Accessibility: It's Not Just a Client Side Problem

Roughly 1 in 5 people in America live with a disability and legal actions against inaccessible services are becoming more and more common. It would be irresponsible to ignore the needs of all our users when developing our code, but isn't this just something for people who wrote client side code to worry about? In this talk, I'll explain the basics of accessibility, including the guidelines you should be following and the adaptive technologies many people use. I'll cover things you can do to improve accessibility throughout the stack and help you better advocate for people with disabilities in your work, whatever that might be.

Presented at PyOhio 2017.

Looking for more? See my work and more talks at https://stephanie.slattery.website

Transcript

1. Accessibility It's Not Just a Client Side Problem @sublimemarch
2. Stephanie Slattery @sublimemarch @sublimemarch
3. What is accessibility? @sublimemarch
4. The design of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. @sublimemarch
5. Let's talk about disability. @sublimemarch
6. Categories of Disability • visual @sublimemarch
7. Categories of Disability • visual • hearing @sublimemarch
8. Categories of Disability • visual • hearing • motor @sublimemarch
9. Categories of Disability • visual • hearing • motor • cognitive @sublimemarch
10. And all of these people use technology! @sublimemarch
11. Assistive Technology • screen readers • magnifiers (hardware and software) • large print and tactile keyboards • sip and puff devices • eye gaze and head mouse systems • speech recognition @sublimemarch
12. @sublimemarch
13. @sublimemarch
14. 1 in 5 Americans have a disability @sublimemarch
15. 56.7 million people @sublimemarch
16. 1 in 10 Americans have a disability that impacts computer use @sublimemarch
17. Accessibility helps everyone! @sublimemarch
18. @sublimemarch
19. @sublimemarch
20. Why would we make something accessible? @sublimemarch
21. To improve the lives of people with disabilities @sublimemarch
22. We are responsible for what we create. @sublimemarch
23. To capitalize on a wider audience or consumer base @sublimemarch
24. $175 billion in discretionary income @sublimemarch
25. It's the law. @sublimemarch
26. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 @sublimemarch
27. Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) @sublimemarch
28. How do I know if what I'm making is accessible? @sublimemarch
29. Listen to people with disabilities. @sublimemarch
30. Follow best practices. @sublimemarch
31. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 @sublimemarch
32. Four Principles of the WCAG @sublimemarch
33. 1. Perceivable @sublimemarch
34. 2. Operable @sublimemarch
35. 3. Understandable @sublimemarch
36. 4. Robust @sublimemarch
37. Open Accessibility Framework (OAF) @sublimemarch
38. Creation & Use @sublimemarch
39. But it's more than just the guidelines... @sublimemarch
40. Guidelines are tools, not solutions. @sublimemarch
41. Listen to people with disabilities. @sublimemarch
42. How can you advocate for accessibility? @sublimemarch
43. Collect baseline information. @sublimemarch
44. Gather support. @sublimemarch
45. Define a standard. @sublimemarch
46. Monitor conformance. @sublimemarch
47. If not you, then who? @sublimemarch
48. You can do it! @sublimemarch
49. We're all responsible for improving the lives of people who use our technology. @sublimemarch
50. Stephanie Slattery @sublimemarch @sublimemarch