Accessibility Breakthroughs Broaden Web Horizons
From: NewsFactor Network - 09/17/2002
By: Mike Martin

Web sites are supposed to be accessible to users with disabilities per
federal and international regulations, but accessibility consultant Mike
Paciello says that this quality offers advantages for both handicapped and
non-handicapped users. Most PCs are embedded with virtual accessibility
tools, notes Dr. Scott Standifer of the University of Missouri -
keyboard-based menu commands and "sticky-keys" are an alternative for users
who cannot use a mouse, while screen enlargement and simple speech
recognition are being incorporated into standard PCs and the XP version of
Microsoft Office, respectively. Other creative solutions developed recently
include a computer mouse and a wearable system for the visually handicapped.
Standifer also lists examples of "accommodation software" as tools disabled
people often use: Screen readers that translate on-screen text into spoken
language can help the blind, while a microphone that uses speech recognition
software to issue commands or dictate text can aid motor-challenged users.
Standifer further notes that blind computer users, with the right skills, can
process screen readers so fast that they outmatch the processing ability of
their sighted counterparts. There are also inexpensive or free programs
available to Web designers that support the creation and maintenance of
accessible sites. Many disabled people, despite their eagerness to Web surf,
are reluctant to do so out of worries that sites will be inaccessible, or
will be rendered inaccessible later when enhanced features are deployed,
according to the University of Missouri's Gary Wunder.  

Read a longer version of this story (with links) at:
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19417.html 

Mike Paciello links:
Excerpts from his book, "WEB accessibility for People with Disabilities"
http://www.webreview.com/2001/03_02/webauthors/index03.shtml
http://www.webreview.com/2001/03_09/webauthors/index04.shtml

Scott Stanifer link:
http://www.rcep7.org/staff/scotts.html

Gary Wunder link:
http://www.blind.net/bw000019.htm

