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Using Jquery or CSS to create accessible charts. Is this a real solution for accessibility?

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From: Giovanni Duarte
Date: May 11, 2011 12:36PM

Hi,
I am wondering if any of the solutions available for creating charts are
REALLY accessible. I found a list of Jquery libraries (
http://www.instantshift.com/2010/03/09/50-free-resources-for-charts-and-grap
hs-solution/ ) and CSS libraries
(http://sixrevisions.com/css/css_techniques_charting_data/ ).

I have two questions about these solutions:
1. Are these truly accessible? Can a screen reader "understand" the chart?
2. Is an impaired user able to understand the chart by having the screen
reader only? Do you think an alternative description is still necessary?

What I am trying to determine is if we should invest time and resources to
use this type of Jquery libraries or if we should only concentrate on the
use of descriptions.

Thanks,
Giovanni