by Amy Gendreau, RDPFS Intern:
For those who grew up prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) passage in 1990, it is exciting to highlight the results of a study released by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Their report examines “the digital inclusion of people with disabilities on websites and mobile applications.” It reaffirms that barriers continue to exist online and, as a result, additional time is spent and revenue opportunities are diminished. “Among the key findings, researchers discovered users experience an average of 12 obstacles per week, which required an additional 2.4 hours of lost time spent trying to navigate the inaccessible platform…On average, participants required 24.3 minutes of assistance per week when sighted assistance was available.” Inaccessible communications cost time and money and things get more complicated when other people get involved. As the study notes, the ADA’s four overarching goals are “equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.” Technology, when accessible, eliminates barriers and fosters independence. Digital access barriers “compromise the ability of blind and low vision individuals to achieve these goals.” Recent legal regulations mandate that websites and apps are built to a “specific accessibility standard.” The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that these standards apply to a “wide variety of entities.” Requirements for state and local governments are covered in another article in this Bulletin.
The report includes specific recommendations to make digital offerings accessible to and inclusive of everyone. A few recommendations are to:
– Check for and follow the most recent standards for web and software accessibility;
– Hire website and technology staff who are knowledgeable about how people with vision loss and other disabilities use digital technology; and
– Employ people with disabilities to test and design features that impact a product’s accessibility.
For a complete list of recommendations, along with the full study document, visit the AFB webpages for the report, beginning with the Introduction. Download the full report on Barriers to Digital Inclusion 2 here. For additional information, read the Morning Star article announcing that the AFB Releases Phase 2 Study of Barriers to Digital Inclusion.
While we watched the ADA become absorbed into the social and industrial consciousness over a generation, given the lightning speed nature of technology development and advancement, we look forward to more rapid advances in digital inclusion in the next few years.
