Tech and Disability News from Around the Globe - 2024-01-21

This is the start of an experiment. I'm going to start doing a weekly round-up post of different stories that I come across about Tech and Disability. I hope this proves useful.

I would love to get more stories, so if you know of any decent sites/feeds, could you please pass them on to me? 

‘I had to use the grain ramp’: the fight for disability inclusion in Australian agriculture

A story in the Guardian about the challenges faced by people returning to farming and agriculture after becoming paralysed.

Internet Privacy Is A Disability Rights Issue

A good deep dive on the conflict for People With Disabilities when they have to decide whether they're going to sign up for different services and technologies. A lot of the time they have to share deeply personal information to get access to services they would not otherwise be able pay for. The need for better controls over what information is gathered and how it's stored/protected is huge.

New smart house enables people to try out assistive tech that helps them to live independently

Sunderland City Council in the United Kingdom has turned a former Janitors residence into a showcase for Smart Home Technologies and how they can help People With Disabilities. I've touched on this idea a little before. Really do need to follow up on both the tech and the privacy issues.

Laws on self-driving vehicles risk creating new access barriers, disabled peers warn

As is often the case in these debates, the conversation around Self Driving Vehicles and what their worth is vs the danger they represent has been missing a disabled voice. While we can safely say that the current crop are generally not ready yet, we need to make sure that any final product is inclusive and accessible.

This High-Tech Shirt Helps Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patrons Feel Music

There are many approaches to allowing people with hearing disabilities to engage with musical and theatrical performances. This jacked literally allows you to feel the beat.