Legislation mandates Web access for disabled

Even as the Web brings a wealth of information to most Americans' fingertips, navigating it can be a rough road for some. One in five Americans has a disability that may make using a mouse, seeing a Web site or hearing a video impossible.

Making your site accessible to the disabled, though, isn't that difficult and may even be required by law.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which includes the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act forces agencies to offer disabled federal employees use of information and data that is comparable to that used by other agency personnel unless undue burden is placed on the agency in doing so.

Enforcement of Section 508 started last summer when federal employees with disabilities could file complaints if not properly accommodated. Since last June, the pressure has been on all vendors selling to the federal government to design products and services that accommodate individuals with disabilities.

Although Section 508 only impacts the federal government, some states are discussing similar regulations. In Oklahoma, webmasters from various state agencies are developing Web accessibility guidelines and many agencies are voluntarily enacting accessibility policies.

Gov. Frank Keating has already signed a letter of assurance that Oklahoma will comply with Section 508 and the University of Oklahoma has a policy in place to address web accessibility for the disabled.

Regardless of whether you work for a state, federal or private entity you should consider looking into Section 508 and its requirements. The Access Board, an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities, has detailed information about Section 508 online at www.access-board.gov.

Most Web pages are poorly designed for individuals who may have low vision or who can't use a keyboard and mouse. As sites become more graphically appealing, they also become less accessible to disabled users.

Although the visually impaired can use a screen reader that reads a Web site out loud, the reader only works if the site has been designed with the device in mind. Graphics, buttons, framed pages and forms can all be hard to navigate using a screen reader. For example, if a logo or picture doesn't include a text alternative, the software can't read a description out loud to the user.

To help organizations design accessible sites, the World Wide Web Consortium has published guidelines. The W3C site at www.w3.org outlines three priority levels of guidelines that make sites understandable and navigable.

Priority I problems are those that could prevent someone from using a feature. Priority II problems would have a "substantial impact" on use by a person with a disability. Priority III items are problems that, if fixed, would facilitate use by someone with a disability.

One step is to simply label links and ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color. For example, a user with low vision may have difficult distinguishing text links on a page when they are only shown as a different color from the surrounding words rather than being underlined.

The W3C also recommends that designers use style sheets to control font family, size and color. Use of style sheets enables the user to view pages according to their own font size and color preferences rather than the designer dictating pages, colors and fonts. A person with low vision may need the font size set to 14 point or even have their screen defaults set to high contrast colors.

Scrolling, moving and blinking text can also be troublesome for some users who have cognitive or visual disabilities, and who are unable to read moving text quickly enough or not at all. According to the W3C, movement can also cause such a distraction that the rest of the page becomes unreadable for people with cognitive disabilities. In addition, screen readers are unable to read moving text. The solution? Make sure that anything moving on your site can be stopped or paused.

Making just a few of the changes outlined by the W3C may make the difference between opening your site to disabled customers and slamming the door on their business. As America ages the number of individuals with disabilities is only going to increase. Vision and hearing loss, as well as deteriorating motor skills will impact web accessibility.

Will your site be accessible to this affluent group? If your customers fit this demographic profile, you should seriously evaluate your site against W3C's accessibility guidelines and determine the consequences of not being compliant.

Scott Jones is an architect with Phase 2 Development, an Oklahoma City-based application and Web developer. You may reach him by phone at 232-4545 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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