Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

We are urging all blind Internet users to write Blogger support requesting the immediate removal of the visual verification requirement for creating new blogs until a reasonably accessible alternative can be implemented that meets the needs of all human beings without excluding those whom happen to be blind. The purpose of visual verification is to test for the presence of a live human being. Lets remind Google of our status as real, living and breathing human beings by insisting on equal access! .

We have recently learned that Google now requires visual verification during the process of creating a new blog on blogger.com. Despite our ongoing attempts to communicate with Google about the need for accessibility, no accessible alternative has been provided for this new instance of visual verification. Whereas a blind user was once able to create new blogs at blogger.com, Google has now locked us out! Google staff continuously tell us that they are working on the problem while simultaneously Google continues to implement more instances of inaccessible visual verification. Sadly, we are only able to derive one conclusion. Google doesn’t care! I think it is now safe for us to conclude that Google is engaging in deliberate, ongoing and unmitigated discrimination against blind Internet users through the use of visual verification tests (also known as captcha) as a means to deny our equal participation.

It has become quite clear that our constant correspondence with Google staff through the company’s customer facing e-mail addresses has been totally ineffective in stopping Google’s discriminatory behavior against the blind. It is time we find a way to take our insistance on equal accessibility to some kind of next level so as to strongly encourage Google to correct its contemptable corporate behavior toward the blind and others with disabilities! I’m open to ideas!

JAWS 6.1 was just released this afternoon. Sadly, this upgrade has crippled support for MSN Messenger 6.2 and does not work well at all with the newest MSN Messenger 7.0 released just yesterday! There are other examples (ACT, Goldmine, Quicken) of applications for which support was previously created, but allowed to fall by the wayside due to lack of ongoing maintenance. I’m picking on JAWS for the simple reason that this is the screen reader about which I happen to have the greatest level of experience and knowledge. I suspect that the developers of other screen readers also encounter similar challenges from time to time.

We are blind. That means we are physically unable to read the printed text and view the graphics displayed on the screen. We must depend on screen readers to obtain and provide the necessary information in a format we are able to use: Braille and/or speech output. Our computers are completely useless to us when our screen readers aren’t running or are unable to support our use of critical software found in the classroom, the workplace or the home.

I and many other blind computer users have experienced, time and again, the consequences of software that is not supported by our screen reader. Those hardships can range from simple inconvenience to outright loss of employment! Within just the past two years, I have experienced the following significant issues, among many others not listed, with my screen reader, most of which have resulted in the reduction of my ability to perform the duties of my position as a technical support engineer:

• JAWS does not work with Siebel CRM versions 7.0 or 7.5 when they have been implemented in “high interactivity” mode. We have not been able to successfully convince our customers to make a “standard interactivity” Siebel implementation available. Our outsourcing arrangements mean that we are in no position to compel our customers to make these necessary changes. This state of affairs resulted in my reassignment to more accessible, less technical duties. Though I couldn’t ask for better accomodations and understanding of the situation, I feel it has placed a black mark on my ability to advance with my current employer.
• JAWS does not work with a critical security management application based on Sun Java. Again, we are in no position to compel its developer to make the necessary accessibility changes that would enable it to work with JAWS and Sun’s Java Access Bridge.
• There are a couple of Java based web administration interfaces provided by one of our customers to which I have no access. Critical elements are totally invisible to JAWS! It is incredibly fortunate that I rarely need to use these systems, and I am able to obtain sighted assistance on the rare occasion I must perform a task involving them.
• On occasion, I still find a document (PDF, Microsoft E-Book, some other format) that is overly secured or requires use of an inaccessible piece of reading software.

Should mainstream hardware and software manufacturers become more accessible? Absolutely! Yes! Accessibility is always best implemented when there is a spirit of cooperation between the assistive technology industry and the creators of the mainstream technology on which our sighted peers rely. When that cooperation does not exist, our screen reader developers ought to be doing their best to fill that void, enabling us to retain and enhance opportunities for education and employment in the process.

In order for those of us in the blind community to gain and retain employment, we must insist that the developers of our assistive technology do two critical things:

1. Innovate by creating support for a large, highly diverse pool of thousands of computer software applications used in the classroom, the workplace and the home.
2. Help us continue productively participating in society by feverishly working to maintain accessibility to these applications as they are upgraded and changed by their developers.

Yes. I know. What I am proposing is definitely a “tall order”. It is quite a challenge, indeed, but one we must meet head on! Please feel free to comment not only on the merits of my statements but also on any specific actions we can take as a blind community to increase the accessibility our screen readers are able to provide to all the technology we must use on a daily basis!

This evening, Karen and I are excited to announce that we became engaged after she accepted my live marriage proposal on Jeff Bishop’s The Desert Skies radio show on ACB Radio Interactive. Jeff and I planned this show for almost an entire week while managing to keep Karen completely in the dark regarding the purpose of our activities. Her total surprise turned into a “yes” answer and our excitement at its now being official! We thank everyone who listened live. If you missed the show, a complete archive of the two hour event is available. We invite you to join in our excitement as we became engaged on the flagship Internet radio station of the connected blind community!

• Play the streamed audio – best for most listeners.
• Download the complete MP3 – large file almost 48 MB!

Karen shares some interesting dialogue with one of her closest coworkers concerning Terri’s case. Her coworker takes Michael Schiavo’s pro-death position. I hear the same thing from some of my closest colleagues as well. Are we wrong to feel extremely nervous about the possible implications of the Terri Schiavo case?

I don’t really understand people & their perception of Terri’s health condition .
Even people that we think would be on our side are not! Jane (name changed to protect the guilty) is one of those people.
A little while ago, she came into this office on her lunch break & was giving Dougie some ice & saying hello. I had asked her if she had heard the news? She said, “about that Lady”? I said, “yes, about Terri”. I then said, “Its really sad! But if they had reconnected the tube a week ago, she would have been okay. Darrell & I feel that it is best that she passed away because she would have been in too much pain.. but she could have had a chance if they did something a week ago…”
She replied, well, something to the effect that Terri didnot have much functioning & was not really capable of having a full life & wasn’t cohearent….
Of course, I am paraphrasing….
I am really disappointed in her! am I wrong, does it seem the majority of people are on Michael’s side!…. That, is really scary!
Are more people whom are disabled on our side? Isn’t that interesting! Wonder what the stats are!
This whole thing is a disgrace to our country, says a lot about our country — & its not very good!
I feel really bad sad & totally disgusted! I felt like crying but couldn’t!…..

Today, Karen and I join Terri’s parents, brother, sister and all of her supporters around the world in mourning her passing. We are all saddened by the way in which this event came about, but are glad Terri is now in a better place. Terri, we are very, very sorry that the United States of America has let you down in the absolute worse possible way! There are numerous potential implications for those of us with disabilities. We don’t feel it is appropriate to cover these legal, moral and political issues on this day of mourning. Please stay tuned for additional coverage of this and many other relevant topics.

According to a forensic pathologist on Sean Hanady’s radio show this afternoon, potassium is administered to death row criminals who are being executed by means of lethal injection. The purpose of the potassium overdose is to stop the beating of the heart. As Terri’s dehydration proceeds, potassium levels in her body are rising. If she doesn’t die first of another complication, the elevated levels of this substance will stop her heart, too. Surely, Terri does not deserve to die in such a slow, suffering, undignified manner that is much worse than the ways in which we execute our most hardened killers!

We at Blind Access Journal ask you to sign this petition asking Florida Governor Bush to immediately take all actions necessary to save Terri. The number of electronic signatures has surpassed 3,700; add yours right now!

I agree with Dr. Laura only about 60 percent of the time. I feel that she tends to approach most issues with extreme harshness and inflexibility, without sufficient empathy toward those whom ask for her advice.

When it comes to Terri Schiavo, I must say that Dr. Laura is right on in her pleas for Michael Schiavo to do the right thing, to get a divorce and let custody of Terri fall to her parents so that the feeding tube may be reinserted and her life saved. You can read and listen to Dr. Laura’s recent powerful statements. Regardless of your philosophical differences with Dr. Laura, you have to admit that she does deeply care about what happens to people!

March 25, 2005

Dear Governor Bush,

I am a 41 year old disabled woman who would like to express my concerns
regarding the Terri Schiavo case.

Like many disabled people, I was misdiagnosed by my Doctors at birth. In 1964 I had congenital toxoplasmosis. This is a parasitic infectious disease. Cats are the main carriers. When pregnant women come into contact with cat litter or eat raw meat, they can be affected by the parasite, ultimately transmitting the disease to their unborn children. This is what happened to me. Any newborn with this disease is likely to have multiple disabilities. They include blindness, deafness, mental retardation,
and problems with motor development. I was two months premature and had pneumonia at only five days of age. The doctors
were uncertain of my prognosis and told my parents that I would not be
capable of much, would be an ill child and would be lucky if I could graduate
High school.

Despite the fact that I had some brain damage, lacked motor ability and was almost totally blind, my Parents did everything they could to help improve the quality of my life. They wanted the best for me and got me treatment at a prestigious Center
that treats children and adults with Brain injuries. They had heard about two
Doctors Glen Domen and Karral Delgado who were performing patterning on me and
others whom have similar problems. Patterning is a method of training
the healthy cells to compensate for the damaged areas of the brain that no longer perform the tasks and functions they are supposed to fulfill. This process can and usually will take years if the person is to recover and
increase their ability to perform basic tasks and later graduate to more advanced functioning. This was exactly the case with me. I was on this patterning program for at
least 5 years until I began kindergarten.

If it was not for my Parents and those Doctors at the Institute of the
Achievement of Human Potential, I would not be who I am today. I have met
other people that have the same condition as I, and some of them are not as
fortunate. They have multiple disabilities: learning disabilities and
motor development problems. I believe, if my Parents listened to some of those Doctors 40 years ago, I
would not be the successful person I am today. Although I am totally blind, I do not have any other severe disabilities. In
fact, I have graduated from College with a BA in Psychology and I am presently
employed. I am a professional whom works in the Hospitality
industry.

If I did not get all the assistance and support from my Family, I would not be
writing this letter. Furthermore, there are many hundreds of other individuals whom have a similar story, who’s Doctors have misdiagnosed them. Doctor’s do not always
have the answers! They too, are human and can and will make mistakes.

In the case of Terri Schiavo, I believe those Doctors whom say she is in a
vegetative state are wrong! I am an informed American and watch the News just about every night. From what I understand, several other Doctors (approximately 33 doctors) say otherwise. It has been noted that Some of the Doctors on Terri’s case say that she
can be rehabilitated and is conscious. Though she can not really speak, she is aware, feels pain, makes facial expressions and understands what is happening around her. So, Governor Bush, I am asking you, Please, do everything you can to save Terri’s life.
Right now, we just need to connect the tube and then continue investigating
her prognosis.

I find this case very disturbing. Terri is not dying in dignity like some
say, but rather, this is inhumane. Please, help Terri before it’s too
late. Time is of the essence!!

Thank you!

Karen Hughes