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Category: a11y

Published 2023/10/15

Getting to Know WCAG 2.2

First, what is WCAG:

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are part of a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet. They are a set of recommendations for making Web content more accessible, primarily for people with disabilities—but also for all user agents, including highly limited devices, such as mobile phones.

Wikipedia

WCAG Version 1.0 was published in May of 1999. I’d already been a front end web developer for several years at that point. I recall thinking these guidelines were a great idea. Even early on, I understood the inequity of the web and barriers to access. At that time, it was still somewhat rare to have access to the internet at all, via dialup or DSL. But those who did have internet access ran into barriers created by inaccessible Flash files, for example.

As web technologies evolved, the guidelines were updated. WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008. Nearly a decade later, WCAG 2.1 was published in June of 2018. And, as of October 5th, the WCAG 2.2, is finally official! For those following this closely, it’s felt like a game of Chutes and Ladders. WCAG 2.2 went up the ladder to reach the Candidate Recommendation (CR) phase more than once in the last couple of years. Only to be knocked back down the slide to be reworked.

Initially, Focus Visible was going to bump up from Level AA to Level A in WCAG 2.2. I was thrilled about this. When there are multiple elements on a webpage, visible focus helps highlight which element has the keyboard focus. This helps users who rely on a keyboard to navigate. It shows them which element the keyboard will interact with. Users with attention or short-term memory limitations also benefit from a visual cue to where focus is located. Unfortunately, it’s remaining at Level AA. I’m not the only one disappointed by this. Despite that, other gains have been made.

Level A

  • 3.2.6 Consistent Help: Certain help mechanisms that are repeated on multiple web pages must occur in the same relative order to other page content, unless a change is initiated by the user.
  • 3.3.7 Redundant Entry: Information previously entered by or provided to the user that is required to be entered again in the same process must be: auto-populated or available for the user to select.

Level AA

  • 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured: When a user interface component receives keyboard focus, the component must not be entirely hidden due to author-created content.
  • 2.5.7 Dragging Movements: All functionality that uses a dragging movement for operation must be achievable by a single pointer without dragging. Unless dragging is essential or the functionality is determined by the user agent and not modified by the author.
  • 2.5.8 Target Size: The size of the target for pointer inputs must be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels (with some allowable exceptions).
  • 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication: A cognitive function test must not be required for any step in an authentication process, unless specified criteria are met.

Level AAA

  • 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced): When a user interface component receives keyboard focus, the focus indicator SHOULD NOT be hidden at all (even partially) by author-created content.
  • 2.4.13 Focus Appearance: When the keyboard focus indicator is visible, an area of the focus indicator should meet specified size and color contrast requirements.
  • 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced): A cognitive function test should not be required for any step in an authentication process, unless there is an alternative method without a required cognitive test or there is a mechanism to assist the user.

Lastly, the obsolete 4.1.1 Parsing has been removed altogether.

The folks at Intopia have already published an updated WCAG 2.2 Map. The map provides an overview of WCAG in a visual format, breaking down success criteria by level of conformance. Their accompanying article is helpful as well.

The WCAG 2.2 Map featuring all success criteria laid out around four quadrants for Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.
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Published 2023/09/06

International Color Blind Awareness Day

September 6th is International Color Blind Awareness Day. It was John Dalton’s birthday. He was one of the first scientists to study the condition and to make strides in color blindness research.

Color blindness impacts 1 in every 12 men and 1 in every 200 women. Most color blindness is inherited genetically. People often become aware of their condition in childhood. However, some people may not realize they are color blind simply because they are not aware that others see color differently. That’s where testing comes in. There are a number of color blind tests online. Eye doctors can also administer testing. The most common type of color deficiency test is the color plate test.

Ishihara test plate to test for color vision deficiency

Color contrast between text and background is important. It affects many people’s ability to perceive the information. Colors with poor contrast will increase the difficulty of navigating, reading, and interacting with websites and apps. Good design includes sufficient contrast between foreground background and colors. Not just for text but also for images links, icons, and buttons. This is an evergreen (pun intended) post about the importance of color contrast in digital accessibility.

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Published 2023/08/25

August Accessibility News Round-Up

Some fun news for a Friday! Writer and wheelchair user Sophie Morgan enjoyed the first wheelchair-accessible safari in South Africa’s Klaserie National Park. “The African bush and all of its delights are just waiting to linger in the memories of those who are able to experience her. Now, the world’s first luxury wheelchair-accessible safari is ensuring that privilege can belong to everyone.”

In the US, here are 10 Wheelchair-friendly Trails Through the Country’s Best National Parks. These accessible national park trails are suitable for people using wheelchairs, scooters, crutches, and walkers.

In my home state, our Great Minnesota Get-Together (State Fair) started just yesterday, Thursday August 24th, 2023. And runs through Labor Day, September 4th, 2023. This year they’ve made some improvements to make it even more inclusive. Their accessibility guide provides information about:

  • Mobility options, including electrical outlets for recharging electric mobility scooters
  • ASL interpreting services
  • Captioning services
  • Audio description services
  • Sensory friendly visits
  • Service animals

Last month was Disability Pride Month. It’s a time for us to celebrate within the disability community, sure. But also to put the spotlight on some challenges we face. In the case of athlete Alex Parra, it is the high cost of athletic prosthetics:

When I was told that a running blade was going to cost $35,000 I thought I was never going to be able to run again. My life changed when I received my running blade from the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Not from my medical provider or from the help of insurance but from a non profit that was willing to help

As time went on I realized there needs to be change so I wanted to bring awareness to the disability community and how much that we have to spend on any disabled equipment or medical devices that we NEED.

So I wanted to run a Marathon on crutches. Although I didn’t finish the 26 miles (16 miles total) I was still able to accomplish something that I never thought I would’ve been capable of doing

This would not have been possible without everyone’s love and support along the way so truly from the bottom of my heart thank you. With your help we have been able to raise a total of $2500 and bring change along the way!

Alex Parra


Last but not least, I love this silent disco story. Vibrating haptic suits give deaf people a new way to feel live music. Made possible by Music: Not Impossible. An off-shoot of Not Impossible Labs, which uses new technology to address social issues like poverty and disability access. A recent event at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts called “Silent Disco: An Evening of Access Magic” showcased the suit’s potential.

Concert goers dancing at the Silent Disco dance party at Lincoln Center, New York City on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Haptic suits designed for the deaf community were provided by Music: Not Impossible.
Lanna Apisukh for NPR
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Published 2023/07/11

Disability Pride Month 2023

Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July. It is an opportunity to celebrate the Americans With Disabilities Act. July 26th will mark the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A lot has happened since the ADA was signed into law. In theory it prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government’ programs and services. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go in practice. 33 years later we have Section 752 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. This signals a new chapter in the pursuit of digital accessibility for federal agencies.

“The federal government can be the exemplar and catalyst for private- and public-sector accessibility by continuing to prioritize the employment of people with disabilities while providing the appropriate accessible infrastructure that facilitates our success.”

Anil Lewis, executive director of blindness initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind

And just as with June’s Pride month, organizations should ensure that any gestures they make aren’t performative, empty ones. Sheri Byrne-Haber made a great list of Dos and Don’ts. 10 things to think about before organizations “celebrate the ADA” July 26th.

ADA 33 (1990-2023) Americans with Disabilities Act. Celebrate the ADA! July 26, 2023
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Published 2023/06/26

June Accessibility News Round-Up

In my last post I mentioned that June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. After, I began physical therapy with a PT who specializes in headaches, and stayed overnight in a sleep lab. That visit confirmed my sleep apnea and need to look into Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines and CPAP alternatives. There have been other big accessibility topics this month.

Not all wounds are visible. PTSD Awareness Month.
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Published 2023/06/04

An Invisible Disability

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.

I have a personal connection to this sort of chronic pain. I’ve had migraines since I was a teenager. Thankfully, those tapered off in my 30s for the most part. But last November I started having a headache that never stopped. After two visits with my primary care doctor, I was referred to neurology in December. I booked the first available appointment with a headache specialist. That appointment was May 31st. It has been an awfully long time to wait but I want to gush about how great specialists are. The woman who saw me really knows her stuff. I finally have a treatment plan in place. It’s not going to be easy but I feel hopeful for the first time in a while. She confirmed my suspicions. My occipital nerve is inflamed. Once aggravated it can be difficult to calm down.

  • I’ve started taking amitriptyline daily before bed, and will slowly increase the dosage on a schedule.
  • June 1st I received an occipital nerve block injection in the back of my skull and trigger point injections in my neck and shoulders. A cocktail of pain killers and prednisone.

The specialist made referrals for:

  • A sleep study (consultation is this week)
  • A TMJ specialist (need to start wearing my night guard again)
  • Physical therapy (first appointment is coming up)

I like posting about these topics to raise awareness, and it gets people talking and sharing their experiences. But I want to point out the tremendous amount of privilege I have. I’ve got great health insurance through my employer, a flexible work schedule, and a reliable car. And it still took that long to get a treatment plan in place. It’s so much harder for folks who don’t have the advantages I’ve got.

June is National Migraine & Headache Awareness Month
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Published 2023/05/27

Progress Not Perfection

Last year, I started working for my current employer just weeks before Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2022. I wasn’t involved much in the planning of that event. But for GAAD 2023? I was all in. So much so, I was even flown out to HQ in New Jersey for my first business trip since before the pandemic. It was wonderful to meet many of my colleagues for the first time after working with them for over a year.

In my role of Principal Accessibility Engineer, I have been able to grow our program this past year. Beyond our Product and UX teams. Colleagues across the company have had more accessibility questions both general and specific. In addition to the a11y course we deliver to devs, I created a general accessibility overview course for all onboarding employees. I hope to expand that offering to include all employees eventually.

Likewise, for GAAD this year we wanted to include everyone. We pulled panelists from Legal, DEI, Technical Writing, and Product. To discuss how far the company has come on its accessibility journey, and where we’d like to grow. Hence the Progress Not Perfection theme. We also partnered with the mission-driven Knowbility for our keynote which covered everything from industry trends to creating accessible content. And our team in India held their own event complete with demonstrations, activities, prizes, and lunch. Feels great to have another successful GAAD outreach event in the books!

Self, posing in the office with the icims logo behind me
An area in the atrium of the Bell Works building
A mid century modern green sitting area in the atrium of the Bell Works building
a large icims sign in the lobby of the Bell Works building
A Bell Works shuttle van outside of the building on a sunny day
landscaping outside of the Bell Works building
A potted plan outside of the Bell Works building on a sunny day
The Bell Works sign outside of the driveway to the building
an old icims accessibility lab sign from before the branding refresh
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Published 2023/04/24

Spring Cleaning for Accessible Content

It is springtime in Minnesota. Which means we reached a high of 88° one April afternoon, then it snowed just days later. Despite the wildly fluctuating weather, I feel the urge to purge. I’ve tossed piles of junk mail in the recycling bin. Winter sweaters will be moved to storage (soon, I hope). Other items will be given away via our local Buy Nothing group. I may not go the full Marie Kondo method with my tidying, but controlling clutter in my physical space makes me feel better, mentally. You know what else sparks joy for me? Accessible content!

Self-portrait holding a lit sparkler in the darkness with the light illuminating my face

Recently, WebAIM released their annual report on the most popular 1,000,000 home pages on the web. 96.3% of them detected WCAG 2 failures. And that’s just what automated testing found. Manual testing would likely reveal many more.

Across the one million home pages, 49,991,225 distinct accessibility errors were detected—an average of 50.0 errors per page. 

The WebAIM Million

Many of those pages may not be relevant anymore and could be retired. Or portions of their content are likely out of date. Clean it up! Disability and accessibility expert Sheri Byrne-Haber has a great post about this:

Sometimes the best way to make something #accessible is to get rid of it.

I wrote an article about this a while back – the very first thing accessibility leaders should think about when tackling remediation is “do we need this at all?”

– Do we need this graphic / table?
– Do we need this CAPTCHA?
– Do we need this 17 year old inaccessible report that no one ever opens
– Do we need a press release on the election of someone to the board that is no longer on the board?

Don’t pack all your content indiscriminately and move it over to the new accessible template. Go through a cleanup first, and just bring the valuable content over that your users still need.

Sheri Byrne-Haber on LinkedIn

There’s more on her website. Her blog post Starting a new accessibility remediation project? outlines helpful “approaches and prioritization that will make your end goal of an accessible website easier and cheaper.” As someone who has been involved in many, many content migration projects, I fully back this approach. The most successful ones only ported what was still purposeful. Content that has been removed doesn’t need to be remediated. Unnecessary content is a distraction. Inaccessible content can be a blocker. Slimming websites down to the essentials will reduce cognitive load, making them more usable for everyone. Ditch that carousel no one clicks through. Get rid of that busy graphic. Embrace the joys of minimalism.

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Published 2023/03/12

Because she made a fuss

A favorite part of my job is organizing a monthly Accessibility Community of Practice meeting. Folks from all over the company join us for a conversation about my favorite topic. Many months I’ve mentioned lifelong activist Judy Heumann in some capacity. In February, I spoke about the intersectionality between Black History Month and disability activism. I focused on the 504 Sit-In and Black Panther Party member Brad Lomax who was also a disability activist. He coordinated efforts to have the Black Panthers support protesters during the 25-day sit-in. In photos I’ve seen from the era, Judy Heumann is sitting right by his side.

Black and white photo from 1977 of disability activist Brad Lomax holding a microphone with activist Judith Heumann sitting next to him, both in their wheelchairs.

She was an internationally recognized disability rights leader, often heralded as the Mother of the Disability Rights movement. Earlier this month, I was shocked and saddened when she passed away. She was a legend and still such a powerhouse in the ongoing fight for disability rights. I happened to be reading her autobiography when I heard the news (and when my copy from the library was due, I purchased my own).

One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.

Penguin Randomhouse

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching the Crip Camp documentary on Netflix. It tells the true story of how a summer camp for teenagers with physical and mental disabilities laid the groundwork for a civil rights victory. Featuring Judy Heumann and her fellow activists. This small group of people came together in the right place at the right time and wound up working together to effect great change. They were instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

Rachel Maddow posted a lovely celebration of the life and accomplishments of Judy Heumann.

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Published 2023/01/26

WCAG 2.2 Deja Vu

It feels like deja vu, but WCAG 2.2 has reached the Candidate Recommendation (CR) stage, again. After it reached the CR stage in September 2022, enough feedback was provided to drive these changes. One of them, in particular, makes me happy. The obsolete 4.1.1 Parsing has been removed. Parsing issues no longer cause accessibility blockers thanks to how much browsers and assistive tech have improved. When performing accessibility testing, it has often been difficult to justify failing this success criterion. Focus Visible is bumping up from AA to A, which is the other great news I’ve been aware of for a while. Now we’ve just got to keep waiting it out until WCAG 2.2 is final.

While we wait for that, there’s plenty to keep us occupied in our community:

March

  • International Wheelchair Day celebrated annually on March 1st
  • CSUN Assistive Technology Conference: From March 13-17, 2023 an inclusive setting for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users, speakers and other participants to share knowledge and best practices in the field of assistive technology.
  • axe-con 2023: Hosted on March 15-16, 2023, axe-con is completely free and virtual. Axe-con is an open and inclusive digital accessibility conference that welcomes developers, designers, business users, and accessibility professionals of all experience levels to a new kind of accessibility conference focused on building, testing, and maintaining accessible digital experiences.

April

May

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative WAI, WCAG 2 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines text with icons for touch, vision, cognitive, hearing, speaking, and general accessibility
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