Accessibility Guide: Glossary
Accessibility Guide: Glossary
Accessible /Accessibility:
Accessible and accessibility refer to the ability of disabled users to participate or engage in environments or with materials as non-disabled peers would. Refers primarily to buildings or environment, material (documents), and electronic media.
Accommodation:
A modification or adjustment that enables an individual with a disability to access and participate in training, employment or other activity.
Alternative Text:
Description of picture or graph which communicates the meaning of the graphic. For more information see Accessibility Guide Images and Graphs
Alternative Format:
"Alternate format is medium and/or methodology that allows people with disabilities to access information in a manner other than how the format was originally delivered." - WebAim
Alternate format and alternative format are interchangeable.
Assistive Technology (AT):
Assistive technology is any device that is “used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.” Can be as low cost and simple as a chart or box to organize medication or expensive and complex as an electric wheel chair or screen reader.
Deaf or deaf:
There are occasions where you will see "Deaf" or "deaf". The reason for this is that "Deaf" denotes an individual who is "culturally Deaf" where "deaf" refers to the hearing impairment only. For more information visit Deaf Culture and the Hearing World
Disability:
The American's With Disabilities Act defines disability as a "physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities..a record of such an impairment...or being regarded as having such an impairment.
Screen Reader:
See Text to Speech, below
Screen Magnifier:
Software that enlarges a screen so an individual with a visual impairment can view it at desired resolution. Many also allow the user to change the color scheme for better clarity.
Text to Speech:
Software that converts electronic text to synthesized speech. Primarily designed for those with visual impairments and print disabilities. Text to speech software reads from left to right, including tables. Many have the ability to navigate a document based on headings created using Styles and Formatting (see below). Text to Speech software is sometimes known as a screen reader.
Speech to Text:
Software that converts spoken words into printed text. Allows those with a variety of impairments to “type” without the use of a keyboard or mouse.
Styles and Formatting:
A feature in Microsoft Word that will create headers and other formatting consistently across a document. Improves readability and accessibility for sighted and visually impaired individuals. For more information See Accessibility Guide's Word Documents
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