DisABILITY Accessibility Information Resources
May 2007
Number 44
What's new on e-Bility.com?
Brochure stand
Families Supporting Families
Families Supporting Families has just launched their new website. FSF is a local network of families with a child or children with a disability living in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the lower Hunter Region. They provide practical assistance to parents and siblings, including a Hospital Support Program, regular workshops and newsletters. The website also has articles, on topics such as autism, that may be of interest to other families.
Disability classifieds
Businesses for sale in the disability sector
John Little and Antonio Estevez, Principals and Founders of Wheelchairs To Go, a popular Australian wheelchair and scooter rental business in Sydney advise that their business is for sale. It is also an ideal business for a wheelchair user to operate.
Second hand equipment for sale
There are lots of second hand items currently listed for children and adults, including manual and power wheelchairs, mobility and therapy equipment, an adapted trike, electric scooter, beds and pressure care mattresses, shower commode, electric recliner lounge chair and other seating options.
Second hand accessible vehicles for sale
Vehicles available include a Holden Combo as well as a choice of Ford Flashcab Wagons and Chrysler Voyager Entervans that have been modified for wheelchair access.
Disability news
Accessible Cinema: Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival in partnership with Accessible Arts have revealed an enticing and moving Accessible Cinema program as part of the upcoming festival next month. It is a fantastic program and covers a broad range of disabilities in a realistic and moving way.
Tourism survey
You are invited to take part in a research study conducted by the University of Technology Sydney on the tourism accommodation needs of people with mobility disabilities.
Accessible tourism in New Zealand
Launch of a report into "Tourism for Visitors to New Zealand with Mobility Problems: a West Coast perspective".
Articles
Before you go: Accessible travel tips
It is important for anyone to get organized for a trip overseas, but when you have a disability it is essential! Avid travel Bruce Mumford shares his experiences and tips for successful holiday travel.
Tree top walks
Two access travel reports from members of AQA Victoria, who explored the Australian rainforest canopies of Victoria's Otway Fly and Tasmania's Tahune Airwalk.
Motivational speakers
Kimberly Carnevale
On July 1, 1998, Kimberly Carnevale was a professional athlete vying for a spot on the United States Equestrian Team. On July 2, 1998, a horrible car accident ended her career; and life as she'd known it. In her motivational program, she shares with audiences the tools she once used as a professional athlete, then as a recovering accident survivor; and how we can all use those same tools to become champions in our own lives.
What's new on the WWW?
Baen Books
The Baen Free Library is now making available - for free - a number of its science fiction titles in electronic format, to readers with disability.
Stickids
An initiative of Community Therapy Associates in Canada, Stickids "Muscles, Motion 'n Touch" is a user friendly CD with fun sensory learning activities for children with disability.
JAWS & WYNN Literacy Scholarships 2007
Applications for this year's scholarships are now open for Australian or New Zealand students who are blind or have a learning disability and are planning on full-time tertiary studies in 2007.
Blind pilot lands in Sydney
The adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber has become the first blind pilot to fly from London to Sydney in a microlight plane.
SENSwitcher - Developing switch skills
SENSwitcher is a suite of programs designed to help teach early ICT skills to people with profound and multiple learning difficulties, those who need to develop skills with assistive input devices and very young children new to computers.
World Tourism Day Photo Competition
The competition's focus is on women and Travel with A Disability hosted by Rolling Rains is encouraging travelers with disability or people with disability in the tourism industry to participate and make sure that women with disability are well represented.
Gadgets, Gizmos and Gaining Independence
A new report exploring the potential for assistive technology to enhance the lives and independence of people with learning disability.
Coles Group Community Fund
A relatively new fund that supports local and national charitable organisations with the aim of building healthier communities. Programs include community grants, strategic partnerships, fundraising initiatives and workplace giving. Round 2 applications close 31 August 2007.
MS info 4 kids
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland, with support of Newman's Own Foundation, has developed a website for children of parents with Multiple Sclerosis.
Ouch Guide to Switch Gaming
If you use a switch interface to access your computer and are into a bit of gaming - or think you might want to be - then Ouch have collected together some top tips, suggested games, accessibility gear, techie info, websites and message boards you can visit to help you in your quest to become the ultimate games master. There is also an extensive and diverse list of accessible games on e-Bility Links
Updated WCAG 2.0 Working Draft
The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Working Group has recently published a public draft of WCAG 2.0 for comment. WCAG 2.0 is designed as a technical standard that applies more broadly to different Web technologies. A response to earlier feedback from the disability sector and web industry professionals is included in the W3C documentation and comments on this Working Draft are due by 29 June 2007.
