AXSChat Podcast

Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken
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Podcast by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken: Connecting Accessibility, Disability, and Technology Welcome to a vibrant community where we explore accessibility, disability, assistive technology, diversity, and the future of work. Hosted by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, and Neil Milliken, our open online community is committed to crafting an inclusive world for everyone. Accessibility for All: Our Mission Believing firmly that accessibility is not just a feature but a right, we leverage the transformative power of social media to foster connections, promote in-depth discussions, and spread vital knowledge about groundbreaking work in access and inclusion. Weekly Engagements: Interviews, Twitter Chats, and More Join us for compelling weekly interviews with innovative minds who are making strides in assistive technology. Participate in Twitter chats with contributors dedicated to forging a more inclusive world, enabling greater societal participation for individuals with disabilities. Diverse Topics: Encouraging Participation and Voice Our conversations span an array of subjects linked to accessibility, from technology innovations to diverse work environments. Your voice matters! Engage with us by tweeting using the hashtag #axschat and be part of the movement that champions accessibility and inclusivity for all. Be Part of the Future: Subscribe Today We invite you to join us in this vital dialogue on accessibility, disability, assistive technology, and the future of diverse work environments. Subscribe today to stay updated on the latest insights and be part of a community that's shaping the future inclusively.

  1. APR 27

    Employers Cannot Fix What Workers Fear To Share

    “We have no employees using drugs or alcohol.” Georges Petitjean has heard versions of that line for years, even while treating people who are quietly disappearing into detox, struggling in silence, or terrified their employer will find out. The problem isn’t that workplace addiction is rare. The problem is that stigma makes it easy to deny, hard to disclose, and expensive to ignore. We’re joined by Georges, an NHS clinical director in drugs and alcohol treatment services, to talk about WARM At Work, the Workplace Addiction and Recovery Movement. We dig into what substance use disorder really means using a simple spectrum model, why addiction is a treatable chronic health condition, and why workplaces still react so differently to “I need diabetes care” versus “I need addiction treatment.” Along the way, we explore the social and cultural forces that shape use, from workplace drinking culture to high pressure environments, and why banning one substance doesn’t solve the underlying drivers. We also zoom out to policy and prevention, including what people often miss about Portugal’s decriminalisation approach, the links between disability, chronic pain, and opioid risk, and emerging trends like ketamine harm among young people. Most importantly, we focus on practical workplace actions: building psychological safety, educating the wider workforce, supporting affected colleagues and families, and creating clear pathways to treatment and peer support such as AA, NA, and SMART Recovery. To learn more about WARM At Work, visit www.warmatwork.org or connect with Georges on LinkedIn. Subscribe, share this conversation with a manager or HR leader, and leave a review so more people can find it and feel safe asking for help. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    30 min

  2. APR 21

    Building Disability Inclusion Into AI Policy And Practice

    The scariest part of AI isn’t the sci-fi stuff, it’s how fast it can change the tools people already rely on to live and communicate. We sit down with Dr Julie Eshleman, a postdoctoral researcher working across Georgia Tech and Georgia State, to connect the dots between AI-powered assistive technology, Medicaid waiver systems, and the policies that will decide what comes next for disabled people and their families. Julie breaks down her participatory action research project building a RAG model chatbot trained on state guidance to help families navigate Medicaid waiver applications for home and community-based services. We talk candidly about what makes the process so brutal, why waitlists can stretch for years, and how practical support like clear FAQs and resource signposting can reduce friction while people wait. From there, we zoom out to AI policy and regulation, and the problem of disabled voices not being treated as essential stakeholders even when AI rules directly affect accessibility, privacy, and discrimination risk. We also dig into real-world AI accessibility wins: large language models on AAC devices that speed up communication, smart home technology that restores control over one’s space, and everyday AI features that act like external working memory for neurodivergent users. Then we tackle the messy middle: AI literacy, misinformation, hallucinations, and why the better question is often whether something is correct rather than whether it looks real. If you care about disability inclusion, assistive tech, and responsible AI, share this conversation, subscribe, and leave us a review so more people can find it. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    30 min

  3. APR 14

    Who Audits The Auditors When Disability Groups Miss Accessibility

    If we can name every brand that gets accessibility wrong, why do so many disabled people still avoid working for disability organisations? That question drives our conversation with Deborah Ruh about Billion Strong’s new Disability Power Index, a “mirror” built to measure how well disability organisations actually walk the talk on accessibility, inclusion, and representation. We unpack what makes this index different from the many corporate scorecards already out there. The focus stays on governance and leadership, employment, programs and advocacy, communications, and economic ecosystem inclusion. We talk candidly about why leadership without lived experience creates mistrust, how inaccessible internal processes shut people out, and why credibility collapses when organisations that claim to represent us cannot meet the standards they promote. We also zoom out to the bigger systems problem: technology and AI accessibility tools are advancing fast, yet real inclusion can stall or slide backwards when the community is fragmented and under-resourced. Deborah shares how Billion Strong plans to strengthen methodology with university partners, fund the work through a membership organisation model with scholarship options, and build practical resources so the index helps organisations improve rather than just get judged. We close with a hard truth and a hopeful path: when we coordinate and raise our own bar, we gain power to change everything else. Subscribe, share this with someone leading a disability organisation, and leave a review to help more listeners find Access Chat. What would you measure first to prove an organisation truly serves disabled people? Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    27 min

  4. APR 8

    Inside ReelAbilities The Disability Film Festival Changing Culture

    Movies have taught us what disability is supposed to look like for more than a century and too often the answer is a tired binary: tragedy or inspiration. We sit down with Isaac Zablocki, co-founder and CEO of ReelAbilities, and Lawrence Carter-Long, director of engagement, to talk about how their disability film festival is pushing for something better: authentic disability representation with nuance, artistry, and real authorship. We get into how RealAbilities grew out of a partnership between film expertise and disability community organizing, why they refuse to compromise on storytelling quality, and what they mean by “reframing disability.” For them, film is the front door and culture change is the larger goal, which is why the work goes beyond screenings into conversations, pipeline building, and leadership development for disabled creators across writing, directing, producing, editing, and programming. We also dig into accessibility and universal design, from audio description and captions to ASL and CART, with a focus on making access a built-in expectation rather than an add-on. Then we tackle AI in accessibility and entertainment: the upside of cheaper, more flexible tools like captions you can turn on anywhere, and the harder questions around AI-generated avatars, casting, and whether technology could “replace” disabled actors before the industry ever truly includes them. If you care about disability inclusion in media, accessible film festivals, and how stories reshape culture, listen now, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    26 min

  5. APR 1

    An Emmy, A Dream, And A Dance Class

    A dance class can be a mirror or a wall, and too many families know what it feels like to be shut out. We sit down with filmmaker and former dancer Dan Watt to unpack how his Emmy-winning documentary Everybody Dance came to life, why he searched for months to find the right inclusive ballet school, and what “access” looks like when it’s built into the culture instead of bolted on at the end.  Dan walks us through the choices that shape ethical disability representation in film: earning trust slowly, showing up consistently, and letting disabled kids and their parents tell their stories in their own words and on their own timeline. We get specific about consent and autonomy in documentary filmmaking, including how he checks with families during editing when a moment feels vulnerable, and why some scenes deserve to stay because they reflect real communication and support for nonverbal autistic dancers.  We also talk about the nuts and bolts of inclusion in arts education: adapting cues for different learning styles, respecting sensory needs, and using simple structures that guide behavior without punishment. Along the way, we explore the ripple effects that matter most, like confidence, social connection, and the way volunteers and students build a community where differences stop being the headline and shared purpose takes over.  If you care about inclusive dance, accessible performing arts, autism and the arts, or how to center disabled voices in media, this conversation will give you both inspiration and practical ideas. Subscribe, share this with someone who teaches or creates, and leave a review, what’s one barrier you’ve seen that could be removed with a better design? Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    27 min

  6. MAR 25

    Who Pays The Price When Assistive Tech Ignores Human Hands

    A hearing aid can be top-tier technology and still fail the moment it meets a shaky hand. We sit down with Jeff Szmanda, president of Each Ear LLC and a long-time hearing aid user advocate, to talk about the overlooked problem that derails success for millions of people: simply getting a receiver in canal (RIC) hearing aid speaker into the ear comfortably, consistently, and safely. When insertion is hard, everything else unravels the fit, the sound quality, the confidence, and often the willingness to keep wearing the device at all. Jeff walks us through the assistive technology mindset that shapes his work: ergonomic design and universal design that respect real human bodies, not idealised “average” users. He shares how his earlier inventions in workplace accessibility led him to create Groove Buttons, a small but powerful interface that supports the fingertip and fingernail so users can control the speaker without slipping. We also dig into why this matters for caregivers, for people living with arthritis, tremor, Parkinson’s disease, or numbness, and for anyone who has ever watched an expensive hearing aid fall once and then disappear into a drawer. We widen the lens to hearing healthcare and hearing aid pricing: consolidation among manufacturers, manufacturer-owned clinics, insurance and buying groups, and how consumers can make better choices across technology levels. Jeff explains key performance differences like programmable channels and speech-in-noise processing, and we talk about the links between untreated hearing loss, social isolation, and brain health. If you care about accessible design, better hearing outcomes, and practical guidance for families, this conversation delivers. Subscribe for more accessibility and assistive technology conversations, share this episode with someone navigating hearing loss, and leave us a review with your biggest question about hearing aids and usability. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    27 min

  7. MAR 9

    When Safety Meets Access: Can AI Become A Civil Right?

    If AI is rewriting the rules of work and the web, who makes sure accessibility isn’t left behind? We sit down with  Rylin Rodgers, Director of Disability Policy at Microsoft, to chart where policy, product, and lived experience meet—and how that intersection can unlock rights, innovation, and real productivity gains for everyone. We start with three pillars that guide Microsoft’s approach: shaping digital and AI regulation so it accelerates accessibility rather than blocks it, modernising outdated benefits and employment systems that sideline disabled talent, and advancing civil and human rights through secure voting, accessible transportation, and universal connectivity.  Rylin explains why safety and privacy can’t be the only guardrails for AI; accessibility must be designed into models from the start through disability-informed safety prompts, representative data, and inclusive defaults that output accessible content. The conversation moves from policy to practice: captions that handle non-typical speech, AI-generated image descriptions, plain-language conversions, and focus tools that reduce cognitive load. We examine the awareness gap—how many people use accessibility features without naming them and how many more don’t know what they already have. Framing accessibility as a productivity multiplier gives CIOs a reason to train and deploy at scale. We also explore bringing accessibility beyond the usual rooms, putting inclusive coding and AI testing on center stage at mainstream tech events. Looking ahead, Rylin outlines a ten-year horizon where inaccessible sites are fixed at creation or routed around by AI, where disabled innovators shape agentic tools, and where support expands to a wider spectrum of needs. The pace of change can be tiring, so we dig into discoverability, training, and regulatory guardrails that help people keep up without burning out. If you care about AI ethics, inclusive design, or the future of work, you’ll find concrete insights and next steps to build a more accessible world—by default. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review with the one accessibility feature you wish every app shipped with by default. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    30 min

  8. MAR 3

    Turning Any Webcam Into An Accessibility Tool For Work And Games

    What if a simple webcam could unlock your computer and games without touching a mouse? We sit down with SensePilot co-founder Mike Hazlewood to unpack how head tracking and facial gestures become fast, precise inputs for everyday work and high-stakes play. Built for Windows and running entirely on-device, SensePilot keeps latency low, privacy intact, and enterprise approvals realistic—no cloud uploads, no special hardware. Mike traces the journey from a 2024 hackathon to a 2025 launch, where a bold idea met real-world testing. A friend with a spinal cord injury wanted to play Call of Duty again; designing for that level of precision made everything else—from Excel to email—more usable. Collaborations with SpecialEffect in the UK and a Ukrainian NGO supporting veterans revealed just how varied needs are, from ALS and muscular dystrophy to RSI and carpal tunnel. That diversity drove SensePilot’s granular approach: tune trigger strengths, build unique profiles for desktop vs. gaming, and even switch profiles inside a single title for driving, flying, or on-foot movement. We also dig into the bigger picture of accessible technology and AI. On-device processing lowers security barriers and keeps assistive tools resilient when networks fail. Thoughtful AI support can speed text input and streamline workflows without replacing human judgment. The key is specificity—narrow, task-focused agents outperform generic models for accessibility testing and coding, while keeping the person’s intent front and center. Looking ahead, Mike shares a vision for mainstream inclusion: optional head-tracking onboarding inside games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, letting anyone try hands-free immersion with one click. No wearables, no extra gear—just a webcam and curiosity. If accessible input becomes a standard feature, everyone wins: gamers gain immersion, and people with disabilities gain flexible, independent control. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review. Curious to try hands-free control? Grab the free trial at sensepilot.tech and tell us which game or task you’ll tackle first. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://twitter.com/debraruh

    26 min
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About

Podcast by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken: Connecting Accessibility, Disability, and Technology Welcome to a vibrant community where we explore accessibility, disability, assistive technology, diversity, and the future of work. Hosted by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, and Neil Milliken, our open online community is committed to crafting an inclusive world for everyone. Accessibility for All: Our Mission Believing firmly that accessibility is not just a feature but a right, we leverage the transformative power of social media to foster connections, promote in-depth discussions, and spread vital knowledge about groundbreaking work in access and inclusion. Weekly Engagements: Interviews, Twitter Chats, and More Join us for compelling weekly interviews with innovative minds who are making strides in assistive technology. Participate in Twitter chats with contributors dedicated to forging a more inclusive world, enabling greater societal participation for individuals with disabilities. Diverse Topics: Encouraging Participation and Voice Our conversations span an array of subjects linked to accessibility, from technology innovations to diverse work environments. Your voice matters! Engage with us by tweeting using the hashtag #axschat and be part of the movement that champions accessibility and inclusivity for all. Be Part of the Future: Subscribe Today We invite you to join us in this vital dialogue on accessibility, disability, assistive technology, and the future of diverse work environments. Subscribe today to stay updated on the latest insights and be part of a community that's shaping the future inclusively.

Information

  • Creator
    Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    309
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 AXSChat Podcast
  • Show Website
    AXSChat Podcast