16 people aim to conquer Mount Snowdon, which at over 3,500 ft is the highest mountain in England and Wales.