2008 Disability Perspectives

(Links in this document were added December 2008 and are subject to change) 
 

Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities & Local Committees 
 

• Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) appointed members provided training for 300 students in the Fort Worth Area about Scoop .
• GCPD staff shared the Scoop  DVD with the Texas Association of Journalism Educators, National Center for Disability and Journalism, Diversity Inc., Bubel Aiken Foundation, TTU College of Mass Communications, high schools in the Houston area, Army Air Force Exchange Service, a North Carolina college professor and numerous other entities.
• The Houston Mayor’s Committee for Employment of  People with Disabilities hosted the 25th annual Barbara Jordan Media Awards
• The Fort Worth Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities hosted the annual Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Employment Awards. Easter Seals of North Texas served as sponsor of the event.
• The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) conducted a statewide survey on the use of parking placards and plates for people with disabilities and released the results.
• Governor Rick Perry issued a press release announcing the GCPD annual employment awards’ celebration in Fort Worth. Governor Perry also provided a DVD congratulating the award winners that was shown at the employment awards event.
• GCPD completed Policy Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature for the 2009-2010 biennium. Recommendations were made in ten issue areas: Access, Communication, Education, Emergency Management, Health, Housing, Recreation, Transportation, Veterans and Workforce.
• GCPD adds the category of “Veterans”, as one of its issue areas to be covered for recommendations to the legislature.
• GCPD staff summarized the changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA)
• Staff provided comments to the National Council on Disability on emerging trends related to people with disabilities.
• GCPD staff provided comments to the proposed ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), proposed accessibility rules for the Texas Department of Information Resources, and the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) by the Department of Justice on the ADA Amendments Act.
• GCPD committee member David Fowler is featured on the General Mills Cheerios cereal boxes as one of 12 Gold medalists from the National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
• GCPD staff participated in National Council on Disability (NCD) meetings and committees.
• GCPD staff presented a break out session on ADA Accessibility for Temporary Events at the Texas Association of Fairs and Festivals in Austin
• GCPD staff coordinated a panel during Texas Homeland Security Conference on Progressive Emergency Preparation for People with Disabilities. Also GCPD staff presented at the Texas State Animal Resource Team conference regarding assisting people with service animals during evacuation.
• GCPD staff discussed State and Federal outdoor accessibility issues for parks with Registered Accessibility Specialist Phil Pearce.
• GCPD staff joins Accessibility Council of Texas (ACT) as a charter member.
• GCPD staff met with web designers for Blue Cross to demonstrate testing website with JAWS.
• GCPD staff coordinated and attended monthly Tech Lunch meetings for 2008.
• GCPD committee member distributed committee resources to educational personnel for high school students transitioning from school to work.
• GCPD staff presented at the Annual Texas Hurricane Conference.
• GCPD staff provided resources to evacuees of Hurricane Ike and served on committee chaired by the US Homeland Security on looking at the Long Range Planning needs of people with disabilities after disaster.
• GCPD Committee member distributed resources to members of the Texas Regional Hearing Loss Association of America.
• GCPD staff testified at the House Transportation Committee regarding various aspects and problems associated with accessible parking in Texas.
• GCPD staff assisted with the Hurricane Ike hotline phone calls before, during and after the hurricane.
• GCPD staff attended the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas presentation on “New Research Directions: Down Syndrome in the 21^st Century”

     Texas

• Governor Perry appoints 43 people to Committees, Commissions, Boards and Councils involved with disability issues.
• Matthew Swinton of Texas increased mobility through National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) technology that allows him to drive a minivan. The technology was developed to drive the lunar rovers and allows Matthew to drive using a touch computer screen.
• Texan Javier Serrano received a degree in social work from Gordon College in Massachusetts Javier mentors children and speaks to children in elementary schools each year about children with disabilities. Javier also got to toss out the first pitch this year at Fenway Park. Javier was born without hands and does not use prosthesis.
• Team Perry participates in the Mighty Texas Dog Walk which benefits Texas Hearing and Service Dogs.
• Kristin Pass, a high school senior at Aledo High School with Down’s syndrome is crowned prom queen.
• The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) selected providers for two new Independent Living Centers. The new centers, Valley Association for Independent Living (VAIL) in Laredo and The Not Without Us Center in Abilene offer assistance to young people with disabilities transitioning from youth to adult life.
• Baylor University researchers designed a custom "lift system" to help Texans with physical and mental impairments at the Heart of Texas Therapeutic Riding Center (HOTTRC).
• Mike Weinstein, a student with autism wins the regional science contest in chemistry.  He also places fourth in the statewide science competition in San Antonio.
• The City of Houston was chosen as the winner in Accessible America Contest, held by the National Organization on Disability (NOD). The city was chosen for the award for its focus on issues affecting Houstonians with disabilities and its successful design of accessible programs, services and facilities.

     National

• President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act-Amendments Act (ADAAA) on September 26, 2008.
• President Bush signs the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) on May 21, 2008.
• The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 passed on October 8, 2008.
• The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, entered into a settlement to improve access for visitors with vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities.
• The National Federation for the Blind obtains a six million dollar settlement to plaintiffs in California regarding an inaccessible website of a major retailer.
• A national department store lost a long running legal dispute that it must find ways to make all merchandise available through accessible aisles. This ruling could have broad implications for retailers nationwide.
• Two hotels in New York’s Manhattan’s theater district have entered into settlement agreements to improve accessibility for customers with disabilities.
• A retail market in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice to welcome customers who use service animals.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) successfully resolved numerous cases in discrimination regarding service animals in housing.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America  reached a settlement agreement with the University of Michigan regarding the lack of accessible seating in the University’s football stadium.
• In Florida, the DOJ reached a settlement agreement with a taxi company that refused to transport people with service animals; a theater complex to provide more assistive listening devices and devices that are operable, and a doctor’s office that would not see patients accompanied by service animals.
• The Access Board offers their Accessible Sidewalk video online.
• A Federal Court ruled that Marriott International must make accessible golf carts available on its golf courses.
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issues three reports on employing people with disabilities.
• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) launches the PITCH Campaign (Providing Individuals with Talent Can Help) in cooperation with Major League Baseball and former major league pitcher Jim Abbott of San Diego.  Mr. Abbott, who was born without a right hand, won an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1988.
• The National Network of DBTAC ADA Centers launches a new training website at www.adacourse.org
• The National Parks service announced 14 nominees in 4 categories for the 2008 National Accessibility Achievement Awards.
• The U.S. Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights reached an Olmstead Settlement agreement with the State of Georgia which will affect 2300 individuals in Georgia institutions.
• Three graduates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York created the CapAbility Research Games, Capable Shopper, a video game simulation of a local grocery store to assist people with disabilities with independent living skills.
• Isaac Lidsky is the first Supreme Court clerk who is blind.
• The American Council of the Blind wins a judgment against the Secretary of the Treasury for violations regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The case alleged failure of the Secretary of the Treasury to provide meaningful access to United States currency for Americans who are blind or visually impaired.
• WebAnywhere allows people who use screen readers to access the internet anywhere.  The tool developed at The University of Washington turns screen reading into an internet service.
• Leo Fiyalko, who is 92, shot his first hole in one on the golf course. Leo is legally blind and has peripheral vision in his right eye.
• Disability Law Lowdown provided by Disability Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) begins podcasts in American Sign Language (ASL).
• David A Paterson Governor of the State of New York is the first Governor in the United States who is blind.
• A video called "Traveling Without Trouble“from the producers of "Cooking Without Looking,” was released.  “Cooking without Looking” was the first television show for people who are blind or visually impaired.  Taping of the first episode will be aboard the Emerald Princess Oct. 11 to 18, 2009.
• Abbey Curran, who has Cerebral Palsy is the first contestant with a disability to compete in the Miss USA pageant.
• Twelve gold medalists from the National Veterans Wheelchair games were featured on boxes of Cheerios cereal.  Twenty athletes who participated in the games are from Texas.
• The AutoMARK was introduced this year which allows individuals who cannot mark a ballot to vote.  
• Engineers at Georgia Tech created a device that allows people with spinal cord injuries to control a wheelchair with their tongues.
• The California Hotel and Lodging Association Education Foundation launched a video called, "We Welcome Service Animals"  to improve service to guests with disabilities who depend on service animals for assistance.
• Communication Services for the Deaf (CSD) and BarZ Adventures Inc (BarZ) entered into an agreement to partner together on video tours across the United States using the Zoo Ranger.
• The nation’s major credit reporting companies will make online credit reports audio accessible.
• The Washington Nationals open Nationals Park, which was designed with input from members of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
• The following films were released in select theaters with captioning  and audio description; Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, Nim’s Island, Speed Racer, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, WALL*E, Space Chimps, High School Musical: Senior Year and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 
• Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco launched the first-ever program to provide Braille maps.
• A new book called, Touch the Invisible Sky, which utilizes embossed lines, bumps and other textures to translate details of cosmic objects was released.
• A new accessible cell phone, The Kurzweil-National Federation for the Blind (KNFB) comes with software that is able to take a picture and describe its content to the user.
• PepsiCo airs a super Bowl commercial using American Sign Language (ASL)
• Kay Jewelers airs a Holiday commercial using American Sign Language

International

• The United Nations (UN) ratified the first international treaty on the human rights of persons with disabilities. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was created and became legally binding May 3, 2008.
• Intelligent Mobility International won The 2008 Breakthrough Awards for creating an affordable, terrain friendly wheelchair from a pair of old mountain bikes. Their easy-to-reproduce creation can be fixed at any bike shop. The company is working to squeeze production costs down from $150 to $40 per chair. And they’ve partnered with Transitions, a Guatemalan charity that mainly employs wheelchair-bound workers, to build their chairs
• Barbara Buchan, age 52, broke the world record and won a Gold Medal in 3000-meter cycling at the Beijing Paralympics.  Barbara was injured in 1982 while competing for a spot on the United States cycling team.
• The Impulse, a new Bluetooth Technology Access product, enables individuals to control their computers using any muscle surface. AbleNet created the access device in order for users to be wirelessly connected to their computers.
• The United Kingdom starts a disability awareness campaign called “Creature Discomforts” broadcasting animated information spots.
• Natalie du Toit is the first athlete with a disability to enter the able bodied Olympics. Natalie is missing half of her left leg and does not use prosthesis. Also competing is table tennis player Natalia Partyka, the first arm amputee to compete at Beijing 2008.
• HumanWare is now taking orders for the Trekker Breeze, a talking GPS. This simple orientation tool is designed for use when travelling in familiar surroundings or pre-defined routes.
• In a new rule in the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) will apply to foreign air carriers operating a flight that begins or ends in the United States. The new rule takes effect in 2009.