1 in 4 adults depend on it: What is document accessibility?
This is the first article in a series on Accessible Documents that will cover the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of making documents accessible to people with disabilities.
By: Aoife Murphy, Prudential ADA Strategy & Experience Team
What is document accessibility?
Document accessibility is the practice of making documents understandable and usable for people with disabilities so that they are accessible to as many people as possible.
There are many accessibility features in programs such as Adobe Acrobat, Word, and PowerPoint, as well as other things creators can do to make a document more accessible.
Who uses accessible documents?
People with permanent disabilities
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reports that 27% of adults in the United States have some type of disability. That’s 1 in 4 people! Documents are a vital part of modern life. It is now common for government documents, financial and educational materials, as well as workplace documents to be digital. This means that making these documents accessible is crucial in allowing people with disabilities to fully engage in society.
Accessibility is also an important investment in the future. According to the U.S Census Bureau, by 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 years and older. Disabilities are shown to increase with age, growing to over 45% for those over age 75. This is incredibly important in a world where there is a huge push to move things to the digital space.
People with temporary disabilities
Temporary disabilities can range from physical injuries and infections to mental health conditions that impact a person for a limited time. This can pose challenges for people who rely on digital documents for work, education, finance, communication, and other essential activities. Accessibility can help with this. For example, if a document is accessible, voice commands could be used by someone recovering from repetitive strain injury to navigate a document while resting their injured hand.
Everyone else
There is a phenomenon where accessibility features initially intended for people with disabilities end up benefiting the broader population, this is called the curb-cut effect. Digital documents that have accessibility features benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities.
These features enhance the overall usability of documents by improving comprehension, reducing strain, and improving the user experience. Alt-text is helpful for users with slow internet speeds or data limits; plain language removes jargon and makes information clearer for everyone; structured documents are easier to understand and skim through for information. Accessibility is a key part of usability for everyone.
What are the benefits and importance of document accessibility?
People with disabilities may not be able to read or use digital documents that are not accessible. Making documents accessible provides equal access to information, reduces barriers, and allows for people with disabilities to have greater participation in daily activities. As mentioned above in the curb-cut effect, it can also improve usability for people without disabilities.
The National Federation of the Blind conducted a survey of over 250 blind and low-vision assistive technology users in the U.S. This survey found that participants encountered PDFs between 5 and 20 times every day, and up to 100 times per week. 67% of these PDFs were inaccessible, being partially or entirely unreadable. With digital documents now such an important part of everyday life, document accessibility is more crucial than ever.
Assistive technology
Assistive Technology, often shortened to AT, is any piece of equipment, software, or product system used by individuals with disabilities to assist and support with functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.
Assistive technology includes a wide range of tools and solutions that can help people with disabilities perform daily tasks and take part in education and employment. It plays a crucial role in promoting inclusion, independence, and empowerment for people of all abilities. However, a document needs to be made accessible so that assistive technology can allow users to navigate and interact with it correctly.
Here are some examples of assistive technology used for digital documents:
Screen reader
A screen reader is software that allows someone who is blind or visually impaired to access and navigate digital content on a computer screen. Text, images, and other screen elements are converted into speech or braille. This way users can understand and interact with digital information.
Refreshable Braille Display
A Refreshable Braille Display is an electro-mechanical device that turns digital content into touchable braille letters. In braille, letters and numbers use different patterns of raised dots.
Refreshable Braille Displays provide information from a computer screen by electronically raising and lowering different combinations of pins in braille cells. This allows a blind or low-vision user to access and read digital information with their sense of touch.
Voice recognition
Voice recognition has become a common piece of technology. However, it has its roots in assistive technology.
Voice recognition provides people with disabilities with an alternative way to interact with digital devices and access information. When using voice recognition, users do not need a keyboard or mouse to navigate a document, using just their voice instead.
Screen magnifier
A screen magnifier is software that enlarges text and graphics on a screen, acting like a virtual magnifying glass. This is especially helpful for users with low vision, allowing them to clearly understand and use digital documents.
Conclusion
In the modern world, digital documents are part of everyday life. With the projection for the number of older adults to outweigh children for the first time in history by 2034, inclusion and accessibility will become even more important. Accessible documents ensure that everyone can freely use and navigate them regardless of whether you are using assistive technology or simply benefiting from an improved experience.
Stay tuned for the next article in this series which will cover how to tell if a document is accessible.
