Web Accessibility

The KUOW podcast discusses universal design and more specifically, web accessibility. Wendy Chisholm, a computer programmer and developer in the Seattle area, shares her thoughts and ideas about the current state of web accessibility as well as the changes that need to come in the future. In the early 1990s when the web was text based, it was a great avenue for those with disabilities to acquire more timely, accessible information and news. Unfortunately, as the web has transformed into a rich multimedia landscape, accessibility has suffered. Chisholm, who helped write a set of universal accessibility guidelines adopted by many countries, insists there must must be equivalent alternatives to all sounds and images online. Though you’d think in this technologically advanced society web accessibility wouldn’t even be an issue, this is definitely not the case. Chisholm demonstrates the lack of accessibility found within a Seattle metro bus website. The site was not constructed for the screen reader to effectively read the bus schedule aloud. This makes it nearly impossible for the visually impaired to know which bus to catch. Chisholm believes three things need to happen in order to produce successful, commonplace web accessibility. First, she proposes technology be developed to better integrate or automatically enable accessible alternatives. Second, there needs to be a cultural shift involving the understanding of the disabled. Just because a person has a particular disability doesn’t mean they don’t wish to view and interact with websites like the rest of us. They have the same intentions, just different needs. Finally, Chisholm is adamant about the disabled becoming active participants in the development of accessible technologies and web solutions.

This last point Chisholm made, incorporating the disabled into the development, is so important. A person who doesn’t struggle with these various impairments can never fully understand or appreciate how it affects web interaction. “Bringing them to the table,” as Chisholm puts it, can bring a wealth of valuable insights and solutions. Personally, I find web accessibility somewhat daunting. In my AAS degree, I didn’t cover much more than simple image alt tags. This barely scratches the surface of making a website accessible. Web accessibility involves considering usability for many different disability genres, such as visual, auditory, motor/mobility, and cognitive. From color blindness to dyslexia to seizure conditions (which can be triggered by flashing effects), how can I make sure my website is fully accessible? I agree with Chisholm, the technologies – whether it be the browsers or the design programs – need to be developed to make accessible alternatives more intuitive.

Web accessibility is of course very important, but it seems that it is not all black and white. Until it becomes better taught and better understood, it is the designer’s role to ensure a website meets the disabled person’s needs. Like Chisholm said, “the wheelchair doesn’t make the building inaccessible, it’s the stairs.” Surely, there is an effective solution for web accessibility which is currently inefficient within many websites. Honestly, I think inadequate accessibility within many sites boils down to laziness because it does add a lot more work. Google seems to enjoy taking on gigantic projects in their effort to take over the internet. Maybe they should venture on a new accessibility project. Surely if they can digitize every book ever written they can “accessitize” every website…

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18043

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

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