ACCESSIBILITY IN ONLINE

SOFTWARE
Tess Rennalls
THE AMERICANS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
■ The ADA is a law that protects individuals
with disabilities from discrimination.
■ It was signed into law in 1990.
■ The ADA ensures equal education,
employment, and transportation for those
with disabilities.
■ The ADA includes protections regarding
state and local government services and
telecommunications as well.
■ The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 was
signed into law September 25, 2008.
■ The definition of the term “disability” was
altered significantly in the ADA
Amendments Act.

More about the ADA.

What is a “Disability”?
■ According to the ADA, an individual
must have a physical or mental
impairment to be covered by the ADA.
■ The impairment must substantially
limit a major life activity.
– (ex. walking, speaking,
breathing.)
■ A minor, nonchronic condition is not
covered under the ADA.
– (ex. broken limb, infection,
sprain)
■ One’s impairment cannot be
determined while considering the
positive effects of mitigating
measures.
– Only ordinary eyeglasses
contacts can be considered.
Disabilities Covered by the ADA
Mental Impairments Physical Impairments
Include: Include:

■ Depression ■ Asthma
■ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ■ Blindness
■ Schizophrenia ■ Diabetes
■ Bipolar Disorder ■ Muscular Dystrophy
■ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ■ Paralysis
■ Panic Disorder ■ Hearing or Speech Impairments
Early Fears About the ADA

■ Many members of Congress Equal Employment Opportunity

believed a large amount of frivolous Commission Statistics
lawsuits would be filed if the ADA
was enacted.
■ They believed this would force many
businesses into bankruptcy.
■ After 5 years of the ADA, only 650
lawsuits were filed.

Thrown-Out Lawsuits Legitimate Lawsuits

Title II of the ADA
Title II of the ADA provides equal opportunity for individuals with
disabilities to participate in a public entity’s programs, services or
activities.

■ A public entity is defined as any ■ Reasonable modifications must be

state or local government and any made to ensure accessibilities.
of its departments. – This can include the policies,
– The Federal government is not procedures, or practices of a
a public entity. public entity.

More information about Title II

Title II Accessibilities
■ Building Accessibility
– All new public entities must be accessible to people with disabilities.
– Buildings must be altered to fit the ADA’s standards unless it is
"technically infeasible.”
■ Program Accessibility
– Public entities must include people with disabilities in their respective
programs, services or activities.
– A program must be viewed in its entirety to asses its program
accessibility.
■ Web Accessibility
– Federal agencies must follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG).
– WCAG considered visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Assistive Technology
■ Assistive technology is any technology ■ Students with disabilities can benefit
that improves the functional from assistive technologies such as:
capabilities of an individual with a – Text-to-speech programs
disability.
– Alternative keyboards
■ Assistive technology is not limited to – Portable word processors
computer programs.
– Audio books
■ Students can use assistive technology
to supplement their learning.
■ Students with difficulties in any given
area can benefit from assistive
technology specific to their needs.
■ Assistive technology gives access to
students who may have been
excluded due to their disability.
What is an “Alt” Tag?

■ An “alt” tag is a brief description of

the photo it represents.
■ ”Alt” tags are useful for people with
visual or cognitive disabilities.
■ “Alt” tags give a description of the
content and purpose of the image.
■ ”Alt” tags can be read aloud to
users, giving people with visual
impairments the ability to
understand the full extent of the
content.
How to Add an "Alt" Tag to an Image
Flashing and Flickering Content
■ Why to avoid using flashing and
flickering in online content:
– Individuals with photosensitive
epilepsy (PSE) can suffer
seizures triggered by flashing
or flickering content.
– Individuals without epilepsy
can also find flickering and
flashing annoying or
distracting.
■ How to avoid using flashing and
flickering in online content:
– Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines provides a formula
to determine the safety of
one’s content.
– Another option is the
Photosensitive Epilepsy
Analysis Tool (PEAT) that
measures the safety of
computer applications.
PEAT information
Youtube Captioning

■ Captions add accessibility for

people who are deaf or hard of
hearing.
■ Youtube has an automatic
captioning system that makes it
very easy to create accessible
content.
■ Without captions, individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing could
not watch a video unless it was
specifically made for their
community. How to Caption a Youtube Video
Google Read&Write
■ Read&Write is a Google Chrome extension.
■ Read&Write offers many feature that can
assist individuals with a variety of disabilities.
■ Read&Write has a speech-to-text feature that
can aid those who are visually impaired.
■ It also has a highlighter tool for those who
make lose focus easily.
■ Another feature is a text to image feature
that turns words into images for those with
cognitive disabilities.
■ Read&Write gives educators the tools to
make their presentations and documents
accessible to all of their students.
Sip-and-Puff Technology

■ Sip-and-Puff technology is an
assistive technology for individuals
who may be limited in the use of their
hands.
■ Sip-and-Puff refers to blowing or
sucking on a straw-like apparatus that
individuals use to emulate mouse
clicks.
■ Each sip or puff is the equivalent to a
specific mouse click.
■ Some sip-and-puff technologies
include a long stick that can be
maneuvered by mouth to emulate a
mouse.
Google crxMouse

■ Google crxMouse is a Google Chrome

extension.
■ This extension allows users to right-
click and draw different gestures to
navigate the web.
■ Users can go back, delete a tab, scroll
to the bottom of the page, open a new
tab, and other useful operations.
■ This gives individuals the ability to
navigate the Chrome browser without
as much physical movement.
Ghotit Technology
■ Ghotit technology is an assistive
technology for individuals with
dyslexia or dysgraphia.
■ Ghotit gives solutions for spelling and
grammar mistakes.
■ Users have the option of text-to-
speech corrections.
■ Another feature is contextual word-
prediction to help with the flow of
writing.
■ Ghotit also proofreads any text and
assists in reading the text back to t he
user.
■ Ghotit is available on most
computers and tablets.