NIH Hiring Event for People with Disabilities

http://www.jobs.nih.gov/disabilitieshire.htm

GUIDE DOG ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE HOTLINE

 The National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), the leader in service animal advocacy, has launched an innovative new service. The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline not only offers information about the legal rights of individuals who use service animals, it offers the option to speak with an advocate who is trained to resolve access denials. According to the new federal guidelines that took effect on March 15, 2011, , a service animal is “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability”. (28 CFR Part 35.104 & 28 CFR Part 36.104). The new regulations specifically state, “Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition.” In an effort to further clarify its intent, the Department of Justice specifically states, “The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.” The new regulations concerning service animals follow this release.

            “We find that most access problems are the result of a lack of information,” says Michael Hingson, the Association’s Vice President who serves as Project Manager for the hotline. “This hotline is an excellent resource for accurate information.”

            The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline currently offers general information about service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),   as well as specific guidance concerning restaurants, taxicabs, and health care facilities. Callers needing immediate assistance can connect directly to a live trained advoacate. Future plans for the hotline include summaries of each of the state laws concerning service animals, more industry specific information, and guidance in a variety of languages, such as Mandarin and Arabic. The Hotline is available anytime by calling, toll-free, 866-972-3647.

            The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline was created by a grant from the National Federation of the Blind’s (NFB) Imagination Fund, as well as with contributions from the California and Florida Associations of Guide Dog Users. The National Association of Guide Dog Users is a strong and proud division of the NFB. NAGDU conducts public awareness campaigns on issues of guide dog use, provides advocacy support for guide dog handlers who face discrimination, supports effective legislation to protect the rights of service animal users, offers educational programs to school and civic organizations, and functions as an integral part of the National Federation of the Blind. For more information about the National Association of Guide Dog Users, you can visit their website at

HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG

Or send an email message to

Info@NAGDU.ORG

IPhone App - Money Reader and Accessible Devices Listserv

Look Tel has recently released an IPhone App called Money Reader. It sells for $1.99 in the Apple App store. It reliably identifies U.S. currency from 1 to 100 dollars. You simply open the app and pass it over the money approximately ten or so inches above the bill. This is one we feel we can confidently recommend. At the moment 3 of us all ready have it and have been very impressed with the ease of use and accuracy. It works with either the 3 or 4 series phones.

You can visit the page below to listen to Randy's Demo.

http://www.accessible-devices.com/Apps.htm

You will find the Accessible Devices list archives at:

http://accessible-devices.com/pipermail/a-d_accessible-devices.com/

DC Public Library free computers with classes

DC Public Library crosses the digitaldivide with ByteBackDC and Cricketnation offering free computers, classes and internet http://j.mp/ftceHG flyers:http://j.mp/guak7R

Retina Chip

This is approved in Europe and costs $100,000

http://www.cbs.com/cbs_evening_news/video/?pid=IM581FY_skWCF58IerVk5boJ6KooF7Is

Facebook training - March 8th

Facebook training
Here's some info possibly of interest on an upcoming Facebook webinar:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/training/e-LearningEntrance.asp
Facebook with JAWS and MAGic
March 8, 2011
Are you interested in diving into the world of Facebook to stay
connected with family and friends? Are you apprehensive though about
navigating the Facebook website with JAWS or MAGic? If so, join us for
a look at some basic navigation techniques that can be used to make
browsing Facebook more efficient and less daunting.
Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Time (17:00 GMT)
Webinar: Beginning to intermediate concepts
Cost: No charge
Level: Beginner to intermediate
Length: One hour
Although Facebook is a complex and interactive site, learning some
basic navigation principles will make using it less stressful and more
enjoyable. Learn how to use JAWS and MAGic navigation techniques such
as moving to headings and form controls to quickly locate sections of
the various pages. Utilize the JAWS PlaceMarker feature to easily
return to certain places on a page and learn how to customize settings
specifically for Facebook. These and many more topics will be
demonstrated in an effort to open the world of Facebook up to JAWS and
MAGic users.
NOTE: This Webinar assumes you have already created a Facebook account

Quick Survey on a new product for the Blind and Vision Impaired

Please help this design team!
 
At the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, a group of MBA students is designing a high-quality talking watch for the blind and vision impaired.

The link below will take you to a 10-question survey asking your opinion about features that should be included in this new product.

Here is the link to the survey: 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FBY826B
 
Please don't delay!

Responses prior to March 1 will be included in a presentation to key decision-makers regarding this product. Thank you for your input. We look forward to providing a product that delivers genuine value.
  

Directions For Me

In its first year, Let’s Move! taught us to pay attention to what we eat. We’ve learned that choosing a bowl of whole-grain cereal with non-fat milk over cheesy biscuits and bacon is a great way to kick off a healthy, energized day. We’ve realized that many times we are offered portions that are bigger than necessary, and we’ve tested delicious, perfectly-proportioned recipes to make at home. And, with the release of 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans last month, we were reminded that consuming less sodium, fats, added sugars and refined grains is essential to a healthy lifestyle.

But, for millions of blind or visually impaired Americans, reading the nutrition information and cooking directions printed on the boxes, cans, jars, bottles and bags at the grocery store has been all but impossible—at least it was before the launch ofdirectionsforme last month.

Directionsforme is an accessible and user friendly website that contains nutritional and product information for over 350,000 foods and appliances. Created by Horizons for the Blind, directionsforme is helping millions of Americans like me to plan healthy menus, cook at home and to pay attention to the foods we consume. A study published in August 2010 by a group of Columbia University professors showed that people who regularly read the nutrition facts labels on the food that they buy have significantly healthier diets and consume less calories, fat, sugar and sodium than those who don’t read the labels.

Thanks to directionsforme, blind grocery shoppers can now plan their trips by carefully selecting foods and brands whose nutrition information they have read and compared. A busy mom who wants to buy healthy snacks can use the website to find out which brand of peach fruit cups has no added sugar and an aspiring Italian chef can find out the appropriate serving size for his favorite brand of pasta.

Directionsforme is also helping American families eat healthy meals together at home, another key component of the Let’s Move! initiative. Planning menus and cooking at home is a fun and healthy way to bring the family together. For sighted cooks, using a microwave to steam broccoli or pureeing vegetables in a blender is as easy as a glance at a user’s manual and the push of a button. Directionsforme now makes those time-saving appliances available to visually impaired chefs with accessible package information for thousands of products.

Let’s Move! has always been committed to including people with disabilities in its healthy lifestyle outreach, whether by cheering on the American athletes at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver or recognizing the students with disabilities who earned Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards with a special ceremony at the White House. Now, with the accessible nutrition information and appliance instructions on the directionsforme website, blind Americans can more easily pay attention to the food they eat and fully participate in the Let’s Move! call for healthier meals and healthier families.

White House Disability Call

In order to help keep you more informed, we are hosting monthly calls to update you on various disability issues as well as to introduce you to persons who work on disability issues in the federal government.

This month's topic will be on the President's budget as it relates to people with disabilities.

This call is off the record and not for press purposes.

We strongly urge and ask that you distribute this email broadly to your networks and list serves so that anyone who wants to participate and learn about the President's budget can do so.

Our next call will be Tuesday, February 15 at 1:00 PM Eastern.

The conference call information is below.

Dial in for listeners: United States: (800) 288-8974

Title: White House Disability Call (use instead of code)

Date of Call: 02/15/2011

Start Time: 1:00 PM Eastern

For live captioning, at time of call, log onto:

http://www.fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1710748&CustomerID=321 

If you would like to be added to the White House Disability Group email distribution list, please email sfeuerstein@who.eop.gov and provide your name, email address, city, state and organization if applicable.

Braille Readers test at NPR.

Do you need extra cash for the holidays?  Do you read Braille?  Towson University and National Public Radio are conducting research that will help design a new product - a  Radio Brailler - that will be used by blind and deaf-blind consumers to access radio news and emergency alerts.  We are looking for blind and low-vision people who are able to read Braille fluently and comfortably.  You will read six short NPR stories on a refreshable Braille display and answer questions about the stories.  The Refreshable Braille Display will be provided at the session.  Even if you've never read on a Braille display, you can participate – we'll provide a short training session in the beginning if you need it.   You will be with us for 2 - 2.5 hours and receive $50 for your time.  You will also be asked your opinion of a new Radio Reading Service Radio that we are developing. The session will take place at Nation Public Radio headquarters near Chinatown, in Washington DC the week of Dec 13-17 as well as the following week if need be, scheduled to your convenience.  For details, contact the Adaptive Technology Librarian at DC Public Library Adaptive Services Division at DC Public Library.