AFB Blog

AFB is immensely proud to release the report on the findings of the Flatten Inaccessibility Study. Almost two thousand people took part in the study, sharing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected them and highlighting how community decisions have in many cases erected barriers to independence and equal access for those who are blind or have low vision. This report is a tool not only for organizations to advocate nationally for dismantling barriers and creating opportunities, but it also is…

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation several months ago, staying on top of the news can be a daunting task. One of AFB’s main goals is to keep people who are blind or who have low vision and their families up to date on the policy issues that affect us all. With this in mind, here are a few recent news stories we found particularly interesting. The Washington Post: Virginia agrees to make mail-in voting accessible to blind voters who sued September 1, 2020 Just as we’ve been…

Women's Equality Day is celebrated on August 26 in the United States to commemorate the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. The amendment prohibits state and the federal governments from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It was first celebrated in 1972, designated by Congress in 1973, and is proclaimed each year by the United States President. Below is an excerpt from Helen Keller's speech to delegates of the new…

AFB’s Director of Research Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum recently joined the Blind Abilities podcast to talk about the two recent surveys, Flatten Inaccessibility and Access and Engagement to Education. Dr. Rosenblum discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting educational services for children birth to 21 years of age and their families, how TVIs and O&M instructors are meeting students’ educational needs, and how adults who are blind or low vision were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in…

Of late, AFB has been celebrating many milestones. Most prominently, we saw the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act earlier this summer, and we have a couple on the horizon, including AFB’s Centennial as well as some exciting forthcoming news concerning the Helen Keller Archive in celebration of the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment. We would therefore be remiss not to also celebrate the anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act amendments that gave us Section 508. On…

When it comes to stock photography, one thing that bugs us is the lack of authentic images of people with disabilities in action, living their everyday lives. And if you're anything like us, you probably find it a tad irritating, too. Well, here's your chance to be that change you want to see in the world. We want to feature photos of real people on our website, across our social media channels, and in other publications we use to advocate for better policies that promote accessibility and…

Stephanie Enyart, AFB’s Chief Public Policy and Research Officer: The Americans with Disabilities Act created an important set of rights that human beings then struggled to implement. For students who attended college before the ADA, they were navigating without a comprehensive set of rights. Sometimes they ended up in a great spot, because people came through for them. But if they didn’t, students struggled to create a fully accessible educational experience. Even for students who came…

Tim Elder is a California-based civil rights attorney, founder of the TRE Legal Practice, and father of three. Active in the blindness community, he has taken on various roles with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and is an avid musician and reader. AFB spoke with Tim recently about the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its impact on his life. This interview was edited for brevity and clarity. The Americans with Disabilities Act The ADA is unlocking…

On August 1, AFB’s National Aging and Vision Loss Specialist Neva Fairchild becomes the new president of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) after having served on its board of directors since 2018. Neva takes over for Emily Coleman, Superintendent at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. AER is a professional membership organization dedicated exclusively to professionals who provide services to persons with vision loss, with…