STC AccessAbility SIG
A Blog About Accessibility and Technical Communication

We have exciting news about the 2009 Technical Communication Summit to be held 3–6 May 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. The STC Board of Directors has just approved the purchase of conference management software that will give STC the capability to record the entire conference. The audio recording will be synchronized with the PowerPoint presentation and [...]

Read: STC to Record Entire Conference in Atlanta! »

21 June 2007—(Womenshealth.gov HealthDay News) – Lyrica (pregabalin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia. It’s the first drug approved in the United States to treat the condition that affects up to 6 million Americans, the agency said Thursday. People with fibromyalgia usually have chronic pain, muscle stiffness, fatigue, [...]

Read: 1st U.S. Drug Approved for Fibromyalgia »

“Puppies Behind Bars” trains inmates to raise puppies to become service dogs for the disabled and explosive detection canines for law enforcement. Another program “Paws & Reflect Friendly Visiting Program” trains the dogs with homebound elderly in New York City to get used to oxygen machines, walkers, and more. Watch the full video for examples [...]

Read: Puppies Behind Bars »

“DOT Gets It Together For Air Travelers With Disabilities”
People with disabilities will have additional protections against discrimination when they travel by air, as the result of a new rule issued today [8 May 2008] by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that strengthens the existing regulation implementing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and extends [...]

Read: New Regulations for Disabled Air Travelers »

A spam attack on one of the Epilepsy Foundation’s online forums appears to have been designed to trigger seizures in persons with epilepsy.
On Easter weekend, the Epilepsy Foundation—and those who use its online forums for help, support, suggestions and camaraderie—came under attack by people who posted rapidly flashing images to cause serious injury and harm. [...]

Read: Hacker Attack Aimed At Triggering Seizures »

From the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), February 2008.
"Antirheumatic, Antimalarial Treatment Reduces Diabetes Risk in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis":
Researchers partly funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) recently found that hydroxychloroquine, a medication used to treat rheumatic diseases and malaria, reduced the incidence of [...]

Read: Treatment Reduces Diabetes Risk in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis »

29 January 2008 International Organization for Standardization press release
A new ISO standard for spinal disc implants will help reduce suffering of back pain patients. The new standard will help ensure that spinal disc prostheses meet requirements for wear resistance, particularly important as once implanted these will need to absorb the impact from the body’s daily [...]

Read: New ISO standard for spinal disc implants »

2008-02-12
Equipping pedestrian street crossings with acoustic and tactile signals to help disabled persons was a step forward. The problem is that they vary from one country to another. Now, a new ISO standard provides the basis for harmonizing such signals on a worldwide basis.
The aim of ISO 23600:2007, Assistive products for persons with vision impairments [...]

Read: New ISO standard will make crossing the street safer for disabled persons »

ADA Guide for Places of Lodging: Serving Guests Who Are Blind Or Who Have Low Vision
All About Vision provides patient information about vision
American Council of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
Armor-Tile provides detectable warning and wayfinding solutions for the visually impaired.
“Bibliography for Performance Systems Technology (PST) and Computer-based Instruction (CBI)” published in the ACM [...]

Read: Sight / Vision Loss Resources »