My coworkers and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Unseen Worlds. I knew the experience would be neat, but I wasn’t prepared for its impact on my perspective of life with vision loss. Virtual Reality Teresa escorts us around Southeastern Guide Dogs’ expansive campus and guides us through Unseen Worlds.  First up, a virtual reality (VR) experience.  We enter a room designed to look like a city park. There are sounds of birds chirping. We see a mural of a city park in front of us and feel artificial grass under our feet.  In the middle of the room ..read more

Get ready; it’s time to celebrate World Braille Day! I’m sure you can guess that it’s a day to celebrate braille. But, you may wonder what it’s all about and why it’s worth celebrating. Well, let’s talk about that so we can spread the word and invite more people to celebrate! What is it? We celebrate World Braille Day every year on January 4th because it’s Louis Braille’s birthday. He’s the inventor of braille! Louis was born in 1809 in France and became blind after a childhood accident. But he quickly mastered his new way of living. When Louis was only 15 years old, he created a reading and ..read more

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month! Throughout the past couple of years, COVID has had an impact on how employees with disabilities are able to work. Let’s take a deep dive into what those impacts are!   Barriers To Benefits  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, 43.7% of workers with disabilities reported barriers that hindered them from finding employment. A couple of these barriers included difficulty commuting to the job and lack of accessibility within the position. With more than 20 million people working from home since 2021, th ..read more

At a glance: An accessible PDF gives people who can’t see, or have a hard time seeing, access to information in the PDF. PDFs aren’t automatically accessible; they have to be made accessible. Technology helps people who can’t see, or have other disabilities, get information from a PDF. PDFs are made up of layers; the layer we see isn’t the layer computers read. Steps must be taken to make all the PDF layers readable to people with low vision, blindness, and other disabilities. Why do we need accessible PDFs? We’ve all come across a PDF at least once or twice. But, most of us don’t know that ..read more

Happy Birthday, ADA! Quick Takeaways The law that greatly improved the civil rights and equal treatment of people with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act, turns 32 this year. This law applies to public-facing privately-owned organizations and state and local governments. The ADA requires the removal of both physical and communication barriers. 1 in 4 American adults is living with a disability of some type. Providing your customers with accessible documents like braille, large print, audio, and accessible PDFs helps your organization comply with ADA standards and give your cust ..read more

Let’s talk about Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You probably know someone signed the ADA into law a bazillion years ago. (1990, to be exact.) You probably also know that the ADA says organizations aren’t allowed to discriminate against people with disabilities. However, many people don’t understand the extent of the ADA’s coverage. Most people know that buildings must provide access to people with physical limitations. For example, many buildings have ramps and at least one extra large bathroom stall. For decades, companies have taken action to remove phy ..read more

Key Takeaways Accessibility and equality are closely linked because accessibility ensures everyone receives equal treatment from organizations. Accessibility is essential for independence, health, and safety. Provide a variety of accessible options for your customers; everyone’s needs are different. What is accessibility? When you think about accessibility, what comes to mind first? Do you think of accommodations in public places like wheelchair ramps, elevators, and specified parking spots for people with physical disabilities? While those are definitely a part of it, there is so much more ..read more

Can your customers with visual disabilities find the information they need to make a buying decision quickly and easily? Are your employees trained on how to serve these customers best? Do you need accessibility tips to be more inclusive? Addressing the needs of your customers with disabilities helps your business. For example, happy customers share positive reviews online and refer their friends and family to your company. Being accessible may also save your business from costly fines if a customer files a discrimination lawsuit. If accessibility isn’t a part of your business strategy, you’r ..read more

High School Graduation; A Time to Celebrate and a Time To Look Toward the Future What does high school graduation mean for students who have a visual impairment or blindness? You are ready to move on to an institute of higher learning like a technical school, college, or university. Or you may be ready to enter the workforce. In addition, you may be ready to move out on your own. There are a lot of options but don’t worry, there is help along the way! Key Takeaways Students with blindness have various post-graduation options, including going to a university, a technical/trade school, and join ..read more

The need for digital accessibility is more significant than ever. That’s why we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on the third Thursday in May. This day encourages the world, especially digital developers and designers, to explore their digital world’s accessibility or inaccessibility. Let’s look at how one celebrates and observes digital accessibility. What is GAAD? Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a globally recognized event aimed at raising awareness about the need for digital accessibility. The goal is to get everyone “talking, thinking, and learning about di ..read more