Blind users can now explore photos by touch with Microsoft’s Seeing AI

Microsoft’s Seeing AI is an app that lets blind and limited-vision folks convert visual data into audio feedback, and it just got a useful new feature. Users can now use touch to explore the objects and people in photos.

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Official emoji debut for disabled folks, service dogs, waffles and more

A gaggle of new emoji have just been approved by the Unicode Consortium, meaning they’ll be standard across any platforms that choose to support them. This batch includes some much-needed representation for people with various disabilities, new animals from guide dogs to otters, food and many more objects.

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Hailey Dawson’s incredible journey to pitch at every MLB stadium with a 3D-printed hand

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Hailey Dawson likes to be photographed with her 3D-printed hand front and center. Sometimes she curls it into a fist and flexes her biceps. Other times she keeps it flat as a pancake, elbow bent into a classic dab. 

However she holds it, the point is that it’s there and she wants you to look at it. 

She’s gotten baseball fans around the country to pay attention to it, too, by throwing the first pitch at every MLB stadium to raise awareness of the need for affordable prosthetics. After she pitches at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday afternoon, the 30th and last stadium on her list, she will complete what her family is calling her Journey to 30Read more…

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People with disabilities share how clothes shopping could be made more accessible

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Clothes shopping can be a stressful experience at the best of times. But for people living with disabilities, shopping for clothing can be even more difficult due to lack of accessibility in stores. 

Journalist Dr Frances Ryan — who writes about disability rights — asked fashion-loving people with disabilities to tweet about “what would make clothes shopping more accessible” for them.

Disabled fashion Twitter! What would make clothes shopping more accessible for you? Are there any shops you particularly love for getting it right? I’m interested in all types of disabilities so please shout. Thx.

— Frances Ryan (@DrFrancesRyan) June 26, 2018 Read more…

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People with disabilities share the moving ways their partners show love for them

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Actions speak louder than words — particularly when those actions show just how much you care about a person. 

People with disabilities have been sharing their partners’ actions that show them just how much they’re loved — actions that are “different from the way abled people show love.”

Get the tissues at the ready, you’re in for some very moving Twitter #content. 

The conversation was started by Imani Barbarin, a disabilities activist and creator of the #DisTheOscars hashtag, which calls attention to the lack of disability representation in the Academy Awards. Read more…

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Everything you need to know about Global Accessibility Awareness Day

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In a world of rapidly advancing technology it’s crucial to ensure companies and organizations are doing their best to make digital developments accessible to everyone.

While browsing the internet, catching up on social media, or texting on mobile devices might seem like second nature to some, accessibility-related barriers prevent millions of people with disabilities from easily using basic forms of technology and, in some cases, even discourage them from going online.

In 2012, Global Accessibility Awareness Day was launched to help highlight the need for increased digital accessibility. Read more…

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Apple proposes 13 new emoji that represent people with disabilities

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Apple thinks it’s high time to make even more inclusive emoji.

In a March proposal, the tech company requested that Unicode Consortium — the organization responsible for our emoji — create characters that accurately represent people with disabilities.

“Apple is requesting the addition of emoji to better represent individuals with disabilities,” the company wrote in its proposal. “Diversifying the options available helps fill a significant gap and provides a more inclusive experience for all.”

Apple worked with community organizations like American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and the National Association of the Deaf to create 13 new emoji representative of people with disabilities. Read more…

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Google adds a wheelchair-accessible option for transit maps

Google Maps has a pretty solid set of data for taking transit from here to there, but anyone with a physical disability knows it isn’t quite that simple. Some stations may be wheelchair-unfriendly, have out-of-service elevators, that kind of thing. A new update to the service adds an option for you to specify a wheelchair-accessible route — though that’s just a start on what’s really needed.

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People aren’t thrilled with Gal Gadot’s tribute to Stephen Hawking

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Inspiring actress Gal Gadot is seen as a real-life Wonder Woman in Hollywood, but fans aren’t too happy with her recent tribute to Stephen Hawking.

After Hawking — a famous cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and author, regarded as one of the most brilliant minds in the world — died Wednesday morning, the world mourned his loss on social media.

To honor Hawking, Gadot tweeted a photo of him along with the words, “Rest in peace Dr. Hawking. Now you’re free of any physical constraints. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever.”

Rest in peace Dr. Hawking. Now you’re free of any physical constraints.. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever ✨ pic.twitter.com/EQzSxqNTuN

— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) March 14, 2018 Read more…

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Stephen Hawking was a remarkable advocate for people with disabilities

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When Stephen Hawking spoke, the world listened. 

The physicist, who died early Wednesday at the age of 76, could never be contained to just one subject. He talked about his life’s work — exploring the origin of the universe — while contributing to conversations about topics like fighting for Britain’s National Health Service and the importance of bringing science to the masses. 

And Hawking, who was diagnosed with a nervous system disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1963, also became one of the world’s most famous advocates for people living with disabilities. Read more…

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