Accessibility Thy Name Is Mother

The Roll Up

Author

Sarah Elliott
September 23, 2025

In partnership with

Well hey there folks,

You may have noticed (or not) that we had to skip a few weeks on the newsletter. Fear not intrepid readers and lovers of all things Roll, we are back, baby! Well, we are a hacking, coughing, holding-it-together-with-dry-old-painters-tape kind of back. Between traveling for my “other job” I hold down, and a rampant respiratory bug wreaking havoc on my household like a lost sibling with a vendetta a la Arya Stark on House Lannister, AND school starting, AND the state of the world, it’s been a little chaotic. However, we have been taking baby steps in the right direction on getting Roll’s features up to date, getting weird bugs in the app fixed, writing until our fingers bled, working on getting our first Spotlight feature recorded, and of course, going after some funding so we can keep this little operation a-rolling. 

Meanwhile, the world marched on around us and despite us — we’ve got lots of stalled peace talks with an expansion of bombing in multiple regions, we have France’s government in upheaval (again — 5th time is the charm, Macron?), and some countries recognizing a Palestinian state on the world’s stage, while over here in the U.S. we’ve got middle of the night ICE raids, gun violence galore, an internal march on … (checks notes) Chicago?, a questionable economics report, state-sponsored censorship and overall war on the name Jimmy (sorry to any of our readers who are named Jimmy) and well, the Epstein files are still just hanging out in the ether (no guesses needed on what the heck those files are doing or even what’s in them, but you know, SQUIRREL!) 

Speaking of squirrels, I have a new pup, and Roll has a new (additional) voice-over on our social media. You might have noticed him already, and you will see more from Jerod in the coming weeks and months. He will be our first featured video interview (which, if we can get the audio/video piece ironed out will be released soon) and we know you might already know him, because this community is small (and mighty!) and you likely already follow him under his account “PositivelyParalyzed” — check him out, fam and say, “hello!” We are so excited that Jerod is joining this merry band of baboons (shhh! I haven’t told him we are all baboons yet. Do you think he will notice?) With our powers combined, we can make this app the most amazing thing that it can be, and we will all go a little further, together.

Roll on.

And as always, thank you for the support.

~Sarah

P.S. If you are in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area (or know someone who lives there) — come say hello to us (unlike baboons, we do not bite) at the All-Abilities Resource Expo where we will have a table set up. We will have some stickers (AND CANDY 🍭) — it’s free to attend, but you do need to set up an account at the YMCA (again, free!) and register below. Hope to see you on Saturday!

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Updates on the App

“Don’t call it a comeback/I been here for years.” (go ahead, I’ll let you finish…) Well, if you just skimmed my intro above, you saw that we took a little hiatus to work on some things on the app (and our health) but might have missed that we have Jerod Nieder of “positivelyparalyzed” fame joining our troop. (Newsletter call-back and not me having to go back and look up what a group of baboons is called.) Jerod already has quite the following on his social media channels and it was a natural coupling to have him join Rachel (they ain’t goin’ nowhere, don’t worry) to help lead us further into the social media fray.

Which brings me to our Spotlight video interview series. We thought it would be fun to release everything everywhere all at once, but turns out we are not baboons, but mere humans, and are trying to build this thing in a way that is meaningful, and sometimes that means taking a step to the side and saying, alright, sure we recorded it, but we want you to be able to see and hear it well, so let’s just have Sarah tease it in the newsletter so that when we DO get it edited appropriately and we have working sound, you can actually enjoy it. And you will, ‘cause it’s Rachel and Jerod having a chat and their life circumstances and paths have oftentimes crossed in some unbelievable ways! It’s really gonna knock you out. Mama said knock you out. (See what I did there? Man, this lady really loves Cool J.)

Now, I'd better stop writing this because I’ve got some blogs to roll out and a developer to harass about accessibility features… Ahem.

We’d love to hear from you! Did we miss the mark, or do you have an idea to make it better? Reach out at [email protected].

👩‍🦽 Crip News You Can Use 👨‍🦼 

Accessi-stories From Around the World

If you thought Australia setting accessibility standards was a big deal—wait until you get a load of the European Accessibility Act (EAA). As of June 28, 2025, this EU directive is officially in effect, and it ain’t fooling. From websites and apps to email campaigns—if you're offering digital products or services in the EU (yes, even if you're headquartered in Middle-of-Nowhere-Insert-Country-Here), you need to play by these new rules. 

Okay, but like, why should I care?

  • Scope & Deadline: Applies to any business with digital services reaching EU consumers, irrespective of your base of operations. Most businesses must be compliant NOW.

  • Consequences of Ignoring It: Expect fines ranging from €5,000 to €20,000 per violation, plus reputational fallout and even blocked access to the EU market.

  • Why It’s a Win for Everyone: Over 135 million EU residents live with disabilities—accessible design means better UX for all, not just compliance. Improvements in alt text, contrast, keyboard navigation, and semantic markup help everyone (and boost conversions).

Do You Need to Let Your Workplace Know? Your Simple Compliance Playbook

1. Audit thoroughly – Use tools like WAVE, axe, Lighthouse, or others, to surface issues fast.
2. Fix design flaws – Prioritize semantic HTML, alt text for images, clear labels (no color alone to convey meaning), proper contrast, and keyboard usability
3. Train your team – Build accessibility checks into your QA and launch workflows—this isn’t a one-off fix; it’s a mindset shift.
4. Test—and test again – Tools like Mailgun Inspect are your friends here, especially for email campaigns. Oh wait, I should be taking notes, I think.

TL;DR (That’s “too long, didn’t read” for all of you who are unfamiliar with my email sagas journals updates from my study abroad trip to London):  

Why this matters: Think of the EAA as the ADA’s cool international cousin—it’s a wake-up call that the world is moving toward universal design. Businesses that don’t keep up won’t just lose euros, they’ll lose users. So get in, loser, we’re making things more accessible.

Read more here and here

😄 Wheel-y Good News 😁 

Good Folks Doin’ Good Thangs

Mothers be mothering. There’s a reason that when you want something done, you turn to moms. And I don’t just say that because I am one—I mean “Mother” in the best sense of the word: a figure who provides support, guidance, encouragement, and, frankly, just gets sh*t done. (Man, I am cursing a lot today, don’t tell my mom. J/K she curses more than I do.) The term has deep roots in the Black and Latin LGBTQ+ community, but it fits perfectly here (so says me). Enter the Lynnebago. Two working moms—Lisa Tulipani and Maria Riley—both family caregivers and women living with unseen disabilities, took necessity (as so often happens in the disability community) and turned it into invention. Their creation? A mobile adult changing room with two sides: one, an ADA-accessible bathroom for adults and children; the other, a sensory room designed for those experiencing sensory overload. The entire design features multi-modal/multi-lingual communication aids throughout. The most amazing part, in our humble opinions? Lynnebago provides both the product to address the lack of access to outdoor event spaces and the program to study the benefits of increasing access, representation, and participation for the community. Their mission seems quite simple, as they explain so well: The Lynnebago ensures people with disabilities are expected, welcomed, and can participate in outdoor community events by providing safe, accessible toileting options, diverse communication aids, and a private space for nervous system regulation. 

Having secured an initial grant, they are now raising funds to fine-tune the design and launch the prototype. You can support their efforts here: Lynnebago Launch.

Mothers: They get the job done. (Yes, that’s another butchered Hamilton reference—thank you very much.)

Photo of Lynnebago from Lisa Tulipani

Do you have a story you want to share? We want to know about it. Seriously. Send your story to [email protected]

⚖️ Policy & Prejudice 🤫 

Keeping the ol’ checks & balances in check

Color me shocked (and definitely embarrassed, you have to own it: know better, do better) to learn that not all subway stations in New York City aren’t already ADA compliant. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock—or maybe just on the wrong platform (bah-dum-bum🥁)—because in New York City, only about 30% of stations currently have elevators. The MTA now says the tallest platform in the system (The century-old Smith-9th Street subway station in Gowanus — one of the tallest in the world a.k.a. climbing Mount Everest with groceries) is finally getting one, along with dozens of others. The kicker? Full ADA compliance across the system isn’t projected until 2055 and only came about from a lawsuit in 2023.

In what world is this acceptable? It only serves to highlight how important loud voices, and votes can be. I know all of you mapping in our app in NYC must already be keenly aware of the shortfalls that currently exist. But if you keep on tracking in the app, it only makes it easier to help folks get around with greater ease, and in the meantime, let your vote be heard by visiting our friends over at Feel Good Action because in order to take action (in the U.S.) you have to be registered to vote.

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We are so grateful for the support of our ever-growing community. And while it’s a big “ask”, if you want and are able to do so, you have the opportunity to invest in our own community. WeFunder allows individuals to gain equity in small startups for as little as $100.00 USD. So, what are you waiting for? Invest today or share this opportunity with your own community.

The Legal Bit – We are 'testing the waters' to gauge investor interest in an offering under Regulation Crowdfunding. No money or other consideration is being solicited. If sent, it will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities will be accepted. No part of the purchase price will be received until a Form C is filed and only through Wefunder’s platform. Any indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.

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