Mobility and physical assistance
Wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes, crutches, prosthetic and orthotic devices, adaptive seating, and transfer equipment support different needs. Accessible spaces must allow people to approach, turn, reach, and use facilities with their devices.
Do not assume a person’s abilities from the device they use. Ask before moving or touching a mobility aid or offering assistance.
Screen readers and braille
Screen readers interpret a page’s structure and controls, presenting information through speech or a refreshable braille display. They depend on meaningful headings, labels, roles, reading order, and state information.
Examples include NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, and Narrator. Features and behavior vary by operating system, browser, and version, so testing should use relevant combinations.
Design connection: a button with a meaningful accessible name can be identified and activated; an unlabeled icon may provide no usable clue.
Low-vision and reading support
People may use screen magnifiers, browser zoom, enlarged text, contrast settings, text-to-speech, reading modes, or optical character recognition. Support these preferences without clipping content or hiding controls.
Design connection: real text and a layout that reflows remain useful when enlarged; a screenshot of a paragraph is much harder to adapt.
Alternative input methods
Speech control, switch access, eye tracking, head pointers, adaptive keyboards, and alternative pointing devices offer different ways to interact.
- Make functionality keyboard operable.
- Keep visible control labels consistent with accessible names.
- Provide alternatives to dragging and complex gestures.
- Use adequate target sizes and spacing.
- Avoid short time limits that cannot be adjusted where adjustment is required.
Hearing and communication support
Assistive listening systems, hearing loops, captions, visual and vibrating alerts, relay services, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) support different communication needs.
Offer compatible equipment and clear instructions. Do not assume captions, hearing aids, or sign language are interchangeable for every person.
Choose and support technology
Consider individual preferences, compatibility, training, maintenance, and privacy. Work with the person using the technology, and test realistic tasks rather than relying only on a product feature list.
Official guidance: Tools and techniques people use