Accessible Information Technology

Information technology use is essential in today's business environment. However, the such technology can create barriers for individuals with disabilities, especially for people unable to operate a standard keyboard or mouse. Assistive technology such as alternative keyboards and screen readers can help, but only if a the content is developed to be accessible and compatible with such assistive technology.

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. Businesses and corporations, both large and small, are affected by the ADA. While Title III of the ADA is best known for its applicability to barriers such as lack of wheelchair access, acceptance of service animals, effective communication for hard-of-hearing individuals and accommodations for the vision impaired, its focus in the digital age has turned to the accessibility of information technology. While regulations are still being determined by the Department of Justice (DOJ), it is clear that it interprets the ADA as applicable to information technology.

There are accepted best practices and guidelines for ensuring the accessibility of documents and websites. The World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative has developed in-depth guidance in this area and specifically offer the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 "AA" level, which is presently being used as the standard by the DOJ. In addition, some states have implemented their own laws for accessibility, for example Illinois state agencies are required to follow the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act standards and in Minnesota there is the State of Minnesota Accessibility Standard.

Beyond the ADA requirements, there is also a strong business case for accessibility. Accessibility overlaps with other best practices such as mobile web design, device independence, multi-modal interaction, usability, design for older users, and search engine optimization (SEO). Case studies show that accessible websites have better search results, reduced maintenance costs, and increased audience reach, among other benefits. There are social, technical, financial, and legal benefits to engage in this process.

Tool

• ATRC Web Accessibility Checker

  The Web Accessibility Checker developed by the University of Tornoto checks single HTML pages for conformance with several accessibility standards, including international options, to ensure the content can be accessed by everyone. The report can be viewed by guideline or by line specific location with information on how to repair the errors.

• Functional Accessibility Evaluator

  The Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE) analyzes web resources for markup that is consistent with the use of web accessibility best practices and interoperability. The tool produces page level and summary reports.

• WAVE Online

  A product of WebAIM, the WAVE accessibility checker evaluates web pages for several known accessibility issues and displays page with tags to show good and bad points. It can be filtered to use WCAG 2.0 A, WCAG 2.0 AA, or Section 508 standards.

• Tenon

  Tenon.io can identify 508 and WCAG 2.0 issues with it's free webpage analysis tool or with a paid version to extend evaluation to any environment, such as a developer's laptop.

Tutorials and Comprehensive Sites

• Great Lakes ADA Center

  Great Lakes ADA Center with the Pacific ADA Center sponsor an Accessible Technology Webinar series, free and all sessions are archived.

• W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative

  A plethora of resources strategies, guidelines, make the web accessible to people with disabilities, including undertainding what website accessibility is, why it is important, technical specifications to guide developers, and evaluating technology access.

• WebAIM

  WebAim provides comprehensive resources, tutorials, and tools to promote web accessibility, including tutorials and tools on content management systems, PDF files, and captioning. They also host on-line communities and training events.

• University of Washington

  Getting started with accessibility is a comprehensive website with a number of how-to pages with step-by-step guides for making particular types of content accessible, including documents, websites, video, and procuring accessible information technology.