Tim Scannell, Accessibility Consultant:

Enhancing Access for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by Focusing on Sign Language, Digital Accessibility, and Information Access for Everyone.

Football often calls itself “the beautiful game for all,” but inclusion must extend beyond players on the pitch, it must also embrace those who officiate the game. Recently, FA referee Sean Noone shared a public LinkedIn post that has sparked important conversations about accessibility in refereeing. In his own words, Sean described finding it “extremely frustrating” to access support and opportunities within the FA referee system as a Deaf official. Sean wrote that over rec

Accessibility technology has made huge leaps over the past 40 years but not equally for everyone. Here’s how the focus evolved: Timeline...

We’ve seen major advances in virtual meeting platforms - real-time captions , gesture recognition , and even eye gaze interaction . These...

This month, a major tech company launched a new ‘AI mode’ for search in the UK. It gives you fast answers in a friendly, chat-like way — less scrolling, fewer links. But here’s a question: Why not use search AI to learn sign language glosses? BSL, ASL, LSF, ISL, and more - over 70 million Deaf people use sign languages as their first language. This could help hearing people learn to communicate. It could help Deaf people study glosses, grammar, and comparisons across language

🧠 Most people think “accessibility” means adding captions or alt text. 💻 And yes - WCAG helps with that. It’s a technical guide for...

This week, I’m raising awareness about the real challenges Deaf people face when trying to give feedback or get help at train stations...

I recently watched a powerful video by the CODA brothers signing in ASL. I can’t share the video directly, but it left me thinking deeply about how AI interacts with sign languages. Here's the reality: AI is not ready for ASL. Facial expressions and body language are crucial in ASL - they’re not just "extra," they carry grammar and emotion . Even your nose , eyebrows, eye gaze, mouth shapes, and shoulder movement add layers of meaning, just like an actor's expression in a mo

Recently, I shared a video of an AI signing avatar at a train station. The avatar’s signing was not accurate, and it came too late to warn Deaf people standing near the platform edge. This is a serious safety concern. The English text on screen said: “Stand back from the platform edge. The fast train now approaching does not stop here.” But the avatar signed something like: “Fast train passed the platform, then stand back.” This means the warning came after the train was alre

🇺🇸 United States - Strong but ASL-centric ✅ Strengths: Advanced AI-powered apps like: Ntouch (Sorenson) – VRS with ASL interpreters Hand Talk – Text/audio to 3D ASL avatars Pedius – Speech-to-text calls Live Transcribe – Real-time captions Deaf-led innovation and startups Strong ASL learning tools (Lingvano, ASL Dictionary) ❌ Gaps: Almost entirely ASL-focused Weak support for international Deaf immigrants Lack of offline access in rural/low-income areas 🇬🇧 United