The LAST People on Earth: Accessibility for The Forgotten Folks (cancelled)

Presented at 11:15am in Virtual B on Thursday, January 1, 2020.

Speaker(s)

• Angela Hooker, Microsoft

Session Details

• Length of Session: 45 minutes
• Format: Lecture
• Expertise Level: All Levels
• Type of session: Pre-conference

Summary

Hey, accessibility whiz, have you thought about all the people who need accessibility? Yes, there are people with vision, hearing, cognitive, motor, and neurological conditions--but there's more to consider. Learn about the people, situations, and the specific accessibility needs that are often overlooked--and get tips to include them.

Abstract

Understanding the needs of your audience is hard sometimes, especially when the standards we follow don't always address the needs of all users. Most of us know to think about people with vision, hearing, cognitive, motor, and neurological conditions, but there are folks who hardly get a mention when it comes to accessibility.

What if people broadened their scope to include, for example, the needs of people with short-term memory loss, aging-related conditions, anxiety, and other concerns? And after you factor in those needs, how can you be sure that you've made your info truly accessible for these forgotten people? Get specific examples and advice for making your info as inclusive as possible to a broad audience while improving everyone's user experience.

Keypoints

1. Learn what audience groups you may have forgotten when it comes to accessibility.
2. Find out the specific needs you'll need to address to make your content accessible for a broad audience.
3. Get tips to be sure your info is usable and accessible for the forgotten folks.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Assistive Technology, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Angela Hooker

Angela Hooker is a Senior Accessibility Product Manager at Microsoft, where she's built a center of expertise for accessibility, user experience, and universal design. She's brought her web management, development, design, accessibility, and editorial and content management expertise to the government and private sector for over 20 years. Angela also advocates for role-based accessibility and believes that teaching people how to incorporate principles of accessibility in their everyday work creates a sustainable program and produces the most accessible user experiences. In addition to accessibility and universal design, she supports plain language and web standards. Angela speaks on and writes about accessibility, user experience, and plain language.