From the San Jose Mercury News:

UCLA law graduate Stephanie Enyart is suing the National Conference of Bar Examiners for the right to use adaptive technology when taking the bar exam. She has a form of macular degeneration that has taken away her central vision but leaves her some peripheral vision.

The California Bar Associaiton approved Enyart’s request to use both a text-to-audio reader and a screen magnifier, but the NCBE has said it won’t allow her to use the screen magnifier during the multi-state portion of the test. The NCBE declined to comment; Enyart said it cited cost and security concerns in denying her request.

From CNET and the Associated Press:

The National Federation of the Blind said Wednesday that Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have declined to use Amazon.com’s Kindle DX for textbooks. The reason: the device is not accessible to students who are blind.

Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Syracuse University, said in a statement that her school bought two Kindle DX units to see if it could replace hardcover textbooks and course materials.

Although students are still evaluating the devices, she said, the university has “no plans to purchase any more of these units in light of the fact that they are inaccessible to blind students. If Syracuse University decides to use e-book technology on campus, we will require technology that can be used by all of our students, including those who are blind.”

Writing in the [UK Times], columnist Melanie Reid responds to recent criticism of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the misspellings in a letter of condolence he sent to the mother of a fallen soldier. Reid says personal attacks leveled against Brown amount to public bullying of a man whose impaired vision impedes his ability to read and write. Brown is blind in one eye and has impaired vision in the other.

It is impossibly ironic, isn’t it? That while such callous treatment of an ordinary person would create outrage, Gordon Brown the Prime Minister – a co-founder of modern, inclusive Britain, one that aims to treat all disabilities, faiths, sexual inclinations and skin colours alike – is under fire for the sin of not being able to see properly.

A disabled man, in other words, being humiliated for his handicap. Nice. Really nice.

From McClatchy-Tribune News Service in the Baltimore Sun:

Kathi Wolfe, who identifies herself as a legally blind lesbian, says the president should be praised for signing the hate crime bill, which enlarges the definition of federal hate crimes to include those involving sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Wolfe rejects claims that the law will inhibit free speech, and says bias will only be prosecuted when accompanied by a violent act.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act won’t end bias-based crimes. But it will put everyone on notice that such crimes will not be tolerated.

And for those of us who are vulnerable, it makes us a little less fearful today than we were yesterday.

That’s something that all Americans should celebrate.

Kathi Wolfe is a poet and writer for Progressive Media Project.

From the New York Times:

A group of disability advocates has sharply criticized the casting of Oscar-nominated child star Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) for the role of Helen Keller in this winter’s Broadway revival  of “The Miracle Worker.” The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts says the role should have been given to an actor who is blind or deaf.

Producer David Richenthal said that casting a star as Helen was essential to securing a $3 million investment for a commercial production, and that his research did not turn up any well-known young actresses who were deaf or blind. He said he would consider casting a deaf or blind actress as Breslin’s understudy.

From Newsday, New York Daily News, and UPI:

Speaking to a group of disability advocates, New York Gov. David Paterson said he faces “degrading” attacks because he is blind.

Paterson said ridicule of his blindness by actors and commentators reflects a growing hostility toward people with visual impairments.

“Anything I did got associated with the fact that I do have visual impairment,” he said during a speech before the state chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. “That’s an insult.”

… Paterson said he can take the shots, noting that unlike 70% of blind people nationally, “I have a job and I will be keeping my job for four more years.”

But the attacks on him could influence how others, particularly potential employers, view everyday blind people.

(New York Daily News photo)

From Newsweek:

A landmark ruling by the Justice Department last year is forcing museums around the country to reexamine the way they make their facilities accessible to people with impaired vision. Increasingly, museums are concluding that they must expand accessibility to include the whole museum experience, not just ramps and handrails.

Kareem Dale, the president’s special adviser on disability policy, has taken a personal interest in the matter, convening a meeting of museum directors to discuss best practices and backing a website to aggregate accessibility information on public venues across the country. Dale is partially blind.

To be sure, many museums are already doing more than the bare minimum. The actual question of how to bring the visual arts to those without sight may seem both impractical and impossible. When we think of visiting museums, we tend to think of quiet, meditative places, where we keep our hands to ourselves and our voices down. But museums at the forefront of accessibility are beginning to offer touch tours, tactile maps, and extended verbal descriptions. Some are even incorporating scent into their educational programs.