Michael Gormley, AP capitol editor in Albany, writes in Newsday that New York Governor David Paterson’s speech at the Democratic convention was a “rare and serious foray for Paterson into the topic of disabilities.” Paterson, who is legally blind, spoke about the need for supports for people with disabilities.

Paterson has traditionally avoided all the familiar cliches about inspiration and overcoming adversity, and has also avoided mentioning his disability except in jest. Instead, he has focused on using his considerable intelligence and memory to leave Albany power brokers “in the dust.”

In recent years, however, Paterson has realized that “pretending he wasn’t blind didn’t help those who were.”

Related post here: Disability wasn’t Paterson’s choice for convention speech topic

Editors of the Los Angeles Times analyze the decision by Target Corp. to settle an accessibility lawsuit brought by shoppers with visual impairments who weren’t able the retail giant’s website. It would have been cheaper for the company if it had designed the site properly in the first place, the editors say. An excerpt:

The problem is that, like Target, too many companies didn’t focus on accessibility when they made the leap into e-commerce. If they had, they would have found an underserved audience of disabled shoppers. A website can be a far more inviting place for a blind person than a crowded mall, if the site is designed the right way. And the number of vision-impaired Americans (at least 1.3 million are legally blind) is expected to grow as the population ages and the incidence of diabetes climbs. With more commerce and services moving to the Internet, it’s increasingly important that companies make accessibility a part of everything they do online. If that’s not clear in federal law, it should be.

Earlier post here.

From the Detroit Free Press, Time Magazine, ABC News:

More than half a million U.S. truck and bus drivers, or more than 4 percent of commercial license holders, have qualified for full disability benefits because of medical conditions, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Drivers’ disabilities include vision, hearing and seizure problems, the GAO said. Some are so severe that the license holders generally would be denied certification to drive trucks and buses.

The report said that tractor-trailer and bus drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells that led to deadly crashes. The problems persist despite years of government warnings and hundreds of deaths and injuries blamed on commercial truck and bus drivers who blacked out, collapsed or suffered major health problems behind the wheels of vehicles that can weigh 40 tons or more.

… The agency responsible for cracking down on unfit truckers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, acknowledges it hasn’t completed any of eight recommendations that U.S. safety regulators have proposed since 2001.

From MSNBC:

Two new technologies are helping people with impaired vision gain much-needed access to information.

The Pulse Smartpen, which debuts in retail stores this month, records and synchronizes nearly everything a student hears and writes. And WebAnywhere, a free Internet-based service released last month, works as a screen reader by converting Web site text to electronic speech.

Some researchers believe the products could expand career options for blind people, who are dramatically underemployed. It is estimated that 70 percent of blind people do not have jobs; only about ten percent of blind children learn Braille in school, down from about 50 per cent in the 1960s.

See earlier post: 1,000 march in Dallas to advocate for blind people

From the [UK] Times: ‘I don’t see myself as having a disability; This is just my life’

Helene Raynsford, 28, is training full-time for the Beijing Paralympics, where she will compete as a single sculls arms-only rower. A former student at the Royal Ballet School, Raynsford had an accident and no longer has the use of her legs. She likes proving that she can do things herself.

“I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t happened, but as a result I know I’ve learned so much about what life has to offer. I think that’s something for me to celebrate.”

(more…)

From National Public Radio

Students from across the country and Canada gather in Los Angeles for the competition to top all competitions for blind and visually impaired students: The Braille Challenge. High-achieving students like Megan Bening (arm wrestling, left) compete for cash prizes in up to four categories, and compare notes on what it’s like to be in the majority for a change.

Making friends at school is a struggle, Megan says, which is hard to believe, given that she keeps the people around her constantly laughing.

The problem isn’t that sighted kids are mean, she says matter-of-factly; it’s that they are too nice. Paralyzed by political correctness, people often pretend that they haven’t noticed she’s blind, which adds a saccharine veneer to interaction.

“It doesn’t do any good to dance around the elephant in the room. It eats up too many brain cells,” she advises.

(Photo from NPR)

From The Boston Globe:

Park ranger John Manson, who has been blind since birth, retires after 30 years of service at Boston historical sites. Manson is recognized for his vast knowledge of historical trivia and for his intuitive knack for engaging his audiences in history.

“Take any event that happened in Faneuil Hall, from the time it was built in 1742, and he would have researched it on his own and known everything about it,” said Sheila Cooke-Kayser, who worked with Manson for 16 years. “And then by chatting with his audience, he would find connections and immediately be able to make it relevant to today’s world.”