Website Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Kate Todd

November 27, 2007

What has changed?

1988

2005

What has changed?

Legal Environment

Technology

Expectations

Disabilities

What has changed? The Legal Environment

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1975)

Rehabilitation Act(passed 1973; effective 1977; amended many times) Section 504 (forbids disability discrimination if receive

federal funds) Section 508 (technology)

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) Forbids discrimination against individuals with disabilities in

employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications

IDEA: Basic provisions

Federal legislation covering K-12 schools Requires Free Appropriate Public Education

regardless of ability Requires students to be placed in “least restrictive

environment” Requires schools to write IEP (Individual Education

Program) for students with qualifying disabilities Requires schools to provide assistive technology if

determined necessary by IEP team

Sample IEP

http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/iep/schoolageiep.htm

What has changed? The Legal Environment

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1975)

Rehabilitation Act(passed 1973; effective 1977; amended many times) Section 504 (forbids disability discrimination if receive

federal funds) Section 508 (technology)

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) Forbids discrimination against individuals with disabilities in

employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications

What has changed? Technology

In mid-70s, Ray Kurzweil saw the potential of new technologies to assist people with disabilities

This prototype Kurzweil machine combined optical character reader technology with computer synthesized speech

Machine reads books aloud to individuals with visual impairments

Technology can now be used by people with disabilities to do things that they could never do before

What has changed? Technology

Technology can also become a barrier when people are trying to live independent and meaningful lives

What has changed? Expectations

Students in K-12 education: least restrictive environment

Individual Education Program (IEP) and testing accommodations

Assistive Technologies Students encouraged to be independent

Want to be “like everyone else”

What has changed? Disabilities

Original Speech, Vision, Hearing impairments Mental Retardation Wheelchair User (orthopedic)

Now added LD (Learning Disability) EBD (Emotional Behavioral Disability) ADD (Attention Deficient Disorder) Autism

Many Disabilities are “invisible”

Activity 1: How people with disabilities use the web

How disabilities interfere with use of the Internet

World Wide Access http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/www.html

Some assistive technologies used by people with disabilities

Hundreds available New ones every day Some “industry standards”

A.A.C.Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Definition Systems that supplement, replace or enhance

conventional oral communication Not only includes symbol system, but also

strategies and aids Examples

Braille American Sign Language Picture Communication Systems

Learning curve

Braille

American Sign Language

Picture Communication Systems (PCS)

Technologies that support AAC

Braille Braille notetaker Refreshable Braille display Duxbury software Printers/Embossers: Romeo/Juliet

Sign Language Sign Smith

Boardmaker Picture communication

Support for Braille

Braille Notetaker

Refreshable Braille Display

Braille Computer Output

hardware software

Sign Smith

1. Illustrated Dictionary for learning ASL

2. Sign Smith Studio

3. ASL Animations

http://www.vcom3d.com

P.C.S. software:Boardmaker by Mayer-Johnson

Assistive Technologies

Screen Readers JAWS

Optical Character Reader Kurzweil

Speech Recognition Dragon Naturally Speaking

Speech Synthesizer DynaVox

Screen Readers

http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/video/intro.asp

Optical Character Reader

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=4&TopicID=31&DocumentID=1283

Speech Recognition

http://content.sphsc.washington.edu/public/image/553.wmv

Speech Synthesizer

http://content.sphsc.washington.edu/public/image/774.wmv

Assistive Technologies

Computers require powerCost can be highSteep learning curveNeed own computers to use

Activity 2: Online checkers for web accessibility

Links available at

www.EduKateTodd.com/check

A few solutions

A solution for one person can become a problem for another person

Accessibility Notices

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

http://dnr.wi.gov/WWWAccessibilityNotice.html

U.S. Army Redstone Test Centerhttp://www.rttc.army.mil/navtips.htm

Skokie Public Libraryhttp://www.skokielibrary.info/s_kids/kd_COI/index.asp

Become familiar with alternate database access: Text only

Become familiar with alternate database access: Text only

Become familiar with alternate database access: Visual search

Become familiar with alternate database access: Visual search

Web page design

HTML, the language used for web pages, allows each browser to format information

Web designers and graphic designers want to control the visual

They use tables to hold elements in place on a page

They convert text to graphic representation so that the font will always look the same

HTML/Dreamweaver

To make web pages accessible: Use text, not graphic representation of text Use alt= tag when inserting an image Place directions before boxes and forms

rather than below them Think twice before using tables for formatting

Accept the fact that you cannot control everything on the web

View HTML Do’s and Don’ts athttp://infopeople.org/resources/htmltips.html

Flash

Don’t rely on colors for control choices Put text on buttons Label complex controls such as sliders or

dials Best Practices for Accessible Flash Design

link at:http://www.adobe.com/resources/accessibility/best_practices/bp_fp.html

Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf)

Documents that are scanned and saved as “image only” cannot be read by a screen reader such as JAWS

Adobe version 7 has a feature that will use OCR technology to convert the scanned document to readable text

You can find the Adobe manual on creating accessible PDFs athttp://www.adobe.com/accessibility/index.html

Testing Web Sites

Use free web site check tools Web designers should own testing products

such as Bobby All web sites should have user tests Users should include people with disabilities When it comes to accessibility, the solution

for each individual may be unique

Activity 3: MS Windows accessibility features

Explore Web Accessibility

Thatcher, Jim et al. Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance. New York: Springer-Verlang, c2006.

ISBN: 1-59059-638-2

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