Latest American Council of the Blind Stories

BALTIMORE, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind, the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind people, today urged the United States Senate to ratify the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Senate voted today to consider ratification of the treaty, which was signed by President Barack Obama in 2009. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120815/MM57966LOGO) Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the...

NEW YORK, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans with visual impairments will gain expanded accessibility to baseball through the continuation of a joint collaboration between MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, the American Council of the Blind, Bay State Council of the Blind and California Council of the Blind. MLBAM has maintained its leadership position among sports and entertainment companies through its continued...

ARLINGTON, Va., May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blind and visually impaired citizens came one step closer to gaining independent and private access to the information contained on their prescription drug labels as the United States Senate passed S.3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. "Knowing what medication you are taking and the quantity is something that most individuals without vision loss take for granted," said Mitch Pomerantz, president of the...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinciding with an annual nationwide event, White Cane Safety Day, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) today released an updated edition of its Pedestrian Safety Handbook, a publication which informs people who are blind and visually impaired, their families, and others about contemporary approaches to assuring safe paths of travel for blind pedestrians and effective ways to advocate for accommodations like accessible pedestrian signals,...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week when Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire, it marked yet another product offering that the blind community will not be able to use. Mitch Pomerantz, president of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), said, "I had expected that, unlike previous releases of Kindle devices, Amazon would have included accessibility to Kindle Fire for people with disabilities right from its design phase given the accessibility that has been included in...

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) announced it will be working with Google Inc. to survey blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind individuals to better understand how they use computers and assistive technology to access information. "Having access to information through the use of accessible technology is paramount in this day and age for education, employment and social networking. Many studies have evaluated how users generally...

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is proud to reveal the winners of the 2011 "Young Described Film Critic" Awards, a "Listening Is Learning" initiative of the Council's Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The winners of this year's honors are: Senior Category (ages 15 to 18) (*two* First Place awards -- a tie): First Place - Chante Richardson, El Paso, TX (University of Texas at El Paso) for...

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of the Blind (ACB) proudly announces the 2011 Achievement Awards in Audio Description, an initiative of the Council's Audio Description Project (ADP). In conjunction with ACB's 50th annual conference and convention in Reno, NV, the awards were presented at a plenary session attended by over 1500 ACB members. The prestigious awards included: Achievement in Audio Description - Media: Harry A. Jessell, TVNewsCheck, Chatham,...

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For most people, the clock changes just twice a year for Daylight Saving Time. But for someone with Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (N24HWD, or Non-24), their internal body clock changes every day. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that approximately 65,000 - 95,000 people suffer from Non-24, a sleep disorder in which a person's sleep period can advance by about 15 minutes each night. Patients suffering from Non-24 experience severe insomnia...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 841, The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, legislation that will provide blind, visually impaired, and other pedestrians greater security when traveling in close proximity to hybrid or electric vehicles. "The passage of this legislation is momentous and marks over two years of vigorous advocacy by ACB membership that has resulted in consensus by the blind community, auto industry, and...