Day In Washington

The following message is from Jenifer Simpson at the American Association of People with Disabilities on the Senate’s passage of the “21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act” (S.3304) by unanimous consent. While this is not H.R. 3101 which many believe offers even greater forward movement in the arena of new media and accessible technology, the fact that the legislation passed by unanimous consent is a significant win for advocates. If ANY legislator had even questioned a small part of the bill, it would have halted it in its tracks.

From Jenifer:

U.S. Senate Passes the “21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act” by Unanimous Consent!
Late in the evening on Thursday, August 5, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent the “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010″ (S. 3304). This is a monumental step forward in accessible technology for people with disabilities.

To ensure Senate passage, earlier in the week, Senator Pryor (D-AR) introduced an amendment to improve S. 3304 and this amended version passed. Like H.R. 3101, passed on July 26, 2010 by the U.S. House of Representatives (348:23), S. 3304 will:

- Require captioned television programs to be captioned when delivered over the Internet.
- Authorize the FCC to require 7 hours per week of TV video description on the top 4 network channels and top 5 cable channels nationwide.
- Allocate up to $10 million per year for communications equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.
- Require televised emergency information to be accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
- Require accessibility of advanced communications equipment and services, such as text messaging and e-mail.
- Require access to Internet services that are built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
- Require devices of any size to be capable of displaying closed captioning, to deliver available video description, and to make emergency information accessible.
- Require accessible user controls for televisions and set-top boxes, and easy access to closed captioning and video description.

And much more.

S. 3304 now goes to the House of Representatives for their vote. Advocates support and expect the House to pass S. 3304 soon and then, on to the President for signature!

I very much appreciate the space and support that the AAPD board, staff and supporters have provided so we can serve the disability community in this way through our coalition of organizations for accessible technology (COAT).

I am honored and privileged to have been a member of the lobbying team that has worked for this legislation for over four years. This work has brought hundreds, if not thousands, of people with sensory disabilities – vision loss, hearing loss, deaf-blind, others – into a political process, For instance, “H.R. 3101” has become a household word for many our deaf, blind and deaf-blind communities. Companies never before aware of how much their products and services impact our lives now have to better innovate for accessibility. People at the local level who may never have heard about AAPD now know much more about us and what we do. Significantly, we have demonstrated that the community of people with disabilities has political power: among the competing voices, our voice has been heard on Capitol Hill and we secured what many felt was almost impossible.

Of course, there are challenges ahead in working with the implementing agency, the Federal Communications Commission and in collaborating with industry. But most importantly, the everyday TV, Internet and phone tools so many of us take for granted will now become more accessible and usable for all people with disabilities. Truly, like the ADA 20 years ago, we are making history now!

All I can say is, “Well done!” For those of you who don’t know Jenifer, I can tell you, she has put her blood, sweat and tears into this bill. Countless hours spent knocking on doors all over Captiol Hill talking to legislators about how important it is. ALSO, she is one of those advocates who practices what she preaches with regard to keeping everyone “in the loop” about what is going on and what can be done to support the legislation. I’m not talking about keeping “policy folk” like me in the loop, but people like you - Individuals with disabilities or with family members with disabilities, or who just plain believe in equal access to all aspects of society (including cultural). This legislation passed because everyone took ownership. THAT is what makes this win truly a team effort. I look forward to hearing what happens as this bill moves to the House.

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) celebrated the ADA with a full house event of presenters, performers and a Technology Conference at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

There was a video and a number of announcements and presentations made. I wanted to mention a few of the items that came up, including a story about FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that I didn’t know, relating his long-time personal connection to accessible technology. From his remarks:

“When I was in high school on a college trip with my father, he took me into the stacks of the MIT library, and showed me engineering plans he had drafted as a graduate student studying engineering. They were for a device designed to someday help blind people “read” words on paper by translating text into physical signals. The lessons I learned from my father have remained with me all these years: Communications technology has the power to transform lives for the better, and everyone should have access to communications.”

Much of the discussion centered around the FCC’s new National Broadband Plan. There is a lot of money and a lot of effort being put into this plan and so for people with disabilities, it is critical to be aware of the opportunities to participate and play an active role in shaping what will be our telecommunications infrastructure for years to come.

The event yesterday was the launch of their Accessibility and Innovation Initiative, which uses the federal government’s ability to bring people together (as a convener) for discussion. They plan on bringing together people from industry, academia, government, business, and individuals with disabilities themselves to kind-of brainstorm and look at what are all the access problems there are in communications systems in the country and send out a challenge to inventors and entrepreneurs to come up with solutions. This would include sessions and workshops around the country to ensure that a truly diverse perspective is a part of the discussion. I think it is a great idea but I also think it’ll be a big challenge keeping everyone’s agendas in order. There is some natural tension between industry and disability advocates about accessibility. We may agree on the idea of accessibility, but the how and how much it costs and what are the requirements has sometimes differed significantly. Thus, it is critical that the disability community be actively engaged in these discussions.

Also announced yesterday were the new FCC Chairman Awards for Advancements in Accessibility that begin next year on the anniversary of the ADA to recognize individuals and companies who are working to improve access. I imagine it is similar to the Department of Labor’s old “New Freedom Initiative” Awards for employers who had created successful models for the hiring of people with disabilities.

Now, celebration items, aside there were two pretty big announcements that really require some action. The FCC announced that they are seeking public comments on:

I’ve posted the information on how to provide your recommendations on these two issues in the comments.

[caption id=”attachment_604″ align=”alignright” width=”130″ caption=”We Need a Healthy Society Chalk Writing - Photo by Steve Rhodes”][/caption]Over the last year, everyone has been following health reform, whether we wanted to or not; and the final legislation will make some very significant changes to the way this country addresses health and health care services. Considering disability’s past history with the “medical model” and the increase in older adults with chronic health conditions and disabilities, I believe we will see a greater interest in how health reform, now referred to as the Affordable Care Act will impact people with disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking to do just that. Tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, at 1:00 PM EST they will be hosting a WebChat to talk about how the Affordable Care Act will benefit people with disabilities, or those with loved ones affected by a disability. What makes this particularly useful is that this isn’t a lecture but an actual question and answer session. Henry Claypool, the Director of the Office of Disability at HHS, Jeffrey Crowley, Senior Advisor on Disability Policy at the White House and Meena Seshamani, Deputy Director in the Office of Health Reform at HHS will discuss and answer OUR questions.

Although I cannot say that know Meena Seshamani or Henry Claypool, I have met Jeff Crowley and have worked with some of his colleagues on AIDS related issues. My personal opinion is that he is a good guy and is working hard to ensure that disability issues remain a priority.

You can send your questions to healthreform@hhs.gov and they’ll try to answer them during the Chat. They’ll also take questions live from twitter using the handle @HHSGOV.

The website for the WebChat itself is www.hhs.gov/live

Let me put a caveat that I have not been able to ascertain the screen-reader accessibility of this site, but did send an inquiry to HHS asking if it is. Pretty important I would think considering this WebChat is targeted towards people with disabilities.

[caption id=”attachment_594″ align=”alignright” width=”340″ caption=”Supreme Court at Night”][/caption]Today is the 6th anniversary of Tennessee v. Lane a landmark disability lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case began in 1998 when George Lane and Beverly Jones, both with mobility impairments, sued the state of Tennessee because its courthouses were inaccessible.

George Lane got a notice to appear at his county court. When he arrived, Lane found he could not get his wheelchair up to the second floor courtroom. There was no elevator or ramp, so he had to crawl up two flights of stairs to make his appearance. When he was called back for another hearing, he refused to crawl or be carried by court officials. He was then arrested for failing to appear in court.

Lane argued that Tennessee was denying them public services because of their disabilities (i.e. they couldn’t access the courtroom), and therefore violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title II says that no one can be denied access to public services due to his or her disability and it allows individuals, like George Lane to sue for money damages. The case continued on for many years.

In 2001, Supreme Court decided another famous disability case: Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett (2001), usually just referred to as Garrett. In that case, the Supreme Court stated that Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act did not allow people with disabilities to sue states for discrimination on the basis of disability for money damages. The disability community was now worried that when Tennessee v. Lane came before the Supreme Court a similar decision would take place and the Americans with Disabilities Act would be forever weakened.

The Supreme Court Justices were evenly divided four and four. Justice Stevens lead one group saying that the Lane case was different from the Garrett case because the it concerned a court, and therefore could be seen as enforcing a core component of the U.S. Constitution, the backbone of all American law - the Fourteenth Amendment’s access to due process in criminal justice, which would include access to the courts. Justice Stevens also believed that over the years there had been plenty of evidence to show that people with disabilities were being denied that right because of inaccessible courtrooms.

The other side was lead by Chief Justice Rehnquist who said that there really was not a lot of specific evidence of inaccessibility of courthouses. In addition, he argued that the Constitution requires that everyone have a right to access to a courtroom, but that it wasn’t necessarily a Constitutional right to an accessible courtroom. George Lane had not been denied his rights because Tennessee had offered to carry him into the courtroom.

The key vote in the case was Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s. She joined with Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer making the final vote 5-4 in favor George Lane. People with disabilities had a right to accessible courtrooms.

We usually think about discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how much more accessible the country has become since the orginal passage of the law in 1990. But looking back, sometimes it is good to remember how very close things came to never happening at all. If George Lane had never filed his lawsuit, if Sandra Day O’Conner had not voted the way she had…things may have been very very different.

To find out more about this important case in disability history, check out:

Tennessee v. Lane: The Legal Issues and the Implications for People with Disabilities

Supreme Court Oral Arguments for Tennessee v. Lane

Tennessee v. Lane - from Wikipedia

Written by Patrick Cokley for Day in Washington.

[caption id=”attachment_572″ align=”alignleft” width=”150″ caption=”Unidos En Arizona - Photos by OneMillion”][/caption]Unless you retired to the nearest bomb shelter or sensory deprivation device for the past week, it is likely that you have heard about the newest immigration plans from the State of Arizona (SB 1070). This latest law that has been crafted by one of the Union’s most racially insensitive states has brought down the ire of every liberal commentator, civil rights wonk and political pundit in a 5000 mile radius. The topic itself is a recipe for controversy. Take one part State with a significant population divide between White citizens and Latinos, add a quart of underfunding for border/immigration issues, mix in a cup of media reported insensitivity and finally garnish with the fact that Arizona took longer than any state to adopt the MLK Holiday, and suddenly we have Racial Insensitivity Pie.

Personally, I am not totally surprised at Arizona’s behavior. As Americans we have had a proud history of becoming incensed with a certain group in our population, deciding that their presence is a detriment to our way of life and ultimately thinking of some hand-wringing-Snidely Whiplash-Rube Goldberg-political device for further marginalizing them and distancing them from “real” Americans. This is no real surprise. I am, however taken aback by two significant points.

The first is the sincere lack of imagination of the new law.

Though the latest attempt by Arizona to curb their concerns about the influence of a large illegal immigrant population on their state is a new instrument, it certainly is playing an old tune.

From the Mid 1800s to the late 1970s cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Omaha, Columbus, and others created “ugly laws”—or statutes that made it possible to arrest and press charges against a person with a physically apparent disability for being out in public. The first Ugly Law was enacted in San Francisco in 1867 as a [caption id=”attachment_573″ align=”alignright” width=”150″ caption=”Ugly Laws - Disability in Public by Susan Schweik”][/caption] response to individuals who acquired their disability as a result of mining accidents during the gold rush. The connection to mining however was just a starting point as individuals with disabilities of varying significance could find themselves on the wrong side of the law simply for walking down the street.

The original purpose of the Ugly Laws was not to specifically disenfranchise individuals with disabilities, rather they were created ensure that communities were safe, clean environments for the local citizenry. In practice, however they served as a “green card” (pun intended) for law enforcement to detain individuals with disabilities and added to the societal stigma of disability by encouraging families to send individuals with disabilities to institutions or keep them inside the home. Like SB 1070 these laws were often very broad reaching, and those targeted for prosecution of violating the ordinances were largely the poor and destitute.

An additional part of the immigrant legislation allows officers to arrest immigrants unable to show documents proving they’re legally in the[caption id=”attachment_574″ align=”alignleft” width=”150″ caption=”Slave Ecaping Woodcut”][/caption]country. Again this proves to be unimaginative. Not only was this technique used specifically to keep Black Freedmen in their place during the Dark days of slavery it also continued informally after emancipation in the form of Sundown Towns in which Black people were legally not permitted in city limits after certain hours for the communities (and mostly their own) safety. Additionally I find myself unable to shake the suspicion that certain immigrant looking Americans may suddenly find themselves deported due to their forgetfulness to carry their birth certificates or naturalization papers. This also took place in the past where Freedmen were often abducted from Free cities and states only to find themselves sold into slavery.

Even though SB 1070 is being portrayed as the textual modern-day Latin Apocalypse I do not find myself surprised by its creation. Whomever penned the bill obviously believes that Arizona’s immigration problem is related to enforcement. A significant portion of the Bill is aimed at the police, and though they may not wish to assert all of the powers that have been included in the text, you can be sure that they will eventually take advantage of the legal opportunities the bill offers them.

The second point that totally surprises me is my reaction – and that is of unadulterated glee. I find myself downright giddy of the fact that Arizona has yet again attempted to legislate an undesirable population out of its state borders. The so called powers that be were likely very smug about their slight to former the Governor and the Latinos in the State, but rather than mobilizing the goose-stepping masses to their cause they have found a wall of opposition all but led by the President himself.

As I mentioned earlier, the sort of legislation found in SB 1070 is not new. It has been attempted many times over and re-used, reutilized, recycled and repackaged many times over. America has seen it in the Anti Indian Sentiment in the “settlement of the West, the “native” [caption id=”attachment_578″ align=”alignright” width=”150″ caption=”Bill of Rights”][/caption] American regulations to push out immigrants at the turn of the 20th Century, Jim Crow Laws, the Anti Chinese Leagues of the West, the Japanese Internment of the World War II era, the institutionalization of individuals with disabilities, all the way to the Anti-Muslim sentiment of Post 9/11. Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish, Black, Chinese, Japanese, Hmong and Native American have all been at the business end of legislation, regulation, and law with the intent of providing America with a clean upstanding society, and yet somehow all of those groups are still here. (Not only are they still present, but are slowly moving into their own halls of power where — if they are lucky — they may take their turn at that American tradition of marginalizing another group.) Even the Great State of Arizona who has provided us with all this fun finally had to swallow the bitter pill of their own pride and formally adopt the Martin Luther King Holiday.

So go on Arizona. Go on and continue to use outdated and antiquated practices to solve your illegal immigrations problems. Continue to think that the methods of divisiveness and derision will lead you to your desert Utopia. Continue the broad marginalization and you will indeed find an end to illegal immigration – when the immigrants eventually vote you out.

Patrick Cokley is a crazed maniac who hastily penned a blog when Day in Washington’s Back was turned. He continues his own rants under the moniker the Angry Negro and can be found at http://angrynegro.blog.friendster.com/

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”
-George Bernard Shaw

Many of you may be familiar with the Federal government’s Disability.gov web site. A joint project with 21 federal agency partners, it is an award-winning Web site that contains disability-related resources on programs, services, laws and regulations to help people with disabilities lead full, independent lives. With just a few clicks, visitors can find critical information on a variety of topics, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Disability.gov introduced the 100 Days to the ADA, a blog countdown that over the next few months will explore one of our nations’s most important civil rights achievements, including examining the ramifications of the ADA; its successes and its failures, historical points in disability history, and how supporting the rights of individuals with disabilities supports ALL Americans.

The countdown began on April 17, 2010 and over the following 100 days, there will be a daily blog post with information, resources, tips and treasures on a variety of topics and how they all relate to disability. Already, there have been blog posts about disability and: housing, financial literacy, aging, disability friendly colleges, communication skills, mental illness and people first language just to name a few.

The blogs are open for comments and individuals are invited to present personal perspectives and offer ideas for new topics. As a disclaimer and to be fair, in my other capacity, I have provided some of the content for the countdown, but do think the information available is pretty cool. AND I know that Disability.gov would love to hear from real people about their experiences. I know you have something to say.

Please do check out the 100 Days to the ADA at http://blog.govdelivery.com/usodep/. There will be a new post every single day until July 26!

[caption id=”attachment_588″ align=”aligncenter” width=”453″ caption=”Disability.gov Logo”][/caption]

Considering Autism Awareness Month is April, I thought it might be useful to have a post to talk about it. Let me take a moment to be frank, Autism is a “popular” topic in Washington DC and a popular cause in Congress. And I say that in not a fully “positive” way. Legislators want to “solve the Autism problem.” As to what should/could be done, there is a lot of contention and even confusion…and not just on the Hill, but amongst the community. Cure vs. Care or Neurodiversity vs. Significant Disability etc etc. The recent New York Times article “Nominee to Disability Council is Lightning Rod for Dispute on Views of Autism” about the appointment of Ari Ne’eman to the National Council on Disability and the subsequent hold on his confirmation illustrates this.

I have had the pleasure to work with Ari on several occassions in the past to lobby for legislation that would help provide supports and services to families with a member who is on the autism spectrum. I have also lobbied for additional funding for reasearch into Autism itself. At the time, I also had the benefit for working for an organization that included professionals who were doing cutting edge behavioral research and psychological interventions, as well as providing mental health supports to families. I had experts who could tell me about what was going on in the field and what practicies worked and what didn’t. And working with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) gave me the perspective from individuals who were on the spectrum themselves. It is much easier to develop policy and legislative solutions when you have the information at your fingertips. Sadly, because of the cause celebre that Autism has become, I am not so sure that all of the policy-makers and their staff have that same understanding. In fact, I’m not sure how much of the general public has an understanding.

So, I’m going to take a moment to offer an explanation of Autism; not the science, not the tear-jerker stories, but an honest appraisal from a blog written by a mother who has a son with Autism, Bud and her discussion with his class at school. It is probably THE clearest description I have ever heard and offers an intimate portrayal that we “grown-ups” should heed.

She opens with Question #1 - What is Autism?
Below is a shortened version of her explanation for just Question #1.

“Let’s think about the brain as a machine. You know that your brain controls everything you do. You use your brain to think about things and to make your body do things. Your brain also controls things that you don’t even think about. You don’t have to remember to breathe, because your brain does it automatically for you. You don’t have to remember to blink, because your brain does it. So, sometimes you USE your brain to do things and sometimes your brain just does things because that’s what it’s wired to do.

“The same thing is true in autism. Bud uses his brain for everything, too. But because there are differences in the way his brain is connected, there are differences in the way his brain reacts to things.

“Now, we all know that your brain is a machine that’s made of tissue and neurons and nerve cells. But let’s pretend it was a more simple machine. Let’s pretend your brain wasn’t made of tissue and neurons and nerve cells, but instead, it was made of metal and plastic and electrical wires. And let’s pretend that when you put that metal and plastic and electrical wire together, it turned into a toaster.”

“And let’s pretend that MOST of us had toaster brains. Some of us might make white toast and some wheat toast or rye toast, and some of us might make light toast and some of us dark toast. Some of us might only toast bagels, and sometimes we might even burn the toast, but for the most part, all of our brains would be able to do the same thing: make toast.

“Because we have brains that are really GOOD at making toast - we will want to have a world where it’s REALLY important and REALLY valuable to make toast. Right?”

Heads nodded around the room.

“Now let’s pretend that Bud’s brain is ALSO made of metal and plastic and electrical wires, just like our brains, except that when HIS metal and plastic and electrical wires get put together, they turn into a totally different kind of machine. Instead of being a TOASTER, Bud’s metal and plastic and electrical wires turn into a HAIR DRYER.”

I swear, I heard gasps.

“Now, there’s nothing WRONG with a hair dryer, right? Hair dryers are great! There are some things that hair dryers are really good for. There are some things that a hair dryer can do even BETTER than a toaster. But it is REALLY, REALLY hard to make toast with a hair dryer.”

They laughed again, and nodded, and totally, completely got it.

“So, in our pretend world, even though Bud has a perfectly wonderful hair dryer brain, it’s going to be hard for him, because we toaster-brained people have decided that the most important thing that people do in our world is make toast. And Bud probably can make toast with his hair dryer, right? But he is going to have to work a lot harder to make toast with his hair-dryer brain than we will with our toaster brains. It will probably take him a lot longer to make his toast. And no matter how hard he works, his hair-dryer toast will probably always look different from our toaster toast.”

The room filled with murmurs of understanding.

The discussion continues throughout March with more questions and answers with an amazing closer on April 2nd. Children always seem to “get it” better than we ever could. Please do go check out the rest of her blog posts.

Question #2 - Why does Bud repeat things from TV? - Or Meanings, Feelings and Wacky Hair

Question #3 - Why does Bud say the same things over and over and over? - Or Sing Out Loud, Sing Out Strong

Question #4 - Why does Bud run in circles? Why does he need movement breaks? - Or Shake Your Sillies Out

Question #5 - Why do noises bother Bud? - Or Thats Not What I Hear

Question #6 - Why does Bud miss his mom so much? Why does he get really attached to people and want to be with them all the time? - Or Konnichiwa

Question #7 - How can I be a better friend to Bud? How can I be a person Bud would like to hang out with? - Or Friendly Talk

Question #8 - Will Bud always be this way? - Or Where Are We Headed?

Question #9 - Does Bud know he’s different? - Or Different Like Me

Question #10 - How can I help? - Or With a Little Help From My Friend

Over and over in the news and on the blogs we constantly are bombarded with information about how inaccessible the world is and even how hostile it can be towards people with disabilities. I’ve posted about hate crimes and health care, independent living (or lack thereof) and technology; even about how media doesn’t seem to “get” disability. Often people with disabilities find themselves frustrated by the fact that the world finds it conventient to ignore that we too are a thriving and vital part of humanity with something to contribute. Today, I want to take some time out to write a short note about something POSITIVE.

I’m talking about the White House Easter Egg Roll. This is “Day in Washington” so the content of this blog tends to focus on Washington, DC and policy. Around this time of year, one of the exciting things going on and buzzed about the city is the Easter Egg Roll. I bring it up because the Administration has gone out of its way to ensure that children with disabilities…that families who may have a member with a disability are just as welcome at this White House event.

On Monday, April 5th, 30,000 people from all 50 states and DC visited the South Lawn of the White House for this year’s Easter Egg Roll. This year’s activities reflected the theme, ‘Ready, Set, Go!’ which follows First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative - a national effort to combat childhood obesity.

To improve and expand on this annual tradition and ensure that children with disabilities were fully included:

1. The White House included “Chirping eggs” as a part of the Egg Hunt so children who are visually impaired will have the opportunity to participate.

2. Wheelchair matting was put down so the traditional Egg Roll would be accessible to children in wheelchairs

3. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are available at this year’s event so families who utilize sign language can be an active part of the event (You can just see one of them in the video posted to WhiteHouse.gov signing during StoryTime)

Although I’m sure there remains accessibility isssues with the White House Easter Egg Roll that still need to be addressed and I’m sure that throughout the day, with so many people, there were gaps in meeting people’s needs. But overall, I am buoyed by the fact that children with disabilities were considered during the planning of this event. It is a small victory and something we should celebrate. Too often while fighting the good fight, working to change the bigger picture, we forget to relish those small, seemingly insignificant wins. As advocates, and policymakers and yes, even lobbyists, perhaps more than other people, we need to remember that these little victories are the onces that can mean so much- especially to a 6 or 7-year-old kid with a disability. To have a wonderful day with their family, playing with the other kids…just like the other kids.