Disability Drives Innovation: Accessibility Spotlight
Haben Girma, the first person who is deaf-blind to graduate from Harvard Law School, believes that disability drives innovation. She uses the example of two Italian friends whose desire to correspond through letters sparked the invention of the typewriter. One was blind and the other sighted, so the latter created a machine where his friend […]
Why Voting Must Be Accessible to All & How It Isn’t
If voting is a civic duty, shouldn’t all voters have access to all process steps? As state and federal elections draw near, this question is urgent and, because of Covid-19, in-person options for voting are more risky or, just plain unavailable. Unfortunately, when it comes to digital access, voting is not an easy process for many […]
Assistive Technology Focus: Sip and Puff Devices
Most types of assistive technology require the use of one’s hands, motor capacity, or mobility in another part of the body to use computer devices and the internet. Sip and Puff (or SNP) devices enable individuals who are unable to use a manual device to access computers and other essential technology. Users “take a sip” […]
Deadline approaching for Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
In 2005 Ontario became the first Canadian Province to pass accessibility laws and has one of the most comprehensive policies created to date: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Many countries, like the US, have laws that require government organizations or organizations that use government funds to have and procure accessible technology, websites, […]
Assistive Technology Focus: Braille Display Devices
One of the best aspects of working in the digital accessibility field is learning about the innovative tools that enable users with disabilities to access and understand content they would otherwise be unable to experience. Assistive technology (AT) enables individuals with disabilities to access computers, electronic devices, and the web using alternative or additional input […]
Thirty Years After the ADA Was Passed, There Is Still Lots To Be Done
On July 26th, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. In the past 30 years, many improvements to our physical world have been made–from curb cutouts to accessible entrances to braille buttons on elevators, ATMs, and kiosks. Many people with disabilities stress that though their lives have vastly improved since it […]
3 Accessibility Website Myths
We’ve put together a list of the 3 most common myths about web accessibility and the reasons they just are not true! #1 “Making my site accessible only benefits a few people.” One of the most common misconceptions about accessibility is that it only benefits people with disabilities. That is not true. Making websites more […]
Four Easy Ways to Make Social Media Posts Accessible
We talk a lot about making web content and functionality accessible and how doing so takes a commitment and sometimes a lot of work. Something that doesn’t take much time—but is often overlooked when discussing accessibility—is social media. Several social media platforms make it fairly easy to create accessible posts. Here’s an overview of how […]
Gears 5: A Video Game Built for Accessibility
The Vancouver-based game developer, Coalition Studio, developed their new game, Gears 5 with loads of accessibility features–something many video games lack. New features include: Coalition Studio’s Reasoning How did Coalition Studio decide on these improvements? User-testing with folks with an array of disabilities and gaming preferences–seems like the obvious answer, but there are many products […]
Ninth Annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Every third Thursday in May marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which focuses on digital access and inclusion for all. What is digital accessibility? It is ensuring that folks with disabilities have the same experiences and outcomes with web-based services, content and other digital products as those without disabilities. Each year various tech companies, non-profits, […]