W3C, Section 508, and the PAS 78

Every Web designer and developer worth his or her salt knows about the W3C 1.0 Accessibility Standards, the Section 508, and the new PAS 78, although the substance within these documents usually aren’t included in any design school curriculum. Design schools focus on the “here and now” with the newest technologies, software, and platforms. There’s no room for “graceful degradation” or “fault-tolerant system” or for Progressive Enhancement (PE – see also Wikipedia’s explanation), two separate and valid ways to deal with outdated operating systems (OS) and viewing platforms. In fact, there’s no room in any design school that I know about to learn about usability or accessibility standards in any format.

Web designers and developers, then, might be smacked in the face with these standards and legalities when they enter the business world, especially if they’re hired by the U.S. Federal Government or if they supply telecommunications products and services to any U.S. federal government agency. With that said, I’ll begin this “accessibility primer” with the Section 508, which – at first glance – seems to deal exclusively with new U.S. federal Websites at this point. If you live outside the U.S., or if you work for a state- or city-run government agency within the U.S., or if you operate a civil business within or even outside the U.S. and you contract with U.S. governments for telecommunications products and services, you will want to hear about this document. It includes legal provisions that drift into agencies and businesses located outside the federal government level.

I’ll then focus on the PAS 78, as this new document may pave the way for future Web development standards worldwide. The W3C will be addressed between the two previously mentioned documents and links to W3C information also will appear in both the Section 508 and PAS 78, as the latter two documents heavily rely on current W3C standards.

Who is considered a “disabled person”?

Before I launch into these documents, I need to provide you with a definition of what these documents mean by “individuals with disabilities.” A person can be physically or mentally disabled, but that person may still be able to access the Internet either with or without help from another individual or from assistive technologies. Mental and physical disabilities may be congenital or they may develop through disease, accidents, aging, drug addiction, or any number of other outside influences.

Mental: a person who suffers from mental impairments may or may not be treatable, or their disorders may be congenital, the problems may come and go, or the problems might be progressive. The Web standards documents listed above deal with those individuals who can – at some point – find some reason and ability to access Websites either alone or with help. A full list of adult “mental disorders” is available from the U.S. Social Security Department. A quick glance at these listings can verify that Web standards documents are most concerned with those individuals who are able to access the Web, but who have shortened memory spans or who experience limited ability to understand and execute complicated instructions.

Physical: A person who suffers from physical disabilities can experience the gamut from visual impairments, including blindness, to an inability to use a mouse or any other pointing device, to deafness, to epilepsy or other physical diseases and disorders which may be exacerbated by the use of a computer. For instance, people who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy may be affected by any design which causes the computer screen to flicker around 16-25Hz, although some people may be sensitive to rates as low as 3Hz and as high as 60Hz. You might note that most current computer displays flicker at a rate of 70Hz and above, and LCD (Liquid Crystal Displays) and TFT (Thin Film Transistors) screens don’t flicker at all.

A person who suffers from any physical impairment may or may not require the help of another person or of assistive technologies. The second requirement, technologies which enable a person to “read” a Website if blind or to navigate without the use of a mouse or other pointing device, produce some problems which are beyond the scope of a Web designer or developer; however, their usage is still addressed within the PAS 78, as their limitations are of concern to Web design and development. Assistive technologies limitations are comparable to the limitations that Web designers and developers face with browser incompatibilities and the use of older equipment by Web users.