The hearing on the Americans with Disabilities Act

[TayTay]

So, I know I have been uneven, at best, in checking in with folks here, but I thought I would give you an update on something you might find interesting.

I have this friend who is blind. He lost his sight due to complications from Type II Diabetes. It happened slowly over a number of years and Bob and his wife, Karen, acclimated to it over the years. (Bob is one of the funniest and liveliest people I know, btw. There is not even a smattering of self pity in the guy.)

So, long about 8 months ago, Bob and his wife had a long, leisurely and quite fun lunch with my husband and me. The topic of access to technology came up. Bob, it turns out, likes to sit in and "watch" TV with his wife. It plays like a good radio show and he enjoys it. However, much of TV is now special effects and visual razzle-dazzle. This means that Bob has to rely on his wife (or daughters when they are home) to describe what has occurred at times in a show. This is all kinds of annoying to those watching TV with Bob as it is annoying to have to stop watching TV and describe the action and you lose your place, miss dialog, and, well you get the idea.

There is an technology, some 20 years old now, called DVS or Descriptive Video Service. An actor describes what is going on in a TV show and that information is encrypted into the broadcast. A special headset can be worn that downloads this information to a user and allows them to follow what is going on. Again, this is old technology. (Let me skip several paragraphs of sheer wonk by referring you to the page on DVS at WGBH.org TV: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/services/description/ )

Back to my friend. Great Technology. Problem is, none of the big players are offering the service. You can't get DVS through the cable or satellite providers. So, there is this great and greatly needed technology out there that would be a deep help to visually impaired people, and their families, only subscribers can't get it. Not good.

I mentioned that I used to work for the good Senior Senator from MA and that he heads the subcommittee for Commerce that deals with Technology, the Internet and Communications. Hey, saith my savvy friend, do you think Sen. Kerry's office would help figure out why this DVS is not available to anyone? Do you think he could investigate why this technology, which does exist, is not getting to the folks who could use it?

Long, long story short, or shorter, Sen. Kerry's office held this hearing yesterday on the Americans with Disabilities Act and what impact it has had in it's 20 year history. Great stuff. Good things have happened. More good things could happen. The DVS service was mentioned, as it pertains to a blind veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars. My friend has heard back from the good Senators office on this issue as well. Sen. Kerry will take it up with the cable and satellite offices and try and get to the bottom of why this now "old" tech is not available.

I am beyond happy on this. So is my friend. So are his friends at MA Association for the Blind, the Perkins School and many rippling orgs that deal with access issues for the disabled. And if this gets done, it gets done nationally, not just here in MA.

I am a little "verklempt" today. This took months of "activism" and being a pain-in-the-butt. But a very good thing might come of it and I am humbled to have played even my tiny part. Good people working together can indeed do great things.

Thanks for listening.