Disability Dialogue with Bill

My Experience As an Actor Who is Blind

I was listening to the TV news and the newspeople were talking about following a teleprompter and others using this in television shows. Hearing this made me remember a few years back when I was in a project for my employer. I was an officer of a Global Disability Network Business Resource Group with other officers from other business resource groups.   Each one of us represented the unique and diverse set of the population we have in the world and in our professional lives. We had the opportunity to be actors in a Diversity, Equity  and Inclusion short film/video. This was more than just a simple film/ video. It was filmed in a professional production studio in front of a green screen so the producer could add whatever background was required for each scene.

The actors were split up into pairs to perform their parts. After we all performed our roles and said our lines the parts were edited together by the production studio to make the final short film.  I was the only actor in this short film who was completely blind. This required me to memorize all my lines since I could not watch the teleprompter like the others to show me what I should be saying during my parts. I practiced many hours over many days, evenings and weekends prior to the filming painfully memorizing my lines.  I did this in-between my other full time job responsibilities.

Finally, it was the day to do the filming. I met everybody at the small production studio and we all met with the producer and the people filming prior to doing the filming. We talked over what we were supposed to do to produce the short film/video. This relaxed us some, however  it also brought on the stress as well since we all realized we were getting ready to do the filming and perform our roles.

Then everybody moved into a room with one way glass.  Then the two actors whose time it was to do their part went into  a soundproof room next to the room we were all in where the filming was being done. The actors who could see (all but me) could watch the filming through the one way glass. Then the actors said their lines back-and-forth to each other. If their part was not done to the producer’s satisfaction, they would have to do it again. Being on the other side of the one-way glass we could hear what was going on in the filming room due to the way they had the sound system setup. We could sense and feel the stress from the actors attempting to recite all their lines watching the teleprompter as they did not want to make a mistake. A couple of times they had to do a retake. I really felt badly for them because I could sense the tension growing on their  second take with the additional stress. It was even more difficult, I sensed for them to do the second take without mistakes. One pair of actors had to do at least three retakes before the fourth one passed.

They finished their fourth take successfully. I could feel everybody in the soundproof room loudly cheering for their success. Plus, now we all realized the importance of performing our role on the first take without mistakes if at all possible.

 Finally, it was my turn. All I kept thinking while I was going through in my mind as I said my lines and going back-and-forth with the other actor, I was partnered with to do our scene was do not make a mistake.  I did not want to do a second take. Fortunately, my actor/partner and I did well and we finished our lines in the first take.

After we had completed the long day of filming, we were all extremely happy. Since my part in the short film/video was not playing the part of a person who is blind I believe I played my role well and did not have my canes in view  in any of the scenes. Therefore, no one watching the film/video could not even tell I was completely blind. 

Has anyone else been in a film/video and can relate to the need to memorize their lines? Has anyone used a teleprompter to give talks and could relate to doing so if it was broken one day? Has anyone used a braille display and took the time to learn how to use it plus learn braille?  Were you able to read your lines on the braille display and how did it work for you?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. Therefore,  if you have any comments or feedback, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

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Celebrate and Participate in Global Accessibility Awareness Day (2024)

Join me and many others around the world in celebrating the 13th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which is celebrated annually the 3^rd Thursday of May, which  is May 16, 2024 this year. The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments.

I hope you share educational opportunities  all year and not just on Thursday, May 16, 2024, about how if you take some actions like I do and describe below you can also help to increase usability, accessibility and inclusion for digital technology.

• If you will be sharing any documents or communicating using Outlook, develop accessible Microsoft Outlook email messages, Word, PowerPoint,  Excel, and PDF documents and perform the automated accessibility checkers that are built into Microsoft Office products, as well as Adobe Acrobat for PDF files. Plus use other automated tools such as color contrast checkers and involve people with disabilities  in the required manual evaluations. Like all automated tools, these do not catch everything such as determining if an alternative text is descriptive enough or if it should be marked as decorative if it is not needed. Or making Excel files accessible for screen reader users to understand how the data in the cells relate to the headers and rows. Adding data tables needs to be done manually since it takes a person to understand where in the Excel file the data is and what row the column heading is at as described in the Excel link.
• Educate designers, developers and stakeholders to understand the benefits and how to design for inclusion and accessibility to help create an equitable experience for all. In addition, educate them on the importance of using automated as well as manual accessibility evaluation and resolving all usability/accessibility issues detected prior to the digital technology going into production. This is extremely important since the cost of remediating accessibility issues after they go into production is very expensive compared to catching them early and even worse may cause customer satisfaction issues or at times the issues may never get prioritized to be resolved.
• Coach designers, developers and stakeholders of software that it is necessary to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines although this is just a baseline for success. To ensure the user interface (UI) is intuitive, usable and users can use the software independently and efficiently the UI also needs to be usable. Therefore, performing manual usability evaluations is required.
• If you have the opportunity, partner with a Disability Network Business Resource Group to help them educate and promote accessible, intuitive and inclusive digital technology for all. 

Let us all have an enjoyable time participating in the GAAD events going on and help us spread the word about the value of creating accessible, usable and inclusive digital technology.

How will you or did you celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day? If you were able to give a presentation or educate others what would seem to be the most educational? If you are new to Global Accessibility Awareness Day what did you find most valuable about the experience?

If you have any comments or feedback, I would appreciate it if you could please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

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Inclusive Chat in Video Conferencing for Screen Reader Users

Inclusive Chat in Video Conferencing for Screen Reader Users

Some of you may have friends, family members or co-workers who are visually impaired or blind and leverage assistive technology such as screen readers which are critical to access a broad range of digital technology in their professional or personal life and want to learn about the tools they use to help increase inclusion for all. Others may want to further their education on inclusion for digital technology and may find this blog post educational.

Some people may wonder how screen reader users who rely only on their sense of sounds from their screen reader speaking and other computer or mobile device alerts and notifications occurring at the same time participate or lead meetings and engage in chatting in video conferencing software. To participate screen reader users are required to chat  while concentrating on reviewing slides, taking notes as needed and holding conversations with others. I am sometimes asked the question of how chatting works for me being a completely blind screen reader user. When someone asks me this question, they may be thinking that I might say that it is due to an accessibility issue that chatting during meetings is an accessibility issue. Although in most cases, it is not a technical accessibility issue. In my opinion it is more of a usability issue.  I have outlined some of the reasons why below:

Issues That Inhibit Inclusive Chats

• Although chatting software is technically accessible in most cases, it is not feasible to chat at the same time you are (1 talking, (2 listening to others, (3 taking notes ,(4 reading the slides  with a screen reader, all at the same time like I describe in Achieving Mental Focus In Spite Of Multiple Audible Distractions. To imagine  what it is like, think about how you could comprehend what four people are  talking about if they were all talking to you at once.
• Besides the multiple different auditory sources going on at once screen reader users use a combination of short-cut keys to move around the application to get to the chat options which causes the screen reader to speak every time a keystroke is pressed.
• In my opinion chatting in Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack or other chat tools to interact quickly or accurately to hold conversations or play games with others could be technically possible. However, in reality most of the time it is not or is not feasible during a meeting. Learn more about this topic in Creating Accessible Digital Zoom Meetings - Resource from Inclusion Works - Disability:IN that talks about chatting in Zoom meetings, which is exactly the same in other video conferencing tools that have
• Reading slides or other digital technology on a shared screen in video conferencing software is not accessible to screen reader participants.
• For JAWS  screen reader users, if they are physically typing on their keyboard this silences JAWS from speaking any incoming chats if they are typing in any software or web browser. Read more  about this behavior in accessibility - Possible to programmatically suppress the reading of a textarea? - Stack Overflow.
• Some issues depend on the situation such as when I was in a conference call waiting for a single participant to join with focus in the video conferencing software and the participant sent me a chat message. Since no one was talking, and I was not typing, causing my screen reader to make any noise or stop JAWS from talking I could hear the incoming chat message clearly with my screen reader. I could then navigate to the chat window and respond relatively easily with very little auditory sounds going on.
• Since screen reader users in most cases are not able to see the visual alerts that pop up from chatting software be aware they may miss some of the messages sent to the group in the meeting or a direct message sent to them.
• Some video conferencing and chat software updates to new versions automatically changes the way the user interface looks causing screen reader users the need to relearn where components are within the user interface. Also, occasionally some short-cut keys for the software are changed or removed requiring the screen reader user to relearn any new shortcut keys.

Tips to Assist with Inclusive Chatting

• Have a person assigned to monitor chats in meetings and read aloud any messages.
• If you know a person that is in the meeting who uses assistive technology, and a person asked them a question in chat let them know verbally in case they missed the message.
• Send all slides or any other digital technology that will be shared 24 hours ahead of time in an accessible format by email and not in chat. Some users prefer specific file types since they will work better with their assistive technology. Receiving files in advance will give the participant time to read the files in advance if needed and do any necessary file conversion.
• If chatting will be used to play games or chat in break out rooms which adds to the complexity, consider having partners to help ensure everyone can participate.
• If you sent a chat message to a person who uses a screen reader and they have not responded, maybe consider that they have not seen that message and follow up with a standard email message.
• Understand that if the user interface for any software such as video conferencing tools or chatting software changes due to an update it may take the screen reader user some time to re-orientate themselves on how to interact with the new version of the software. Therefore, be considerate while they learn the updated interface and operations.
• To help overcome some of the audio overload if you are a screen reader user consider utilizing another sense such as touch. Although not everybody can learn braille, consider learning braille, and how to use a braille display and leverage the sense of touch to feel the braille display and read incoming chat messages by touch.
• If you are a screen reader user and are not presenting, write and post your chat messages when there are gaps in the meeting in which you do not need to concentrate on the presenter or the conversation to help you hear what you are typing.
• If you use a screen reader or other assistive technology that has some of the challenges I describe, if possible, when you are in a meeting where you plan to participate in chats, consider avoiding multitasking, such as talking, referring to notes, taking notes, and reviewing slides to reduce multiple audio sources to help you hear chat messages and interact with them. To help with this keep your keyboard focus in the chat function reducing the need to press extra keystrokes which makes the screen reader announce every key pressed.

Conclusion

Although I focus on chatting in this blog post these challenges are identical to interacting with any user interface option using a screen reader in video conferencing software while in meetings. Despite these inclusion issues for participants who use screen readers, which some can be reduced as I described chatting is a very useful tool to be leveraged.

You can instantly share information including files and links. Chatting history is generally stored for participants to refer to later. This not only helps people in live meetings, referring to chat history also helps people who were not able to attend the live meetings. Chatting also  helps to increase inclusion since it helps people with speech disabilities and other disabilities. Besides turning on the captioning during the meeting for people who are hard of hearing or deaf chatting allows those same participants with hearing difficulties to hold conversations during the meeting.

Participants need to be aware of the audience in the meetings and use inclusive practices so screen reader users can participate.

Questions to consider to help one learn about inclusive chatting:

Have you personally experienced these chatting challenges, or have you talked to others who have and how did they get around these chatting obstacles? Can you provide any examples of when you have seen the issues I have described? Do you have an example you can share of an application that may make this experience more usable and efficient for screen reader users?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you have any comments or feedback, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

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Avoiding Health Consequences Related to Accessible Digital Technology

If you have been in the accessibility digital  profession for a while, I am assuming you have heard that  we are making positive progress in digital accessibility. Despite this encouraging news there is still a lot that needs to be accomplished  to increase accessibility and create an equitable experience for all without causing unneeded stress and medical issues for the people doing this valuable work. If a person attempts to do everything  to help increase this goal by themselves, they could work 24/7 which could lead to serious health conditions .

Some people may have even said directly that these practices of pursuing digital accessibility and equity may cause serious medical conditions or even worse death by  attempting to do everything themselves.

I have been told this by one person and have heard it from several others. Unfortunately, I have even witnessed a person dying from this work/life imbalance issue (although this cannot be proven).

I  will not give up educating others and pursuing digital accessibility for all. When a person thinks about it, changing technology to increase equity and inclusion in concept is much easier than changing people’s thoughts and feelings about it. However in the real world we live with little time and being pressured to do more with less people unfortunately the first thing that sometimes gets lowered on the list of priorities is accessibility for digital technology. Accessibility professionals like me understand that this only compounds the problem because digital accessibility was not planned. This causes accessibility issues which the owner of the technology has to resolve and are much more complicated, time consuming and costly than If properly planned and accessibility was baked into the design and development process.

When procuring accessibility services from vendors a well-documented statement of work with a list of requirements is needed. Without these procurement requirements, goals  and deliverables, whoever is managing the project of rolling out these services will more than likely have difficulty delivering services that will be beneficial to the stakeholders.  The upfront work of documenting what is required  needs to be done before talking with the vendor. If one does not find out what they are going to deliver, more than likely it will not turn out the way it is expected to solve the issue one is procuring the services for.

Tips To Assist at Reducing Stress and Promote Health:

• Get high level support for an accessibility program with enough resources and skilled people in it to allow it to be successful and not overwork the team.
• Avoid working 24/7 since this could lead to long term medical conditions. However, if you are like me and love your profession you might be tempted to do so.
• Do not skip the planning stages of any project when working with vendors that pertains to digital accessibility. It will compound the problem and take longer to implement and potentially result in something that is not effective and will add unneeded stress to the project team.
• Incorporate digital accessibility as early in the process as possible in the design and development phase. Include a diverse set of people in this process including people with a broad range of disabilities and those who use a variety of assistive technologies. This early planning will help avoid unpleasant user experience which can cause more stress for all involved.
• This process should also include evaluating and resolving accessibility issues with automated tools and manual evaluation using people with a broad range of disabilities using a mix of assistive technologies. This will reduce the workload than if left to just a few to do the accessibility evaluation without leveraging tools to assist.
• If giving a presentation to stakeholders or executives about goals for projects for digital accessibility  take time to prepare even though some might tell you just talk off the cuff. Do not do this. Spend time crafting your message to maximize the positive outcome from your presentation. Although this will take more time this step will help to reduce stress since you have planned in advance. You will be able to deliver the message succinctly and be more relaxed. In addition you may never get another chance to talk to a potential sponsor therefore give it your best.
• Take breaks from work and take time to visit with family and friends which will reduce stress.
• Read books, listen to music, go on walks and do other things to help relax from a stressful situation which can lead to a better night’s sleep.
• I smile when I can imagine the benefits of my work and I can make another person smile since they are able to use and interact with accessible digital technology effectively which reduces my stress.

I am  not a medical expert therefore my  recommendations are  from my own personal experience. I do, however, recommend seeing a professional if medical assistance is needed.

Does anyone have any tips to help us regarding this topic or any success stories to share? Do you have any other additional ideas regarding the critical project management skill I discussed in this area around procurement?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you do have any comments, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

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Cause Good Trouble: Speak Out

I recently heard the term causing or making good trouble and the explanation around those words. I encourage you to learn about the value and necessity to cause good trouble in these two You Tube videos John Lewis and Drew Gilpin speaking: Fmr. Harvard president on how ‘Necessary Trouble’ brings change - YouTube and Congressman John Lewis Address-Harvard Commencement 2018 – YouTube.

I even noticed that tag on one of my accessibility contacts in their LinkedIn profile which I can relate to. That term highly resonates for me in a couple of ways since in my profession in accessibility I often cause good trouble by educating others on the reasoning for developing and designing accessible digital technology and techniques to accomplish this goal. Sometimes others receiving my message do not have time or do not know how to incorporate accessibility. Therefore, someone may believe it is easier to put off creating accessible digital technology. This only causes more problems when someone reports the issue. Sometimes the issue is escalated and then the owner of the digital technology needs to retrofit it for accessibility which is far more time-consuming and costly than if accessibility was incorporated into the planning stages.   Developing and designing accessible digital technology also creates an equitable experience and environment for all people with hidden or visible disabilities.

I also cause good trouble when I report digital accessibility issues since I require the use of a screen reader to interact with digital technology in my personal and professional life after going completely blind in 1999.

Another outcome of causing good trouble for me besides increasing digital accessibility is the ability to affect other lives for the positive. By being asked to and having participated on the Board of Directors for a few organizations and was on the Business Advisory Council of another organization I was able to help others. I was asked to give keynote speeches, to participate in panels and webinars and to teach the participants in the meetings/webinars the value of accessible and usable digital technology and how accessible digital technology by default increases inclusion and equity. A potential benefit of educating others is that you may ignite a fire in someone to also go out and cause some good trouble to help others achieve equitable participation in life.

In addition causing good trouble to break the silence could assist others directly or indirectly by the skills and connections you may have to drive positive change. Also some individuals are overwhelmed with other higher priorities and do not have the time to participate in causing good trouble.

I also do not mind causing good trouble, when necessary since the trouble not only assists me at being included, it also assists everyone else who might experience the same inclusion and digital technology accessibility issues.

We must be leaders who speak out, love,care and assist others.

Do any of you believe you cause good trouble or have caused good trouble in the past? Have you noticed positive changes because of your willingness to cause good trouble instead of being quiet and allowing others to be excluded? Do any of you have any tips to encourage others to cause good trouble to increase inclusion, equity and accessible digital technology for all to experience a happy and healthy life with less stress due to exclusions?

In closing I encourage you to go out and cause some good trouble to assist others however please do not cause any physical trouble.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you do have any comments please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

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Be An Assertive Advocate; Assist Others

There are times when people may need an assertive advocate to assist them. Not every person you observe with challenges requires assistance, however you should ask politely if they do regarding any of the issues I note below. Do not think that the person experiencing issues, exclusions or difficulties has the time to advocate and resolve the issues themselves. For example, they may be experiencing other challenges in their professional or personal life such as taking care of friends or family and do not have time to prioritize or resolve issues. Therefore, to be a valued advocate, please take the time to help other people.

If you see people experiencing difficulties with any of the points below with recommended best practices to  a solution, be an advocate for them by taking action. However do not include their names unless you get their permission.

• If a person speaks with a stutter or difficult to understand allow the person time for equal participation to express their ideas in any conversation. Having opinions and recommendations from a diverse set of people always produces better results than just hearing from a few dominant people with like ideas resulting in the outcome that is only beneficial to one type of person.
• In telephone conversations, conference calls, or if you are presenting in public, speak slowly and clearly. This will allow participants with cognitive issues or other disabilities as well as temporary disabilities (noisy backgrounds due to taking care of young children) to effectively hear and understand what you are saying.
• If a person sounds or looks hesitant give them time to participate.  They may be experiencing anxiety or have a hidden disability. Give them a friendly  atmosphere to participate without fear.
• If you are in a virtual meeting with others and people are not introducing themselves before they speak ask the participants to say their names prior to speaking to allow people with visual disabilities who may be in the meeting to know who is speaking since they cannot see the person.
• If in a video conference call, a person is attempting to speak after unmuting themselves and they begin to move their mouth to speak  but  never gets a chance to jump into the conversation. You should say to all I believe so and so may have a question or a comment.
• If you are in a meeting, online seminar or other online event, and they are sharing slides and the presenter did not share the slides prior to the event politely let the person know that they should share the accessible slides prior to the event. This will allow assistive technology users such as those who use a screen reader read the contents of the slides prior to the event and read the contents without the distraction of listening to their screen reader read the slides and the participants at the same time.
• If you are in a conference call or in an email thread where you are sharing documents check them to ensure they are accessible. Use the built in accessibility checker tools in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Adobe Acrobat before sharing the documents., If you find someone who had accessibility issues with a document that was shared ask the person who shared the documents to check for accessibility and resolve any issues. This will allow assistive technology users to read and understand the documents to fully participate.
• If you are in an email thread, or in a virtual meeting or other communication where there is a video without closed or open captioning or an accessible transcript file ask the person who shared the video to please have it captioned and provide a transcript file. This is so people with hearing disabilities or people who are both blind and deaf can know what is being said in the video and to participate in any discussion.
• If you are in an email thread, in a virtual meeting or other communication where a video is being shared with no audio description ask the person who shared the video to please add audio description for that video if there are visuals in the video that aid in understanding the complete content. Adding audio description will  allow people who are blind or visually impaired to better understand the content of the video and to participate in any discussion.
• If you see a person in a wheelchair who cannot safely get up or down floors in a public building because there are only stairs and no ramps or elevators report this issue to the person who is in charge of the building to help remove this access barrier. This will help encourage safe and independent travel.
• If you see a person who is using a white cane to navigate, and they are feeling around on the restroom door with their fingers or on /in an elevator and seem like they cannot proceed they could be looking for markings in braille to determine if they are at a women’s or a men’s restroom or what floor they are on. This is because there isn’t any braille labeling on the restroom door or on the elevator. Report this to the owner or the person who is managing the public building to help encourage safe and independent travel without the fear of getting lost or making a mistake in navigation by getting off at an incorrect floor or going into an incorrect restroom.
• If you observe or hear about a person having challenges using digital technology such as software, web pages, documents, or anything you can access from a computer or mobile device with their assistive technology (AT), such as screen readers, screen magnification, voice control such as dragon naturally speaking, alternative keyboard devices such as sip and puff devices, braille displays and many other ATs they may be experiencing a digital accessibility issue. After verifying with the person you observed that this is true report this  issue to the company/owner of the tool.  Include enough specific information so the representative who receives the valuable feedback can reproduce the issue and take positive action to resolve and remove the issue.

This is only a partial list of things to consider when helping to create a more inclusive environment for all. These best practices will lead to success in one’s personal and professional life. All the bullet points I noted should be done by default and not just when you may think a person with a disability may be participating. If you  know someone who has not completed any disability etiquette and awareness or digital accessibility training, please educate them and share the two resources with them I have below.

Learn more at Disability Etiquette - A Starting Guide - Disability: IN and Introduction to Web Accessibility-Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)-W3C. 

I have been working in the accessibility and inclusion area since 2000, and I have learned from my experiences that most things do not come to you. You need to be politely assertive and make positive changes yourself instead of waiting for others to make the changes.

Just think of the day when we will  not need to educate people of the benefits and the reasons for the bullet points above and there is no need to be an assertive advocate for others.

Let us all have the desire, discipline, and dedication to assist others to have a more joyful life.

Do you have any other suggestions or comments regarding this topic? Have you experienced challenges where you were grateful somebody had the courage to speak up and assist you? Were there any issues regarding digital accessibility, physical accessibility, inclusion or other issues that were resolved based on somebody taking positive action.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you have any comments or feedback, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

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Learning Reiki Without Eyesight

Healing technique of Reiki may reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and lessen pain through light (or no) touch.

When I left O’Conner hospital in December 1999 after a seven-month hospitalization I was now   a person who is completely blind. In early 2000 during my rehabilitation, I talked with a few people researching different methods of healing, reskilling myself and reducing stress. Reiki was introduced to me as an option to help with some of my goals.

During my research I learned that the Center for Integrated Medicine which was directly across the street from O’Conner Hospital at the time offered Reiki level 1 and Reiki level 2 classes. I was not sure how I could learn Reiki as a person who is completely blind, although I was willing to try it. Therefore, I signed up for Reiki level 1 and Reiki level 2 classes and mailed in my enrollment fees.

After paying my fees and being enrolled in both Reiki classes I found a ride to and from the classes for each one of the days the classes were held.

Since I am completely blind and have mobility issues I walk with the aid of two canes. One long white cane and one support cane. After my driver brought me to the building the driver would site guide me inside since I was unfamiliar with the building. I remember no students questioning my being able to participate in the training. I was included just like everyone else.

When I started the class there was a small group of men and women who sat around listening to the Reiki Master instructor as she introduced the two courses to us. If you are not familiar with Reiki, and Reiki 1, there is one Reiki 1 symbol that you project when healing. The instructor was easily able to verbalize this symbol to me because it was relatively simple for me to imagine it in my mind’s eye. I could then project this symbol during my Reiki 1 training. For Reiki 2 the symbol is far more complicated and has different 3-dimensional levels to it. The instructor felt like she could not verbalize it well enough to me. She then thoughtfully built a 3D heavy cardboard model of the symbol for me. I could then feel all three dimensions of the symbol so I could project the Reiki 2 image during my training.

As you may or may not imagine performing Reiki on other people without eyesight is difficult. A Reiki practitioner (me) gently moves their hands just above the person’s body on which you are performing Reiki with the intention of reducing the person’s stress and promoting healing by encouraging a healthy flow of energy. Placing my hands in an appropriate location just above their body was challenging for me being completely blind. Fortunately, I did not have this challenge with level 3 which  is generally used for remote healing. Obviously some of the classes were challenging without any eyesight due to not being able to see any person or the instructor and following her directions.

Doing some of the Reiki training was a little bit difficult with my stability issues and holding my support cane with my long white cane folded up and in a holder attached to my belt. Nevertheless, I was able to complete every class lesson.

Unfortunately, a day prior to the Reiki 2 class I got a seriously painful sciatica attack. I could barely move because of the pain and definitely was difficult to get out of the car after arriving at my class. Since I had already paid registration fees for these two classes and had already completed Reiki 1, I was not going to skip my Reiki 2 class. During the class when I had the sciatica I fought through the pain and did everything I was supposed to do as instructed by my Reiki Master instructor.

I am very happy to say I was able to complete and pass both Reiki 1 and 2 classes and had an enjoyable time with everyone despite some pain from my sciatica in the second class. I was also happy to see that a few doctors, nurses, and other people who worked at O’ Conner hospital were attending these Reiki classes to put these valuable skills in their toolbox for alternative ways of healing their patients.

Learn more about Reiki at:  Reiki: How This Energy Healing Works and Its Health Benefits-Everyday Health

Have you ever heard of Reiki before? Have any of you ever taken Reiki classes and practiced it? If you are trained in Reiki, how does it work for you and the ones you are attempting to heal.

I look forward to hearing all of your valuable thoughts and comments.

If you have any comments or feedback, can you please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

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Achieving Mental Focus In Spite Of Multiple Audible Distractions

Does anybody have any difficulties concentrating on multiple things at once? What about when there are various distractions going on all at the same time including things flashing on the computer or mobile screen from applications or sound alerts from applications? These kinds of distractions might not only affect people with hidden or visible disabilities they could also affect people without a disability. I have learned to suppress audio alerts from chats by pressing the control key or any key while I am typing otherwise the alerts/messages will negatively affect me as described below.

I attended an excellent presentation, Microsoft Inclusive Design: The Cognitive Model at axe-con  2023 where the presenter played the video at the link below. This described some of what it is like for screen reader users who are blind or have low vision to try to remain focused on multiple sound sources at once. Example are people speaking in conference calls , the screen reader participant having  conversations, listening to their screen reader read parts of chats automatically , listening to their screen reader read the notes from the meeting as they review them, their screen reader reading to them as they type notes, and other sounds all at the same time. As you might realize this could be challenging to focus on all of these sounds coming from a variety of sources all at once.

A feature in JAWS screen reader which could either help or hurt in this experience is anytime the user presses a keystroke when typing it silences the external chats and alerts. By silencing alerts it allows JAWS to  echo back the pressed keystroke for that moment therefore depending on how much the user is typing the user might miss a lot of chats and alerts. In addition to the concept of keeping focused this video also has other valuable inclusive design techniques and learning opportunities.

How do you achieve focus? | Microsoft Inclusive Design – YouTube

Does anybody have any related stories or examples to share? Do you have any suggestions to help alleviate these distractions? Any other thoughts or ideas to add to this discussion? I look forward to hearing from you.

If you have any comments or feedback, can you please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton 

Encourage Empathy and Inclusion by Taking Time to Understand What Some People Experience and Remove Barriers

The Meaning of Empathy and Inclusion and How Accessible and Usable Digital Technology Assists

An introduction to the meaning of empathy and inclusion and how accessible and usable digital technology assists to create an equitable experience while attempting to avoid certain negative consequences.

Empathy Can Be Defined As:

The ability to understand a diverse group of people by taking time to listen and learn to help create an equitable experience for everyone.

Empathy can also be described like “the base of scaffolding” added to a person’s education that can be incorporated along with inclusion and accessibility for digital technology to also help create an equitable experience for all.

Inclusion Can Be Defined As:

The ability to unconditionally include everyone with or without a disability. This includes people with a visible, invisible or temporary disability as well as people with diverse ethnic backgrounds and gender differences.

Examples of a Visible Disability:

• A person who is blind or visually impaired using a white cane.
• A person who is hearing impaired wearing hearing aids or who is being assisted by a signer.

Example of an Invisible Disability:

• A person who has suffered a traumatic brain injury possibly from a stroke or accident.

Examples of a Temporary Disability:

• A person who has a broken bone such as an arm or leg.
• A person who is recovering from a major surgery or procedure.

Usability and Accessibility Issues

Example of a Usability Issue:

A user interface with a non-intuitive design impacts people with disabilities who  use assistive technology as well as people without a disability who are first time users to the application. For example, a person without a disability attempts to find one part of a user interface and locate information on it or a person who is blind and uses a screen reader also attempts to locate information in that same application and both give up after trying unsuccessfully.

Therefore, even though the user interface does not have technical accessibility issues as described in Success Criteria in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, it clearly has usability design issues thus preventing certain users from locating information successfully and efficiently.

Example of an Accessibility Issue:

An email publication application did not generate keyboard accessible hyperlinks in email messages. This prevented keyboard only users from activating the links. Therefore they could not locate the website to participate in the activities that were available on the webpage. This simple user interface accessibility issue impacted both keyboard only users and screen reader users and took a couple of years to resolve. This simple user interface accessibility issue could have been avoided if designers and developers were more educated in accessibility and making resolutions to these accessibility issues a priority.

Built-In Assistive Technologies

To gain an understanding of what it is like for people who use assistive technology with digital technology a person needs to try out the built-in assistive technologies that are available in the different operating systems.

Examples of Built-In Assistive Technologies:

• Microsoft Narrator screen reader- located in Ease of Access Center
• Android TalkBack Screen reader- for Android users, located in Settings under Accessibility
• Apple VoiceOver screen reader for macOS- located in Settings under Accessibility
• Apple VoiceOver screen reader for iOS- located in Settings under Accessibility

In order to better emulate how a person who is blind or has low vision uses their computer or mobile device a person needs to learn how to interact with digital technology using some form of assistive technology only. For instance, while your screen reader is running  attempt to interact with the digital technology you are using by having your monitor turned off and using your keyboard only. This will give you a better understanding of what a person who is blind experiences using assistive technology with  digital technology for their job or in their personal life.

However, screen readers only represent one of the many types of assistive technologies that help people with blindness or low vision. There are other types of assistive technologies that assist people who have other forms of disabilities. Since there are numerous types of assistive technologies, I encourage people to try out and experience these different assistive technologies for themselves.

Learning About Empathy and Inclusion May Help Avoid Uncomfortable Situations

Learning about empathy and inclusion may help to avoid getting into uncomfortable situations such as having to tell a customer or employee with a disability that modifications to digital technologies are not worth the effort it will take to enhance equality for people with disabilities. This reason may be given because it is assumed that making these needed modifications is a waste of other peoples’ time to do this work. They would rather not do the modifications thus causing the people with disabilities to be excluded instead of being included and making it an equitable experience for them also. In reality accessible, usable and intuitive digital technology is a valuable and beneficial investment for everyone. It is definitely not charity to enable a person who is disabled to be productive and contribute to the success for all. However, if people are constantly excluded this continued exclusion can lead to mental or physical health issues for them. In addition, the outcome of  this exclusion can negatively affect family and friends of the person being excluded  due to the added stress of the situation placed on everyone involved and concerned.

Therefore, in order to decrease exclusion and increase inclusion for all people with a disability  let’s practice empathy and inclusion in our daily lives to promote equitable experiences. This can be easily accomplished by increasing accessibility and usability in digital technology when planned early in the design and development phase instead of retrofitting the accessibility issue later on after it has been reported and causes frustration for the users. This includes performing the required and necessary automated accessibility evaluations as well as manual testing by people with a variety of disabilities using a range of assistive technologies with different operating systems and a variety of web browsers.

For instance, some accessibility issues are simple to resolve such as adding a missing quote in the code for certain accessibility attributes like HTML IMG alt and Grommet a11yTitle.

People Should Not be Discouraged From Participating In Digital Technology

I believe people should not be discouraged by others from participating in digital technology simply because there are accessibility/usability issues preventing them from equally participating and contributing. If a person has the mindset of attempting to compare the cost of remediating an accessibility/usability issue compared to the perceived value of a person experiencing the issue, then they should consider that the person experiencing these issues is not being given an equal chance to demonstrate their complete abilities and skills. This makes that person feel they are not worth the effort and their contributions are not valued.

Actually in order for a person to not be put in the situation of excluding others they should make an effort to design, develop, purchase and deploy accessible and usable digital technology for everyone.

Demonstrate Empathy by Educating People on the Topic of Empathy

Let’s demonstrate empathy by educating people on the topic of empathy and help reduce accessibility, usability and non-intuitive digital technology user interfaces. This will help to create an equitable environment for all to flourish in their personal and professional lives.

In closing I chose a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that, I believe, aligns with this particular topic.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?”

If you have any comments or feedback, can you please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton 

Human Exclusions for People with Disabilities is More Difficult than Digital Technology Accessibility

As a person who is blind I am grateful I have the ability to leverage assistive technology to access and interact with digital technology (software, webpages& documents). When I experience digital technology that is accessible to people who are disabled including those who use assistive technology following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 it makes me very happy.

It is encouraging that some organizations have realized in order to compete successfully in the competitive global marketplace, accessibility for digital technology is becoming more critical as just one of many components in creating an equitable and inclusive environment for everyone.

 

Impact of Digital Technology with Accessibility Issues

Digital technology with accessibility issues not only creates barriers to equal participation for some users it also causes added stress and frustration. Accessibility issues also have these same effects on everyone who is in contact with the person who experiences these barriers such as co-workers, spouses, family, friends and others.

To heighten these accessibility issues not everyone may believe the user when they say that the issue they experience is a technical accessibility issue. One misunderstanding for example is when someone who is not knowledgeable in the technical aspects of accessibility and not knowing any better may tell a user who is experiencing an accessibility issue that their issue is not a technical accessibility issue. They may believe the issue is due to lack of training. They may also tell the same user that they are not experiencing a technical accessibility issue since they may be able to get past the issue by counting keystrokes. For example the user is told to attempt to get to a particular location in the digital technology and type or interact with it with little or no awareness of where they are. Or someone might say the user should attempt to activate hyperlinks on words or sentences that are not coded correctly for assistive technology users to know that they are hyperlinks until the user finds an active hyperlink that works.

This extremely challenging experience of hunting around and interacting with user interactions that do not work is like using a computer or mobile device with a shattered display or one that is extremely dim preventing someone from seeing the complete screen. Also it is like using a keyboard with some of the keys broken causing errors in typing.

No Time for Improvements

Fortunately I have been working in the accessibility field for many years and have been using assistive technology for over 20 years. I am also a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies  by IAAP. I can explain and demonstrate the technical accessibility issues with the application or web page owner. However for those who have similar skills as I do certain application or web page owners might think it is too time consuming and not worth the effort to make a needed accessibility enhancement .

When someone is being excluded due to accessibility issues because no one has the time or wants to prioritize resolving the issues, it makes the person feel like they have two disabilities.

1. For example a disability which requires assistive technology and the issue is caused by the digital technology not being accessible to the users of assistive technology causes a barrier. This is also true for people who do not use assistive technology and experience accessibility issues.
2. Several people not understanding the broad range of disabilities people have and not taking any action to remove the inclusive or misunderstood barriers could be the second disability. This exponentially compounds the problem of just the initial accessibility exclusion and makes these people feel like they are not worth the effort to be equitably included.

 

Solving Human Exclusions for People with Disabilities is Difficult

Creating an equitable environment for all requires passion, empathy and a willingness to take the time needed  to learn and understand everyone’s unique and beautiful differences .

This is just one reason why solving one aspect of inequalities  of people in the world is more difficult than creating accessible digital technology. This reason is because we  cannot force people to change attitudes or influence people to take needed time to understand people with disabilities using technology like we can do for solving the digital technology accessibility issues.

When we think about disabilities we need to be sure to include people with a broad range of visible disabilities as well as hidden disabilities.

This attitude or lack of knowledge regarding the people side of how and why to create equitable environments may be a result of the times we live in today such as the need to complete things more quickly with fewer people and less support. Also, another issue in today’s world there is very little or a complete lack of verbal communication between real people and doing more online without any verbal communication. However I know that on-line communication is extremely beneficial for people who may have voice disabilities, hearing disabilities, other disabilities or challenges.

Also unfortunately to save time I’ve noticed that people do not take as much time to talk on the phone and prefer to send instant messages.  Not holding personal two way conversations does not have the same person to person interaction requiring interpersonal communication skills which can lead to solid friendships, partnerships or productive collaboration.

Fortunately  These Exclusions  Can Easily be Overcome

These exclusions can easily be overcome with consideration. I feel if everybody had the option to slow down, listen to others and care about what might be preventing every person from participating and having a happy and fulfilling life we would all be better off. I believe this kind of attitude would go further for making  positive progress in this fast-paced world we live in today when peoples’ first thoughts are of how to cut corners, which can exclude certain people.

Although there could be many solutions to some of the equity issues one thought that comes to mind to help would be to get a Chief Accessibility Officer to oversee everything regarding accessibility if these issues were within a organization or company. Also if these issues were within an organization or company people would need to be trained on the technical aspects of digital accessibility so people experiencing accessibility barriers would not be falsely accused of doing something wrong when in reality the issue is actually a technical accessibility issue. Also if this is in a controlled environment such as an organization or a company providing detailed training on a broad range of disabilities and empathy is another solution to some of these equity issues.

If you are experiencing any of these obstacles in your career aspirations or personal life  try to stay positive and assist where you can with improving equality issues for the disabled.

Does anybody have any thoughts or comments about how we can slow down and not exclude people because of time constraints or misunderstandings? Has anyone experienced similar interactions? Any recommendations on how to resolve exclusions for people  with disabilities which is a problem that I believe goes far beyond accessibility issues with digital technology.

Thank you and stay positive, keep a smile on your face, slow down, talk to others, leverage accessible digital technology and most important utilize all peoples’ unique skills. Together we will spread happiness and understanding.

If you have any comments or feedback can you please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton