Industry And Accessibility
About Disabilities
The four main categories of disabilities are:
- Visual
- Hearing
- Mobility
- Cognitive and Learning Disabilities
Technology Today/Accessibility Resources
With the expanded use of technology in the educational system and
the workplace, it is becoming increasingly important to address
how people with disabilities will keep pace. This is where assistive
technology plays a vital role.
Assistive technology is a piece of equipment or a software product
that is used to increase, maintain, or assist the functional capabilities
of individuals with disabilities. In short, it can be any device
or technique that assists people in removing or reducing barriers
and enhancing their everyday life activities.
Assistive technologies include magnifiers, screen readers, closed
captioning, keyboard enhancements, and highlighting software. There
are portable word processors, electronic spellcheckers and braille
printers. Assistive technology is also used in the coding and content
of your Web site to make it accessible.
Making the Internet accessible to people with disabilities
Millions of people want and need accessibility to today's and tomorrow's
technology. Unfortunately, the needs of people with disabilities,
the largest minority group in the U.S., are often forgotten as web
designers and developers strive to meet deadlines and surpass competitive
requirements. The good news, however, is that with few exceptions
the technology is available to accomplish accessibility, and using
this technology is not difficult or expensive if accessibility features
are included in the initial design.
Internet Resources
The following is a list of links to websites which address the
issue of Internet Accessibility:
Ramp Up to Access (AISD site for disability support)
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~wilbur/access/index.html
IBM Accessibility site
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/
Software ada checklist for accessibility
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/checkpoint-list.html
Software ada guidelines for accessibility
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#Introduction
Software ada guidelines for Style Sheets
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-CSS-TECHS/
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