NVDA or Narrator are terms that mean something to you? No?
What about TalkBack or VoiceOver… no?

Well, if so, the first step for this introduction is for you to go and use NVDA on your PC if you have Windows, or TalkBack if you have an Android phone. These are assistive technologies that not only blind people but also other people with disabilities can use (the most common worldwide). I will leave you the links for basic tutorials here. You don’t have to be an expert, only to have a grasp of how other people interact with a computer.

A11Y is the symbol of digital accessibility because there are 11 letters between the first one and the last one, symbolizing how accessibility is about understanding the different types and colors of disability, which, by the way, is not inherent to the individual but appears in the relationship between the individual and their environment. You can think about it like this:

Michael Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers of our time. Physically, he is nowhere near to be thought of as a disabled person around the water, right? Now imagine he is abducted by an alien whale-based form and is forced to live with them on their vast ocean planet, where whales work and live like us but underwater, going to the surface two or three times a day for oxygen. How do you think Michael will do in that environment? Will he be able to do anything with no accommodations or tech that supports him?

It is the same individual, but his environment changed, and so the relationship he has with the environment changed. Now, if he tries to use a cellphone here on Earth while having shivers and blurry vision because of a horrible, horrible flu, the individual changed (he got the flu). So although the environment stayed the same, the relationship also changed.

This is important because we are all changing all the time, and also our environment — sometimes small changes, sometimes really big changes. The probability of a mismatch between the two (a disability) is always there, and actually increases with age: around 34% after 65, unless you already have a chronic illness or any comorbidity, then the 34% probability is reached way sooner.

According to the World Health Organization, 16% of people around the world have a significant disability. If you cross-reference that with the fact that natality rates are dropping, retirement age will increase, and chronic autoimmune and mental illnesses are on the rise, then it is not a surprise that the USA (ADA / Section 508) and the EU (Directive 2016/2102, Directive 2019/882) already have laws that enforce accessibility across digital products. The legal frameworks of these countries, and of countries like Argentina and Brazil, refer to WCAG AA directly or indirectly as the technical standard.

So let’s understand how the WCAG technical framework works.

It is like a building with three floors (A, AA, AAA) that is supported by four thick columns, or principles, that every interface should accomplish:

  • Perceivable: Can the user, with their body, perceive the content that I intend to share?
  • Operable: Can a user use the interface with their body?
  • Understandable: Can any user, despite how they perceive the interface and the content, understand it?
  • Robust: Does it support assistive technology in a reliable way?

Around these columns there are different rooms supported by each column. These rooms are called guidelines. There are 13 in total, and this is how they are distributed:

Perceivable

  1. Text alternatives
  2. Time-based media
  3. Adaptable
  4. Distinguishable

Operable

  1. Keyboard accessible
  2. Enough time
  3. Seizures and physical reactions
  4. Navigable
  5. Input modalities

Understandable

  1. Readable
  2. Predictable
  3. Input assistance

Robust

  1. Compatible: HTML5, and ARIA only if HTML5 is not enough

To enter each floor, you need to meet the success criteria for each guideline, and inside each guideline you can find how to implement that success criteria. As I told you earlier, AA is the minimum from an economic, legal, ethical, and functional point of view (it is the one that eliminates most of the friction).

Now, don’t get afraid of the different versions of WCAG. They are cumulative: if you comply with 2.2, you will comply with 2.1. To build or design an interface, you first need to understand what kind of information you are displaying.
You should take WCAG as good practices that are a must.

With this knowledge, you can navigate the guidelines more effectively and apply them with intention.
However, to make accessibility truly effective, you need to know your users and understand the different body–environment mismatches that exist ( not only the ones that are easily perceivable.)

Below are some examples. You can research each of them further on your own:

  • Physical: Parkinson’s disease, tremors, neurodevelopmental motor disorders
  • Sensory: different levels of visual impairment and hearing impairment between the most cummon.
  • Cognitive / Learning: ADHD, dyslexia, acquired brain injury (ABI), dysgraphia, dyscalculia
  • Mental: schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders (all of which affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts)

This is the beginning of a journey.
Use this knowledge wisely.

That will be all for today.
Call a friend and teach them what you learned here.
Share this post so many more people can become aware.

NVDA tutorial talkback basics