Making decisions for your users leads to frustration, especially for people with disabilities who will waste a lot of time trying to figure out how to undo the decisions you made if it is not what they wanted. Start with…
When someone tells you something is impossible because of your disability… Take that as an express invitation to show them how it’s done
Anyone who has had a disability for any length of time can recount dozens of times they’ve been told either a) something couldn’t be done to include them or b) the person with a disability shouldn’t be trying to do…
When organizations do not bake accessibility reviews into its entire management process for both code and content, remediated digital properties are all but guaranteed to backslide into inaccessibility.
True story. In 2010, I went to an accessibility conference in Oakland. I had an emphatic conversation over lunch with some folx at my table about how important it was to embed accessibility into every part of an organization because…
The First rule of Providing Support to Customers with Disabilities is to Have Multiple Modalities that Use Different Senses
Making things difficult for your customers is an excellent way to drive them to your competitors. If your customer support solely relies on voice communication, you’re likely losing potential customers who cannot or prefer not to communicate in this way.…
Accessibility is like Oxygen. Without it, Disabled People Cannot Thrive
Sometimes I complain publicly about something inaccessible, and I’m told I’m overreacting, either directly or indirectly. This takes the form of statements that start with words like: “Why didn’t you just (blah blah blah)”: where “blah blah blah” is something…
It’s Easier to Remove Physical or Digital Barriers than Mental Ones
It’s a lot easier to remove physical or digital barriers than mental ones. When I encounter a planter blocking my wheelchair path, I can ask someone to move it. It’s a straightforward request where both the barrier and the solution…
My disability is NOT a superpower. My superpower is my ability to solve problems when others create barriers by not including my disability
Disability is not a magical gift that grants the recipient extraordinary abilities. It is a condition that frequently creates barriers in a world not designed with us in mind. The true superpower lies in the ingenuity, perseverance, and resourcefulness that…
Accessibility is Never Accidental
Accessibility is always intentional. It does not happen by accident. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some very intentional steps any organization can take to improve its accessibility. Plan from the beginning: Accessibility needs to be part of the initial…
Compliance is a checkbox. Inclusion is a mindset. if your goal is meeting the standards, you are not truly accessible or inclusive
Compliance is a Checkbox, Inclusion is a Mindset. Compliance means following the law. True inclusion is about creating a space where everyone feels valued and included. If your goal stops at “meeting the standards” you’re not truly accessible or inclusive.…
Never give up on disability advocacy. Doing so allows ableist voices to win and perpetuate an inequal society
On any given day, I have to choose which disability injustice I want to write about: Is it the blind person forced to allow someone else to vote for them? Is it the airline that broke or lost yet another…