WCAG 2.0 Comment Submission

Name: Wayne Dick
Email: wed@csulb.edu
Affiliation: California State University, Long Beach, EOWG Rep
Document: W2
Item Number: Important New Terms Used in WCAG 2.0
Part of Item: 
Comment Type: TE
Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
Rationale:  In my experience, simple magnification is not very helpful for reading web pages.  Visual readers with print disabilities always need more.  Now, lots of software labeled \"screen magnifier\" does more than magnify, but some products just zoom and that is not very helpful. In the WCAG 2.0 Glossary definition of Assistive Technology, the example of screen magnifier is the only remedy given for individuals with partial sight.  There are no examples, other than screen readers, given for other print disabled readers who are sighted.  I am afraid that developers who want to test WCAG 2.0 compliance will test against screen magnifiers (especially simple zoom magnifiers) and conclude they have met the needs of sighted users with print disabilities.  The example does mention change in color, but there are many other style changes that assist visual reading.  Also, motor limitations cause some print disability rather than the more common conditions, dyslexia or partial sight.  So I suggest the following xample.  Note: I had no word for this type of technology so I just coined \"Visual Reading Assistants\".  Examples of visual reading assistant products are: specialized style sheets, IBM\'s WebAdapt2Me and Home Page Reader and WYNN from Freedom Scientific.  I talked to Phill Jenkins from IBM and he suggested \"Reading Assistive Technology\".  That\'s good but might seem circular in the definition of assistive technology.  There is a significant needs difference between readers with sight who have print disabilities and readers without sight.  While screen readers work for both, sighted readers are never trained in Braille so visually accessible text represents the only static medium available for sighted readers with print disabilities.  A static reading medium is necessary for serious literature that requires deep concentration.  A non-aural medium is also necessary for deaf readers with print disabilities.  Zoom technology does not comes close to addressing this need, so I don\'t want developers coming awy with the impression that screen magnifiers solve the problem for this population.  



Proposed Change:
Change to definition -- Assistive Technology... Example...

Visual Reading Assistants - Several products modify the document styles such as font size and color, spacing of lines, letters and words, and the font family.  These products may also synchronize speech with text, reflow large text to fit the page and add keyboard navigations.  They are used by print disabled readers who are sighted but who cannot read standard print formats owing to a variety of visual, perceptual or motor limitations.

Received on Wednesday, 24 May 2006 20:03:14 UTC