Why Learn About Web Accessibility
Types of Disabilities and Associated Barriers
Contents
To understand where accessibility issues can arise, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of a range of disabilities and their related barriers found in digital content.
Not all people with disabilities encounter barriers in digital content, and those with different types of disabilities encounter different types of barriers. For instance, if a person is in a wheelchair, they may encounter no barriers at all in digital content. A person who is blind will experience different barriers than a person with limited vision. Many of the barriers that people with disabilities encounter on the Web are often barriers found in electronic documents and multimedia. Different types of disabilities and some of their commonly associated barriers are described here.
Watch the following video to see how students with disabilities experience the Internet.
Video: Experiences of Students with Disabilities by Jared Smith
In this video, David Berman talks about types of disabilities and their associated barriers.
Video: Web Accessibility Matters: Difficulties and Technologies: Avoiding Tradeoffs by davidbermancom
People Who Are Blind
People who are blind tend to face the most barriers in digital content, given the visual nature of much digital content. They will often use a screen reader to access their computer or device, and they may use a refreshable Braille display to convert text to Braille.
Common barriers for this group include:
- Visual content that has no text alternative
- Functional elements that cannot be controlled with a keyboard
- Overly complex or excessive amounts of content
- Inability to navigate efficiently within a page of content
- Content that is not structured (i.e., missing proper headings)
- Inconsistent navigation
- Time limits (insufficient time to complete tasks)
- Unexpected actions (e.g., redirect when an element receives focus)
- Multimedia without audio description
For a quick look at how a person who is blind might use a screen reader like JAWS to navigate the Web, watch the following video.
Video: Accessing the web using screen reading software by rscnescotland
People with Low Vision
People with low vision are often able to see digital content if it is magnified. They may use a screen magnification program to increase the size and contrast of the content to make it more visible. They are less likely to use a screen reader than a person who is blind, though in some cases they will. People with low vision may rely on the magnification or text customization features in their web browser or word processor, or they may install other magnification or text reading software.
Common barriers for this group include:
- Content sized with non-resizable absolute measures
- Inconsistent navigation
- Images of text that degrade or pixelate when magnified
- Low contrast (inability to distinguish text from background)
- Time limits (insufficient time to comp