Introduction to Accessibility
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This document provides an introduction to accessibility. It defines accessibility as how well a product can be used by people of all abilities. It notes that around 26% of people in the US have a disability. The document discusses why accessibility is important both from a legal and social perspective. It outlines different categories of disabilities including hearing, vision, mobility, and comprehension. It provides recommendations for making products more accessible such as following standards like WCAG and using automated and manual testing. Finally, it lists several tools and resources for testing and learning more about accessibility.
Introduction to Accessibility
- 2. WHAT IS ACCESSIBILITY? • Accessibility – how well can your product be used by people of all abilities? • Disability – A disability is basically a mismatch in interaction between a person’s body and the features of their environment in which they live. • Accessible Technology (AT) - is any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. • A11y – a commonly accepted numeronym for Accessibility that stands for the fact that Accessibility starts with an “A”, ends with a “Y” and has 11 characters in between.
- 3. WHY DOES ACCESSIBILITY MATTER? • Can exclude a lot of customers without it • CDC estimates that around 26% of people in the US have a disability. • Expensive financially and socially. • Expensive lawsuits and fines. • Loss of social standing / respect. • You are not getting an exemption, just ask Dominos. • Lack of a11y = discrimination • Unfairly block people from personal and professional opportunities • Unfairly block people from information • Isolate people • Helps everyone • Make things better for all, yourselves included
- 5. WHAT CAN YOU DO? • Accessibility standards • WCAG (at least AA) • ADA • Section 508 • Follow coding best practices • W3C • PEP (Python) • Use a mixture of automated and manual testing. • Respectful, people-first language
- 6. TOOLS AND RESOURCES • Accessibility Insights – A Accessibility testing tool made by Microsoft • Has browser extension and desktop application versions • Also have the option to include the automated tests in CI/CD • DON’T depend on automated tests • NVDA – free, open-sourced screen reader • View keyboard shortcuts on at the Deque article entitled: NVDA Keyboard Shortcuts. • Narrator – screen reader built-in to Windows. • View keyboard shortcuts for Narrator in the Deque article entitled Narrator Keyboard Shortcuts. • Microsoft Accessibility on Twitter at @MSFTEnable and at on the Microsoft Accessibility page. • Microsoft Accessibility Fundamentals course • WCAG 2.1 at a Glance • Moritz Giessmann’s Accessibility Cheatsheet • PluralSight – Developing Websites for Accessibility • PluralSight – Meeting Web Accessibility Guidelines (Section 508/WCAG 2.1)
Editor's Notes
- #3: The definitions on this page are based off the definitions provided by the Microsoft Learn course entitled “Microsoft Accessibility Fundamentals” except for A11y, which is a commonly accepted Numeronym for Accessibility.