[Laura Carlson](http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/webdevlist) provides loads of links to great articles on accessibility in web design. Want to share them with you.
[Create Your Own Accessibility Statement](http://www.nomensa.com/web-accessibility/create-your-own-accessibility-statement.html): “An accessibility statement has two basic functions. Firstly, it presents clear information about the target level of web accessibility for the website and the methods used to achieve those targets.Secondly, an accessibility statement is a powerful declaration of commitment.”
[Web Accessibility Statements – The Best Of Intentions, Clearly Stated.](http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=281)
[Pitfalls of Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools](http://www.standards-schmandards.com/2009/pitfalls-of-web-accessibility-evaluation-tools/)
[Finest worksong](http://58sound.com/2009/04/27/finest-worksong/): Covers evolution of web accessibility.
[Captioning and Audio Description](http://htclistserv.htctu.fhda.edu/read/messages?id=40738): Good discussion on the topic. Be sure to scroll down — kinda funky looking interface.
[Learning about Video and Captioning](http://www.weba11y.com/blog/2009/05/01/learning-about-video-and-captioning/): One person’s experience.
[The alt attribute is NOT for tooltips](http://robertnyman.com/2009/05/07/the-alt-attribute-is-not-for-tooltips/): Right on!
[How to Provide Alternatives to Non Text Content on a Website](http://www.ehow.com/how_4988084_provide-alternatives-non-text-content-website.html): In nine steps.
[How POUR is your blog?](http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/how-pour-is-your-blog/) Ebook by the talented Glenda Watson Hyatt. POUR = Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust
Designing for Accessibility Links
Minsinterpreting: Is It Just Me?
OK, sometimes I feel like I should learn how to create a neutral look on my face and talk as little as possible.
Or else someone misinterprets a perfectly friendly or innocent comment or look for something negative.
My famous look: Quiet. We all have quiet days. When I am quiet, I just don’t feel the desire to socialize, have much to say or have things on my mind. This look, many times, comes across to others as anger. Gosh, do I have an angry look except when I smile? I hope not.
What can I do? I don’t have time to stare at myself in the mirror on a quiet day and try to morph it into a different look.
We all holler to our family members who are not in the same room as we are. The comments aren’t anger. They could be reminders, check in, questions and whatnot. All neutral emotions.
One day, Paul (hubby) reported that I sounded mad.
Eh?
So I walk into another room and hollered, “Are you OK?” Returned to him and asked if I still sounded mad.
“Yes.”
D’oh!
If my family can’t figure out my real emotions, imagine others who don’t know me as well as they do.
I like to joke around and kid with people. What may sound like a negative or insult, I meant to say in a funny way. People make the same kinds of comments, so I know I am not being a bad joker. Now I wonder if I should refrain from trying to be funny aloud.
Good thing I conduct most of my business online without any face-to-face interactions or talking with my voice.
Nonetheless, in-person contact is important. I go to PTA meetings, volunteer at schools and with nonprofits, play tennis and attend events.
Unfortunately, there’s no good solution. I can’t be someone I am not. I try to live my life as a kind, caring, honest and conscientious person. Of course, I have my weaknesses and those probably come through more.
Maybe being aware of this will help me improve in communicating with others.
I'm Deaf, I'm Not Ignoring You
I remember in the ’80s when pins were popular and full of Valley Girl talk. One popular pin was “I’m not deaf, I’m ignoring you.” I had one as it made for a good laugh.
Paul (hubby) was talking to another parent at yesterday’s T-ball practice. She told him about her husband attending our kids’ school book fair. Apparently, he was going on and on while I didn’t pay attention to him.
He turned to his wife and asked why I was ignoring him. Thankfully, she knew about my deafness.
I’ve heard stories like this over the years and it makes me shudder. I’d like to think I’m a nice person who pays attention when people talk to me. It’s harder to tell when there’s more noise and a crowd. I figure the voices I hear are people talking around me and not to me.
I hate it when people think I’m rude without my having done anything to deserve it. I’d rather earn it 🙂
CaptionTube: YouTube Captioning
[Mashable has a post on CaptionTube](http://mashable.com/2009/04/16/captiontube/), a service that makes it easier for users to add captions to their YouTube videos. [CaptionTube](http://captiontube.appspot.com/) requires a Google account (I think many of us have this by now).
I tried out the service on my [skydiving video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8qKFrwQCXU). It was easy! I just played, paused, entered captions. However, the camera guy is off camera and I couldn’t remember what he said or figure it out. So I mostly captioned my side of the conversation and hubby helped me with the cameraman’s captions.
I had to play with the timing a little bit. This part was clunky. The best way to fix timing is to watch the video again and pause it right where you need a caption. Note the time. Click the timeline where the text is that you need to move. Enter the new time in the caption start time.
The default caption duration works well. When you have a longer line, increase the duration. If the caption disappears too fast, increase the duration. If it carries over to the next line, decrease the duration.
The results!
[
](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8qKFrwQCXU)
Jonah Syndrome
[Jamie Berke](http://deafness.about.com/cs/archivedarticles/a/jonahsyndrome.htm) has an excellent article introducing Jonah Syndrome. I remember the movie, *And your name is Jonah*. It was broadcast in 1979 — still a few years before captions hit. Berke explains that the people behind the movie promoted it heavily in deaf communities yet the movie contained no captions.
Like I said, it was life before captions. However, she has a valid point. Foreign movie subtitles were around then. The producers should’ve used subtitles as an opportunity to connect with the deaf community and make the film widely available encouraging people to watch it without sound.
Last year, [Law and Order: CI](http://meryl.net/ci/2007/04/law_order_ci_si.html), had a great episode with Marlee Matlin. Yet, those of us in Dallas missed it due to bad weather (the weather reports took over). The station graciously reran the episode in the middle of the night (it sounds negative, but they are bound by broadcast rules and it was all they could do).
Speaking of weather, Dallas’ CBS affiliate abandons its deaf viewers whenever it has weather reports. An entire episode of *The Amazing Race* and *Cold Case* didn’t have captions. The network does something that prevents the captions from coming through. Yet, ABC and NBC don’t have this problem anymore. Since *The Amazing Race* currently has a deaf contestant, you could say it was bit by Jonah Syndrome.
Sometimes Jonah Syndrome hits well-meaning places. They provide an ASL interpreter, but no captions. Now, this is not a war of ASL vs. lipreading. Remember, many people classified as hard of hearing and deaf later in life didn’t learn ASL growing up. It’s true that it’s harder to learn a second language after you pass the age of 10. Almost everyone can benefit from captions including those who aren’t deaf.
Fire Alarm Safety
[Recent research](http://www.lifetonesafety.com/pages/professional_center/5.php) by
Dorothy Bruck and Ian Thomas on behalf of the Fire Protection Research
Foundation shows that almost 44 percent of many people — including people with hearing loss, seniors, children, and heavy sleepers do not wake to the sound of standard fire alarms. With roughly half of all home fire deaths resulting from incidents reported between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., this has become a safety issue.
New research discovered a 520 Hz square-wave signal is at least four to 12 times more effective at waking people at risk than the current high-pitched signal.
Using this information, Dr. Dave Albert has developed a new UL-listed bedside fire alarm and clock that uses technologies proven most effective at waking people. The Lifetone HL fire alarm and clock includes a 520 Hz square-wave signal and a bed shaker.
I’m sharing this with you to raise awareness about this safety issue. I’ve never used this product and cannot attest its effectiveness. Here are [more fire safety resources](http://www.lifetonesafety.com/pages/resources/22.php).
I was in a fire when I was 5 — at my grandparents’ house. So it can happen to anyone.
March 2009 Accessibility Updates
Laura Carlson reports many exciting accessibility updates. Why should businesses bother captioning? National Association of the Deaf (NAD) reports that 32 million Americans have some type of hearing loss and another 32 million Americans were born in another country (learning English). 18 million Americans are five-years-old or younger (reading).
Now the latest happenings:
The Paciello Group captions their webinars. Wow. Learn from ’em, webinar folks!
The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) developed the keys to access guidelines for captioning.
Stanford Online Accessibility Program on captioning media for iTunes.
iTunes U and Accessibility discussion.
Man With Small F (The Inaccessible PDF Song)
Podcast Captions tutorials.
Creating Accessible Components in Flash and Flex and Part 2
Adobe Flash accessibility design guidelines
Great stuff, eh?
Coffee with neighborsgo
Angela Chambers, editor of the Plano edition of neighborsgo, asked if I could attend the coffee to talk to people about my neighborsgo experiences.
Background: neighborsgo is the Dallas Morning News’ citizen journalism site where some lucky stories make it into the print edition of neighborsgo, which comes out on Fridays. There are 18 different editions and people can pick up a copy at local Starbucks or get it with their Friday newspaper. Excellent way to bridge the gap between print and online media.
I took her up on the invitation though I tend to avoid such invitations for fear of getting lost in conversation. Not shy by nature (although I do get more energy from smaller groups and my energy drains with larger groups), but it’s frustrating to struggle in understanding people. I’d rather listen than speak as you learn more that way.
I met some smart and intriguing people. Of course, I didn’t understand them all and searched hard for keywords. We exchanged many business cards and I hope we’ll stay in touch online where it’s more comfortable.
Next Friday, I’m attending another event — invited and couldn’t pass up on it. At least, it’ll be mostly women — my track record is that I lipread women better than men.
That’s why I value social media. No worries about misunderstandings or not understanding.
Word on the Tip of Your Finger?
Many of us have said, “It’s on the tip of my tongue… I know it. I can’t remember the word I’m looking for.”
It happens to signers, too. This study indicates that it’s the brain’s misplacing of a memory — not a phonetic or vocalization issue. Deaf Signers Feel the Words on the Tip of Their Fingers explores this deeper by comparing American sign language with British sign language.
Fascinating read.
Audism Free America to Protest
Audism Free America Targets The Volta Bureau
The purpose of the one-day rally is to call attention to how the Volta Bureau/AGBell Association has been an active force in the denial of linguistic and human rights of Deaf citizens through its practices of Audism. Audism is the assumption that behaving in ways of those who speak and hear is best and desired. Audism manifests itself as a stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice against Deaf culture, American Sign Language and Deaf people.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 6, 2009 — Audism Free America (AFA), a grassroots Deaf activist organization, will stage a one-day protest rally on April 3rd 2009 in front of the Volta Bureau at 1537 35th St., NW in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area.
The purpose of the rally is to call attention to the denial of linguistic and human rights of Deaf citizens and to highlight how the Volta Bureau/AG Bell Association has worked to perpetuate the denial of these rights.
The newly formed AFA organization serves to expose AUDISM–practices and attitudes based on the assumption that the behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is best and desired. Audism manifests itself as stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice–in overt or covert ways–against Deaf culture, American Sign Language and Deaf people from all walks of life.
The national landmark known as the Volta Bureau houses a shameful history in the establishment and perpetuation of audism in the United States. The Volta Bureau was established by Alexander Graham Bell in 1893 who was the chief architect and advocate of the oral / aural-only exclusive method in Deaf education in the US. Bell never tolerated sign language as part of the Deaf child’s educational program. The primary reason for this relates to his position as a staunch eugenicist. His fear of the formation of an undesired “Deaf race” drove him to work toward denying Deaf people the right to use sign language, be educated together, be taught by other Deaf people, and socialize together.
These ideas provide the historical roots of the AG Bell Association today and its mission “advocating independence through listening and talking.” The organization’s fanatic lobbying for governmental resources for “exclusive” programs which focus on audition and speech “without the use of sign language or lipreading” for Deaf children results in infringing on the rights of Deaf children who would benefit from becoming bilingual—using American Sign Language and English.
Several years ago, the AG Bell Association publicly objected to a Pepsi commercial with two signing Deaf characters—an act which highlights their determination in the promotion of speaking and listening as the only desirable and acceptable means for Deaf people to communicate and function successfully in mainstream society…which is clearly audism.
AFA organizers challenge the assumption inherent in the Volta Bureau’s purpose: that to be “a center of information for deaf and hard of hearing persons,” neglects to the most part the accomplishments of Deaf signing people and their culture (in the United States and worldwide).
The AFA objects to how the AG Bell Association has sought to control the media, the medical establishment, educational professionals and families with Deaf children while outright neglecting the views and experiences of Deaf Americans. As a result of the advocacy of the AG Bell’s Association, the American public is indoctrinated with attitudes of paternalism, bias and discrimination toward Deaf people.
The AFA protest on April 3rd serves to direct attention to the audism that is promoted by institutions like the Volta Burea/AG Bell Association.
In the spirit of the new administration in Washington DC, the AFA organizers call on those working at the Volta Bureau and the AG Bell Association to work with us to promote freedom from audism in American life for ALL Deaf citizens. Yes, we believe, we can.
For additional information on the Audism Free America Protest Targets the Volta Bureau, visit http://www.audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com.