Internet For the Disabled

Have you ever wondered how people with disabilities, let's say the blind, access the Internet? Have you ever asked yourself whether they access the Internet at all?

We all need the Internet
The Internet is currently a crucial part of our lives and it's imperative that no culture or element of the society be left out. "The disabled are no exception", says the W3C.

According to the consortium, the web is fundamentally designed to work for all people. This is irrespective of their hardware, software, language, culture, location, physical or mental ability.

As a consequence, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) brings together industry, disability organizations, government and research labs from around the world to develop guidelines and resources to help make the web accessible to people with disabilities including auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech and visual disabilities.

Understanding Web Accessibility
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the web. It means that they can also contribute to the web.

How are we going to achieve this?
WAI works with these organizations around the world to develop strategies, guidelines and resources to help make the web accessible to people with disabilities.
The guidelines and techniques include:

Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG)
Accessible Rich Internet Application (WAI-ARIA)
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guideline (ATAG)
User Agent Accessibility Guideline (UAAG)
Evaluation and Report Language (EARL)

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"Let's bring awareness to the general audience of what issues exits for the people with disabilities and why access to the Internet is so important to them."

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