Accessible Conferences Start Backstage

Losing your hearing is hard enough. Losing your hearing two weeks into new motherhood forces you to rebuild everything at once. We sit down with Tiffany Storrs, an actor, best-selling author, and award-winning advocate for hidden disabilities, to talk about what happens after sudden hearing loss, what people get wrong about deafness, and how she learned to live between two soundscapes with cochlear implants and the support she needs to stay safe and connected.We dig into Tiffany’s book “Adaptability,” her true story of transforming pain into purpose, and the practical reframe that keeps her moving: stop getting stuck on “why me” and start asking “what next.” She breaks down her “next 200 feet” approach to accepting a new disability, trying communication options like hearing aids, cochlear implants, and ASL, and refusing to confuse overwhelm with incapability. Her perspective is honest and specific, built on lived experience rather than feel-good slogans.Then we go straight at the systems that still shut deaf people out: the lack of deaf speakers at conferences, the “too expensive” excuse, and the exhausting moment when someone says “you don’t look deaf” or decides you’re “not disabled enough.” Tiffany also shares what accessibility in the entertainment industry should actually mean, why inclusive casting can’t be tokenism, and how productions can build accommodations in from day one so disabled artists can focus on great work, not constant negotiation.If you care about disability advocacy, deaf representation, hidden disabilities, workplace accessibility, and inclusive media, this conversation will give you language, insight, and a sharper lens. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find Access Chat.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A conference can be “accessible” on paper and still feel stressful, chaotic, and exclusionary in the moments that matter most: when a speaker is nervous, the backstage team is overloaded, and the schedule starts slipping minute by minute. We dig into the missing layer of event accessibility that rarely gets discussed, the tools and practices that support speakers and production crews so the audience actually gets the full experience they came for.We sit down with Eyal Simko, founder of CueTime, to talk about building the world’s first confidence monitor with a built-in stage timer and why that design choice changes everything. We get specific about stage communication: separating speaker notes from timing cues, avoiding intrusive overlays, and replacing aggressive flashing timers with calmer “glow” signals that keep presenters focused. We also connect this to neurodiversity and cognitive load, including how clear visual cues like progress bars can help speakers with ADHD, dyslexia, or anyone dealing with high stress under bright lights.Then we go backstage, where accessibility also means workplace inclusion. Eyal explains how preloading cues and show structure into a system can reduce handoff anxiety, help newer technicians step in with confidence, and prevent “time creep” that steals Q and A and shortchanges later speakers. If you care about inclusive conferences, event production, speaker coaching, assistive technology, and better live event management, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways.If this made you rethink what “accessible events” should mean, subscribe, share this with an event organiser, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A treaty negotiated by 193 countries, approved on our guest’s birthday, and powerful enough to flip the global story of disability from “medical problem” to “human rights obligation” is not supposed to have a personal plot twist, but this one does. Ambassador Luis Gallegos joins us to unpack the CRPD’s legacy, the diplomacy behind it, and the lesson that still drives everything: the people most affected must lead the room. We also dig into the political reality. Luis explains the early US opposition, the unexpected influence of a conversation with Barbara Bush, and what it meant to witness President Obama sign the Convention. From there, we pivot to what may be the fastest-moving lever of inclusion: accessible technology. We talk G3ICT, why Article 9 made ICT accessibility unavoidable, and how AI, robotics, and inclusive design could expand independence and participation if we build them responsibly. Then the conversation widens to the next global rights frontier: aging. Luis describes how the pandemic exposed what “living with dignity” really means, especially for people who died without it, and why ageism is not a side issue when the world is getting older. We explore the demographic shift, the urgency for the global south, and the push for a UN convention on the human rights of older persons, anchored in one clear principle: dignity across the lifespan, including the possibility of dying with dignity. Subscribe for more conversations on accessibility, disability rights, inclusive technology, and aging, and if this sparked something for you, share it and leave a review. What would dignity-first policy look like where you live?Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A country level Chief Accessibility Officer is still rare, and Canada is treating that role like it matters. We sit down with Stephanie Cadieux, Canada’s Chief Accessibility Officer, to unpack what real accessibility oversight looks like when you are tracking progress under the Accessible Canada Act across thousands of federally regulated organizations, from banks and telecoms to airlines and transportation.We get specific about the seven priority areas that shape the work, and why Stephanie chooses one focus each year to go deeper than surface level compliance. This year’s lens is the built environment, where the biggest barriers often come from familiar choices made without disability in the frame. Along the way, we talk about the practical work of influencing systems, listening to disabled Canadians, and keeping accessibility on the decision agenda when competing priorities crowd it out.Then we turn to the pressure point everyone is feeling: artificial intelligence. Canada now has an accessible AI standard from Accessibility Standards Canada, and we explore why standards and regulation matter when AI development outpaces policy. We dig into bias, the risks of making AI the only service channel, affordability gaps, and the shift from checklists to lifecycle accountability as WCAG and technology evolve.If you care about digital accessibility, inclusive design, AI governance, and disability rights that show up in everyday life, hit subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more people find the conversation.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

Jack McElaney, Chief Revenue Officer at Microassist, has published the weekly newsletter Accessibility in the News for 10 years. He started in 2016 by emailing articles to colleagues he met at conferences. Then people began asking to subscribe.Jack spends about 22 hours a week on it, on top of his day job. It carries no advertising and no sponsors, and it is free, because many people in the disability community can't spare the cost.Neil Milliken, Debra Ruh and Antonio Vieira Santos ask Jack how he finds his stories and which news sources have disappeared or grown. Jack explains Title I, Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act for listeners outside the United States. He covers why the Department of Justice delay on Title II matters to disabled people who have waited years for access, and why lawsuits under Title III get less coverage than they used to.The conversation also covers discrimination against disabled people in artificial intelligence hiring tools, accessible voting, and what Japan can teach other countries about an ageing population. Jack argues that people aged 62 to 80 will be hurt most when digital services aren't accessible.Subscribe to the newsletter at microassist.com/digital-access/newsSend us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A mainstream dating app can feel like speed-running small talk, judgment, and awkward “disclosures.” Holly Fowler built Wable because she saw a different need: a safer, calmer place where neurodivergent people can look for friends, dates, and even jobs without having to explain themselves from square one. After watching Love on the Spectrum during Australia’s lockdowns, she connected the dots between connection, community, and the quiet isolation many autistic and ADHD adults live with every day.We get into how Wable designs for real-world neurodiversity instead of a one-size-fits-all label. Holly shares why the product was shaped with a wide focus group including autistic users, people with ADHD, OCD and dyslexia, plus parents, carers, occupational therapists and other specialists. She explains the platform’s safety-first choices like a more stringent sign-up process, required verification, and blocking links and media, along with sensory-friendly options such as adjustable theme colour schemes. We also talk about practical in-app support, including guidance on messaging pace, conversation basics, boundaries, and staying safe when meeting someone new.Connection is only half the story, so we dig into employment barriers and why Wable is adding inclusive job opportunities, workplace resources, and venue discovery that accounts for access needs like low lighting, lower sound, and wheelchair accessibility. Holly also opens up about fundraising as a founder and what has changed as investor awareness of neurodivergence grows. If you care about neurodivergent inclusion, autism-friendly community platforms, ADHD-friendly design, accessible employment, or safer online spaces, this conversation delivers grounded ideas you can use. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more listeners can find Access.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

AI is everywhere right now, but the most useful question isn’t “what can it do?” It’s “who does it work for?” We sit down with Neil Barnett, Microsoft’s new Chief Accessibility Officer, to talk about what it takes to make technology work for everyone, especially people with disabilities, and why accessibility has to be treated as a core business priority rather than a bolt-on.We get into Microsoft’s long accessibility history and the unglamorous work that actually creates progress: skilling, required accessibility training, and a culture where feedback is treated as a gift. Neil explains how he thinks about the CAO role as translating lived experience into better products and services, and we unpack what it looks like to keep accessibility consistent across a global organization through champions, frameworks, and shared accountability.Then we go deep on disability inclusion and the talent side of accessibility. Neil shares lessons from building inclusive hiring systems, including neurodiversity hiring, and why retention depends on processes like onboarding, manager capability, recruiter readiness, and accommodations. On AI, we move past the buzzword to real outcomes: captions, image descriptions, meeting recaps, and executive function support that many neurodivergent people now rely on, alongside the very real risk of overreliance and lost ideation.We also spotlight a practical resource more people should know about: Microsoft’s Disability Answer Desk, which provides free support and creates a direct feedback loop into engineering. To wrap, we connect a classic accessibility habit to better AI results: accessible, well-structured documents help AI be more accurate because it needs clean, readable structure much like a screen reader does. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A single smile can explain web accessibility better than a thousand audits. Makoto Ueki joins us from Japan to share the moment that changed his career: watching an 80+ year old woman, newly blind, learn to search Google with a screen reader and light up when the results finally appeared. That story sets the tone for a practical, human conversation about why accessible technology matters and how inclusive design turns the web into independence. We also get specific about the reality of web accessibility in Japan and why it differs from the US and Europe. Japan has no laws mandating web accessibility and far fewer lawsuits, which means many teams still fight for basic understanding and stakeholder support before they can even talk about implementing WCAG 2.2. Makoto breaks down how that “why” phase can trap organisations in a checklist mentality and a shift-right process where accessibility gets bolted on late. Then we connect the dots to a global trend: accessibility burnout, driven by isolation, competing priorities, and the struggle to make change inside organisations. One of the most valuable takeaways is Japan’s perspective on the world’s fastest-aging population. Accessibility isn’t “special work for someone else” it’s better user experience for humans across a whole lifespan. We wrap with Makoto’s most actionable advice: most accessibility issues come down to a short list of web fundamentals like alt text, colour contrast, keyboard navigation, headings, forms, captions, and resizable content, plus usability testing with real users and assistive technology to catch what guidelines miss. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a teammate, and leave a review with the one accessibility fundamental you plan to improve first.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

“Inclusive” is one of those words everyone loves to say and almost nobody builds all the way through. We sit down with Jamie Cooke, Executive Director of Inclusion International, to get practical about what inclusion really takes for people with intellectual disabilities and their families across more than 100 countries, from local realities to global advocacy at the United Nations. Along the way, we unpack the tension many of us feel inside the disability community: when we splinter into smaller camps, we risk weakening our ability to win the changes that actually make life better. We also tackle the unavoidable topic of artificial intelligence and accessibility. AI can help simplify complex text, extract meaning, and turn dense documents into usable information, which can open doors in education, civic life, and work. But Jamie names the risks clearly: machine learning systems inherit bias from incomplete data, and disability organisations often lack the capacity, skills, and resources to shape how these tools are built and deployed. If we do not build that capability now, “innovation” can quietly scale exclusion instead of access. From there, we go straight to disability inclusion in the workplace and what corporations need from us beyond a moral argument. We talk about long-term partnerships, building rewarding careers instead of token jobs, and why disability organisations must “walk the talk” by modelling inclusive hiring and leadership development internally. We end on what it will take to avoid tokenism while still building a credible pipeline of next-generation leaders, plus why better disability data is essential for real accountability. Subscribe, share this conversation, and leave a review so more people can find it and push inclusion forward.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh

A clunky accommodations process can undo years of diversity work in a single bad moment. Neil Milliken sits down with disability inclusion consultant Deb Dagit to get specific about what actually helps employees with disabilities thrive at work and what quietly blocks them, even inside well-meaning companies. Deb shares her lived experience with apparent and non-apparent disabilities, and the practical realities of mobility devices, hearing aids, and a service dog, not as inspiration but as everyday context employers need to understand. We trace Deb’s journey from early corporate discrimination to founding a nonprofit focused on disability employment, to lobbying for the Americans with Disabilities Act and witnessing the ADA signing in 1990. From there, she returns to the corporate world and becomes one of the early Chief Diversity Officers, giving her a rare long-view on how workplace accessibility, disability rights, and organisational culture move forward. We also talk about why disability inclusion is increasingly recognised as a major market opportunity, and how assistive technology and digital accessibility can expand independence and productivity across neurodiversity, hearing, vision, and mobility needs. Then we get practical: centralised accommodations budgets, a supported assistive technology catalogue, and the reality that HR can create friction while managers sometimes cut through it. That creates a hard question we don’t dodge: if your access to “reasonable adjustments” depends on whether you got a good boss, is that equity? We close with a grounded look at AI accessibility, why it may be the biggest assistive-tech leap in 25 years for executive function and cognitive accessibility, and why human oversight is non-negotiable to reduce bias and harm. If you care about disability inclusion, workplace accommodations, accessibility, and better management, subscribe, share this conversation with a colleague, and leave a review with one change you want to see in your own organisation.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFollow axschat on social media.Bluesky:Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.comDebra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.socialNeil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.socialaxschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.socialLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyzhttps://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruh