It’s easy to take life for granted. We don’t always realize how easily things can change. Without warning, without reason, without our control. This is how things came to be when Matthew Elefant’s father Artie Elefant began to lose his vision. When he began to experience retinal degenerative disease, his family knew nobody with disabilities. The support and resources were not like they were today. Their family had to adjust and find a path forward, even despite the darkness of his father losing his ability to see.
Finding a way to enjoy life’s pleasure and leading an active lifestyle led his father to appreciate cycling again. You may ask yourself, how does a blind person ride a bike? Well, through the beauty of Tandem cycling. A sighted person takes the front seat, guides the bike. The one in the back, despite a lack of vision, can crank that cycle all around the city. Matthew is very involved with InTandem.
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To feel the wind rushing through their hair. To hear the buzzing of the city around them. The sounds of cars passing. The sounds of other cycles. The sunlight on their face. The exhilaration of being active, getting your cardio in, and being safe. Being guided by their partner. I’d imagined taking the backseat to a cycle, closing my eyes and putting my full trust into the other person. I could imagine, it could be challenging. As in any team sport, trust goes a long way. Rock climbing for example, the belayer has the lead climbers life in their hands. It is through sports like tandem cycling that I can imagine, strong bonds of friendship are forged.
Inclusive Web, was a really unforgettable call. There are so many things we do not understand about how blind people experience the world and the challenges they face. What we do experience from time to time are the ‘curb-cuts’. You often see these cuts in the curbs near intersections, where a slope allows wheels to freely access the sidewalks. This as a parent, we benefit from pushing strollers through.
It is well understood that these benefits were originally designed for access for people with disabilities.
I asked Matthew, are there any other advancements in technology that benefit the visually handicapped. He told me about AuraCast, which would allow our personal bluetooth headset to sync with public sources to communicate messages or information, or entertainment. Consider a situation where you see a TV up there in a public place on mute, an AuraCast if enabled would allow you to tune in to that media. It is one application.
![Graphic explaining the auracast through a diagram.
LEFT Column: AuraCast Transmitter.
CENTER Column: auracast broadcast. advertisements, broadcast name, contents, configuration, left stereo and right stereo audio streams.
RIGHT Column: AuraCast assistant. Smartphone, smartwatch, hearing aid remote, bluetooth connection to AuraCast receiver [headphones, earbuds, hearing aid]](https://i0.wp.com/thecoastpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2506_How-It-Works_Graphic_Update_No-Title-2000x1275-1.png?resize=1024%2C653&ssl=1)
Another wonderful and incredible advancement was NaviLens. There is a system of QR codes that a smartphone can scan to help the user navigate public spaces. There are select station within the MTA that have implemented this. Really, it is wonderful.
Inclusive helps many companies align with the ADA act, which goes beyond accessible ramps and closed captioning. The usage of websites and apps have long been a challenge for the impaired. Even a case of booking travel plans, like flights, hotels, etc. have been a significant hurdle as they should be accessible for all.
Surprisingly, even aligning your company’s website to be accessible, it does not take much to completely derail the access. Some updates that the web developers do from time to time, disable the proper access. Matthew and Inclusive have mitigated this risk by implementing routine accessibility checks.
Inclusive’s testing department is also staffed by people that have a personal stake in the access they are striving for. Inclusive has been recognized as an employer for people with disabilities. Upon learning this acknowledgment, I began to realize how important a company like this is. Even as I do not personally need to have the accessibility features myself, to know that everyone can be included, is really a great thing.
To consider, so much of even our advertisements and marketing have been focused on stimulating the senses. Billboards, video ads, flyers, etc. are not accessible to the visually impaired. It’s possible that many marketers are overlooking the market share of the visually handicapped.
Though so many of us would never have to use these features, or assistance, I feel that it is so important to acknowledge and encourage each other to be more inclusive and open minded.
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