Who Experiences Disability?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over a billion people have a disability.
This is roughly 15% of the world’s population. SiteImprove also notes that in the United States, “1 in 4 adults…. have a documented disability.”
These statistics may not account for those who do not have access to receive diagnoses or those with invisible disability.
What is Disability?
Disability is best defined by those who experience it:
“The Social Model of Disability, developed over the last 40 years by Disabled people… holds that people with impairments are ‘disabled’ by the barriers operating in society that exclude and discriminate against them… Impairment is an individual’s physical, sensory or cognitive difference… Disability is the name for the social consequences of having an impairment. People with impairments are disabled by society, so disability is therefore a social construct that can be changed and removed.” – Inclusion London
“’Disability’ does not necessarily mean a personal health condition, but rather a mismatch between a person’s abilities and their environment.” – SiteImprove
Content authors can help eliminate barriers by creating well-designed content that all users can access, understand, and use.
What Kinds of Disability Might Users Have?
Here are examples of disability users may have.
Visual
- blindness
- color blindness
- low vision
Auditory
- deafness
- hearing loss
Mobility
- muscular or skeletal disability
- those who use mobility aids
Cognitive and Invisible
- mental health conditions
- learning or intellectual disability
- sleep disorders
- chronic pain, fatigue, or dizziness
- temporary disability
What Can Help Remove Barriers for Persons with Disability?
Here are examples of technologies that may aid users.
Visual
- screen magnifiers
- grayscale filters
- accessible colors
- headings
Auditory
- listening or communication devices
- Sign language interpreters
- transcripts
- captions
- headings
Mobility
- head pointers
- mouth sticks
- eye trackers
- voice input devices
- tab key on a keyboard
- headings
Cognitive and Invisible
- emphasis on key takeaways
- elimination of distracting elements
- content provided in multiple ways to suit different learning styles
- consistent navigational aids
- headings
This information was adapted from the article “What is Accessibility?” from Mozilla and the course “Disability Inclusion in the Workplace” from SiteImprove.