Accessibility - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity. Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities or special needs and their right of access to entities, often through use of assistive technology

Assistive technology

Assistive technology or adaptive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them...

.

Accessibility is not to be confused with usability

Usability

Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...

which is used to describe the extent to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.

Accessibility is strongly related to universal design

Universal design

Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....

when the approach involves "direct access". This is about making things accessible to all people (whether they have a disability or not). An alternative is to provide "indirect access" by having the entity support the use of a person's assistive technology

Assistive technology

to achieve access (e.g., screen reader

Screen reader

A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen . This interpretation is then re-presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device...

s).

The term "accessibility" is also used in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities...

as well as the term "universal design

Universal design

Disabilities

The disability rights movement

Disability rights movement

The disability rights movement is the movement to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities. The specific goals and demands of the movement are: accessibility and safety in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment, equal opportunities in independent...

advocates equal access to social, political, and economic life which includes not only physical access but access to the same tools, services, organizations and facilities which we all pay for. Article 9 of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities...

commits signatories to provide for full accessibility in their countries.

While it is often used to describe facilities or amenities to assist people with disabilities, as in "wheelchair accessible", the term can extend to Braille

Braille

The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...

signage, wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

ramps, elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

s, audio signals at pedestrian crossing

Pedestrian crossing

A pedestrian crossing or crosswalk is a designated point on a road at which some means are employed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. They are designed to keep pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most safely across the flow of vehicular traffic...

s, walkway contours, website design, reading accessibility

Accessible publishing

Accessible publishing is an approach to publishing and reading whereby books and other texts aren't only available in one standard format. Other formats that have been developed to aid different people to read include varieties of larger fonts, specialised fonts for certain kinds of reading...

, and so on.

Various countries have legislation requiring physical accessibility which are (in order of enactment):

In the US, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....

, new public and private business construction generally must be accessible. Existing private businesses are required to increase the accessibility of their facilities when making any other renovations in proportion to the cost of the other renovations. The U.S. Access Board is "A Federal Agency Committed to Accessible Design for People with Disabilities
Americans with disabilities
Americans with disabilities comprise one of the largest minority groups in the United States. According to the Disability Status: 2000 - Census 2000 Brief approximately 20% of Americans have one or more diagnosed psychological or physical disability:...

." The Job Accommodation Network
Job Accommodation Network
The Job Accommodation Network is a service provided by the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy . JAN is one of several ODEP technical assistance centers...

discusses accommodations for people with disabilities in the workplace. Many states in the US have their own disability laws.
In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 was an act passed by the Parliament of Australia in 1992 to promote the rights of people with disabilities in certain areas such as housing, education and provision of goods and services...

has numerous provisions for accessibility.
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
In South Africa the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 2000 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
In Ontario, Canada, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act
Ontarians with Disabilities Act
The Ontarians with Disabilities Act is the short title of the Ontario Government's Bill 125 - "An Act to improve the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with disabilities and to make related amendments to other Acts". The Act received Royal Assent on 14 December 2001...

of 2001 is meant to "improve the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with disabilities..."

Transportation

In transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ation, accessibility refers to the ease of reaching destinations. Academics have disputed how the term "ease" should be defined and measured. People who are in places that are highly accessible can reach many other activities or destinations quickly, people in inaccessible places can reach fewer places in the same amount of time.

A measure that is often used is to measure accessibility in a traffic analysis zone

Traffic analysis zone

A traffic analysis zone is the unit of geography most commonly used in conventional transportation planning models. The size of a zone varies, but for a typical metropolitan planning software, a zone of under 3000 people is common...

i is:

where:

= index of origin zones
= index of destination zones
= function of generalized travel cost (so that nearer or less expensive places are weighted more than farther or more expensive places).

For a non-motorized mode of transport

Mode of transport

Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish substantially different ways to perform transport. The most dominant modes of transport are aviation, land transport, which includes rail, road and off-road transport, and ship transport...

, such as walking

Walking

Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...

or cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, the generalized travel cost may include additional factors such as safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...

or gradient

Gradient

In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field that points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar field, and whose magnitude is the greatest rate of change....

.

Transport for London

Transport for London

Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...

utilise a calculated approach known as Public Transport Accessibility Level

Public Transport Accessibility Level

PTAL stands for Public Transport Accessibility Level. It is a method sometimes used in United Kingdom transport planning to assess the access level of geographical areas to public transport....

(PTAL) that uses the distance from any point to the nearest public transport stops, and service frequency at those stops, to assess the accessibility of a site to public transport services.

Automobile accessibility also refers to ease of use by disabled people.

Accessibility planning

In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

has mandated that each local authority produce an Accessibility Plan that is incorporated in their Local Transport Plan

Local Transport Plan

Local transport plans, divided into full local transport plans and local implementation plans for transport are an important part of transport planning in England...

. An Accessibility Plan sets out how each local authority plans to improve access to employment, learning, health care, food shops and other services of local importance, particularly for disadvantaged groups and areas. Accessibility targets are defined in the accessibility plans, these are often the distance or time to access services by different modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport.

Accessibility Planning was introduced as a result of the report "Making the Connections: Final Report on Transport and Social Exclusion". This report was the result of research carried out by the Social Exclusion

Social exclusion

Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...

Unit. The United Kingdom also has a "code of practice" for making train and stations accessible: "Accessible Train and Station Design for Disabled People: A Code of Practice". This code of practice was first published in 2002 with the objective of compliance to Section 71B of the Railways Act 1993, and revised after a public consultation period in 2008.

Low floor

"Low floor" redirects here

A significant development in transportation, and public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

in particular, to achieve accessibility, is the move to "low-floor" vehicles. In a low-floor vehicle, access to part or all of the passenger cabin is unobstructed from one or more entrances by the presence of steps, enabling easier access for the infirm or people with push chairs

Baby transport

Baby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...

. A further aspect may be that the entrance and corridors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Low-floor vehicles have been developed for bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es, trolleybus

Trolleybus

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

es and trams.

A low floor in the vehicular sense is normally combined in a conceptual meaning with normal pedestrian access from a standard kerb

Curb (road)

A curb, or kerb , is the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway.-Function:...

height. However, the accessibility of a low-floor vehicle can also be utilised from slightly raising portions of kerb at bus stop

Bus stop

A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

s, or through use of level boarding bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

'stations' or tram stops. The combination of access from a kerb was the technological development of the 1990s, as step-free interior layouts for buses had existed in some cases for decades, with entrance steps being introduced as chassis designs and overall height regulations changed.

Low-floor buses may also be designed with special height adjustment controls that permit a stationary bus to temporarily lower itself to ground level, permitting wheelchair access. This is referred to as a kneeling bus.

At rapid transit

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

systems, vehicles generally have floors in the same height as the platforms but the stations are often underground or elevated, so accessibility there isn't a question of providing low-floor vehicles, but providing a step-free access from street level to the platforms (generally by elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

s, which are somewhere restricted to disabled passengers only, so that the step-free access isn't obstructed by healthy people taking advantage).

Housing

Most existing and new housing, even in the wealthiest nations, lack basic accessibility features unless the designated, immediate occupant of a home currently has a disability. However, there are some initiatives to change typical residential practices so that new homes incorporate basic access features such as zero-step entries and door widths adequate for wheelchairs to pass through. Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapist

An occupational therapist is trained in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional...

s are a professional group skilled in the assessment and making of recommendations to improve access to homes. They are involved in both the adaptation of existing housing to improve accessibility, and in the design of future housing.

Great Britain applies the most widespread application of home access to date. In 1999, Parliament passed Section M, an amendment to residential building regulations requiring basic access in all new homes. In the United States, the 1988 Amendments to the Fair Housing Act added people with disabilities, as well as familial status, to the classes already protected by law from discrimination

Discrimination

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...

(race, color, gender, religion, creed, and country of origin). Among the protection for people with disabilities in the 1988 Amendments are seven construction requirements for all multifamily buildings of more than four units first occupied after March 13, 1991. These seven requirements are as follows:

An accessible building entrance on an accessible route,
Accessible common and public use areas,
Doors usable by a person in a wheelchair,
Accessible route into and through the dwelling unit,
Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations,
Reinforced walls in bathrooms for later installation of grab bars, and
Usable kitchens and bathrooms.

Access is typically defined within the limits of what a person sitting in a wheelchair is able to reach with arm movement only, with minimal shifting of the legs and torso. Lighting and thermostat controls should not be above and power outlets should not be below the reach of a person in a wheelchair.

Sinks and cooking areas typically need to be designed without cupboards below them, to permit the legs of the wheelchair user to roll underneath, and countertops may be of reduced height to accommodate a sitting rather than standing user. In some cases two food preparation areas may be combined into a single kitchen to permit both standing and wheelchair users.

In spite of these advancements, the housing types where most people in the United States reside – single-family homes – are not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, or any other federal law with the exception of the small percentage of publicly funded homes impacted by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. As a result, the great majority of new single-family homes replicate the barriers in existing homes.

The broad concept of Universal design

Universal design

is relevant to housing, as it is to all aspects of the built environment. Furthermore, a Visitability

Visitability

Visitability is an international movement to change home construction practices so that virtually all new homes, whether or not designated for residents who currently have mobility impairments, offer three specific accessibility features...

movement begun by grass roots disability advocates in the 1980s focuses specifically on changing construction practices in new housing. This movement, a network of interested people working in their locales, works on educating, passing laws, and spurring voluntary home access initiatives with the intention that basic access become a routine part of new home construction.

Adaptations and accommodations

Many ranch style homes and manufactured homes utilize a main floor slightly raised above ground level, but have an overall flat layout with either a crawlspace or slightly raised basement

Basement

__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

below for plumbing, electrical, and heating systems. These homes can be relatively easily modified to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers, with the installation of a long low-rise ramp outside the building, up to the house entrance, placed over the existing stairway. This ramp can then be removed at a later time, reverting back to the stairway entrance if the handicapped access is no longer necessary.

Split level home

Split level home

A split-level home is a style of house in which the floor level of one part of the house is about half way between the floor and ceiling of the other part of the house. The one story section typically contains a family room, living room, dining room, and kitchen...

s tend to be designed with multiple internal stairways and half-floor landings inside the building. There may be an entrance area inside the building at ground level, with stairs inside the entrance that immediately go up and down from the ground level. These homes are difficult to accommodate inexpensively since there is often no space available inside the structure to install long sloping wheelchair ramps to access the various floors. It may be possible to retrofit stair lifts into the stairwells or wheelchair lift

Wheelchair lift

A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, is a powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier....

s into balconies near the stairwell.

Multi-story homes can sometimes be accommodated by installing a private residential elevator, which is usually much less expensive and has fewer design and layout requirements than a full commercial elevator. Homebuilders can in some cases plan for a future residential elevator by designing closet spaces in each floor stacked vertically with the same dimensions and location. At a later time the closet floors and ceilings are removed and the elevator equipment is installed into the open shaft.

Telecommunications and IT access

Another dimension of accessibility is the ability to access information and services by minimizing the barriers of distance and cost as well as the usability of the interface. In many countries this has led to initiatives, laws and regulations that aim toward providing universal access to the internet and to phone systems at reasonable cost to citizens.

The following disabilities interfere with telecommunications and technology access, as well as many other life activities.

Speech disorder
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
Hearing impairment
Hearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
Visual impairment
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
Limb deformity or injury

Each kind of disability requires a different kind of accommodation, and this may require analysis by a medical specialist and job analysis when the impairment requires accommodation.

Job analysis
Job analysis
Job analysis is the process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and specifying the skills and other requirements necessary to perform the job.-Purpose:...

One of the first areas where information technology improved the quality of life for disabled individuals is the voice operated wheelchair. Quadriplegics have the most profound disability, and the voice operated wheel chair technology was first developed in 1977 to provide increased mobility. The original version replaced the joystick system with a module that recognized 8 commands. Many other technology accommodation improvements have evolved from this initial development.

Missing arms and fingers interferes with the use of a keyboard and pointing device (mouse). This can be one of the most devastating types of handicap, and technology has made great improvements in this area during the last 20 years. Speech recognition devices and software can improve technology access.

Speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a speech recognition software package developed and sold by Nuance Communications for Windows personal computers. The most recent package is version 11.5, which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and 7. The Mac OS version is called Dragon...
Opera Voice Browsing
Apple Accessibility

A speech disorder interferes with the ability to produce clearly understandable speech. There can be many different causes, such as nerve degeneration, muscle degeneration, stroke, and vocal cord injury.

Speech and language pathology
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...

The modern method to deal with speaking disabilities has been to provide a text interface for a speech synthesizer for complete vocal disability. This can be a great improvement for people that have been limited to the use of a throat vibrator to produce speech since the 1960s.

Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
Throat vibrator

An individual satisfies the definition of hearing disabled when hearing loss is about 30dB for a single frequency, but this is not always perceptible as a handicap. For example, loss of sensitivity in one ear interferes with sound localization (directional hearing), which can interfere with communication in a crowd. This is often recognized when certain words are confused during normal conversation. This can interfere with voice-only interfaces, like automated customer service telephone systems, because it is sometimes difficult to increase the volume and repeat the message.

Audiologist
Consonant recognition loss in hearing impaired listeners}

Mild to moderate hearing loss may be accommodated with a hearing aid that amplifies ambient sounds. Portable devices with speed recognition that can produce text can reduce problems associated with understanding conversation. This kind of hearing loss is relatively common, and this often grows worse with age.

Hearing Loss: National Institute on Aging

The modern method to deal with profound hearing disability is the Internet using email or word processing applications. The Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) became available in the form of the teletype (TTY) during the 1960s. These devices consist of a keyboard, display and modem that connects two or more of these devices using a dedicated wire or plain old telephone service.

Telecommunications device for the deaf
Telecommunications device for the deaf
A telecommunications device for the deaf is a teleprinter, an electronic device for text communication over a telephone line, that is designed for use by persons with hearing or speech difficulties...
Teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
Absolute threshold of hearing
Absolute threshold of hearing
The absolute threshold of hearing is the minimum sound level of a pure tone that an average ear with normal hearing can hear with no other sound present. The absolute threshold relates to the sound that can just be heard by the organism...

Visual impairment can be one of the most difficult kinds of handicap.

Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

A wide range of technology products are available to deal with visual impairment. This includes screen magnification for monitors, mouse-over speech synthesis browsing, braille displays, braille printers, braille cameras, voice operated phones and tablets.

Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
Touch Sight Camera for the Blind
Vision: Apple
Opera Voice Browsing
Firefox Voice Browsing
Voice Control: Apple
Refreshable Braille display
Refreshable Braille display
A refreshable Braille display or Braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by means of raising dots through holes in a flat surface. Blind computer users, who cannot use a normal computer monitor, use it to read text output...

One emerging product that will make ordinary computer displays available for the blind is the refreshable tactile display, which is very different from a conventional braille display. This provides a raised surface corresponding to the bright and dim spots on a conventional display, much like the Touch Sight Camera for the Blind.

Refreshable Tactile Display

Speech Synthesis Markup Language and Speech Recognition Grammar Specification are emerging technologies intended to standardize communication interfaces using BNF Form and XML Form. These technologies assist visual impairments and physical impairment by providing interactive access to web content without the need to visually observe the content. While these technologies provides access for visually impaired individuals, the primary benefactor has been automated systems that replace live human customer service representatives that handle telephone calls.

Web Access

Currently there are a few major movements to coordinate a set of guidelines for accessibility for the web. The first and most well known is The Web Accessibility Initiative

Web Accessibility Initiative

The World Wide Web Consortium 's Web Accessibility Initiative is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities...

(WAI), which is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This organization developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are part of a series of Web accessibility guidelines published by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative. They consist of a set of guidelines for making content accessible, primarily for disabled users, but also for all user agents, including highly limited...

(WCAG) 1.0 which explains how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities. Web "content" generally refers to the information in a Web page or Web application, including text, images, forms, sounds, and such. (More specific definitions are available in the WCAG documents.)

The WCAG is separated into 3 levels of compliance, A, AA and AAA. Each level requires a stricter set of conformance guidelines, such as different versions of HTML

HTML

HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....

(Transitional vs Strict) and other techniques that need to be incorporated into your code before accomplishing validation. Online tools allow users to submit their website and automatically run it through the WCAG guidelines and produce a report, stating whether or not they conform to each level of compliance. Adobe Dreamweaver also offers plugins which allow web developers to test these guidelines on their work from within the program.

Another source of web accessibility guidance comes from the US government. Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act

1973 Rehabilitation Act

The U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving Federal financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices of Federal contractors...

is a comprehensive set of rules designed to help web designers make their sites accessible. The U.S. General Services Administration have also developed a website where one can take online training courses for free to learn about these rules.

In general, for a website to comply with accessibility standards, they should at least have the following:

(X)HTML Validation from the W3C for the pages content
CSS Validation from the W3C for the pages layout
At least WAI-AA (preferably AAA) compliance with the WAI's WCAG
Compliance with all guidelines from Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act
Access keys
Access keys
In a web browser, an access key or accesskey allows a computer user immediately to jump to a specific part of a web page via the keyboard...

built into the HTML
Semantic
Semantic HTML
Semantic HTML is the use of HTML markup to reinforce the semantics, or meaning, of the information in webpages rather than merely to define its presentation . Semantic HTML is processed by regular web browsers as well as by many other user agents...

Web markup
A high contrast version of the site for individuals with low vision
Alternative media for any multimedia used on the site (video, flash, audio, etc.)
Navigation Mechanism
Device Independent

Web Accessibility Patterns are being built to help make it easier for web developers to use best practices for greater accessibility.

Another good idea is for websites to include a web accessibility statement on the site. This page details the accessible status of the page, lists access keys and can display which validations have been achieved for the site as well as include their pledge for accessibility.

Example of an accessibility statement

Meeting and conference access

Meetings and conferences should consider the needs of all of their participants. Checklists such as this may make it easier to identify specific needs:
Mobility access

Mobility aids

Mobility aids are devices designed to assist walking or otherwise improve the mobility of people with a mobility impairment.There are various walking aids which can help with impaired ability to walk and wheelchairs or mobility scooters for more severe disability or longer journeys which would...

Wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

accessible transportation
Reserved parking
Barrier-free meeting rooms / restrooms / podium/speaker's platform
Handicap accessible lodging

Hearing access

Advance copies of papers
An assistive listening system
Sign language interpreters
A quiet place to gather for social conversation (a quieter space that is still visible to others should be reserved at social events or dinners so that people who are hard of hearing may go there to talk with their colleagues.)
TTY access or Internet-based TRS

Sight access

Large print/braille copies of the program and papers
A student volunteer to guide and describe the artwork, computer work, etc.
A tech to help with assistive devices and screen readers (e.g., JAWS
JAWS (screen reader)
JAWS is a computer screen reader program in Microsoft Windows that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a Refreshable Braille display....

)
Gloves to touch three dimensional work (where permissible)

Other issues

Notification if social events include flashing lights and noises (these can cause seizures, so either avoid them or announce them ahead of time).
Notices asking participants to refrain from allergy-producing problems (e.g., perfumes)
Inform food providers of food allergies (e.g., peanuts, shellfish, etc.)
Referral information for local personal care attendant agencies
Referral information for veterinarian care for service animals
Access to a place to rest during the day (if the conference venue is far from the lodgings)

Test accessibility

Test accessibility is defined as the extent to which a test and its constituent item set eliminates barriers and permits the test-taker to demonstrate his or her knowledge of the tested content. Test accessibility involves an interaction between features of the test and individual test-taker characteristics.

With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, student accountability in essential content areas such as reading, mathematics, and science has become a major area of focus in educational reform. As a result, test developers have needed to create tests to ensure all students, including those with special needs (e.g., students identified with disabilities), are given the opportunity to demonstrate the extent to which they have mastered the content measured on state assessments. Currently, states are permitted to develop two different types of tests in addition to the standard grade-level assessments to target students with special needs. First, the alternate assessment may be used to report proficiency for up to 1% of students in a state. Second, new regulations permit the use of alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards to report proficiency for up to 2% of students in a state.

To ensure these new tests generate results that permit valid inferences about student performance, they must be accessible to as many individuals as possible. The Test Accessibility and Modification Inventory (TAMI) and its companion evaluation tool, the Accessibility Rating Matrix (ARM), were designed to facilitate the evaluation of tests and test items with a focus on enhancing their accessibility. Both instruments integrate principles of accessibility theory and were guided by research on universal design, assessment accessibility, cognitive load theory, and research on item-writing and test development. The TAMI is a non-commercial instrument that has been made available to all state assessment directors and testing companies. Assessment researchers have used the ARM to conduct accessibility reviews of state assessment items for several state departments of education.

Disabilities

Transportation

Accessibility planning

Low floor

Housing

Adaptations and accommodations

Telecommunications and IT access

Web Access

Meeting and conference access

Test accessibility

See also