We should carefully consider when trying to make everything accessible gets in the way of making things useful. The challenge of designing for equal opportunity and access to information (and entertainment) leads to some choices that impede the reception of important information. The detailed supplemental captions available for some movies…
Category: Accessibility
Posts on the accessibility of physical and virtual spaces.
One of the common myths I constantly correct in social media and in online forums is that Comic Sans is somehow the “best” typeface for children and adults with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other disabilities. A blog post caused a small wave of arguments on social media in February (2017):…
This fall was a respite of sorts from academia while I concentrated on writing and considered my path ahead. For the last few months, I’ve been working on a mix of screen and stage projects, while also collaborating on some creative writing projects. As December ends, I’m returning to both…
School must be better today than in the 1970s or 80s, right? Especially since we know so much about autism. Probably. Maybe. Or it is bad in different ways. As students, teachers, support staff, administrators, and others head back to campuses across the United States, I anticipate the annual questions about…
Companies, non-profits, and educational institutions should hire me as a consultant (or others with expertise in accommodations and supports for cognitive difference) because too many organizations do not know how to hire, support, and develop talented people with personality traits outside the accepted norms. Readers of this blog know that…
Your disability does not give you the right to be a jerk. This isn’t going to please some advocates, but I am tired of people willing to exploit their challenges to get their way and push others around in the workplace, in school, or in public settings. Jerks exist, with…
Now, for some paradoxes about where we choose to live. Greater Pittsburgh (more accurately, the region north of Pittsburgh), as a community, has proved to be a great place for my wife and me. The region, which includes parts of West Virginia and Ohio, offers excellent opportunities for people like…
I managed one partial day of an academic conference. The conference was from Wednesday through Sunday at noon. I attended four hours in the middle of Friday and that was more than enough for my system. Enough to attend a single presentation and give my own presentation before needing to…
Many of the conferences I attend use “presentation stands” with secured computers. These systems are usually Windows PCs with a USB port for transferring files. (Yes, that’s asking for viruses.) The Autism Society of America has said they want presenters to upload files as PowerPoint slides, asking that the provided…
I am not going to fly when I have any chance to avoid it. I hate the experience. The planes are like crowded city buses, but instead of being able to take a break at any stop along the way — something I have done in the city — you…