Background
The web’s importance in our daily lives continues to grow. The internet is the new public square. It is a place where ideas, information, education, entertainment, and commerce are taking place. In fact, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, as a basic human right. For accessibility to become embedded in our everyday thinking and world, we all need to realize the role we all can play in accessibility. We need to incorporate accessibility into our work and considerations. For example web editors, social media managers, museum curators and TV producers should be aware of their role in ensuring that the content they produce or use does not cause accessibility issues for people. By incorporating teaching about accessibility across the curriculum, in all subjects, we are preparing students for a future in which accessibility is always taken into consideration.
Try to step back and think “is X accessible? is there a way I can make Y accessible? What lesson could I teach to students about how to make Z accessible?” Ensuring accessibility does not need to be part of a person’s job description or a person’s personal experience and life to become something all people can participate in.
Who Benefits
It is not always easy to get people to recognize the importance of accessibility. They don’t think they know anyone who could benefit from an accessible site, movie, digital map or coding platform. No one they interact with or who they personally know has a visible disability or one they are aware of. In addition, not only disabled people benefit from accessibility. Everyone can benefit from accessibility however many people just never think about how accessibility helps them and others but they should.
People with Disabilities
According to Census Bureau figures from 2012, 56.7 million Americans (18.7% of the U.S. population) have some type of disability. Accessibility encompasses learning and cognitive disabilities, and physical disabilities like deafness , and color blindness. Some people have temporary disabilities, some have age-related impairments, some have disabilities from birth, some develop disabilities from injuries or health conditions, and some have multiple disabilities.
- 19.9 million (8.2%) have difficulty lifting or grasping. This could impact a person’s use of a mouse or keyboard.
- 15.2 million (6.3%) have a cognitive, mental, or emotional impairment. A badly laid out web site could be hard to navigate and understand.
- 8.1 million (3.3%) have a vision impairment. These people might have some form of color blindness, rely on a screen magnifier or a screen reader.
- 7.6 million (3.1%) have a hearing impairment. They might rely on transcripts and / or captions for audio and video media.
Assistive and Adaptive Technologies
Assistive technology is any item, system, or product used to improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Assistive technology can be bought off-the-shelf, modified, or custom-made. Adaptive technology, on the other hand, is defined as any specifically designed object or system for the purpose of increasing or maintaining the capabilities of people with disabilities.
Examples of Assistive Technologies:
- Wheelchairs.
- Magnifying glasses.
- Closed captioning.
For more examples read “What are some types of assistive devices and how are they used?” from the NICHD – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Examples of Adaptive Technologies:
- JAWS – screen reader software for people who are blind.
- Telephone typewriters (TTYs).
- Braille Embosse.
For more examples read “List of Adaptive Technologies” available at the DC Public Libraries.
Adaptive/Assistive Demonstrations
People without Disabilities
People without disabilities also benefit from accessible considerations. The classic example is the curb cut. Initially created to assist people in wheelchairs, but any person pushing a stroller, using a cane, or a shopping cart will tell you they benefit from a curb cut. Likewise, more than just disabled people benefit from a transcript of a podcast, a museum site site with alternative text for images or a subtitled movie.
Have you every spoken to Siri or Alexa? Ever had Google maps or your GPS read aloud directions? People using a mobile device, people with limited bandwidth, someone in a loud environment, they all can benefit from accessibility considerations.
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) created a wonderful series of videos demonstrating different accessibility perspectives. It is important when designing digital content or site you cannot assume everyone will access or navigate your site or content in the same way you do. You need to examine your site and content from various users needs and interactions. As creators it is important to recognize users are not all the same.
Accessibility Perspectives Demonstrations
Attribution: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) (2016, Aug. 23) Web Accessibility Perspectives
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