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Accessibility Standards for the Internet

Special Needs Accessibility Standards

According to various reports online, about 1 in 5 Americans have some form of disability. These disabilities can fall into any of the following categories: 

  • Blind or Low Vision
  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  • Mobility
  • Cognitive and Specific Learning Disabilities 

In the United States, there are both State and Federal statutory requirements that require webmasters to make their Web site accessible to those with disabilities. While the state guidelines regarding this topic vary somewhat, the following information is for the state of California, and should provide readers with a general idea as to the sort of rules that are in place to make sure that those with special needs are not discriminated against in the fast-moving world of technology.  

Put it in Words

Every non-text item must somehow be expressed in text-equivalent form. This includes all images, symbols, animations, graphical buttons, sounds, etc.  

Black and White

All information that is available in color must also be available in black and white.  

Cut to the Chase

The clearest, simplest language must be used to describe a site’s content.  

Tables

For tables, all columns and rows must be identified with easily-understood headers.  

User-friendly Multimedia Content

Captions and auditory descriptions must be made available for all auditory content, and if possible, placed on a separate page. If this is not possible, an alternative page must be provided that can be used with special needs software applications, and it must be updated as frequently as the original page(s).  

Applets and Scripts

Webmasters must ensure that the Web pages that they design can be used when all scripts and applets are turned off. If this is not possible, then an alternative page with the same information on it must be provided.  

Forms

Ensure that the labels for the forms are located in the correct places.  

Additional Resources:

This is a complicated and very important topic. For additional information, please visit the following sites: