Accessible Communication Technical accessibility/ Section 508

What is “accessible” communication? Designed to reach persons with - and without - disabilities Designed to limit need for accommodations Allows receiver to gain important information, and to give feedback as easily with or without disabilities You can never be 100%

Why accessible? It’s the law – 508, 504, ADA, 255 –State and local laws, grant requirements demand it as well It’s essential for public health –Especially for early detection efforts Deaf parents Increasing mean age of parents (HoH) Increasing grandparent custody (HoH) Providing accessibility can be part of your awareness campaign

Nuts and Bolts – Meeting Accessibility –General meetings open to the public must be captioned Relay Conference Captioning CART Sign language interpreters –Handouts English as a second language Print accessibility – large print vs. disk

Nuts and Bolts – Customer Communications –Train staff for relay calls Delays in response Unclear or imprecise language –Voic and VRS systems must be able to respond to TTY input. –Kiosks and ITMs must have jacks for ALS/CI. Volume must be adjustable at least to ambient +20db

Nuts and bolts - multimedia –All multimedia must be captioned Includes FLASH and online movies and animations, as well as TV spots –MAGPIE Closed or Open captioning Audio files/Radio spots should have transcripts available –sat/DR should have text for website

Nuts and Bolts – Websites Consider multiple disabilities –Color blindness –Visual disabilities –Motor impairments –Cognitive disabilities –Medical conditions (seizures) –Blind and Deaf/Blind PDFs, Word files need to be accessible too!

Resources: Why Accessible? – Meeting accessibility –Fairfax County, VA ChecklistFairfax County, VA Checklist Customer Communications –Relay - Minnesota Department of CommerceRelay - Minnesota Department of Commerce –Kiosks – US Access BoardKiosks – US Access Board Multimedia –National Center for Accessible MediaNational Center for Accessible Media Websites –HHS Section 508 for the WebHHS Section 508 for the Web

QUESTIONS? Questions?