WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: Alternatives to LEGEND for a radio button?

for

From: deblist
Date: Sep 5, 2009 7:05PM

On Sat, 5 Sep 2009, Steve Green wrote:
> How do we change this? Easy. All the so-called accessibility experts need to
> start doing some user testing with disabled participants and assistive
> technologies. It is shocking how many have no experience of this kind at
> all. A few might have downloaded a screen reader and played with it (which
> will teach them nothing) but almost no one is doing user testing and even
> fewer are doing pure research.

I cannot second this enough. I am a disabled Web developer who
uses accessibility technology, and it astonishes me how many
people I talk to defend themselves with "but I followed a
standard" when I tell them "but I can't use your page."

The open source project I work on has an active accessibility
community in which the developers responsible for design come in
to talk to the disabled user community every time they have
questions about design, and listen to the feedback from the
disabled community. Two of the developers on the project are
disabled ourselves. Moreover, just because we're disabled we
don't think we have all the answers. For example, sometimes I
will give standards-based answers about screen readers (I am a
NaturallySpeaking user), and one of our actual blind users will
come in and tell me that I'm wrong about the way JAWS gets used
in the real world, as opposed to according to the documentation.

It's incredible design and I wish more projects get it.

-deborah