Resources

accessibility tips

Use these basic tips to make the Joining Hands Virtual Symposium an accessible and inclusive program for everyone.

Tips for All Attendees

  • Unless where noted, all Joining Hands Virtual Symposium activities will be held via Zoom. If you are new to Zoom, please find some basic Zoom info here.

  • Please keep your video off and microphones muted except when the presenters/facilitators invite you to do so.

  • Use the chat feature to ask questions, request tech assistance, or share comments.

  • All presentations and discussions will be ASL-interpreted and captioned. Live discussions will be real-time transcribed. Any videos screened will be captioned, and some may also include ASL.

    • To access captions, click the "CC" button in the Zoom room. A link to a captioning stream text may also be provided to all attendees via the chat box.

    • If you use sign language, you'll need to see the person signing (whether it's a presenter or an interpreter), and it helps if their window is as big as possible. For this reason, you may need to change your Zoom viewing settings during the webinar. Familiarize yourself with helpful features such as "pinning," hiding non-video participants, viewing presentations in side-by-side mode, and more. See the National Association of the Deaf's guide to these features.

    • To keep a view of the ASL interpreter or signing presenter, use the "pin" feature in Zoom. Find instructions here.

  • Yes, it’s okay to use the word “disability/disabled person/person with a disability”! After all, that’s a big part of what we’re celebrating at this event! People without disabilities are generally referred to as “non-disabled.” More good terms to know are “Deaf and Hard of Hearing.”

  • Thanks for posting about #JoiningHands on social media! Remember to describe any photos or graphics you post so that blind people can access your posts.

  • Consider including your preferred pronouns in your introductions (“Hi, I’m Ashley from Oregon, and I use she/her/hers pronouns”)

Tips for Presenters

  • If you do not sign, your presentation will be interpreted by an ASL interpreter. Go ahead and present at your usual pace; the interpreter will let you know if they need you to slow down or repeat anything.

  • If there are issues with captioning or ASL interpreting, the presentation will be paused until the issues can be resolved.

  • If showing presentation materials:

    • Describe any pertinent visuals out loud (e.g. charts, graphics, photos, text, video, poll results, etc.)

    • Ensure that video clips are captioned. Turn the captions on while playing it. YouTube’s auto-captions feature can be useful, but be sure to correct any inaccuracies in advance.

    • Don’t overload slides with too much text, and use good color contrast with simple sans-serif fonts.

    • Avoid presentation materials that use quickly moving, flickering or flashing videos/graphics or loud, sudden noises.

  • Rather than addressing your audience as “ladies and gentlemen,” try a gender-inclusive greeting such as “honored guests” or “hello everyone.”

Links for Disability-Inclusive Language

Links for Making Presentation Materials Accessible