Accessibility Links

The Iowa Arts Council maintains links to the arts on the Internet as a service to Iowans. The Council does not guarantee the accuracy of the information on these pages. Inclusion on this site does not indicate or imply an endorsement by the Council of any organization, site or information. Comments on the content of the sites should be directed to the page authors.

 

Access Symbols
www.gag.org/resources/das.php
Developed with the Graphic Artists Guild Foundation, this is a graphics package of 12 major access symbols, available online or on computer disk, designed to help organizations better advertise their accessible programs and facilities.

ADA Compliance and Technical Assistance State Resource Directories
www.nadc.ucla.edu/resources.htm
Compiled by the National Arts and Disability Center (http://nadc.ucla.edu), directories include listings of organizations and agencies that provide technical assistance regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Arts in each state.

Adaptive Environments (AE) Center
www.adaptenv.org/
A nonprofit organization, AE was founded in 1978 to address the environmental issues that confront people with disabilities and older Americans.

Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators
www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/Planning/index.html
An online companion to the printed text Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator’s Handbook (2003). The Guide provides guidance to cultural administrators on how to achieve accessible and inclusive programming for everyone including individuals with disabilities and older adults. Complete guide in printable format (pdf) www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/Planning/AccessibilityPlanningAll.pdf

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/ADALinks.html
The full text of the ADA statute as well as links to ADA-related resources online.

Artists' Health Insurance Resource Center
www.actorsfund.org/ahirc
Information about individual and small business group health insurance options available in each state. A project of the Actors' Fund.

Arts Midwest Accessibility Center
http://www.artsmidwest.org/ada/
A comprehensive set of tools, links, and upcoming opportunities related to accessibility in arts organizations.

Blazie Engineering/Freedom Scientific
www.freedomscientific.com/
Helping to change your world through technology.

Blind and Low-Vision: Changing Your Colors and Fonts
http://www.blind.state.ia.us/colors.htm
Information from the Iowa Department for the Blind about how to change settings on your web browser if you have trouble reading web pages because of the colors, type of text, or text size on the page.

Children with Disabilities Resource List
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/children.html
Organizations that assist families and children with disabilities find the resources and support available to them in the arts and elsewhere.

Community Development Block Grants
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/CDBGContents.html
National Endowment for the Arts (www.nea.gov) Report on federal funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for removal of barriers in both public and private cultural facilities and programs.

Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/DesignAccessibility.html
Designed to help organizations not only comply with Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, but also assist in making access an integral part of planning, mission, programs, outreach, meetings, budget and staffing.
Complete guide in printable format (pdf) www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/DesignAccessibility/DesignAccess.pdf

DO-IT/University of Washington
www.washington.edu/doit
Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking & Technology.

Gallaudet Research Institute
www.gallaudet.edu
At Gallaudet University, deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students and scholars join together in a unique community to learn, to teach, and to create. Full access and open communication drive the Gallaudet University vision.

GO HEAR
www.gohear.org
This web site is dedicated to being the best source of information for families of infants and children diagnosed with a hearing loss and the professionals who work with these individuals. We hope this resource will answer many of the questions you may have.

Independent Living Centers
www.ilusa.com/links/ilcenters.htm
Independent Living Centers are typically non-residential, private, nonprofit, consumer-controlled, community-based organizations providing services and advocacy by and for persons with all types of disabilities. A good place to make sure you're doing your building designs and renovations right the first time.

Iowa Able Foundation
www.iowaable.org
Iowa Able offers an alternative financial solution by providing loans with flexible terms to help individuals increase their independence at home, at work, and in the community. This statewide, nonprofit program will loan funds for any item, piece of equipment or product that is used to improve an individual’s quality of life.

Iowa COMPASS
www.medicine.uiowa.edu/iowacompass
Iowa's free, statewide information and referral service for people with disabilities, their families, service providers, and other members of the community. Iowa COMPASS maintains information on over 6,000 local, state, and national agencies and programs.

Iowa Division of Persons with Disabilities
www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/pd
This state agency is located within the Iowa Department of Human Rights. Its 24-member commission is appointed by the Governor to equalize opportunities for full participation in employment and other areas of the state's economic, educational, social and political life for Iowans with disabilities.

Iowa Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council
www.state.ia.us/ddcouncil
This Council identifies, develops and promotes public policy and support practices through capacity building, advocacy, and systems change activities.

Iowa Protection & Advocacy Services, Inc.
www.ipna.org
Protects the human and legal rights of people with physical disabilities and mental illness in Iowa.

Iowa University Center for Excellence on Disabilities
www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/cdd/index.asp
Promotes the independence, productivity, and community inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities through a broad range of training, service, technical assistance, and information sharing activities.

National Arts and Disability Center
http://nadc.ucla.edu/
A resource, information and training center dedicated to promoting the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the visual, performing, literary, and media arts communities.

National Center for Accessible Media/WGBH
http://ncam.wgbh.org/
A research and development facility dedicated to the issues of media and information technology for people with disabilities in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.

National Center on Accessibility
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Enca/
A collaborative program of Indiana University and the National Park Service, the National Center on Accessibility is the nation’s premiere resource promoting access for people with disabilities in recreation.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Office for AccessAbility
http://www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/index.html
An invaluable list of accessibility resources, checklists, programming ideas, promotional and media resources, and more.

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
www.loc.gov/nls/
Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail.

Media Arts Resource List
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/mediarts.html
Organizations that can assist in the production and funding of media projects, federal agencies that relate to such projects and resources to aid in closed- and open-captioning and audio description.

Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design
www.si.edu/opa/accessibility/exdesign/start.htm
A useful tool developed by the Smithsonian Institute to assist exhibition team members to open exhibits to diverse audiences.

State and Regional Arts Agency Accessibility Coordinators List
www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/504.html
State Arts Agency and Regional Arts Organization accessibility contact information. (Formerly known as 504/ADA Coordinators.)

The Accessible Museum: Model Programs of Accessibility for Disabled and Older People
www.arts.gov/pub/access_pub.html
By the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Association of Museums, 1993. Profiles a wide variety of museums, including art, natural history, and historic museums that have exemplary accessibility programs. Order number YAX221. Price $35 (AAM members) and $40 (non-members). Shipping and handling $5.00. Mail to: the American Association of Museums (AAM) Bookstore, 1575 Eye Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005. To order by phone, call 202.289.9128 or fax 202.289.6578.

The National Disability Arts Forum
www.ndaf.org
Established in 1990 to foster equality of opportunity for disabled people in all aspects of the arts.

The Non-Traditional Casting Project (NTCP)
www.ntcp.org
The Non-Traditional Casting Project (NTCP) is a nonprofit advocacy organization established in 1986 to address and seek solutions to the problems of racism and exclusion in theater, film and television.

Trace Research and Development Center
http://trace.wisc.edu/
The Trace Research & Development Center is a part of the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1971, Trace has been a pioneer in the field of technology and disability.

VSA arts of Iowa
http://www.state.ia.us/educate/vsa/
Formerly Very Special Arts, VSA arts of Iowa is a nonprofit organization that provides educational arts opportunities by, with and for people with disabilities and at risk. Founded over 20 years ago by Jean Kennedy Smith as an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, VSA arts affiliate programs now exist as nonprofit organizations across the country. VSA arts of Iowa exists to connect Iowans of all abilities through arts experiences and education.

Watchfire
www.watchfire.com/products/webxm/accessibilityxm.aspx
Provides enterprise software and services to manage online security, privacy, quality, and compliance risks.

WebABLE! Solutions Seminars and Workshops
www.webable.com
WebABLE! Solutions conducts on-site training seminars and accessibility workshops for the World Wide Web, emerging technology and usability/accessibility design.

Web Accessibility Initiative
www.w3.org/WAI/
WAI, in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development

Web Accessibility Tips
http://www.blind.state.ia.us/access/access-tips.htm
Information from the Iowa Department for the Blind about how to make sure your site is accessible to people with disabilities and those using various technologies to access the Web.

WebxACT
http://webxact.watchfire.com/
This free service will allow you to test web pages and help expose and repair barriers to accessibility and encourage compliance with existing accessibility guidelines, such as Section 508 and the W3C's WCAG. To learn about products to test websites of all sizes for accessibility issues, please visit the accessibility section on www.watchfire.com.