Digital Inclusion

Conversations about money and accessibility are frequently centered on the expenses of implementing accessibility in digital products and applications. Missing from these conversations are the economic realities faced by disabled people and the price of assistive technology. In this talk, we will look into the repercussions of overlooking the reality that individual finances play in digital accessibility.

This is a digital accessibility success story that started on Twitter where a screen reader user reported a content barrier on a COVID-19 website. The accessibility process to remove the barrier illustrates the need for important conversations, a good faith effort, and a roadmap for continuous improvement. Based on the blog article “A Little Bird Told Me.”

Accessibility work is complex. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re first starting out – especially if you don’t have access to an accessibility specialist on your team or in your organization. Devon will go through common misconceptions about digital accessibility work and introduce ways to think about disability, assistive technology, and a more holistic approach to accessibility.

Screen readers are a type of assistive technology device that can help all kinds of people, including people with no vision, low vision, cognitive issues, or even non-disabled people who want to hear the words spoken aloud. Join in on the conversation as Tim discusses the best and most popular screen reader/browser combinations, explains some common screen reader commands, and leads us in a screen reader demo!

In discussions about accessibility and diversity, our thoughts tend to jump to ARIA links, screen readers, and people of different ethnicities. While these are key aspects to both topics, this talk will push your thinking to considerations beyond accessibility and diversity basics.