Real talk: Accessibility is just for blind people, right?

1 minute read

Lots of people seem to think accessibility is for people who are blind. Like disability means blindness. Full stop.

Blindness is the entire spectrum of human experience they've bothered to consider.

They've heard of screenreaders, so they believe they've sorted accessibility.

Write alt text on images. Run an automated tool that checks colour contrast. Job done.

Never mind the millions of people who can see their website just fine but can't actually use it.

People with motor disabilities who can't use a mouse are invisible to them. Deaf users who need captions on videos don't exist. Someone with tremors who keeps accidentally clicking the wrong tiny button isn't their problem. People with ADHD who get completely lost in their cluttered interface are never considered.

Cognitive disabilities, vestibular disorders, temporary injuries, aging-related changes. None of this makes the cut.

It's like they think the only assistive technology in existence is a screenreader. And the only users who matter are the ones who can't see.

Then they wonder why their "accessible" website didn't actually help anyone.

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