advocacy – Blind Access Journal

The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas

December 21, 2018 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

In this approximately 6-minute podcast, Allison and Darrell Hilliker sing their take on the twelve days of Christmas. Listen or pause: The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas Download: The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas On the first day of Christmas, the developers gave to me: a mouse click only menu tree. On… Finish Reading The Twelve Inaccessibilities of Christmas

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, podcast

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Random Accessibility Thoughts: We Blind People Need to Change the Path of Least Resistance

May 20, 2018 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

When I was 13 years old, all the way back in 1986, I learned exactly how horrible some people were when I found out the principal of my local high school was not going to let me enroll because of my blindness. She wondered things like, “how would he use the bathroom” and thought I… Finish Reading Random Accessibility Thoughts: We Blind People Need to Change the Path of Least Resistance

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, discrimination, human rights, opinion, thought provoker

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Redefining Access: Questions to Ponder in the Age of Remote Assistance

March 29, 2018 • Allison Hilliker

Overview There is an area of assistive technology that has recently been gaining momentum, and I would like to explore what that means for us as blind people. We are seeing an emergence of platforms that allow individuals to virtually connect with sighted assistants. Users refer to this category of technology by different terms such… Finish Reading Redefining Access: Questions to Ponder in the Age of Remote Assistance

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, assistive technology, employment, opinion, technology, thought provoker

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Apple Listens, Sometimes, and Advocacy Can Be Worth Doing

November 10, 2017 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

When Apple released iOS 11 on Sept. 19, it dealt a nasty surprise in the email inboxes of those of us whom happen to be blind. A change in VoiceOver meant that, everytime we used a feature intended to help us increase our productivity, we ran the risk of deleting emails we wanted to keep.… Finish Reading Apple Listens, Sometimes, and Advocacy Can Be Worth Doing

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, feedback, iPhone, opinion

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Apple Considering Accessible On-screen Text and Described Videos at Future Events

June 12, 2017 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

After watching Apple’s June 5 WWDC keynote and listening to a summary of the event on Jonathan Mosen’s Blind Side Podcast, it dawned on me that we blind people are missing a lot of critical information! Many of the videos played at Apple’s events lack sufficient dialogue to be comprehensible by a blind person without… Finish Reading Apple Considering Accessible On-screen Text and Described Videos at Future Events

Categories: accessibility, advocacy

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Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver Accessibility Webinar

August 5, 2016 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

This approximately one-hour podcast is an audio recording of a real-world demonstration for following a systematic plan that explores, evaluates and tests iOS apps for accessibility with Apple’s built-in VoiceOver screen reader for blind and low-vision users. The August 3, 2016 webinar was presented by Darrell Hilliker and hosted by the Arizona Technology Access Program.… Finish Reading Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver Accessibility Webinar

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, assistive technology, iPhone, podcast, technology

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Picture Imperfect: Our Family Explores Photo Management on iOS

August 2, 2016 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

In this approximately one hour and 49 minute podcast, Allison, Darrell and baby daughter Allyssa go on an adventure through their photo library, experiencing fun and frustration with accessible and inaccessible iOS apps. Listen or Pause: Picture Imperfect Download: Picture Imperfect We found Moments by Facebook completely inaccessible with VoiceOver. Please submit feedback to Facebook’s… Finish Reading Picture Imperfect: Our Family Explores Photo Management on iOS

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, iPhone, podcast, recreation, technology

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Inaccessibility in the Hospital: The Adventures of My Daughter’s Fourth Eye Surgery

May 20, 2016 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

My four-month-old daughter is sleeping, so, in belated celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I thought I would describe our experience with her fourth Glaucoma surgery from an accessibility point of view. Before I get started, let me say that I think Phoenix Children’s Hospital always treats my daughter very well and provides her with… Finish Reading Inaccessibility in the Hospital: The Adventures of My Daughter’s Fourth Eye Surgery

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, documentation, opinion, PDF

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Asked to Make Your iOS App Accessible to Blind People? There’s a Plan for that!

May 14, 2016 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

Are you a developer who has been asked to make your iOS app accessible to blind people using Apple’s built-in VoiceOver screen reader? Are you uncertain how to respond, why you should care or where you can go to get started? I hope to demystify these questions and encourage you to create and improve your… Finish Reading Asked to Make Your iOS App Accessible to Blind People? There’s a Plan for that!

Categories: accessibility, advocacy, iPhone, technology • Tags: accessibility, blind, iOS, VoiceOver

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There Should be Compensation and Remediation for the Real Damages Inaccessibility Causes

February 19, 2016 • Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

I just thought I would respond to Chris Hofstader’s excellent article Stop The ADA Trolls. While I certainly agree we shouldnâ€™t be supporting these accessibility lawsuit trolls, I also do not feel we should be defending companies that have less-than-stellar accessibility records. If a company has consistently failed to acknowledge accessibility advocacy and act positively… Finish Reading There Should be Compensation and Remediation for the Real Damages Inaccessibility Causes

Categories: accessibility, ADA, advocacy, discrimination, lawsuit, opinion, web accessibility

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