The phrase is still in widespread use and needs to be banished, just like the “r” word If you’re not disabled and you don’t have the lived experiences of your colleagues with disabilities, there’s a non-zero chance you’re going to…
ADA 30 Report Card
The ADA turns 30 on July 25th. In some areas, people with disabilities have made significant advances. In others, not so much. Unless you are someone with a disability or work in the disability/diversity/ inclusion/equality/belonging/accessibility space, you probably don’t think…
Twitter and Inaccessible “Voice Notes”
I am so <bleeping> over apologies from companies for ableist behavior. Once upon a time (in tech, this is maybe 2–3 years ago), Twitter actually cared about accessibility. For a while, they were the preferred social media platform for people…
My favorite books on accessibility and related topics
Since I’m wrapping up authoring my first book on accessibility, I’ve been reading a lot. Here are my thoughts on the most impactful books I’ve read recently What I included and what I didn’t I only included books that I’ve…
No, you are not entitled to pick my brain for free
I am under zero obligation to provide you a “teachable moment” An acquaintance of mine posted on LinkedIn that her company had recently joined a leadership organization on disability. I was intrigued, so I clicked on the link to see…
Ten things to improve conference call accessibility
WFH has made video conference accessibility more critical than ever, especially for participants with disabilities. Try to avoid these pitfalls. All of us are suffering from zoom fatigue at the moment. But people with disabilities frankly have it harder. My…
People with disabilities will remember your words and actions when COVID-19 is over
Inactions count as well. In the words of Geddy Lee — when you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice As I write this article, we are 5–10 weeks into the COVID-19 crisis, depending on what you…
Measuring Accessibility Outcomes
Peter Drucker said “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Here’s how to gauge the success of disability inclusion / accessibility initiatives utcome is frequently quantitatively measured using benchmarks. Let’s say you need to get somewhere. You need four pieces of information…
Disability inclusive workplaces
Most diversity / inclusion articles don’t include disability. Here are things you need to consider to succeed at disability-related inclusion HBR recently published an article called 5 Strategies for Creating an Inclusive Workspace. And while the article is brilliant for addressing…
My Superbowl hangover
It is the Tuesday after the “big game” as I write this article. My annual headache is back. I don’t drink. Year after year I get aggravated beyond believe because the Superbowl producers give you a few seconds (if that)…