By Linda Roberts | Associate Fellow, Lisa Cook |Fellow, and Tyler Williamson | Guest Columnist
This column shares information about accessibility requirements and techniques, and introduces standards and policies that might affect your products. If you have feedback, contact Linda Roberts at lerober1@yahoo.com or Lisa Cook at Lisa.Cook@sas.com.
Twenty-five years ago, on 26 July 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), designed to meet four goals for people with disabilities: equal opportunity, full participation in the community, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.
Twenty-five years after the passage of the ADA, great advances have been made for people with disabilities. This landmark civil rights law enables people with disabilities to participate in the workforce and in their community.
But what advances has the field of technical communication made to make the workplace better for people with disabilities? This column looks at how technical writers contributed to making the world a bit more accessible.
Providing an accessibility section in a document or a suite of documents that summarizes the accessibility features for an application helps a user understand the state of accessibility for an application and documents any issues in the application. Users of assistive technologies tend to look for an accessibility section not only to figure out workarounds for a product, but also to understand ways to make their general workflow more efficient.
An accessibility section may benefit users who are not its primary audience. Power users may examine an accessibility section for items such as keyboard shortcuts and utilities like landmarks to make their work more efficient.
Technical communicators have often become advocates, educating application and Web developers on the need for interactivity with assistive technologies such as screen readers or supporting users’ custom color choices, to address low vision or color blindness issues.
Our profession’s demographics have also helped raise awareness of the need for accessibility information technology (IT). Professionals, in general, including technical communicators, are staying in the workforce longer. Many develop age-related mobility or visual impairments that can be addressed by accessible IT. Because we experience these issues, we can lobby for changes in the tools we use and the products we support, ultimately helping end users with similar issues.
The U.S. Access Board’s Section 508 Refresh, announced in 2015, will bring new attention to public and institutional organizations’ obligations. Successful litigation against inaccessible websites and online applications—increasingly in the private sector—will drive further innovation. Technical communication follows the leading edge of technology advances. By increasing our own awareness of accessiblity (also commonly known as A11Y) and our companies’ risks and opportunities, we can further demonstrate our value.
