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The overall aim of this study was to describe experiences of discrimination due to inaccessibility among people using mobility devices. We conducted a thematic qualitative analysis of 88 complaints about wheeled mobility device use, inaccessibility, and discrimination submitted to the Swedish Equality Ombudsman (DO) during 2015 and 2016. The analysis resulted in three themes: instigating change by invoking laws and regulations and highlighting lack of compliance; demanding to be recognised, understood, and listened to; and struggling for equal access and social participation. Regulations and treaties were invoked as the basis for complaints by people using mobility devices regarding their lack of access to physical environments and impediments to their enjoyment of their full right to participate in and contribute to society. The complaints described feelings of discrimination, the disadvantages and exclusion due to physical inaccessibility, and experiences of being prevented from living one's life as others do. Complaints filed by people using mobility devices showed that they were denied access to a wide range of contexts, including offices, theatres, restaurants, schools, and public transportation, though they desired to live an active and social life outside their homes. Filing a complaint was a way to take action, highlight present inaccessibility, and express a hope for change. Difficulties experienced by people using wheeled mobility devices can reveal knowledge important for revising existing design and renovation standards for housing and public buildings. Documenting facilitators and barriers in different environments is important for giving voice to the needs of wheeled mobility device users and revealing standards that need to be strongly enforced or revised. People using wheeled mobility devices should be supported in finding solutions in inaccessible environments, both to fulfil their wishes and to enable their participation in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an executive summary of the American Psychological Association's (APA's) revised Guidelines for Assessment and Intervention With Persons With Disabilities. The revision was requested by the Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology and was approved by the APA Council of Representatives in February 2022. The task force updated and expanded the guidelines' empirical bases; squarely situated the guidelines in a changing sociocultural landscape (reflected in discussions of disability models, biases and barriers, language use, intersectionality, and respectful and fair assessment and intervention); and added many concrete suggestions for conceptualizing disability and working with disabled clients and their support systems. In this executive summary, we include key points from each of the 23 guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Bey v. City of New York — a recent Second Circuit case where four Black firefights suffering from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (a skin condition causing irritation when shaving which mostly affects Black men) challenged the New York City Fire Department's Clean Shave Policy — with an intersectional approach utilizing legal theories of racial, disability, and religious discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology can help disabled Americans achieve their desired level of mobility. However, realizing this potential depends on vehicle manufacturers, policymakers, and state and municipal agencies collaborating to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals at different stages of trip making through information system design, vehicle design, and infrastructure design. Integrating accessibility at this stage of the AV revolution would finally allow us an opportunity to develop a transportation system that treats accessibility as a guiding principle, not as an afterthought. This paper documents accessibility considerations for disabled individuals followed by a review of relevant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. The review of regulations is followed by a review of nine case studies, five corresponding to the on-demand microtransit service model and four corresponding to the paratransit service model. These case studies are essentially different prototypes currently being deployed on a pilot basis. Each of these specific case studies is then evaluated for its ability to provide potential accessibility features that would fulfill the requirement set forth by relevant ADA regulations in the absence of an operator/driver. Based on this review of relevant research, ADA regulations, and case studies, recommendations are provided for researchers, private firms, policymakers, and agencies involved in AV development and deployment. The recommendations include better collaboration and adoption of best practices to address the needs of individuals with different disability types (e.g., Cognitive, Visual, Auditory). ADA regulations should be used as one of the tools in addition to universal design principles and assistive technologies in order to maximize accessibility. • Explores how accessible autonomous vehicle (AAV) technology can co-evolve with disability regulation to meet needs through information systems, vehicle, and infrastructure design. • Evaluates case studies of emerging on-demand autonomous services to see how they meet relevant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards in the US. • Offers that vehicle design might evolve to better meet standards in the areas of 1) Voice Controlled Systems and 2) Pick Up/Drop Off Point Orientation. • Challenges that, among other collaborative improvements, public agencies can digitize transit trip data to encourage greater multimodal integration of future AAV services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Americans with Disability Act sets forth the conditions under which management is compelled to respond to informal and formal requests for accommodations, one of which is that requests must relate to essential job functions. When requests do not relate to essential job functions, employer responsiveness becomes voluntary. The difference between compelled and voluntary management responsiveness to efforts by employees with disabilities to acquire workplace accommodations is import to the decision-making processes of employees with disabilitiess as is discussed here for the benefit of employees with disabilities, their supervisors, and advocates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a telephone survey of outpatient physicians in the U.S. to determine the extent to which they understand their legal obligations to patients under the American With Disabilities Act (ADA). Topics covered include their understanding of their responsibility in ensuring the provision of equitable care to patients with disability, their perceived risk of ADA lawsuits, and the associations among physician characteristics, their knowledge of ADA, and perceived lawsuit risk.

This article summarizes the facts and rulings of a recent representative federal appeals court decision concerning the legal claims of two school nurses who lost their positions after advocating on behalf of students with diabetes. Their primary claim was the anti-retaliation protection under the pair of federal laws prohibiting disability discrimination—Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The second of the two nurses additionally asserted protection under this pair of laws based on her own asserted disabilities. The discussion reveals the sometimes significant difference between legal requirements, as determined by appellate courts, and professional norms, as perceived by practitioners and professors in school nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society benefits when every person has the education and skills to contribute to the best of their abilities. Education is fundamental to that ability to contribute. Access to education is a social determinant of health that can predict a student's future health, contributions, and financial opportunity even into adulthood and a potential future family. This article introduces a case study of a student with a disability and with discussion and application of statutes requiring a free and appropriate public education. The discussion includes history of support for students with disabilities, the school nurse role, and principles of nursing support, including resources for practice. Finally, a brief description provides information about important professionals who can contribute as members of the school team. Supporting students with disabilities in schools provides the foundation for their ability to function and contribute as adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]