Building Accessible Web Sites

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Building Accessible Web Sites

• November 18, 2004 Assistive Technology Day
• San Luis Obispo Society for Technical
  Communication
• 15 November 2004
• Mary E. Meyer

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Accessibility

• Section 508
• Who is affected by a disability?
• What is a disability?
• Vision Disabilities, Hearing Disabilities,
  Dexterity Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities, Age Related Disabilities
• Standard Web Site View
• Text Version Web Site View
• Quick Tips for Accessible Web Sites
• Tools Examples
• Why Accessibility?
• WIA - Accessibility Resource
• For More Information

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Section 508

• In the standards established by the
  Rehabilitation Act of 1998 and succeeding
  amendments (Section 508), the Federal government
  identified specific engineering design
  requirements and features that must be present in
  telecom and information systems developed,
  procured, leased, maintained, or used by the
  government. In early 2001, the government
  implemented Section 508 compliance requirements
  into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to
  reinforce these disability access directives.
• The goal is twofold
• to ensure that disabled government employees can
  access the government's internal electronic
  communication and information systems
• and to verify that disabled people in the general
  public can use the government's public access
  systems.
• All Federal agencies must ensure that electronic
  and information technology (EIT) is accessible
  to employees and members of the public with
  disabilities to the extent it does not pose an
  undue burden, unless the EIT falls within one of
  the exemptions specified at paragraph 1194.3 of
  the Standards.For more on Section 508
  legislation, go to
• Government Section 508 Home Page
• Government Section 508 Frequency Asked Questions

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Who is affected by a disability?

• The range of disabilities is very broad, and
  includes approximately 54 million Americans.
  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after age 55
  the proportion of Americans who have a sensory
  disability doubles (as a percentage of the total
  number of people with disabilities).
• Among adult computer users in the United States
• 1 in 4 has a vision difficulty
• 1 in 4 has a dexterity difficulty
• 1 in 5 has a hearing difficulty
• Source Study Commissioned by Microsoft
  Corporation and Conducted by Forrester Research,
  Inc., in 2004

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What is a disability?

• Visual Difficulties and Impairments
• Dexterity Difficulties and Impairments
• Hearing Difficulties and Impairments
• Language and Speech Difficulties and Impairments
• Learning Difficulties and Impairments
• Tips for the Awkward Age of Computing

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Vision Disabilities

• Color Blindness
• Alternative Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)
• Low Vision
• Blindness
• Screen Enlargers, Screen Readers, Voice
  Recognition, Speech Synthesizers, Refreshable
  Braille Displays, Braille Embossers, Talking Word
  Processors, and Large-Print Word Processors all
  provide assistive technology possibilities.

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Hearing Disabilities

• There are no specific assistive technology
  products for individuals who have hearing
  difficulties and impairments or who are deaf
  because they can interact with computers by
  receiving information visually or adjust sounds
  and volume options to meet their hearing needs.
  Sound options are built into Windows, making
  technology accessible to people with hearing
  difficulties and impairments.

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Dexterity Disabilities

• Individuals with dexterity difficulties
  experience pain, discomfort, or complete loss of
  feeling in their fingers, hands, wrists, or arms,
  making it difficult to use a standard keyboard or
  mouse. Among adult computer users in the United
  States, 1 in 4 (26) have a dexterity difficulty.
  Dexterity difficulties and impairments can be
  caused by a wide range of common illnesses and
  accidents such as carpal tunnel, arthritis,
  stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease,
  multiple sclerosis, loss of limbs or digits,
  spinal cord injuries, and repetitive stress
  injury, among others.
• Assistive Technologies include
• Speech recognition systems
• On-screen keyboard programs
• Keyboard filters
• Touch screens
• Alternative input devices

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Learning Disabilities

• Disabilities can result from conditions such as
  dyslexia, ADD, and brain damage.
• Assistive technologies may include the following
• Word Prediction Programs
• Reading Comprehension Programs
• Reading tools
• Speech Synthesizers
• Speech Recognition Systems

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Age-Related Disabilities

• Baby boomers are able to customize their
  computers to counter the effects of aging.
• Windows XP incorporates the following
  technologies to assist
• Increase Icons and text size
• Magnifier to open a floating window similar to a
  magnifying glass
• Speech Recognition to minimize typing
• Sound Sentry provides a visual warning for system
  sounds
• Narrator or use of a screen reader to read the
  page
• Cursor Options let you adjust the size and look
  of the cursor so it doesnt get lost
• Many styles of mice to choose from, or use Mouse
  Keys to take the place of navigation with a mouse
• Sticky Keys replaces need to use two or more keys
  at the same time, such as Ctrl-B
• Filter Keys adjusts for finger quiver on a
  keyboard
• Adjust screen resolution and/or contrast to
  compensate for images that appear blurry

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Standard Web Site View

• Assistive Technology Products
• Assistive technology products are specialty
  products designed to provide additional
  accessibility to individuals who have physical or
  cognitive difficulties, impairments, and
  disabilities. When selecting assistive technology
  products, it is critical to find products that
  are compatible with the computer operating system
  and programs on the particular computer.
•     Types of Assistive Technology Products
•     Search for Assistive Technology Products
•     Information for Assistive Technology
  Manufacturers

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Text Version Web Site View
Assistive Technology Products Assistive
technology products are specialty products
designed to provide additional accessibility to
individuals who have physical or cognitive
difficulties, impairments, and disabilities. When
selecting assistive technology products, it is
critical to find products that are compatible
with the computer operating system and programs
on the particular computer. image Types of
Assistive Technology Products image Search
for Assistive Technology Products image
Information for Assistive Technology
Manufacturers
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Quick Tips for Accessible Web Sites 1

• Images Animations
• Use the alt attribute to describe the function of
  each visual.
• Image Maps
• Use the client-side map and text for hotspots
• Multimedia
• Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and
  descriptions of video.

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Quick Tips for Accessible Web Sites 2

• Hypertext Links
• Use text that makes sense when read out of
  context.
• Page Organization
• Use headings, lists, and consistent structure.
  Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
• Graphs Charts
• Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.

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Quick Tips for Accessible Web Sites 3

• Scripts, Applets, Plug-ins
• Provide alternative content in case active
  features are inaccessible or unsupported.
• Frames
• Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
  Consider CSS rather than frames.
• Tables
• Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize.

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Tools Examples
Add option to skip navigation
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Why Accessibility?

• An editorial from April 2000 ZDNet web site
  entitled "The disabled community is potentially a
  big market. So why is it ignored?"www.zdnet.com/p
  cweek/stories/news/0,4153,2505714,00.html
• Webable site on accessibility services, including
  a searchable database of accessibility
  resources.www.webable.com
• Alliance for Technology Access, whose mission is
  to connect children and adults with disabilities
  to technology tools.www.ataccess.org
• Web Accessibility Initiative through the World
  Wide Web Consortiumwww.w3.org/WAI/

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WIA Accessibility Resource
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For More Information

• The STC Usability SIG's accessibility page
  http//www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/accessibili
  ty.html
• The STC Usability SIG's archive of newsletters
  http//www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/newslet
  ter-archives.html (especially see the April 2003
  issue, which was all about accessibility)
• The STC AccessAbility SIG http//www.stcsig.org/sn
  /index.shtml