Accessibility Features Overview

Alt text

All images on my site have Alt text describing what's depicted. This is important because users using screen-readers will have access to the content of the images. I also included Alt text within the UDL PowerPoint presentation. 

Accessible Font

In order for a font to be considered accessible for readers with Dyslexia, it needs to be upright, rather than italic or oblique. Ideally, it also needs to be both sans-serif and monospaced, but one or the other can be fine too. The font I chose is Lexend, which is sans-serif and, while not monospaced, is clear and legible. Other examples of accessible fronts are Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Verdana, Century Gothic, Trebuchet, Calibri, Open Sans, and Tahoma. 

There are also dyslexia specific fonts like Dyslexie, and Open Dyslexic, which have a heavier bottom, longer sticks, and added differences between similar letters. Click here for more information on accessible fonts.

Subtitles

In my field placement SMART Goal 1 Evidence video, I included manually typed subtitles. Subtitles are important for people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or have other auditory processing issues, so they can understand what's being said. Auto-generated subtitles are fine, but those written by a person are more accurate and facilitate communication better. 

Headings and Bulleted Lists

Using the Headings feature of a word processor, rather than changing the font size alone, makes the text more accessible to users using screen-readers. The screen-reader is able to distinguish different sections, and the user can navigate more easily. The same thing goes for using bulleted lists and numbered lists. Using the built-in feature, is more compatible with screen-reader technology, and improves the experience for the user. 

Background Colour

It's important for legibility to have high contrast between the text and background, for this reason I chose to use a white background and black and dark purple text. Additionally if the user is using AT, like Helperbird, or Google Read and Write, they are able to further change the background and choose a colour combination that works for them. 

Un-cluttered design

My website is simple and un-cluttered in design, this helps users focus on the content without getting overwhelmed or distracted. According to the Government of Ontario website, there are certain features to avoid in website design for accessibility. These include things like flashing lights, auto-play music and video, keyboard traps (anything you have to press tab excessively to escape), and non-sequential text sections.