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Re: Must all form fields be active to be perceivable?

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From: Tim Harshbarger
Date: May 12, 2017 1:23PM

If fields are present and disabled, I would not consider it a perceivability issue. It is still possible for the someone to perceive the disabled fields with the screen reader.

One of the challenges of making content accessible for a screen reader is that screen reader users often have 2 different ways to perceive, understand, and operate a page. There is the document or virtual cursor or review mode and there is the application or forms mode. I think for screen reader users, the content needs to be perceivable in at least one of those modes. Best practice or improved usability would probably involve finding methods that make the user aware that content may only be available in one mode but not the other or make it available in both modes.