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Web Accessibility Basics Cheat Sheet by

Basic concepts and terminology for web accessibility.

Web Access­ibility - Definition

Web access­ibility refers to the inclusive practice of removing barriers that prevent intera­ction with, or access to websites, by people with disabi­lities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users have equal access to inform­ation and functi­ona­lity. -

Disability - Definition

U.S. Federal Law defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substa­ntially limits one or more of the major life activities of such indivi­dual, a record of such an impair­ment, or being regarded as having such an impair­ment. ADA Title II § 35.108

Web Access­ibility Aim to Help

Visual
Blindness, low vision, various types of color-blindness
Auditory
/Hearing
Deafness and hard-of-hearing
Motor Control
/Mobility
Inability to use a mouse, slow response time, limited fine motor control
Cognitive
/Intellectual
Learning disabilities, distractibility, inability to remember or focus on large amounts of information

United States Access Board

The Archi­­tec­­tural and Transp­­or­t­ation Barriers Compliance Board, more formally known as the United States Access Board, was created out of the Rehabi­lit­ation Act of 1973. The U.S. Access Board is a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabi­lities through leadership in accessible design and the develo­pment of access­ibility guidelines and standards for the built enviro­nment, transp­ort­ation, commun­ica­tion, medical diagnostic equipment, and inform­ation techno­logy.

Abbrev­iations

Access­ibility - 11 represents the number of letters between A & Y
AEM or AIM
Accessible Educat­ional Material
Accessible Instru­ctional Material
Americans with Disabi­lities Act of 1990 is a US labor law that prohibits unjust­ified discri­min­ation based on disability
ADA Amendments Act of 2008 amended the ADA and other nondis­cri­min­ation laws to broadened the definition of a disability
WAI's Authoring Tool Access­ibility Guidelines
UN's Conven­tio­n\C­omm­ittee on the Rights of Persons with Disabi­­lities
DHTML Style Guide Working Group provided guidelines to WAI for use in creating the WCAG.
Intern­ati­ona­liz­ation - 18 represents the number of letters between I & N
Inform­ation and Commun­ication Technology
Indivi­duals with Disabi­lities Education Act of 1990
NonVisual Desktop Access is a free "­screen reader­"
WCAG 2.0's 14 guidelines broken into 4 sections
Percei­vable, Operable, Unders­tan­dable, & Robust
Rich Internet Applic­ation
Text-t­o-S­peech
WAI's User Agent Access­ibility Guidelines
Universal Design for Learning
World Wide Web Consortium is the main intern­ational standards organi­zation for the World Wide Web
W3C's Web Access­ibility Initiative is an effort to improve the access­ibility of the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) for people with disabi­lities
WAI's Accessible Rich Internet Applic­ations is a technical specif­ication that specifies how to increase the access­ibility of web applic­ations
WAI's Web Content Access­ibility Guidelines

Assistive Techno­logies
Refres­hable Braille Displays provide an braille altern­ative to audible screen readers.
Eye Tracking, Head Tracking and Gesture solutions can be used as an altern­ative to a mouse or cursor keys.
Specialty Keyboards and Switches including Large-­Print and braille for visually impaired, large buttons, macros, overlays and custom config­ura­tions for motor control
Magnif­ication software can make regions of the screen larger. Some can change contrast and other visual filters.
Screen Readers audibly reads contents of a computer or phone's screen.
SNP (Sip-a­nd-­Puff) systems track inhaling or exhaling in a specif­ically designed tube.
Speech Recogn­ition software can be used as a keyboard and mouse altern­ative.
The Tongue Drive System (TDS) may be used as an altern­ative to a mouse or cursor keys.
These techno­logies are some of the most common types of assistive technology used to access the internet. For a more complete list visit Wikipe­dia­:As­sistive Technology or AFB's Product Database for People Who Are Visually Impaired.
  

WCAG2 at a Glance: POUR


Percei­vable
Provide text altern­atives for non-text content.
Provide captions and altern­atives for audio and video content.
Make content adaptable; and make it available to assistive techno­logies.
Use sufficient contrast to make things easy to see and hear.

Operable
Make all functi­onality keyboard accessible.
Give users enough time to read and use content.
Do not use content that causes seizures.
Help users navigate and find content.

Unders­tan­dable
Make text readable and unders­tan­dable.
Make content appear and operate in predic­table ways.
Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust
Maximize compat­ibility with current and future techno­logies.

Access­ibility Legisl­ative Timeline

1934
Commun­ica­tions Act of 1934 created the FCC and regulation for teleco­mmu­nic­ations and radio frequency use.
1973
Rehabi­lit­ation Act
Section 504 created and extended civil rights to people with disabi­lities. Section 504 has provided opport­unities for children and adults with disabi­lities in education, employment and various other settings. It allows for reasonable accomm­oda­tions such as special study area and assistance as necessary for each student.
1975
Education for All Handic­apped Children Act (EAHCA or EHA) required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabi­lities.
1986
Section 508 added to the Rehabi­lit­ation Act establ­ishes requir­ements for electronic and inform­ation technology developed, mainta­ined, procured, or used by the Federal govern­ment. Section 508 requires Federal electronic and inform­ation technology to be accessible to people with disabi­lities, including employees and members of the public
1990
Americans with Disabi­lities Act (ADA) of 1990
1990
Indivi­duals with Disabi­lities Education Act (IDEA) ensures school­­ch­i­ldren with a disabi­­lity, ages 3-21 (or until high school gradua­­tion) are provided with Free Approp­­riate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs.
1996
Teleco­mmu­nic­ations Act of 1996 amends the Commun­ica­tions Act Section 255 to require teleco­mmu­nic­ations products and service to be accessible to people with disabi­lities.
1998
Federal Electronic and Inform­ation Technology Access­ibility and Compliance Act amended Section 508 to correct the shortc­omings of the original section 508; the original Section 508 had turned out to be mostly ineffe­ctive, in part due to the lack of enforc­ement mechan­isms.
2008
ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008
2008
United Nation's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabi­lities (CRPD)
2017
Refresh of the Section 255 Guidelines and the Section 508 Standards
This list reviews the major U.S. and U.N. rulings which have influenced the evolution of Web Access­ibi­lity. For a more complete list visit Colorado State Univer­sity's A Brief History of Legisl­ation.

Unders­tanding Legal Obliga­tions
                                   
 

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  • Published: 13th February, 2017
  • Last Updated: 11th August, 2017

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