Tag: special needs

IEC Offers Free Technical Report on Accessibility for Multimedia Systems and Equipment

Cynthia A. Lockley on

New York October 11, 2010

Update: The tagged version of the PDF was kindly tagged by Mike Paciello, Founder & Principal, TPG, email hidden; JavaScript is required

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is offering free downloads of a Technical Report 62678 (TR) on audio, video, and multimedia systems and equipment activities and considerations related to accessibility and usability.  Updated

The TR is being offered in cooperation with this year's theme for World Standards Day: accessibility for all. Around the world, nations celebrating World Standards Day 2010 recognized the critical role of model codes, standards, and conformity assessment activities in developing and maintaining the built environment, products, technologies, and systems that are accessible for persons with special needs.

IEC/TR 62678, Audio, video, and multimedia systems and equipment activities and considerations related to accessibility and usability, provides information on accessibility and usability terms, activities, completed and ongoing standards, technical reports, and projects, and specifies user needs that may or may not apply to audio, video, and multimedia systems and equipment.

It also contains a user-friendly checklist of accessibility and usability considerations. The information provided in the TR may be applied by industry experts who are evaluating opportunities to integrate support for accessibility and usability.

Annette Reilly
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC7 US TAG Chair
phone: 301-548-2121
fax: 301-721-5696
cell: 240-888-4348
email hidden; JavaScript is required

Accessibility Literature

Cynthia A. Lockley on
  • Accessibility Blogs Roundup maintained by Digital A11Y.
  • U.S. Access Board Information and Communication Technology Revised 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines
  • Bibliography—literature in relation to Design for All (299 K .pdf) edited by Greta Olsson & Thomas Lyhne. This Bibliography is a part of CEN/CENELEC Guide 6 "Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities". The Guide addresses relevant aspects relating to the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities to be considered when drafting standards. Both documents are part of the Mandate 283 on the safety and usability of products by persons with special needs given by the Commission of the European Communities.
  • Books of the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
  • Disability Etiquette (.pdf). The United Spinal Association offers a free publication about etiquette. You don't have to feel awkward when interacting with, or when you meet, a person who has a disability. This booklet provides some basic tips for you to follow. And if you are ever unsure about what to do or say with a person who has a disability, just ask!
  • Disability Graphics
    • Downloadable Disability Access Symbols provided by the Graphic Artists Guild
    • Disability Graphics Disability vector images, illustrations, and clip art
      Browse 30,148 disability stock illustrations and vector graphics available royalty-free, or search for special needs children or disability icon. From iStock by Getty Images.
  • Guide to Accessible Web Design & Development of Section508.gov
  • Health and Disability in North Carolina 2003: a joint report from the Office on Disability and Health and the State Center for Health Statistics (.pdf) collection of publications about removing barriers from health, meeting, and recreation facilities from the North Carolina Office on Disability and Health (NCODH)
  • New Harbinger Publications specializes in psychology and self-help books for medical conditions
  • H-Disability Discussion Network from H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online
  • LibGuides Community Search Search LibGuides with the filter for Special Education for content and librarian authors, and find great examples of guides for Special Education from our worldwide user community.  New
  • Accessibility Services at Your Local Library provided by the Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library (DCDL). Maryland County libraries are committed to providing equal access to materials, services, and programs for all library users. In many of today's libraries, library customers can obtain or borrow the following materials and use these services:  New
    • ADA accessible computer workstations, which include screen readers and enlargers
    • Captioned DVDs for loan and streaming captioned movies
    • ebooks for download
    • Email reference service
    • Large print books
  • Montgomery County Accessibility Library Services in the Montgomery County, Maryland library system.  Updated
  • WaSP Interact Curriculum WaSP InterAct is a living, open curriculum based upon web standards and best practices, designed to teach students the skills of the web professional. Adapt and reuse our resources. Contribute your own content and ideas.
  • Women with Disabilities
    • Women With Disabilities: Essays in Psychology, Culture, and Politics. Introduction: Beyond Pedestals. Ed: Michelle Fine and Adrienne Asch. Temple University Press. Philadelphia. 1988. ISBN 0-87722-474-9.
    • "On the Margin of the Myth: Exploring the Landscape of Disabled Women's Lives." May 1997 Mainstream Magazine.
    • Saxton, Marsha, and Florence Howe, editors. "With wings: An anthology of
      literature by and about women with disabilities". NY: Feminist Press, 1987.
    • Schultz, Kara. "Every Implanted Child a Star (and Some Other Failures): Guilt and Shame in the Cochlear Implant Debates." Quarterly Journal of Speech 86.3(2000): 251-75.
    • Women's Health Issues. Check here for a variety of spinal cord injury or disorder-related issues that are unique for women including pregnancy, breastfeeding, maternal health, menopause, health related issues of heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast health.  Updated
      • "Access to Women's Health Equipment — Inaccessible Diagnostic Tools Risk Lives of Women with Disabilities" by Tom Scott.  New
      • Osteoporosis and Spinal Cord Injury
      • Menopause
      • Aging with SC
      • Women with Disabilities
      • Women and Spinal Cord Injury
      • Women and Change
      • Center for Research on Women with Disabilities
      • Reproductive Health
      • Reproductive Health for Women with Spinal Cord Injury (Video)
      • Sexuality for Women with Spinal Cord Injury
      • Pregnancy and Women with SCI
      • Pregnancy after SCI: A Story of Two Women
      • Preventive Health Issues
      • Relevant articles
      • Disability Organizations for Women
      • womenshealth.gov
  • Substance Abuse Library and Information Studies (SALIS Journal) SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists) is an international association of individuals and organizations with special interests in the exchange and dissemination of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) information.  Updated
  • Parking Etiquette and Rules
    • ADA Handicapped Parking Rules—Access Signs Regulations access sign regulations, parking space size, location how many parking spaces are required. Updated PDF version (.pdf)
    • Parking Etiquette Notices for Windshields (.pdf). The United Spinal Association offers a free publication about disabled parking etiquette. Have you ever discovered someone illegally parked in a handicapped zone and wished you could say or do something? Now you can! Take action with our handy "Just a Minute…" is 60 Seconds too long parking pad. Simply slip one of these informative reminders under the offender's windshield wiper and you've made your point.
  • The Taxicab Driver Customer Service Pocket Guide is a reference tool developed by Easterseals' Project ACTION with assistance from the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) [renamed the Transportation Alliance in 2019] to provide important tips and guidelines for taxicab drivers on communicating with and providing transportation service to customers with disabilities. The laminated brochure outlines the responsibilities of taxicab drivers and the rights of passengers with disabilities. It reviews general guidelines on serving customers with disabilities and provides drivers with specific tips on serving customers who are hard of hearing, who use wheelchairs, who use service animals, and who have visual disabilities. [Download a PDF of the TaxiCab Operators Guide (.PDF) from the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC)]  Updated
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (.pdf). The United Spinal Association offers a free publication about the ADA. Many regard the ADA as the most sweeping piece of civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Others believe that because of the many structural and communication barriers the ADA will remove, it is the farthest-reaching civil rights law ever enacted.
  • The Fair Housing Amendment Act (.pdf). The United Spinal Association offers a free publication about the FHA Act. This law is intended to increase housing opportunities for people with disabilities. However, individual citizens must come forward with concerns, file complaints or sue if they believe their rights have been violated. The government has no other way of detecting discrimination as it occurs. As a result, it is important to understand this legislation and how to make it work for you.