[NFBK] FW: Why Accessibility is Important... in their own words

Sat May 21 00:07:39 UTC 2022

FYI!

Todd

Subject: Why Accessibility is Important... in their own words

It's about INDEPENDENCE!

  <https://katsnet.org/OVRAccessibility/img/VRA11yALT.png> 

  _____  

  <https://katsnet.org/OVRAccessibility/img/aui.png> 

Accessibility is ongoing; it is not a "set it and forget it" construct. It
should be considered from the beginning and throughout any project, and
everyone plays a part. 

As we close out the week, I want to share some comments that your fellow
co-workers, SCVR members and KATS Network Advisory Council members have
shared regarding digital accessibility and why it is essential to them. 

If I were asked to sum up each of their sentiments in one word, it would be
"Independence"! 

  _____  

Digital Accessibility is important to me because...

...it provides me with the opportunity and independence to gather and review
information that is important to me in both my business and personal life. 

Digital accessibility provides an opportunity for me to realize the
opportunity for a level playing field, if coded and/or marked-up correctly. 

 - Todd Stephens, President, NFB Kentucky, Technology Assistance Division
(TAD), KY OVR SCVR Member 

  _____  

Accessibility means that I am able to magnify images and text and adjust
colors with my CCTV or ZoomText software. It allows all users to access
content. 

This allows access to banking online, ordering groceries and medicine
refills through website or cell phone apps. 

For me, digital accessibility opens doors to access my daily living needs
and in being able to do tasks at work. 

 - Lisa McKeown, Personal Care Attendant Program Assistant, Center For
Accessible Living, KATS Network Advisory Council Member 

  _____  

Due to language barriers, our Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities'
perspective is that ASL Interpreters should always be available for meetings
and webinars to get the most accurate information given to them. If captions
are provided, they should be live CART service over auto-generated captions.

Amanda F. Friend, MRC, CSE, Branch Manager, Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late
Deafness Services, KY OVR 

  _____  

As a person who is blind, Digital Accessibility to me means that I have the
equivalent access to everyday things like the "typical" person. 

For my own life it's important for the ability to do my work efficiently and
independently. 

Regarding my personal or leisure life digital accessibility allows me to
read menus at restaurants, complete online orders for groceries, household
goods, or request a ride to an entertainment venue. This is important for
everyone's mental health to enjoy the labors of life and by gaining access
to these platforms individuals who are blind can enjoy those same freedoms. 

Derek Allen, Assistive Technologist/Rehab Technologist, Office for
Vocational Rehabilitation (AT Branch) 

  _____  

Digital accessibility allows me to independently accomplish many tasks that
I would otherwise need sighted assistance to complete. 

In my professional life, it allows me to respond to emails, fill out forms,
read reports, manage cases and many other tasks that would not be possible
for me to do independently without digital accessibility. 

As a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, I am a huge advocate for digital
accessibility in the workplace because it allows people with all types of
disabilities to access systems, forms, websites, and other tools they need
to be competitive in the job market. 

The Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation should be setting the
example and paving the way for other organizations and employers to
implement digital accessibility in all aspects of the workplace. We have
made huge strides in this area, but we still have a lot of work to do. 

In my personal life, digital accessibility allows me to access information
and entertainment independently. It makes things as mundane as choosing and
starting a movie possible where it would not be if I only had access to
things like DVDs. 

It allows me to manage things such as finances and medical information
independently without having to share that information with a sited
assistant. 

Samanthia Farthing, CRC, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 

  _____  

As a deaf person, digital accessibility is important because the internet is
one of the main forms of communication about important information these
days. It's great that we can now post videos that explain how to access
school registration portals, but they aren't accessible to deaf and hard of
hearing folks if they don't include accurate captioning. 

In addition to access to valuable information, digital accessibility means
being able to enjoy entertainment that would otherwise be inaccessible- from
movies, TV, and the local news to videos by social media creators. 

Digital accessibility means that I can keep my family safer, better
participate in our democracy, and share common interests or experiences with
my hearing family and friends. 

Mindy McGirt, KATS Network Advisory Council Member 

  _____  

What barriers and/or frustrations are you still experiencing today?

If not coded correctly to interface with my screen reader technology, this
can be a nightmare of a website or App reflecting no data, extraneous, or
nonsensical data. 

A regular encounter which creates a level of resentment for me is when a
website or iOS App is interfacing just fine with my screen reader and/or
Apple Voiceover, respectively, and then the author or Web Master introduces
an update which renders the website or App inaccessible. This is a situation
that can easily be remedied by including those who are proficient in the
assistive technology that they use on a daily bases to participate in beta
testing prior to the new release. Failure to do so results in annoyance and
a perception of exclusion. We know that this is not intentional; however,
those using assistive technology only ask to be included in these beta
tests. Most web designers are not experts, nor are they proficient in
assistive technology devices, but we are. We ask those technologists who do
not have the experience in assistive technology to rely on all of their
resources.Not only the resources pertaining to their mainstream population -
those who do not have a print disability! 

 - Todd Stephens, President, NFB Kentucky, Technology Assistance Division
(TAD), KY OVR SCVR Member 

  _____  

Area's I feel that need work are medical portals, self-check in, and
kiosk's, along with medical portal apps on cell phones to access medical
information or telehealth. 

 - Lisa McKeown, Personal Care Attendant Program Assistant, Center For
Accessible Living, KATS Network Advisory Council Member 

  _____  

...if I have a referral for a consumer and receive a quote for a wheelchair
that is not in an accessible manner, meaning my screen reader can't detect
the text, then I am in a position of waiting for my sighted peer to read
this to me. This causes frustration for not only me, but for the consumer by
delaying the process and even potentially the peer who must stop performing
their own task to read or transpose an inaccessible document. 

One common misconception about Digital Accessibility is that "it's
accessible and we're done." 

...being "accessible" is not always the same as "user friendly." Making a
website, document, presentation etc. "user friendly" goes beyond just
passing an accessibility checker. 

The more education and light that is shown on this topic, the more involved
companies, agencies, and individuals will consciously make accessibility
changes along the way for access across all platforms. 

Derek Allen, Assistive Technologist/Rehab Technologist, Office for
Vocational Rehabilitation (AT Branch) 

  _____  

Accessibility needs to be one of the first aspects that we consider in any
system, form, email, website, etc. that we implement. 

One of the biggest frustrations for me is knowing how easily accessibility
can be built in to an app or website, and still having so many that are not
accessible because they haven't considered it at all or have tried to add
accessibility in after it has been completed. 

If accessibility is made a priority in the beginning of development, it will
make the app, website, email, or form a better experience for everyone who
uses it whether they use assistive technology or not. 

Samanthia Farthing, CRC, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 

  _____  

Many forget to include any [captions] at all, or rely on AI to automatically
caption things and it can be very inaccurate. 

Government officials who are sharing important information that impacts the
lives of everyone everyday- if it isn't accompanied by highly-skilled,
qualified ASL interpreters and CART captioning-- are missing a huge chunk of
our population and can mean real people are harmed by lack of access to the
same information as people who can hear, whether that is information about
severe weather-related preparations, public health emergencies, access to
funds to rebuild after disasters, or information about either sheltering in
place or evacuating due to chemical spills, etc. 

Mindy McGirt, KATS Network Advisory Council Member 

  _____  

Digital Accessibility is important to me as a deaf individual and I see that
there is an increase in webpages and videos being captioned. I am really
excited about the access but I see that there is a lack of videos on social
media being captioned. 

I always have to advocate for myself as a deaf individual and technology is
always a big part of my life. 

Jessica Endler Smith, Telecommunications Access Program Coordinator,
Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, KATS Network Advisory
Council Member 

  _____  

I hope we have provided you with some great information and resources
throughout the week and challenged you along the way to step outside of your
comfort zone. 

The mission statement for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
is: "To empower Kentuckians with disabilities to maximize independence and
economic security through competitive, integrated employment". Accessibility
is vital to providing that independence and can mean the difference in
someone becoming aware of or accessing our services, or in obtaining or
maintaining employment. We all have a part to play. 

In terms of the general population, most conservative stats show that you
could be missing out on reaching up to a quarter of your potential customer
base due to a lack of accessibility. Considering that our primary audience
is individuals with disabilities, many of whom rely on Assistive Technology
to access information, I would venture to guess that number would be quite a
measure higher for us. 

Every aspect of everything we do (both internal and external) must be
Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. That is not something
that will happen overnight, nor can it be fixed once and be done. It is not
something that can be done by one person alone. The phrase "it takes a
village" comes to mind. We must do better, lead the way, and ensure that we
are not creating barriers that keep the very individuals we are all here to
serve from accessing those very services. 

This email is being sent to all Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
staff on behalf of the agency's Accessibility Coordinator to help promote
and raise awareness of accessibility within the agency. If you have
questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please email
OVRAccessibility at ky.gov <mailto:OVRAccessibility at ky.gov>  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20220520/2664b5cb/attachment.html>