Accessibility - Topics in Usability






	Contents
	Alphabetical Index

Topics in Usability
Accessibility

Standards GuidelinesOrganizations Testing Services General Articles

STC AccessAbility SIG
The AccessAbility SIG has an extensive resources page, with up-to-date information on all kinds of disabilities.
General Resources
Internet Accessibility

Accessibility Standards

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) project of the W3C
WAI pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work - technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.

The Access Board
A Federal Agency committed to accessible design. This site includes information about their guidelines and standards, technical assistance, training and research, and enforcement of standards.

Disability Access Symbols
The Graphic Artists Guild provides a set of twelve graphical icons to indicate a variety of access types for both online and physical uses.

Accessibility Guidelines

Access Adobe
Tips and tricks for creating more accessible PDF files.
http://access.adobe.com/

Apple Computer’s Disability Connection
Information on how Apple Computer products are accessible to people with special needs.
http://www.apple.com/education/k12/disability/

Microsoft's Accessibility Homepage
Information on how Microsoft products are accessible to people with special needs.
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/

IBM Accessibility Center
Information on how IBM products are accessible to people with special needs.
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/

Sun Microsystems' Enabling Technologies Program
Information on how Sun Microsystem products are accessible to people with special needs.
http://www.sun.com/tech/access/

Sorehand: Resources and FAQ on Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)
One place to look for information on mouse and pointer design and usability.
http://www.ucsf.edu/sorehand/

Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design
Guidelines for making display exhibits accessible to people with special needs.
http://www.si.edu/opa/accessibility/exdesign/start.htm

Testing or Other Services

Bobby
This web-based public service analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities using the WAI guidelines.
http://www.cast.org/bobby/

Visual Friendly
An internet service that allows users to modify text size, colors and other aspects of the page to personal preferences.
http://www.visualfriendly.com/en/gr/php/indexhtm

Wave 2.01
A tool that helps you check if your page is accessible to people with disabilities, from Pennsylvania's Initiative on Assistive Technology
http://www.temple.edu/instituteondisabilities/piat/wave/

Web Accessibility Tools Consortium [WAT-C]
This group provides a collection of free tools to assist both developers and designers in the development and testing of accessible web content. The consortium is a collaboration of some of the world's leading accessibility practitioners, founded by Accessible Information Solutions (Australia), Infoaxia (Japan), The Paciello Group (USA), Wrong HTML (Japan), and Juicy Studio (UK).
http://www.wat-c.org/

Toolbars
These applications install in your browser to help you test different aspects of accessibility on the web page you are viewing

Organizations and Web Sites

Access.Edu
List of accessibility services, such as assistive technology, companies and organizations that focus on accessibility, and guidelines for designing accessible web sites.
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/access/links.html

American Foundation for the Blind
Information on creating applications that are accessible to people who are visually impaired.
http://www.afb.org/info_document_view.asp?documentid=198

Archimedes Project of the Stanford Center for Language and Information
Promotion of equal access to individuals with disabilities by influencing the early design stages of computer-based technology.
http://www-csli.stanford.edu/arch/arch.html

CAST - Center for Applied Special Technology
Focus on expansion of educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities through development and innovative uses of technology.
http://www.cast.org/

California State University Northridge Center on Disabilities
Services for students with disabilities.
http://www.csun.edu/cod/center.html

The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University
National research, information, and technical assistance center that evaluates, develops, and promotes universal design in housing, public and commercial facilities, and related products.
http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/index.html

Disabilities Information Resources (DINF)
Information on disabilities and disability-related subjects. Information includes research and conferences, resources, and designing for universal accessibility.
http://www.dinf.org/

Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology
DO-IT at the University of Washington
Disability resources for areas such as education, sports, travel and leisure, and legal policy.
http://www.icdri.org/DOIT.htm

EASI - Equal Access to Software and Information
Resources for students and professional with disabilities.
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/

FAST - Foundation for Assistive Technology
A UK-based information resource and exchange platform for all those with an interest / involved in the development of assistive technology.
http://www.fastuk.org

National Center for Accessible Media (Corporation for Public Broadcasting and WGBH)
Sponsors of several projects related to making online media more accessible. Their Web Access Project created the Web Access icon, free for use to indicate sites that contain accessibility features to accommodate the needs of disabled users.
http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/ncam/index.html

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Information on the design of accessible web sites.
http://www.infouse.com/disabilitydata/addaccess.text.html

Pantos - All Things Web: Compatibility and Accessibility
This site is "a collection of resources for Webspinners & authors."
http://www.pantos.org/atw/access.html

Teaching and Learning Technology Support Network (TLTSN) on Special Needs at the University of Wales Bangor
Information on what the TLTSN Center at Bangor is doing in the area of special needs.
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/cal/sn/tltsnsni.htm

Trace Research Center - Designing a More Usable World
Trace chaired the WAI guidelines committee and works in many areas of accessibility.
http://trace.wisc.edu/world/

Vision Connection
A portal from the Lighthouse for people who are partially sighted or blind, the professionals who work with them, the families and friends who support them -- and anyone looking for the latest information on vision impairment, its prevention and vision rehabilitation
http://www.visionconnection.org/

WebAim
An excellent list of resources and a good blog of articles on accessibiilty
http://www.webaim.org/resources/

General Articles

Guidelines for Accessible and Usable Web Sites: Observing Users Who Work With Screen Readers by J Mary Frances Theofanos and Janice (Ginny) Redish
This article, from ACM SIGCHI's Interactions, presents 32 guidelines for making sites accessible and usable for people who work with screen readers.

Observing Users Who Listen to Web Sites by Janice (Ginny) Redish and Mary Frances Theofanos
This article shares some of the findings from conducting usability testing with blind and low-vision users at the Communications Technology Branch at the United States National Cancer Institute about how vision-impaired users work with web sites. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

How a blind person will "see" your Web page – audio comparison of inaccessible and accessible Web pages from HFI
This article includes audio files of a screen reader on two versions of the same page, so visitors can hear how the pages read.

Working Toward an Accessible Web Site By Kim McConnell
This article shares the steps the author took to work toward transforming a Web site to one that is accessible according to the W3C recommendations.

Section 508 from the Hearing Loss Perspective By David Baquis
Why is Section 508 important? Here is an explanation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and how it ensures a minimum level of access in the federal workplace. It includes a summary of key Section 508 sections relevant to hearing loss. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Guidelines for Writing Accessible Online Help by Will Reed, Everyl Yankee, and Wendi Fornoff, with Deborah Murray
This article describes how to write effective on-line help for blind and low vision users of text based readers. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Position Paper on the Suitability to Task of Automated Utilities for Testing Web Accessibility Compliance by Bill Killam and Bill Holland
Automated tools are only the first necessary step in addressing accessibility-removing the barriers. We must now address the special condition of usability related to handicapped users and accept that user-based evaluation is the only true test of success. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Bridging Usability and Aesthetic Design of Wheelchairs by Betsy Fields
This article looks at the design aesthetic of wheelchairs. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Handicap Bathroom Remodeling - Bathroom Remodeling For The Elderly and Disabled by Sarah Petersen
Bathroom and remodeling ideas for the elderly and disabled including walk-in bathtubs, doorless steam showers, and elevated toilets.

Stuckness and Low Vision by Gloria Reece
Gloria discusses her low-vision condition, the problems it poses in her life and work and the accommodation strategies she has developed. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

I Walk, I See, I Hear by Jodi Shumway
Backgrounder on the challenge of writing the Special Needs SIG's Conference Guide for People with Special Needs for the Society's 50th International Conference in Dallas (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Learning Disabilities: Being Different Shouldn't Mean Being Discriminated Against by Karen Mardahl
I view my son's early school years in the 90s as a nightmare. I asked if my son could submit homework done on the computer due to his awful handwriting - weren't his ideas the key issue? - and "NO!" was the reply. (Usability Interface, April 2003)

Intranet Usability and Section 508 by Kathy Bine (Usability Interface, August 2002)

Equality of Access: Putting the Content of the Internet within the Grasp of the Disabled by Kim Weathersby (Usability Interface, August 2001)

Wheelchair Access? You've Got to be Kidding by Judy Skinner (Usability Interface, October 1999)

"How the Disabled Spur Invention" - New York Times, October 28, 1999
Looks at how things originally invented for the disabled have been used to make anyone's life easier. Examples from sock clips which were originally used by the blind to text-to-speech programs used by many to large handled can openers.
(Note: The New York Times charges for access to archived articles)

"Designing to meet the needs of visually impaired people" - TextMatters
Good overview of accessible design for the visually impaired.

Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology by Sheryl Burgstahler (Usability Interface, October 1999)

Web Accessiblity Initiative by Whitney Quesenbery (Usability Interface, October 1999)

Papers from CSUN Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference ‘97 and ’98
A long list of papers and presentations on a broad list of accessibility topics.