There are some aspects in the world of accessibility which are, at the same time, a bit inaccessible. In a first point of view, things can be percieved as accessible, but when thinking a little more, the whole thing doesn’t appear to be as accessible as it seems.
JAWS: an accessible software, an inaccessible price.
One example is the famous screen reader JAWS. This application is, with no doubt, a big help in accessibility terms, but the problem raises when talking about the software price. The fact that makes this accessible service inaccessible is the high price of the software. The Standard JAWS has a price of $895 (Reference: JAWS official website), an inaccessible price for a lot of people requiring this product.
Accessible code, inaccessible structure
A website can have the AAA certification. However, the problems can begin when a blind user uses a text reader to read the content of the web page. The fact of obtaining the highest level of accessibility from a validator doesn’t confirm this website is easy to read for a blind user. The internal structure of the code should be the optimal for a screen reader. This means, for example, not having a <div> which contains a long left menu before the <div> which contains the content. The reason not to do that is that the screen reader would read the left menu before (taking a lot of time) and the content afterwards which is, for the user, the most interesting thing.
Accessible map, but does it make sense?
When on the last Easter holidays I travelled to Roma I was amazed to see a map in S.Maria Maggiore square in Braile language. I first thought it was a nice initiative, but, is it useful for a blind person to have this information in this circumstances? I dont’t think so,…
No creo que llegue a ser accesible, ya que el usuario no percibe las dimensiones del plano y donde esta orientado en ese mismo momento. Si fuese un recinto cerrado aconsejo una posible solución, indicar en el suelo por medio de bandas rugosas el itinerario que dirige a esta sección del recinto. Entiendo que esta propuesta es impensable en la vía urbana.
Most of the accessibility efforts are focused on appearances, the idea of being accessibe like this sign. Anyway we must take a look at rest of the piazza to make a good judgement here. Did you see any weel chairs ramps? Did you see anti-slip flooring for old people? Problably not, just an old braile sign, right?.
It’s like the must of the websites with those funny AAA badges, have they performed a user testing with blind people? Have they tested it with the JAWS?
Being accesible is an acctitude, is not just about badgets and funny signs.
Do you remember last year here in Barcelona when they put in a park a few braille signs without raised, just a flat image?
That’s the point I want to stress. If you want to make a thing accessible think about all the factors and ask people with disabilities if it makes sense for them. Most of projects just fight for looking good in the eyes of the most…Welcome to the world of appearances!
Hey!, Accessibility paradoxes is such an interesting topic! It’s hard to find good information on funny signs but it’s all here!
The article is usefull for me. I’ll be coming back to your blog.