Day 86: The point - it's for people with disabilities, Part 2

Published on 24 Feb 2019

• journal
• review
• was
• people

A continuation of Part 1 as I work through the Deque courses and review who I am doing this work for.

• Completed the "Types of Disabilities" portion of the Deque's Accessibility Fundamentals: Disabilities, Guidelines, and Laws course
• Updated my disabilities, strategies, and WCAG cheatsheet.

Disabilities that I reviewed today through the Deque course:

• deaf
• deafblind
• motor disabilities
• speech disabilities
• cognitive disabilities
• reading disabilities
• seizures
• multiple disabilities

How they may interact:

• utilize captions and transcripts for video

Developer considerations:

• offer transcript alongside an audio file (WCAG 1.2.1, 1.2.4)
• offer captions alongside video with audio (WCAG 1.2.2, 1.2.9)
• when possible, offer sign language with videos with audio (WCAG 1.2.6)

Review Day 55: Users with Auditory Disabilities.

How they may interact:

• interacts with keyboard (QWERTY or braille)
• receives information through refreshable braille display and screen reader software

Developer considerations:

• content needs to be text or coupled with text equivalents (WCAG 1.1)
• site functionality must work with a keyboard (WCAG 2.1)
• markup must be structured well, using appropriate semantics (WCAG 1.3, 2.4, & 4.1.1)
• custom elements must express themselves with a name, role, and value (WCAG 4.1.2)
• dynamic changes in content comes with an alert for screen readers (WCAG 4.1.3)
• videos need audio description if the audio is confusing by itself (WCAG 1.2)
• active controls need to be clickable (WCAG 2.5)
• offer transcript alongside an audio file (WCAG 1.2.1, 1.2.4)
• offer captions alongside video with audio (WCAG 1.2.2, 1.2.9)
• when possible, offer sign language with videos with audio (WCAG 1.2.6)

Motor disabilities includes a wide spectrum of varying degrees and characteristics of physical experiences, challenges, and strategies. Specific disabilities include: cerebral palsy, ALS, quadriplegia, or missing limbs. Review Day 54: Users with Motoric Disabilities.

How they may interact:

• mouth stick on keyboard (vertical or horizontal)
• adaptive keyboard (one-handed, expanded, raised keys, etc.)
• switch control devices
• speech recognition software
• eye tracking software

Developer considerations:

• site functionality must work with a keyboard (WCAG 2.1)
• interactive components (links, buttons, input) need a visible focus and hover state (WCAG 1.4.13)
• warn users about time outs ahead of time, and offer extension of time (WCAG 2.2)
• mark interactive controls large clickable targets (WCAG 2.5.5)

The causes of speech disabilities range from learning, motor, or auditory disabilities, autism, brain injury, stroke, cancer. They may or may not have full use of their voice and how they use that voice. Some issues can be categorized as stuttering, cluttering, apraxia, dysarthria, speech sound disorders, or non-vocal.

How they may interact:

• unaided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): body language expressions, gestures
• aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): pen & paper, boards with symbols, speech-to-text software

Developer considerations:

• provide other input methods other than voice input (WCAG 2.5.6)

Cognitive disabilities cannot be easily defined due to its wide spectrum. Some characteristics may include: limited comprehension, low tolerance for cognitive overload, limited problem-solving skills, short-term memory loss, attention deficit, difficulty reading, and difficulty understanding math. Review Day 53: Users with Cognitive Disabilities. It is the most common disability, due to its wide spectrum.

How they may interact:

• use extra time and resources for comprehension
• assistive technologies are available and dependent on the need of each person; Assistive Technology for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments [PDF]

Developer considerations:

• create a simple interface (WCAG 1.4.8, 1.4.12)
• write clear, direct, and easy to understand content, which includes a mixture of images and text (WCAG 3.1, 1.3.3)
• post shorter videos and audio tracks
• limit the number of choices offered at one time
• offer help features (WCAG 3.3.5)
• design for ease of use
• test for usability with actual users with this disability
• strive for consistency of information, navigation, and landmarks across the website (WCAG 3.2.3, 3.2.4)
• reduce or allow control of distracting elements (motion, animation, autoplay) on a page 2.2.2)
• warn users about time outs ahead of time, and offer extension of time (WCAG 2.2)
• avoid use of Captcha

This could be caused by a cognitive disability or an another underlying reason. Review Day 52: Users with Reading Difficulties.

How they may interact:

• customize foreground and background colors
• customize typography
• listen to text with a screen reader
• use a screen reader for highlight text to follow along

Developer considerations:

• include a mixture of images and text to convey the same information (WCAG 3.1, 1.3.3)
• use good color contrast, but avoid the highest level, like black on white (WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.6)
• provide flexibility of user customization of styles for text and background (WCAG 4.1.1)

How they may interact:

• reduce animation and pause or skip video

Developer considerations:

• avoid using video, transitions, and animations with frequent intense flashing (WCAG 2.3)

A person deals with two or more disabilities.

How they may interact:

• see all considerations under blind, low vision, deaf, deafblind, motor disabilities, speech disabilities, cognitive disabilities, reading disabilities, and seizures

Developer considerations:

• see all considerations under blind, low vision, deaf, deafblind, motor disabilities, speech disabilities, cognitive disabilities, reading disabilities, and seizures