Accessibility Archives - Sheri Byrne-Haber's Blog

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The Screen Reader Stutter: Why Your Content Repeats Itself and How to Fix It

Screen reader users hate it when things announce twice. Some people call this “WCAG Stuttering.” Repeated announcements are completely unnecessary and slow down assistive technology users. But one thing they hate more than slow is ambiguous. Clarity leads to screen…

A person in a checkered blazer interacts with a floating digital interface above a tablet

The Other Half of Accessibility: Why Soft Skills Determine Whether Programs Succeed

Introduction When it comes to accessibility management, success is not about ticking boxes or meeting minimum requirements. It’s about creating an environment where everyone, regardless of their abilities, can thrive and feel included through equitable treatment. This end-state requires a…

AI-generated image of four elevators with various signage about evacuation, one is out of service.

True Disability Inclusion Requires Planning for the Unexpected

When we talk about accessibility, people often focus on the thing: the ramp, the captioning, the hearing device, the accessible stall, the screen reader. But physical accessibility is only about the presence of a tool. It’s about what happens when…

Man sitting at table with laptop, being overwhelmed by different forms of data from people standing next to them.

Adapting ChatGPT to Meet Neurodivergent Communication Needs

ChatGPT can be challenging for some neurodiverse people because it often relies on implied meaning, figurative language, and rapid topic shifts that may not align with the way they process information. Responses can be too long, unstructured, or contain unnecessary…

AI-generated image of a scrollable table inside a dialog inside a scrollable browser window.

Nested Scroll Bars Are the One of the Biggest Accessibility Evils, Ever

You can violate many WCAG Success Criteria and still have your website be nominally usable by users with disabilities. Sometimes, the bigger problem is accessibility problems that are exacerbated by usability programs. Nested scroll bars don’t just trip up users;…

5 by 5 color matrix labeled Risk Assessment with green representing low (6 segments), yellow representing medium (13 segments), and red indicating high risk (6 segments).

Do you know your ADA Digital Accessibility Risk?

The first half of 2025 brought another surge in digital accessibility lawsuits. Between January and June, plaintiffs filed more than 2000 lawsuits in U.S. federal courts alleging that websites, mobile apps, or digital platforms were inaccessible. That represents a 37…

Person holding a number of fanned-out $100 USD bills

Locking In Accessibility: How Smart Procurement Language Protects Your Organization

Your organization works hard to build accessible digital experiences. But all of that effort can be undermined the moment you sign a contract with a vendor who hasn’t done the same, or maybe is accessible at the beginning of the…

Hand dragging a rolling suitcase with a sunflower bracelet around the traveler’s wrist

Disability Inclusion Requires More Than a Lanyard

The Sunflower Lanyard program started with good intentions. It’s meant to be a discreet way for people with invisible disabilities to signal that they may need additional help, patience, or understanding. But like many well-meaning ideas, it falls short because…

Picture of a Whill CI Model 2 wheelchair joystick with the protective plastic still attached. The LED display, which is supposed to show the amount of battery remaining and speed, has 1/3 of the pixels blacked out and non-functional. The button panel has been ripped out because the hard plastic top was peeled back, which requires significant force.

When an airline breaks your wheelchair you lose more than equipment

I wish this were rare. It isn’t. As many other wheelchair users and I have documented, chairs get damaged far too often. I have publicly said my chair is damaged on about one out of every ten flights. When you…

A woman standing at a whiteboard in front of numerous pieces of paper and sticky notes, displaying a design that incorporates sticky navigation.

Why Sticky Navigation Can Undermine Accessibility

“Sticky navigation” or “sticky nav” is a software design and implementation technique in which a header, menu, or other element remains fixed to the top or side of the screen as the user scrolls. Sticky navigation is extremely popular, especially…

Category: Accessibility