WebAIM: Survey of Users with Motor Disabilities

Introduction

In March 2013, WebAIM conducted a survey of users with motor disabilities. We received 46 valid responses to this survey. This was the first survey WebAIM has conducted of this population, but we hope to conduct additional surveys of this nature again in the future. If you have recommendations or questions you would like us to ask, please contact us.

A few disclaimers and notices:

The sample size is very small. Because of this and because the responses came from a sample of convenience rather than one that was scientifically controlled, it is highly unlikely that the results represent the broader population of users with motor disabilities. Please do not attempt to generalize these data.
Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Total responses (n) for each question may not equal 46 due to respondents not answering that particular question.

Demographics

Age

Pie Chart of Age

Select your age
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
0-20	2	2%
21-40	17	37%
41-60	23	50%
61+	5	11%

Internet Proficiency

Pie Chart of Internet Proficiency

Please rate your proficiency using the Internet
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Advanced	27	63%
Intermediate	14	33%
Beginner	2	5%

Respondents indicate a very high level of internet proficiency.

Disabilities Reported

Bar Chart of Disabilities Reported

Please identify your disability. (Select all that apply)
Disability	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Arthritis	11	23.9%
Cerebral palsy	9	19.6%
Spinal cord injury	7	15.2%
Loss or damage of limb(s)	4	8.7%
Muscular dystrophy	4	8.7%
Multiple sclerosis	4	8.7%
Essential tremor	2	4.3%
Spina bifida	0	0%
ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)	0	0%
Parkinson's disease	0	0%
Other	18	39.1%

Other disabilities reported include Repetitive Stress Injury (8.7%), Neuropathy (4.3%), etc. 22% of respondents report multiple disabilities.

Because of the limited sample size, these results should not be used as an indication of the prevalence of these disabilities generally or for users of the web.

Methods of Interaction with Web Pages

Pie Chart of interaction methods

What is your primary means of interacting with a web page?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
With a mouse (including trackballs, eye tracking or other devices that behave like a mouse)	24	53.3%
With a keyboard (including adaptive keyboards, switches, and other devices that behave like a keyboard)	15	33.3%
Using speech recognition	6	13.3%

Operating System

Pie chart showing respondent operating systems

Operating System
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Windows	36	78.3%
iOS	3	6.5%
Apple	5	10.9%
Android	2	4.3%
Linux	0	0%

Operating system data above was detected from the system used to complete the survey.

OS Settings

Bar Chart of OS Settings

Which of the following settings do you enable in your operating system? (Check all that apply)
Setting	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Modifications to mouse behavior (e.g., mouse speed, click speed, hover to click, etc.)	28	60.9%
"Mouse keys" (numeric keypad to emulate mouse)	9	19.6%
"Sticky keys" or filtering repeated keystrokes	14	30.4%
Other	11	23.9%

Technologies Used

Bar Chart of Technologies Used

Which of the following technologies do you frequently use? (Check all that apply)
Technology	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Special keyboard	9	19.6%
Special mouse-like device (e.g., trackball, touchpad, joystick etc.) that you manipulate with arms/hands or legs/feet	15	32.6%
Mouth or head wand	3	6.5%
Switch device (e.g., puff-sip switch)	1	2.2%
Eye or head tracking	1	2.2%
Speech recognition	14	30.4%
Software to facilitate text entry (e.g., predictive keyboard)	8	17.4%
Virtual or on-screen keyboard	5	10.9%
Screen reader	6	13.0%
Other	10	21.7%

A wide variety of devices are used by respondents. 41% of respondents indicate using more than one type of device.

Enlarged Page Content

Pie Chart of usage of enlarged content

Do you enlarge a web page content or page text?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes, to make it easier to read	24	54.5%
Yes, to make it easier to interact with the content (e.g., click on a small button)	9	20.5%
No	11	25.0%

It is of interest that so many users enlarge web content, but primarily for readability when readability is not generally impacted by a motor disability.

Primary Browser

Chart showing browser usage

Which of the following is your primary web browser?
Browser	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Internet Explorer	13	32.6%
Firefox	12	26.1%
Chrome	10	21.7%
Safari	5	10.9%
Opera	3	6.5%
Others	1	2.2%

Internet Explorer was the most common browser for keyboard users, Firefox was most common for voice control users, and Chrome was most common for mouse users.

Influence of Browser Accessibility

Pie chart showing Influence of Browser Accessibility

Is your choice of primary browser influenced by its support for accessibility?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	24	54.5%
No	20	45.5%

JavaScript Enabled

Pie chart showing respondents with JavaScript enabled

Respondents with JavaScript enabled
JavaScript Enabled	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	46	100%
No	0	0%

JavaScript support was detected when the survey was submitted. These results clearly indicate that it is important that scripted interfaces be made accessible to users with motor disabilities.

Mobile Device Usage

Pie chart showing Mobile Device Usage

Do you use a mobile device to access web content?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	25	58.1%
No	18	41.9%

Mobile Platforms

Chart showing mobile platform usage

Which of the following is your primary mobile platform?
Mobile Platform	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Apple iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch	16	34.8%
Android	11	23.9%
Blackberry	2	4.3%
Windows Phone	1	2.2%
Other	3	6.5%
None or No Response	13	28.3%

Mainstream or Disability-specific Mobile Device

Pie chart showing Mainstream or Disability-specific Mobile Device

Is your mobile device designed specifically for users with disabilities (i.e., not a mainstream phone or tablet)?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes, it is a device designed for users with disabilities	2	5.6%
No, it is a mainstream device	34	94.4%

Mobile Accessibility Settings

Pie Chart of Mobile Device Accessibility Settings

Do you use special accessibility settings or software on your mobile device?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	12	36.4%
No	21	63.6%

Those who primarily use an iOS device are three times more likely than users of Android to use accessibility settings or software. Use of mobile accessibility settings is notably less than by those with visual disabilities (36% vs 63%).

Use of Mobile Versions

Pie chart showing Use of Mobile Versions

How often do you access the mobile version of a website because you find the interface more accessible?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Always	2	5.4%
Often	5	13.5%
Sometimes	9	24.3%
Seldom	11	29.7%
Never	10	27.0%

Skip Links

Chart showing usefulness of skip links

How useful are 'Skip to Main Content' or 'Skip Navigation' links to you?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very useful	12	31.6%
Somewhat useful	11	28.9%
Not very useful	8	21.1%
Not at all useful	7	18.4%

Like users with low vision, respondents with motor disabilities generally find skip links to be useful. Keyboard users are much more likely to find skip links useful.

Hidden Skip Links

Chart showing usefulness of hidden skip links

"Skip" links are sometimes presented in a way that makes them hidden visually until they receive keyboard focus. How useful are "hidden" skip links to you?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very useful	2	5.7%
Somewhat useful	3	8.6%
Not very useful	12	34.3%
Not at all useful	18	51.4%

These data clearly show that hidden skip links are not useful to respondents.

Skip Link Position

Chart showing preference for Skip Link Position

Do you have a preference regarding the position of a skip link?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
I have no preference	28	60.9%
I prefer the top right	7	15.2%
I prefer the top left	11	23.9%

There is no clear preference for skip link position, though respondents with a preference favor the top left of a page slight more than the top right.

Form Labeling

Pie Chart showing benefits of form labeling

If a form control (e.g., a checkbox) is correctly labeled, clicking on the text label (or saying the label when using speech recognition software) causes the form field to receive keyboard focus. Does the labeling of forms controls make it easier for you to interact with a form?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	28	60.9%
No	4	8.7%
I was not aware of this functionality	14	30.4%

Interestingly, 41% of mouse users (for whom this functionality provides the primary benefit) are unaware of this functionality. In other words, those that use a mouse primarily were less likely to know about this mouse-specific functionality than those who primarily use a keyboard or voice control.

Accessibility Techniques

Bar Chart of Techniques that Provide Benefit

Which of the following accessibility techniques benefit you personally? (Check all that apply)
Technology	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Headings	22	47.8%
ARIA landmarks	3	6.5%
Descriptive link text	20	43.5%
Good contrast	19	41.3%
Captioned media	13	28.3%
Option to increase text size in the webpage	22	47.8%
Accesskeys	15	32.6%

Of note is a very low response to ARIA landmarks, something that would likely provide great benefit to this audience if navigation to them was supported in mainstream browsers.

Web Accessibility Progress

Chart showing web accessibility progress

Which of the following best describes your feelings regarding the accessibility of web content over the previous year?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Web content has become more accessible	10	23.3%
Web content accessibility has not changed	30	69.7%
Web content has become less accessible	3	7.0%

Social Media Accessibility

Chart showing social media accessibility

In general, how accessible are social media web sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) to you?
Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Accessible	9	22.0%
Somewhat Accessible	11	26.8%
Somewhat Inaccessible	7	17.1%
Very Inaccessible	8	19.5%
I Don't Know	6	14.6%

Conclusion

Like all of our surveys, these results show a very diverse set of respondents, perhaps more so than with other disabilities due to the wider variety of types of disabilities (and thus technologies used) among those with motor disabilities. This highlights that there is not one universal solution to meeting the needs of such varied users. This is the first known survey of this audience focused primarily on web accessibility. While the response set was small, the information may be of interest to you and will be useful as future surveys are constructed.