Welcome! Do you want to know more about the candidates running for positions on the ACB Board of Directors and the Board of Publications? Below you will find the links to the pages of each of the 3 Board of Directors candidates and the 2 Board of Publications candidates.  The candidates answer the questions posed by the Board of Publications.   Board of Directors Candidates: Katie Frederick Patrick Sheehan Jeff Thom Board of Publications Candidates: Paul Edwards Deb Cook Lewis

ACB would like to raise $67,000 for the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk this year and we would like your help. You can help ACB reach our goal in several ways: by registering as an on-site or virtual walker, making a donation, or by becoming a sponsor. Find out more at: http://acb.org/dillon-walk-18

ACB Executive Director Eric Bridges and his three-year-old son Tyler are featured in this Microsoft video demonstrating how the Seeing AI app makes a difference in his life as a blind parent. Link to video and more information: http://acb.org/build-ai-accessibility-video-w-audio-description

Parents often say that raising children is one of the most rewarding and challenging stages of life. Now imagine how you’d do it if you were blind. Not sure? … Check out this video and learn how two parents, Rebecca and Eric, who are both blind are loving, laughing and adapting as they raise their two-year-old son, Tyler, who loves books, trucks, airplanes, playing, and exploring the world around him. ACB Parenting Video ACB Parenting Video with Audio Description

Developed with collaborative input from the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the software update for the Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a huge step toward making the digital workplace more accessible for the blind and visually impaired. Learn more: http://acb.org/cisco-acb-phones

US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) announce collaboration to increase the rate of employment for people who are blind or visually impaired and advocate for enhanced workplace accessibility. Read more at: http://acb.org/usbln-acb-partnership

ACB is pleased to have consulted on the development of the character Annie, a blind attorney, played by actress Marilee Talkington for this episode of NCIS. Read more at: http://acb.org/NCIS-sight-unseen

In collaboration with the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Apple has developed a new emoji proposal to include disability themed emoji in the global standard. This proposal was submitted to Unicode and they have moved it to the “public stage”. Unicode is the non-profit organization responsible for establishing uniform standards so characters can be used universally around the world, regardless of device or platform. ACB and Apple feel it is important to make emoji more inclusive by adding a selection of characters to express basic categories of disabilities. This will give users a simple and accessible means of expression across multiple assistive needs. Learn more at: https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2018/18080-accessibility-emoji.pdf The following is a collection of articles about the new emoji proposal: Prosthetics, Guide Dogs and Wheelchairs: Here Come Apple's Proposed Accessibility Emoji The American Council of the Blind is mentioned in this article by TIME.  Article Link: http://time.com/5213561/apple-proposed-accessibility-emoji/ Apple proposed new accessibility emojis Friday to “better represent individuals with disabilities,” according to the proposal. The new emojis (which can be viewed here) include a seeing eye dog, a service dog, the sign for “deaf,” both a mechanized and manual wheelchair, and more. Apple collaborated with American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and the National Association of the Deaf to create the emojis. “Adding emoji emblematic to users’ life experiences helps foster a diverse culture that is inclusive of disability,” says the proposal to the Unicode Consortium — the gatekeeper for new emojis. “Emoji are a universal language and a powerful tool for communication, as well as a form of self-expression, and can be used not only to represent one’s own personal experience, but also to show support for a loved one.” The proposed emoji, which were first reported by Emojipedia, would be available in different genders and skin colors, though Apple acknowledges that the potential emojis are “not meant to be a comprehensive list of all possible depictions of disabilities, but to provide an initial starting point for greater representation for diversity within the emoji universe.” Before the accessibility emojis could be released to the public, the proposal would have to be accepted by the Unicode Consortium. And the process is no walk in the park. Fortune detailed the steps that an emoji must go through before users can happily send the images to friends. Proposals for new emoji must make a compelling argument as to why they should be made. In Apple’s proposal, for example, they note that “One in seven people around the world has some form of disability.” An emoji subcommittee and then a technical committee select emojis, which are then put on the Unicode Consortium site for six months for public comment, finally they go to an annual committee, where the final decision is made. There were initially 176 emojis, which were released in 1999. Now there are 1,182 emojis recognized by the Unicode Consortium. And as a testament to their popularity, the word “emoji” was added to Dictionary.com earlier this year. Why we need emoji representing people with disabilities Tony Stephens, ACB’s Director of Advocacy & Governmental Affairs is quoted in the article below.Article Link: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/3/17193020/apple-emojis-disability-representation-media-carrie-wade-interview ‘Having accessibility and inclusion of all types be a priority in tech is a huge issue.’ When Carrie Wade first heard the news that Apple was proposing emoji to represent people with disabilities, she felt happy — then immediately curious about what sorts of emoji Apple had come up with. Wade has cerebral palsy and works at the American Association of People with Disabilities. To finally have emoji made specifically for people like her felt like an important step forward. “Of course there are going to be people who say this is inconsequential and it doesn’t matter,” Wade tells The Verge. “But this is one of those instances of small-scale media representation that is there now and wasn’t there before. That kind of progress is always a good thing.” She was also “pleasantly surprised” to see the service dog emoji. Apple submitted a proposal for the 13 new emoji to the Unicode Consortium a couple of weeks ago; they include a prosthetic arm and leg, hearing aids, as well as people using sign language and a wheelchair. The emoji were well received, although several people in the community pointed out that they are just a starting point. “Really when you look at diversity among disabilities, this represents part of the community but not all,” says Rachel Byrne, VP of projects and programs at the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. But, she adds, “it’s wonderful to have diversity within the emojis.” (In its proposal, Apple acknowledged the emoji are “not meant to be a comprehensive list.”) Apple worked with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, as well as the American Council of the Blind and National Association of the Deaf, to develop the emoji. Ideas were bounced back and forth, and the results are exciting, according to Tony Stephens, director of advocacy and governmental affairs of the American Council of the Blind. Stephens says he’s excited that the emoji include a person with a white cane, the universal symbol for the blind, instead of a person wearing sun glasses, which is more of a stereotype. Having a white cane emoji can also help educate people about what the cane means, so that drivers can pay more attention when they see a pedestrian using one. “It brings awareness to the diversity of people that are using smartphones these days,” he says. Representation has long been an issue in media. Movies and TV shows often resort to stereotypes when dealing with characters with disabilities: blind people are often portrayed as having heightened senses, like a better hearing, Stephens says. Disability is also often linked to tragedy on the screen, says Wade. There have been improvements lately: Stephens points to an M&T Bank ad casually including a blind woman with a guide dog, while Byrne mentions the TV showSpeechless. But there’s still a long way to go, and the Apple emoji are a step in the right direction. “Having accessibility and inclusion of all types be a priority in tech is a huge issue,” Wade says, “so I’m hoping, in whatever small way, that this signals progress and also it just means that people can have fun and have more options for how they express themselves.” As we wait for the emoji to be approved, which could happen as soon as this month, The Verge spoke with Wade about what she thinks of the emoji, how they can be improved, and why they matter. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. What do you think of the emoji? I think it’s a great development. Emojis are sort of an emerging language, especially among younger generations, so it’s always great to watch those formats sort of progress, to be more inclusive and not just be the same icons we’ve all been seeing since we were 12-year-olds and first starting out on the internet. Of course, there are shortcomings: disability is too big of an umbrella to be fully encapsulated into any sort of emoji. But I thought it was good that those shortcomings were acknowledged up front. So while there’s certainly room for improvement, I’m excited to see this progress. Hopefully everything will be approved and they will be well received and frequently used, so that the further inclusion that wasn’t part of this first round will be possible in the future. What are the shortcomings? There are certain disabilities that are largely invisible, that can be difficult to illustrate for exactly that reason, [like] any sort of chronic illnesses, psychiatric disabilities, developmental disabilities. The disability community is vast and there are folks with disability in every other demographic. Disability doesn’t just look one way, it doesn’t just feel one way, it doesn’t just manifest one way in somebody’s body or mind. So expanding the definition of disability beyond readily apparent physical disabilities to include a larger swath... that’s definitely some progress that we need everywhere, including emoji options and technological communication. Why is it important to have emoji representing people with disabilities? This is a language that more and more people are using to communicate with each other every day, and the idea that there are actual people represented in emojis means that every community of people should be represented. People might argue that it’s not as important to have a disabled emoji versus a character in a TV show, but I think that it is important because people my age and younger — I’m 29 — we’re using these things to communicate with each other all the time. It’s like a second language on our phones and I think to not see yourself represented there, it says a lot. What are the biggest challenges in getting representation in media? I think the biggest challenges with representation [have to do with] a sort of stigma and a misunderstanding of what disability means in people’s lives. Up until now, there’s been this one-sided illustration of what having a disability can mean for your life: the vast majority of media — although it is changing — have had this tragic element and sort of imply that whatever else is going on in your life, if you have a disability, in some level you must be sad about it. As somebody with a lifelong disability, I completely understand those feelings. There is some level of frustration and difficulty that comes with having a disability. But I think that having media double down on this tragic narrative really does the rest of us — real folks with disability in the world — a huge disservice. There are different ways of looking at disability that aren’t based in tragedy. People who create media that’s not necessarily super inclusive; it’s not that they aren’t well meaning, it’s just that they don’t have a very holistic and wide-ranging view of what disability means. Those problems can be in part rectified with hiring more actual disabled people both behind and in front of the camera, as creators and as performers. I would say, changing the voices in the room can make disability inclusion more of a priority from the beginning. Emojis in their own small way are an illustration of that and there’s certainly room to move forward after this. But I think it’s a great effort to start. Apple Proposes New Emojis That Are More Inclusive For People With Disabilities This article includes an audio interview by Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. You can access the interview by clicking the link below. Article and Link to Audio Interview: https://www.wbez.org/shows/morning-shift/apple-proposes-new-emojis-that-are-more-inclusive-for-people-with-disabilities/ee0c3b95-e7e0-4443-ae88-d88126dc5c34 Once, texters had to make due with just a plain smiley face or heart. Now, there’s a smiling ghost, flags from around the world, the Vulcan salute, and four different monkeys. Communication has evolved in the era of emojis as our pool of smileys continues to expand. Now, that pool may be more inclusive as Apple pushes for approval on 13 new emojis with disabilities. This week, the Unicode Consortium — the Powers That Be who determine which emojis make it to your phone’s keyboard and which don’t — are meeting to examine a number of emoji proposals, including Apple’s 13 emojis. Apple partnered with disability advocate groups including the Cerebral Palsey Foundation and the American Council for the Blind (ACB).  ACB executive director Eric Bridges joins Morning Shift to talk about why groups like his are pushing for more inclusive emoji representation. Apple Proposes A New Line Of Accessibility Emoji Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2018/03/24/apple-accessibility-emoji/#70e6d9022af6 Apple recently outlined a new line of accessibility emoji in a proposal submitted to the Unicode Consortium. Some of the emoji characters that Apple proposed include a guide dog, people using canes and different types of wheelchairs, a hearing aid and prosthetic limbs. In the proposal, Apple said one in seven people have some form of disability and noted that this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of “possible depictions of disabilities,” but is an initial starting point for “greater representation for diversity within the emoji universe.” Working in collaboration with community organizations like American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the National Association of the Deaf, Apple proposed a total of 13 new emoji when options for men and women are taken into account or 45 in total when also including options for skin tone, according to Emojipedia. "Apple is requesting the addition of emoji to better represent individuals with disabilities. Currently, emoji provide a wide range of options, but may not represent the experiences of those with disabilities," said Apple in the opening line of the proposal. Apple said it would be impossible to cover every possible use case with a limited set of characters. So for this proposal, Apple selected a set of emoji that are most inclusive to a large number of people in four main categories, which include Blind and Low Vision, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Physical Motor and Hidden Disabilities. Blind and Low Vision  There are 285 million individuals who are blind or have low vision worldwide so Apple proposed a "guide dog with harness" and "person with white cane" (variants based on gender and skin tone). Deaf and Hard of Hearing There are 360 million individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. This is why Apple proposed adding two additional characters to better represent those with a range of hearing loss. This includes a "deaf sign" (variants based on gender and skin tone) and an "ear with hearing aid" (variants based on skin tone). The deaf sign features an index finger pointing to the cheek, which represents the "deaf sign" gesture in American Sign Language.

The American Council of the Blind has a great opportunity for students who are legally blind to earn a scholarship, whether you are going to a technical college, an entering freshman, undergraduate or a graduate student. The 2018 scholarship application is now open! To learn more, visit: http://acb.org/scholarship