We invite you to explore the June edition of Continual Engine’s monthly newsletter. This edition features a variety of curated news articles and updates designed to make you aware of the latest trends and developments in accessibility and AI.
In this edition, we have included the following information:
- The latest blogs on accessibility include – Nesting in PDFs: Importance Explained, and WCAG Compliance: Boosting Business
- Recap: Continual Engine exhibited at the 2024 VHEAP or UnConference.
- Latest advancements in accessibility include – AI Enhances Gaming Accessibility
- Empowering stories include – Instructor’s Passion ‘Makes Diving Accessible’
- News articles include – Ireland’s Web Accessibility Essentials, Canadian Bankers Association’s Accessibility Pledge, Accessible Cities for Tomorrow, FTA Funds $343M for All Stations Accessibility, Hoteliers: Adapting Websites for Accessibility, AI’s Role in Climate Resilience for Cities, Schools and ADA Digital Accessibility Preparation, Supporting Neurodivergent Students, Inclusive Communication for Deaf Canadians, AI Fairness: Disability Inclusion Matters, Fourth Industrial Revolution and Green Transformation
We hope that you will find this month’s edition to be both engaging and informative. Please reach out to us if you have any feedback or questions.
Warm Regards,
Continual Engine
I. LATEST BLOGS ON ACCESSIBILITY
Opening a PDF document might seem simple for most people. But for those who use screen readers to access information, how the document is organized internally becomes very important. This organization of the internal structure, determined by how electronic tags are arranged within the PDF, is called nesting.
Every business today has a digital presence, whether it is to spread awareness and talk about its offering or to reach customers through the digital marketplace. With digital playing such a decisive role, businesses cannot afford to overlook being at least Level A WCAG compliant.
II. PAST EVENTS
1. Continual Engine Exhibited At The 2024 VHEAP UnConference
Continual Engine appreciated the opportunity to exhibit at the 2024 VHEAP or UnConference. The event was held on May 31st, 2024 at the University of Virginia’s Student Health & Wellness Center.
The event was informal but demonstrated the passion of several accessibility experts, champions, and teams who came together for meaningful discussions and shared insights on accessibility. There was an exploration of the role of partners, technology solutions, and innovative approaches in addressing the growing demand for more accessible resources.
If you were unable to connect with us during the event or would like to learn about how Continual Engine can transform your accessibility landscape, please reach out to us at contact@continualengine.com. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
III. LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN ACCESSIBILITY
In the fast-paced world of video games, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a surprising ally in the quest for greater accessibility. By automating and personalizing features that make gaming more inclusive, AI is opening up immersive virtual worlds to players with disabilities like never before.
III. EMPOWERING STORIES IN THE NEWS
Two men with disabilities have joined forces with the only instructor who would help them achieve what others had told them was “impossible”. Shaun Gash, who is paraplegic, and Salim Patel, who is blind, have been training to go diving off the coast of North-West England in the summer.
IV. News Articles On Accessibility
Ireland has implemented one of the toughest laws yet to ensure website accessibility, serving as a model for future regulations in Europe. By June 28, 2025, organizations must fully comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) or face fines ranging from €5,000 to €60,000, up to 18 months in prison, or both. This is one of the biggest recent moves in the accessibility industry and has gained a lot of attention. Now, let’s seek to understand why.
The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) recognizes the importance of equitable opportunities and strives to improve the accessibility of its operations. Our goal is to proactively identify and eliminate barriers, ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can engage fully with our organization.
Urban systems exist to serve the entire population and this includes the growing number of people with mobility challenges. Infrastructure decisions and investments today set the current path, as well as the constraints, for decades. At this critical juncture, cities must invest holistically to meet today’s needs while enabling future systems to meet increasingly demanding sustainability and accessibility standards.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $343 million through the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) to eight transit agencies in eight states to retrofit some of the nation’s oldest and busiest rail transit systems to make it easier for Americans to access public transportation.
As places of public accommodation, hotels in the U.S. and their websites need to meet certain accessibility requirements. Speaking during the Hospitality Law Conference, attorney Jordan Schwartz explained those accommodations could be physical, such as adding a ramp or installing grab bars, or digital, such as written descriptions of pictures or captioning for videos.
From Houston to Singapore, cities around the world are using sophisticated digital tools, called digital twins, to help them monitor and control groundwater, manage urban heat islands, reduce air pollution, and effectively manage their waste. At its most simple, a digital twin is a replica of an object that exists in the physical world developed using constantly evolving real-time data from drones, sensors, and satellites.
A newly issued federal rule to ensure web content and mobile apps are accessible for people with disabilities will require public K-12 and higher education institutions to do a thorough inventory of their digital materials to make sure they are in compliance, accessibility experts said.
Niki Elliott skipped the fifth grade. She was so smart that she could have skipped another, she said, but her mother didn’t want her in class with older boys. And so she was always bored in school. She had a “near photographic” memory and didn’t need to study, she said, so she never learned how to. She remembers finishing her assignments in five minutes and spending the next 30 waiting for her classmates to catch up.
What is at issue is not a communication barrier, but rather a lack of inclusive communication. Saying it is a communication barrier implies that communication did not happen; and that something — a misunderstanding or misinterpretation — blocked communication from occurring.
AI researcher Naomi Saphra faced “a programmer’s worst nightmare” in 2015. After a decade of coding and just as she was about to start a Ph.D. program in Scotland, neuropathy in her hands rendered typing too painful. Seeking a solution, Saphra turned to the very technology she was studying. She began the long process of teaching herself how to code using voice-to-text dictation technologies.
The world is undergoing a digital transformation with a widespread integration of digital technologies which are reshaping global industry in a Fourth Industrial Revolution. At the same time, we are facing a triple planetary crisis: climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. As a response, industry is shifting from fossil fuel-based and polluting processes towards reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and resource optimization, known as the green transition.
