Digital Accessibility (D.A. Start)

Digital accessibility (a11y) is the practice of creating equal access to digital content for our patients, staff, students, and others that consume our content.  The first step in the a11y process is to understand what's needed and the methodologies for meeting those goals.

Maybe you've heard about web accessibility -- that's just a portion of the content that needs to be accessible.  Digital content and applications are in continuous flux as technologies push new boundaries. We strive to continually improve our content availability from documents to email to video, to social media to whatever technologies come next. This site provides a central location for accessing the necessary guidelines, training, and tools enabling us to create accessible and inclusive digital content.

What does a11y mean?

A11y is a special type of abbreviation called a numeronym for the word accessibility.  Using a11y is a way to simplify the word and keep the meaning (and it is much easier to type!)

• There are 11 letters between the A and the y, so Accessibility becomes A11y.
• It can be pronounced as "accessibility," "a-eleven-ty" or even sometimes "a11y" depending on the context and is commonly used in the context of digital accessibility. Generally we will use the direct pronunciation of "accessibility."
• Another example of a numeronym is i18n for internationalization (there are 18 letters between the i and the n!)
  

CDC statistics show that "27% of adults in the U.S. (affecting 1/3 of U.S. households) have some type of disability."

Access can be affected by permanent disability (vision loss), temporary disability (broken arm), or situational challenges (a loud environment)

• Auditory - would someone need to hear to process your content if they were hearing-impaired or in a loud environment? Are captions available?
  
• Visual - is your content accessible to people with blindness, color blindness, or low vision? Is text large enough and does it have enough contrast?
  
• Speech - does your app rely on voice recognition?  Will this work with slower speech, are there alternatives for those who can't speak or who might be in a loud environment?
  
• Physical - if someone can't use a mouse, because of a permanent or temporary disability can they navigate through your content with just the keyboard? Do you rely on dragging (which can be difficult for some, or do you also have methods for manually selecting values?
  
• Cognitive - is all of the content reliant on technical jargon? Are steps clear and easy to follow for someone who is completing them for the first time or may have trouble remembering multiple steps?
  

Start by thinking inclusively

We want to make our content available to everyone.  People with disabilities may need alternative design or specific formats so they can have equal access.  Anything created or consumed electronically (like email and Word documents) can be made accessible.

Listen to your instincts

• If you notice, "this seems a little hard to read or understand..." take actions like improving color contrast or simplifying the language when possible. One you start paying attention, you'll start to notice a lot more!
  
• Get digital accessibility training (UTMB login required)
• Learn the Digital Accessibility plays for your role.

Digital accessibility is for everyone. We all create digital content and need to learn the basics of digital accessibility.

Anything created or consumed electronically needs to be made accessible, for example:

• Email
• Office productivity documents (Word, Excel, PDFs, presentations, etc.)
• Digital Images
• Teams chats
• Online meetings (Teams, Zoom, etc.)
• Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc)
• Videos (Microsoft Stream, Panopto, YouTube, etc.)
• and more!