"The long-reaching arms of AIR-Austin go beyond getting a new website. They impact the entire web community – and let everyone see that accessibility means access to EVERYONE." ~(Accessibility Internet Rally) AIR AUSTIN.com
You surf the web every day accessing website after website for everything from banking to social networking, shopping and studying, gaming to selling or promoting your professional services.
Many sites use photos to get the message across (who wants to shop without photos?), and utilize mouse technology to allow users to navigate their site.
Consider this:
- 15 million people, just like you, who like to shop, socialize, and find success via the Internet, are legally blind or visually impaired.
- A 2008 U.S. Census Bureau press release stated that one in five U.S. residents - 19 percent - reported some level of disability in 2005.
- 46% of people with a disability ages 21-64 are employed
Do websites makes accommodations for their needs?
Many may not realize that technology allows for a simple solution to inaccessible websites and that knowing a few 'tricks of the trade' can make sites accessible with the stroke of a few keys.
Teenya Franklin, Director of Community Programs from Knowbility, Inc. shares some of the information on hand from Knowbility grant proposals,
"A blind visitor to a Web site may use a text-to-speech device called a screen reader. If this assistive technology encounters an image, which many Web designers use for navigation and other critical functionality including shopping carts, there is no way for the device to render the meaning of the image into words."
But, Franklin explains, a small amount of knowledge and effort go a long way in eliminating the problem, "by using a small bit of code to insert alternative text, the programmer can provide information that will not change what the sighted user sees but will help the blind user to navigate and get information from the site."
Knowbility Inc. and similar agencies provide accessibility consulting and training to support the independence of people with disabilities. Advocacy is also essential in influencing policy, practice, and technology standards needed to make accessibility the rule rather than the exception.
"Our mission is to ensure barrier-free I.T. - supporting the independence of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology." ~Knowbility Inc.
Knowbility Inc. has been in Austin since 1998 with a clear mission that effects the global landscape of Internet use and accessibility.
Access for the blind is just a fraction of the changes that need to be made to ensure that all can harness the power of the Internet to connect in a society, and economy, dependent on the world wide web.
Franklin continues, "The same is true for access keys for mobility-impaired users who do not use a mouse, deaf users who cannot receive aural information such as a song or a bit of dialogue, and color blind users who cannot respond to color-coded signals."
The solution?
"Just as ramps and curb-cuts create access to physical space, there are tools and techniques that allow visitors with disabilities access to online places. There are 'electronic curb-cuts' to address all of these impairments, but only if the programmer is aware of them and how to use them effectively," Franklin reports.
Does your website need help?
Check back to hear more about a chance to register your non-profit for a website designed to be accessible to everyone – including people with disabilities, during the 12th Annual AIR (Accessible Internet Rally) currently open for registration.
Source material
Braille Institute of America
Research to Prevent Blindness
Knowbility, Inc.
US Census Bureau Press Room
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