Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D. Editor
This MasterList is designed to serve as a resource for researchers, developers, students, and others interested in understanding or developing products that incorporate one or more of these features.
Each feature or approach is then listed below along with applicable disabilities to each feature are marked with the following icons:
- B - Blindness (For our purposes, blindness is defined as no or very low vision - such that text cannot be read at any magnification)
- LV - Low Vision
- CLL - Cognitive, Language, and Learning Disabilities (including low literacy)
- PHY - Physical Disabilities
- D/HOH - Deaf and Hard of Hearing
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Click on the ICON above to show only the strategies for that disability group;
Blindness, Low Vision, Cognitive, Physical, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing.
1. Reading Aloud & Highlighting
- Read entire text aloud - B, LV, CLL, D/HOH
- Read words or blocks of text aloud when highlighted or clicked - LV, CLL
- Highlight each word as it is read aloud - LV, CLL
- Read letters and words aloud as they are typed - B, LV, CLL
- Provide pronunciation help on-demand - CLL
- Allow the user to correct text-to-speech mispronunciations and/or retrieve pronunciation corrections from a central source - B, LV, CLL
- Use vocal characteristics to present visual formats - B, LV, CLL
- Ensure Java Access is enabled to work with screen readers and other voicing aids. - B, LV
2. Reorganizing, Simplifying & Translating
2.1. Reorganizations
- Reformat displayed text to facilitate reading - LV, CLL
- Reformat web page display with a balanced depth & breadth of menus - B, CLL, PHY
- Create skip links - B, PHY
- Group links according to context - B, CLL, PHY
- Create consistency among web pages, while maintaining distinguishable appearance of pages - B, LV, CLL
- Make sure pages will print as seen on the screen(when simplified or zoomed) - LV, CLL
- Use organizational cues to make text visually accessible and scannable - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
2.2. Visual Transformations
- Adjust colors according to user settings - LV, CLL
- Shift colors to be make text and images visible for certain types of color blindness - LV
- Adjust text font, including size and spacing (leading and kerning) - LV, CLL
- Adjust contrast or use a low contrast mode - LV, CLL
- Adjust magnification - LV, CLL
- Use a customized, alternate stylesheet - LV, CLL
- Use or provide special fonts to facilitate reading by people with Dyslexia - LV, CLL
- Do not rely on color alone to convey information - LV
2.3. Other Transformations
- Prevent flashing to reduce risk of epileptic seizures or reduce distractions - LV, CLL
- Transform content to conform accessibility standards - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
- Translate and format text for Braille display - B
- Provide Alternate Simpler Web Browser - B, CLL
- Translate from formats intended for visual presentation - CLL
- Provide summarized content generated automatically - B, LV, CLL
- Translate into a language that is more familiar and easier to understand - CLL
- Layer, divide and structure information - CLL
- Automatically expand abbreviated typed text - PHY, CLL
- Provide options for the levels of abstraction/complexity - CLL
2.4. Sign Language Translation
- Translate from sign language to text - D/HOH
- Translate from text to sign language - D/HOH
- Provide real-time translation of speech to sign language for live feeds, streaming audio and multimedia content - D/HOH
- Retrieve existing sign language multimedia - D/HOH
2.5. Translation into Simpler Form of Same Language
- Translate text into a simpler language - CLL
- Retrieve and link to existing simpler language version - CLL
2.6. Graphic Translations
- Translate text to symbols - CLL
- Translate text to pictures - CLL
- Convert emoticons to icons and set an alternate text label - B, CLL
2.7. Adjust/remove time limits on reading, listening or acting
- Provide ability to pause, rewind and replay multimedia - B, CLL
- Provide ability to extend or remove time limits on reading - B, LV, CLL, PHY
- Provide ability to extend or remove time limits on completing an action (filling in a form, etc.) - B, LV, CLL, PHY
2.8. Reduce distractions
- Avoid features that unwantedly split focus or split attention - CLL
2.9. Means for comparing and understanding sizes, scales, relative values and position in space
3. Supplementing Page Content
3.1. Word level enhancements and definitions
- Retrieve a definition for any selected word from a glossary/online resource - CLL
- Retrieve a definition for a selected idiom from an online resource - CLL
- Retrieve a definition for a selected abbreviation, acronym, or technical term from an online resource - CLL
- Retrieve a definition for foreign language phrases - CLL
3.2 Page & Site Level Enhancements
- Support collaborative third party markup (customized accessibility scripts for web pages that are designed by and shared among users) - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
- Provide descriptions of links - B, CLL
- Generate site maps - B, CLL
- Display breadcrumbs - B, CLL
- Provide background/context knowledge - CLL
3.3 Integrated Help & Reminders
- Provide cues and prompts to aid browsing - CLL
- Provide contextual help - CLL
- Offer real-time assistance - CLL
- Provide annotations or pop-up notes in content - CLL, D/HOH
- Provide instructions for unfamiliar interfaces or processes -CLL
3.4 Visual Equivalents for Audio Information
- Provide a text alternative for audio/multimedia content - D/HOH
- Provide visual alerts for system sounds - D/HOH
- Interactive transcript - D/HOH
3.5 Image Description
- Generate or retrieve text descriptions/tags for poorly labeled images - B, LV
- Sonify videos or images to provide "synthetic vision" using audio - B, LV
4. Audio Enhancement
- Reduce/eliminate background noise - CLL, D/HOH
- Adjust pace of speech/audio - CLL, D/HOH
- Adjust volume and pitch - CLL, D/HOH
5. Adjustable or Alternate Input Devices
5.1 Keyboard Settings
- Delay time before repeat (RepeatKeys) - PHY
- Debounce time (BounceKeys) - PHY
- Ignore short key presses (Delay time before key acceptance - SlowKeys) - PHY
- Keep modifier keys active until another key is pressed (StickyKeys) - PHY
5.2 Alternate Text Entry Methods
- Keyboard input: Make all functionality available via the keyboard - B, PHY
- Voice input and control: Make all functionality available via voice control - B, PHY, CLL
- Virtual / On-screen keyboard (used with a pointer) - PHY, CLL
- Make all functionality available with a limited number of input switches or a reduced keypad - PHY
- Accept Morse code inputs from mouse or other input device - PHY
- Accept symbol-based input - PHY, CLL
- Allow input by Gesture with any body part(s) (hand, facial, posture, etc.) - D/HOH, B
5.3 Mouse/Pointer Settings
- Mouse gain / cursor speed - PHY
- Double-click/tap speed - PHY
- Dwell click - PHY
- Cursor size and trails - PHY
- Show pointer location on key press - PHY
- Highlight/drag without holding button - PHY
- Use mouse gestures to perform commands or enter text - PHY
- Multisensory feedback for click/press acceptance - B,PHY
- Anti-tremor mouse filtering - PHY
- Provide large ‘clickable’ and ‘on-mouse’ area - PHY
5.4 Alternate Pointing Methods
- Support head, any body part -tracking input - PHY
- Support joystick-to-mouse input - PHY
- Support eye-tracking input - PHY
- Keyboard control of mouse pointer (MouseKeys) - PHY
5.5 Alternate Command
- Allow control by gesture - B, PHY, CLL
- Command line interfaces - B
5.6 Automation of Common Tasks
- Provide customizable hotkeys that perform actions with fewer keypresses - PHY, CLL
- Provide Macros that re-play a set of pre-recorded actions with a single keypress - PHY, CLL
- Provide customizable shortcuts to help users jump to the content they need - PHY, CLL
6. Facilitating Written Communication
- Automatically check spelling and grammar - CLL
- Assist with homophones (e.g. intelligently choose between "their," "there," and "they're" given the context) - CLL
- Automatically predict/complete words and phrases - PHY, CLL
- Read letters and words aloud as they are typed - B, LV, CLL
- Provide visual and text outliners in content - CLL
- Retrieve synonyms and context of use (See 3.1) - CLL
7. Facilitate and accommodate Memory Abilities
7.1 Use mnemonic devices
8. Error Prevention and Recovery
8.1 General Error Prevention and Recovery
- Help minimize errors - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
- Provide general strategies and contextual aid to safely recover from errors - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
8.2 Safe Internet Use
- Assist in judging credibility and authenticity of sites - CLL
- Maintain a list of trusted sites - CLL
9. Preference & Privacy Features
- Automatically determine and adjust settings - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
- Choose preferred features and adjust settings with a user-friendly feature wizard - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
- Provide settings and options that are easy to try out and modify (because settings may cause confusion) - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
10. Special / General
10.1 Virtual Worlds & Gaming
- Use sound proximity/doppler to provide an audio interpretation of visual content and actions - B, LV
- Provide audio descriptions of objects in local area (within a selective perception / "virtual horizon") - B, LV, CLL
- Provide the ability to discover relationships between items- B, LV
10.2 Accessible Authentication Methods
- Provide accessible CAPTCHAs to authenticate access to websites - B, LV, CLL
- Enable secure access without a memorized password - CLL
10.3 Real-time Navigation
10.4 Context
- Using context to modify, adjust, tune any and all of the above - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH