Accessibility on the Web

1. Accessible Web design - a definition
   Author Chuck Letourneau, Starling Access Services © 1998
   
   
2. Applying the ADA to the Internet:
   A Web Accessibility Standard written at the request of the American Bar Association for their June 1998 national summit on disability law and policy for the next millennium.
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell
   
   
3. Electronic Curbcuts
   How to Build an Accessible Web Site. Spring 1997-written at the request of CA Association of Post secondary Education on Disability and presented twice at Sixth International World Wide Web Conference and at the International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities, a follow-up to the United Nations conference in Beijing, China.
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell and Leslie M. Campbell
   
   
4. "Electronic Curbcuts for Government Web Sites: Making Your Web Site Accessible"
   ADA Update, Fall 1997 by the National League of Cities
   No url currently available
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell
   
   
5. Electronic Curbcuts
   The ADA in Cyberspace
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell
   
   
6. Electronic Curbcuts
   Universal Access for Everyone
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell
   
   
7. "For students with disabilities, the Web can be like a classroom without a ramp."
   The Chronicle of Higher Education. 13 March 1998. A31.
   Author - Jeffrey R. Young
   
   
8. The Growing Digital Divide in Access for People with Disabilities:  
   "Overcoming Barriers to Participation"
   This paper was commissioned by the National Science Foundation in connection with the first US conference on the impact of the digital economy convened by President Clinton: "Understanding the Digital Economy: Data, Tools and Research"
   Author - Cynthia D.Waddell
   
   
9. Following is another link to Cynthia D.Waddell's paper on the digital economy.
   The Growing Digital Divide in Access for People with Disabilities: 
   "Overcoming Barriers to Participation"
   This paper is heavily annotated with resources and hyperlinks that should be helpful for understanding U.S. issues, law and policy impacting access to electronic and information technology.
   
   
10. Discussion of Cynthia D. Waddell's Work
    Written by the Silicon Valley Business Journal:
    Author - Katherine Thornberry
    
    

Contact Information

Formerly ADA compliance officer for City of San Jose

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Web Accessibility

1. AccessAbility Online Resource
   This Web resource aims to raise awareness of the accessibility issues faced by people with disabilities who wish to use online services.
   Federal Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
   
2. AWARE Center
   AWARE stands for Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education, and our mission is to serve as a central resource for web authors for learning about web accessibility.
   
3. Designing More Usable Web Sites
   from the Trace Center for R&D.
4. Designing Web Pages for the Blind and Visually Impaired
   
5. EASI
   Equal Access to Software and Information.
   Students and professionals with disabilities must have the same access to information and resources as everyone else!
   
6. Federal IT Accessibility Initiative
   Section 508 was established to prohibit barriers in information technology and present new opportunities and promises for people with disabilities. This law impacts upon electronic and information technology purchased by the federal government.
   Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. The Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative is a Federal government interagency effort to offer information and technical assistance to assist in the successful implementation of Section 508.
7. HTML Writers Guild
   International Organization of Web Authors.
   • Accessibility Guidelines Implementation Project
     
8. How People with Disabilities Use the Web
   This document provides an introduction to use of the Web by people with disabilities.
9. How The Internet Disables People
   In a cyberworld where everyone is supposed to be equal and anonymous, handicaps should be irrelevant.
   Find out how insensitive, inaccessible web design makes surfing impossible for some people.
10. IBM Accessibility Center: Guidelines
    
11. Inclusive Technologies
    Inclusive Technologies provides a full range of consulting services to companies, consumer organizations, researchers, and policy makers on how products can better meet the needs of all users, including users with disabilities and the elderly.
    
12. Microsoft
    Accessibility and Disabilities.
13. Starling Access Services - Accessible Web Design
    
14. Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design
    From Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox.
15. W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative
    W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), in partnership with organizations around the world, is pursuing accessibility of the Web.
16. Web Access Resource List
    From the National Arts and Disability Center.
17. Web Accessibility mailing list in German.
    Further information on subscription and the policy list in:  English or  German
    
18. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
    W3C Proposed Recommendation 5-May-1999
19. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
    W3C Working Draft 23 November 2005
    
20. WebABLE!
    WebABLE!'s accessibility database lists hundreds of internet based resources on accessibility. The WebABLE! directory is a project of the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation.
    
21. WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind
    Web Accessibility "How-To" Site

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Is Your Site Accessible?

1. A-Prompt Toolkit
   A-Prompt (Accessibility Prompt) has been developed to assist Web authors in improving the accessibility and usability of HTML documents.
2. ALTifier
   Web Accessiblity Enhancement Tool
   Adds alternative text to images(IMG) and other graphical HTML elements.
3. Lynx Viewer
   This service allows web authors to see what their pages will look like (sort of) when viewed with Lynx, a text-mode web browser.
4. The Wave
   Helps you check if your page is accessible to people with disabilities.
   A much different concept in checking for accessibility. The Wave will return a copy of your page with added icons, notations, and borders to help you judge whether the page is accessible.
5. WebSAT
   WebSAT  uses a subset of usability guidelines and checks the html of a web page to determine "how well" the guidelines have been followed.
   Many guidelines are subjective and it is not possible to automatically judge conformance.
6. WebXACT
   WebXACT (previously known as Bobby) is a free online service that lets you test single pages of web content for quality, accessibility, and privacy issues.