Motor
Impairments
Whether we realize it or not, we all are likely to experience some form
of motor impairment in our lives. Motor impairment can be temporary,
such as a broken arm or sore back, or can be longer-term. This
category includes a range of issues specifically including people with
limited to no use of their hands. In these cases, people will rely on
the keyboard or alternative pointing devices to interact with the computer.
For a person with limited use of their hands due to carpal tunnel syndrome,
they may simply rely on the keyboard rather than use the mouse to interact
with the page. People with no use of their hands may also use the keyboard,
but in conjunction with a tool such as a mouthstick to press keys. For
these individuals, it is not possible to press more than one key at
a time. They will use a mode in the operating system known as sticky
keys. This allows the user to press a modifier key such as the shift
key once and it will remain depressed until the next key is pressed.
Making a site accessible for individuals with motor impairments means making
sure that a site is device independent. Device independence, insures
that content on the site can be accessed through multiple means, not
just by using a mouse. For example, a middle school principal has developed
Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is a chronic disease that affects more than
400,000 people in North America. The disease usually starts between
the ages of 20 and 40 and affects more women than men. Persons with
MS experience symptoms that include poor muscle coordination and weakness/fatigue.
As a result of her MS, the principal is not able to effectively use
a mouse – the combination of grasping the mouse and accurately pointing
is difficult. Since her school uses web-based student information systems,
the principal needs to be able to navigate the web. She is able to navigate
the web pages she needs by using the keyboard on her computers. Utilizing
the Tab and Return keys, she is able to move around in a page and select
and follow links.
Fortunately for web designers, designing for device independence is fairly
easy. Most browsers now support tabbing between links and form fields.
In fact, it takes some degree of effort to make a page inaccessible
(i.e. changing the logical tab order of form fields). Most pages naturally
conform to keyboard functionality. When tabbing through links on a page
in Internet Explorer, the current link will be highlighted (Image 6).
Image 6
While providing
increased access for individuals with motor impairments, all users benefit
from the added functionality. Individuals who spend a great deal of
time working on a compute often learn keyboard shortcuts that save time
and effort.
Cognitive Impairments
The area of cognitive impairments is perhaps the most diverse and the largest
category of disabilities and one that we often disregard. It is also
in this area that difference in learning style might be a factor. Cognitive
impairments can include issues such as seizure disorders, learning disabilities
and developmental disabilities. Designing to make web sites access across
cognitive ability really means making pages broadly comprehensible and
accounting for multiple ways of learning/accessing information.
In these cases, pages made up of long blocks of unbroken text, may be difficult
to read. Blinking or animated elements should be avoided to make the
contents easier to read. In addition, it is often helpful for people
with cognitive disabilities to provide illustrations or animations of
central concepts to enhance understanding. Navigation should be standard
and consistent as well.
Certainly some consideration should be given to the intended audience of
a particular web site. It is possible that a specific site might be
intended for a certain audience with expert knowledge, but this assumption
cannot supercede the probability of difference or disability within
that population. An interesting example illustrates this point.
A college accounting
professor is conducting research on particular accounting methodologies.
This professor has a reading disability and to content through a screen
reader (such as JAWS). A source on the web posts scanned copies (images
or inaccessible PDFs) of several accounting forms in question. The images
don’t have an alternative means of expressing the content of the image,
either in alt text or a longer text description. As a result, the screen
reader skips the images of the forms and the professor does not know
the forms even exist. What makes this example interesting is that an
accommodation that might have been intended for one type of impairment
(alternative image formats for individuals with visual impairments),
benefits another (an individual with a reading disability). This drives
to the point of what makes accessible design so beneficial – it is often
more broadly usable. These materials benefit a larger audience because:
material is presented in multiple ways, there are multiple ways for
students (web site viewers) to interact with and respond to information
on the site, and there are multiple ways for meaning to be found in
the information.
Conclusion
Web
accessibility is an important and timely issue. Accessible web design
is important because it insures that some will not be left out of educational
processes because of lack of information or resources. At the same time,
accessible web design strengthens the usability of web sites making
them better for everyone. Central to the notion of web accessibility
is a consideration of the people using the web site – those who, following
Brenda Laurel’s reading of computers, should be considered active agents
in the process. By considering users as agents, we increase the
chances of building increased functionality into the design process.
Accessibility Resources
Articles and Guides:
Guidelines and standards
Other Resources
Validation and other
Tools
References
Bowe, F. (2000).
Universal design in education : teaching nontraditional students.
Westport, Conn., Bergin & Garvey
Charlton, J. I.
(1998). Nothing about us without us : disability oppression and empowerment.
Berkeley, University of California Press.
Laurel, B. (1993).
Computers as theatre. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
Vanderheiden,
G (1990). Thirty-something (million): Should they be exceptions? [Online]
Madison, WI: Trace Research and Development Center, University of
Wisconsin Retrieved from the World Wide Web March 1, 2002: http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/30_some/30_some.htm
Notes
1
This generally occurs because the technological overhead required just
getting content online often obscures any other consideration.
2
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disable/sipp/disab97/ds97t1.html
3
http://www.freedomscientific.com/
4
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/hpr.html
5
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10
6
http://www.section508.gov
7
An interesting and informative video entitled “Introduction to Screen
Readers” produced at the University of Wisconsin-Madison demonstrates
both the use of a screen reader and an accessible web video. View it
at http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/ltde/access/ewers.htm.
8
http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
9
http://www.vischeck.com
10
It should be noted that this example is used primarily to illustrate
the use of color. There are other accessibility issues would also need
to be addressed with this page, specifically the complex nature of the
table (Imagine reading this page with a screen reader).
About
the Author:
Alan Foley is an assistant
professor of Instructional Technology at North Carolina State University
in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he teaches graduate courses in the
College of Education. Alan holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology from
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His current research interests
include web accessibility and pedagogy, and the construction of disability
and difference in educational media.
Email: alan_foley@ncsu.edu
