Captchas: The Bain of Everyone's Existence

As spammers and spam bots continue to get smarter, we will only have to work harder to prove that we are in fact human when we're filling out forms on the web. At this point, we prove our humanity by answering what are called "captchas", or what I like to call, " images that you have to have a super power to read and understand." For the sighted, these captchas are just an annoyance, but to the non-sighted, or reading disabled, inaccessible captchas are potentially a hinderance to us participating on the web. I bring this topic up not only because I continue to encounter inaccessible captchas, but also because I'm happy to say that there is a lot of effort to make sure that captchas are solvable by everyone. So where is the hope, and what can we do to continue to outsmart the spammers, without keeping out people with disabilities?

First I'll tell you about two different options for solving inaccessible captchas. The first is a plugin for the Firefox browser called Webvisum. This plugin will actually solve the captchas for you. I question the intelligence of such a program since it's possible that spammers may get a hole of it, but at least for now it is a way to solve captchas if you can't see or understand them. The second is a service called Solona. This is a website run by a web developer who volunteers his time to solve captchas for people who can't see them. In order to use the service, you take a screen shot of the form with the captcha, send it to Solona, and then a human volunteer will answer the captcha and send the form back to you. These services are good options, but they aren't a complete solution to the problem.

So the question is how do you make a captcha accessible, without making it solvable by spam bots? There are actually many options. The current audio captchas include, typing in a set of numbers that you hear, and typing words that you hear. The draw back to both of these is that they can be difficult to hear, or too challenging. I often have to listen at least 2 to 3 times and then I still worry that I'll get it wrong, but at least this option gives me the potential of being able to submit the form. Another option, and one of my favorites is to make the captcha a question that you have to solve, such as, "what is 2 plus four?" This is a simple math problem that most people should be able to solve, but it isn't something a computer can solve. Finally, there soon will be a new option thanks to the work of the NFB and Townson University. They're new system will use pictures of familiar objects and sounds that correspond to the pictures. If you are listening, the answer to the captcha is whatever the sound corresponds to. So for example the image may be of a lion, and the sound would be a lion roaring. The answer to the captcha is lion.

So as frustrating as captchas can be, it seems like there is efforts to make them more user friendly without being spam friendly, and with hope maybe someday people with disabilities won't need services such as Webvisum or Solona.

I Can't Read Braille With My Eyes Closed

I made an interesting observation last night that I felt like I had to share. I was trying to relax myself while reading my braille book, so I thought I would just close my eyes. Much to my dismay and shock, my reading slowed down and my eyes started twitching. I couldn't believe it, it appears that I can't read braille if I have my eyes closed.

I have a hypothesis about why this happened. It is known that reading braille activates the same parts of the brain that reading print does, so my thought is that my brain was telling my eyes that I wouldn't be able to read if my eyes were closed because my visual cortex was being activated.

Am I crazy? Do any of you read braille with your eyes closed? If so, have you ever experienced your eyes twitching while doing so?

Disney/Pixar's "UP" Includes Descriptive Video, But Only If You Buy It

I really have a love/hate relationship with Disney. Just two weeks ago I was telling you about the new descriptive audio offerings at Disneyland. Well now I have to tell you how Disney is one big contradiction. In the recent DVD release of Pixar's "Up" one of the features is descriptive video. As awesome as this is, it's only a feature on the DVD if you purchase it. That's right, Disney decided to make a special rental version that has all of the features including close captioning, descriptive video, and even the shorts removed from the DVD. So apparently if you're disabled and want to enjoy this film, you better want to have it as a part of your dvd library.

I'm sure you're asking yourself why Disney made this decision. According to consumerist.com, a disney representative simply said that it was a marketing decision to remove all "special features". It is unknown if there are any DVD rental companies that will be offering the DVD with the special features included, but Netflix, Blockbuster, and Red box for sure have the modified version.

There is no excuse for this, especially for those who waited for the DVD release because they have a disability. People with disabilities shouldn't have to pay extra to enjoy a movie, especially when the features were built in to make sure that the blind and deaf could better enjoy the film. I'd really like to know how this decision came to occur. It seems clear to me that Disney must not employ anyone with a disability in their marketing department, because if they did they would realize that this is likely to cause people to not buy the DVD, rather then increase sales.

I hope that this blog post and others that have been written sends a message to Disney that this kind of behavior isn't acceptable. If they really want to promote accessibility and inclusion, then do so. Don't offer accessibility and then take it away because it might effect your profit margin.

Should Disabled Characters Only Be Played By Disabled Actors?

In an article that I read recently, an advocacy group is up in arms because when Helen Keller's story "The Miracle Worker" returns to Broadway this winter, the lead role will not be played by an actress who is either deaf or blind. Instead the role of Helen will be played by Abigail Breslin who is best known for her role in Little Miss Sunshine. The question is, should the disabled community be offended, or should we praise non-disabled actors learning what it means to be disabled?

I honestly think this is a difficult call. On the one hand the whole point of acting is to take on a personality of someone that isn't you, hence the point of having straight actors play characters who are gay and vice versa. But there seems to be a catch 22 when it comes to actors who have disabilities. Blind actors are only allowed to play blind characters, which begs the question are they really acting? Obviously they're not playing themselves, the character likely has personality differences, but why should they be restricted to roles where the audience knows they're blind? This restriction says to me that directors can't conceive a blind character playing someone who is sighted and so they don't allow it, but really they are only restricting the number of roles that blind actors can audition for. So in that case maybe we should be upset that Helen Keller isn't being played by a young actress who is deaf and/or blind.

The other side of this argument of course is by casting non-disabled actors to play disabled characters, directors are opening actors' eyes to what it means to have a disability. In this particular case, I think the advocacy group's time would be better spent making sure that Abigail gets real life experience of what it it is like to be deaf and blind before she goes on stage, instead of protesting her playing the role. They could introduce her to deaf and blind actors, invite her to visit a school for the deaf and blind, and encourage her to spend time outside of rehearsal experiencing life without her vision or hearing. I think too often roles of disabled characters aren't done well enough because the able bodied actors who play them don't get enough real experience or contact with people who experience those disabilities.

In conclusion, I think the advocacy group's energy isn't being used in a way that will best benefit the disabled community. Although I think that disabled actors should be given more opportunities, I also value able bodied actors playing roles of disabled characters as long as those actors are given the chance to understand what it means to have a disability.

What do you think? Should Helen Keller only be played by an actress that is deaf or blind, or should we spend our time making sure that when disabled characters are portrayed, that the actors are given the best education possible?

Denmark Strips Away the Right to Privacy from Blind Voters

On Wednesday I read that one of my blind friend's in Utah just experience voting by himself for the first time thanks to his voting machine having built in text to speech. On that same day, I also read that the blind in Denmark not only don't get to vote by themselves, they have to have a council member present when they're voting. This rule was supposedly implemented to make sure that the sighted helper wasn't pressuring the blind voter to vote in a particular way, but what it really does is just strip that voter of their right to privacy.

It is important to note that this rule is both a violation of the Denmark Constitution and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. No one, disabled or not should ever have to reveal who their voting for. I am sure that this will only prevent more people from voting rather then encourage them to.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Solving the voting issue for those with visual impairments is not difficult. I've voted three times now using a simple solution called an electronic ballot. The html based ballot is emailed to me. I then fill it out on my computer on my own time, print it out, and send it through the mail. The solution probably costs very little and it serves anyone with an email address and a computer. In fact, the person wouldn't even have to use their own computer since there are now free screen readers. So in my opinion there is no excuse for not having an accessible ballot, and there is really no excuse for forcing blind and partially sighted voters to have to vote with sighted assistance. I just hope that Denmark sees the error of their ways, and grants the right to privacy back to their blind citizens.

Have you ever voted with an accessible ballot? Are you more likely to vote if you're able to do it on your own?

Descriptive Audio Brings Disney Attractions to Life for the Blind

Pirates of the Caribbean has to be one of my favorite rides at Disneyland, but I remember that it wasn't as much fun the last time I was there. I think this is because I couldn't see what was happening around me. I could remember some things, but not enough to get the full experience of the ride. Thankfully I won't have this problem the next time I go since Disneyland and California Adventure now offer audio description for nearly 20 of their attractions.

"Our doom buggy rotates and we face backward. To our left, a knight’s armor guards an endless hallway. On our right, wilted flower arrangements surround a coffin. An eerie light escapes as bony hands push up the lid." This is the first thing a blind rider would hear after coming aboard the Haunted Mansion. These descriptions will bring the rides and attractions to life for those who can't see the scenery surrounding them. They also ensure that the blind rider gets descriptions of all the important parts of the ride, not just the one's that their sighted friends and family are able to tell them about.

For those who might be visiting Disneyland in the future, here is a list of all the attractions that have descriptive audio."Enchanted Tiki Room, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, 'it’s a small world', Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Disneyland Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”, It’s Tough to be a Bug!, Turtle Talk with Crush, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! and Muppet*Vision 3D."

If you've had a chance to experience the descriptive audio offered, please let me know what it was like.

October PollResults: When Did You Learn Braille

Thank you to all of you who participated in last month's poll, your participation means a lot to me.

The poll was intended to find out if and when my blind and low vision readers learn braille. I've mentioned before that the NFB estimates that only 10% of all blind children are literate in braille. With that information I wanted to see how that number would compare to people who read my blog.

I am happy to report that out of the 49 people who voted, more then half of them were taught braille in school. Although this is a very small sample, what this says to me is that braille was likely taught more in the past. We know that 50 years ago the literacy rate was more then 50%, and it has quickly been declining ever since.

So the question is how do we get back to the numbers that we're seeing in my poll? I personally think that all children with vision problems should be taught braille in some form, but at this point there just aren't enough teachers to make this happen. I don't think though that means that we should accept the low literacy rate. In my opinion there are other options.

My poll indicated that nearly 20% actually taught themselves, so this is one option. For those who aren't interested in learning braille on their own though, they can take courses from The Hadley School for the Blind, or they can contact their local Commission for the Blind to request braille instruction. If you are a parent of a blind child then the NFB has the braille pals program which helps you and your child learn braille together.

These are just some options. I truly believe that we can increase braille literacy if we just choose to.

Here are the results in their entirety:

If you are blind or visually impaired, how did you learn braille?

I learned it in school: 32 votes 65%
I taught myself: 9 votes 18%
I've never learned braille: 8 votes 16%
Total number of votes: 49