Start learning about accessibility: part 1

How do you start learning about accessibility? The topic is broader than it might first seem and is often misunderstood. At its core, it's simple. It's about people — in particular, people with disabilities — and making sure the things we design and build don't prevent people with a disability from getting on with their lives.

In this blog — part 1 — we're looking at the definition of accessibility, who accessibility benefits, and some tools and techniques people with disabilities might use when interacting with your product or service.

What does the word accessibility mean?

A friend of mine introduced me to the following explanation, which I love:

Accessibility is about making sure someone is not blocked from completing a task or achieving a goal as a result of experiencing disability.

Terms change but this definition still seems to work — in that 'accessibility' focusses on disability and impairment whereas 'inclusion' is broader in scope. Inclusion considers how someone's: race, religion, gender, socio-economic background and other protected characteristics affect experience.

Another way to think about accessibility is that it is a measure of the quality of design — it is a measure of how usable something is — in particular for people with disabilities. Inclusive design is a 'method' or a way we can approach building experiences that reach that accessibility standard. This idea is explained expertly in the book 'Mismatch' by Kat Holmes.

We shouldn't get too distracted by definitions. The important thing is that there is work to be done on removing barriers to products and services and it requires both accessibility and inclusion. Not one or the other.

As you read and learn more, you'll probably notice similarities between how user experience and accessibility, as disciplines, are described and how they can be applied in the real world. That's expected. User experience and accessibility both want to improve the experiences of people. It's just that accessibility traditionally focusses on specific groups of people.

Further reading

Accessibility and disability

Accessibility is about considering how products and services can be used by people with:

It is particularly important that we do not forget less visible or less apparent disabilities and impairments. For example, Autistic people, people with attention deficit disorder (ADHD), dyslexia or aphasia — to provide just a small number of examples.

Another important thing to keep in mind is people with disabilities generally want to complete the same goals as anyone else. They might, however, approach these goals differently. For example, people with disabilities might complete their goal using additional tools and technologies.

Understanding which specific details make accessibility its own subject area will make you a much better designer.

Further reading

Assistive technology

Assistive technology is something that helps a person to complete a task or goal. Many innovations we now take for granted started out as solutions designed specifically for people with disabilities. Examples include: Siri (Apple voice recognition solution), electric toothbrushes and audiobooks.

In digital accessibility, specifically, the following are common examples of assistive technology:

Switch devices

This technology helps people with limited dexterity or limited / no upper body movement complete tasks.

Switch devices allow someone to send a signal (similar to a keystroke) to a digital device which allows someone to complete interactions — such as submitting a form or following a link to navigate a website.

Switch devices come in all varieties — including aparatus in physical button form which can be pressed, aparatus that can be squeezed or straw-like devices which allow for sipping and puffing input. All of which then send a signal allowing someone to interact with a digital interface.

Similar examples of assistive technology for people with limited or no upper body movement include: sip and puff technology, head wands, eye tracking software, and voice recognition software to name a few of examples. We will look closer at voice input below.

Voice recognition software

This technology allows soneone to navigate or otherwise control a digital interface using voice commands. For example, by saying: "Click buy now", "Click listbox", "Show choices", "Choose large". People may use this techology because they have limited or no upper body movement. They may, however, use the technology because they can't or don't want to interact using their hands for other reasons. For example, this type of voice-based interaction could be useful for a new parent trying to complete a task while holding their baby.

Screen reading technology

This technology translates website content (and metadata) into audible announcements. This primarily helps people with low or no vision but may be used by others - for example people might use a screen reader as they benefit from or prefer to have information read out rather than reading it from a screen.

Screen magnification software

This technology magnifies website content to make it easier for people with low vision to see what they are doing. The technology may also include features that allow someone to customise the colours of their interface and may also include screen reading functions too.

Further reading

How many people are affected

The World Health Organisation estimates that 16% of the world population experiences disability. Populations are living longer, too. This means the likelihood that people will experience disability at some point continues to increase. When we design with accessibility in mind, we design for our future selves.

In the next blog — part 2 — we will take a closer look at the motivations for prioritising accessibility and the different models for thinking about disability.