1. An introduction to Introduction to Accessibility presentations May 2017
Sarah E Bourne
Director of IT Accessibility
The Massachusetts Office of Information Technology, known as MassIT, is the state’s lead agency for technology & innovation. We serve more than 150 state agencies as well as cities, towns, & public schools across the state.

2. The basic recipe - Ingredients
What it is
Why do you care
What you have to do
How to learn more

3. The basic recipe - Directions
Make it relatable
Make it practical
Keep it positive

4. For every presentation – what it is
Make it relatable
Comparisons to common situations
Anecdotes
AT demos

5. Disability is relative
From a recent presentation:
Disability is relative
Calvin and Hobbes comics by Bill Watterson ©, as posted at

6. Computers and the Internet open doors for people with disabilities
From a recent presentation:
Why Accessibility?
Computers and the Internet open doors for people with disabilities
57% of computer users benefit from accessible technology, even though many do not consider themselves “disabled”
The things that make it convenient for you make it possible for people with disabilities
Picture from Inclusive Microsoft Design, © Microsoft 2016 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)
Learn more: Videos at Web Accessibility Perspectives: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone 5

7. For every presentation – what it is
Make it practical
Functions and features of assistive technologies
Hardware
Software
Operating systems' assistive technologies

8. Types of disabilities affected by IT
From a recent presentation:
Types of disabilities affected by IT
Sight
Dexterity
Hearing
Cognitive
Physical
Blind
Low vision
Color-blindness
Paralysis
Fine motor control
Deaf
Hard of hearing
Memory
Perception
Problem-solving
Conceptualization
Attention
Situational
Small screens
Glare
Small buttons
No mouse
Moving vehicle
Loud environment
Privacy
Don't wake the spouse!
New parents
Busy executives
Multitasking

9. Assistive technologies by disability
From a recent presentation:
Assistive technologies by disability
Assistive technology (AT) is hardware or software people use to interact with computers or phones effectively and independently.
AT relies on the correct use of operating systems’ device and application interfaces, defined by technical standards.
Sight
Dexterity
Hearing
Cognitive
Assistive technologies
Screen reader (text to speech)
Screen magnification
Braille output
Speech recognition (speech to text)
Alternative input devices
Speech recognition
Screen reader

10. For every presentation – what it is
Keep it positive
Define it early
Avoid "inspiration porn"

11. What is IT accessibility?
From a recent presentation:
What is IT accessibility?
IT Accessibility is making sure our online systems and services can be used by everybody, especially people with disabilities.

12. From a recent presentation:
Why Accessibility?
What most people with disabilities want is to be as independent as possible
You can’t be independent if you don’t have your own income
With disabilities
Without disabilities
Labor force participation
19.5%
68.2%
Unemployment rate
11.0%
4.9%
US Dept. of Labor January 2017
US Dept. of Labor January 2017

13. For these, you have to understand what their role in accessibility is:
Know your audience!
For these, you have to understand what their role in accessibility is:
Why do you care
What you have to do
How to learn more

14. Be role specific Make it relatable: Make it practical:
Use technical terminology only for technical people
Define terminology and expand acronyms
Pick a few good “Learn more” sources
Make it practical:
Point to specific laws, policies, programs, etc. that apply
Keep it positive
Don't threaten unless there is a credible threat
IT opens doors - don't close them
Stay out of the weeds – it’s where jargon alligators lurk
Never just toss them the WCAG specs - too overwhelming

15. Role examples – what you need to know
Executive stakeholders
Top-down communication, governance, and culture
Procurement policy
Program, product, and project managers
Know who is supposed to know what and when what kind of testing needs to happen
CTO/Architect
Accessibility support in selected libraries and frameworks

16. More role examples – what you need to know
Designer
Colors, fonts, identification of content flow and decorative-only elements
Developer
Correct use of HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Content authors/providers
Correct heading levels, providing alternative text

17. Success if…
You haven’t put them to sleep because it wasn’t relevant to what they do
They don’t think accessibility is “too hard” because they understand what they can do to help
They want to learn more because you have piqued their professional curiosity
Bonus points for:
They understand that disability isn’t the problem, creating unnecessary barriers is the problem

18. Discussion!