National Organization on Disability Website

Hello,

A client of mine sent me this me a press release from the National
Organization on Disability concerning the NOD website with the comment
"maybe you can learn something from this". Some excerpts from the press
release are below.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 26-On the eleventh anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, The National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) today
launches its new website, a highly accessible compilation of
information,links, and resources for and about the disability community. The
PriceWaterhouseCoopers-designed site, www.nod.org, will serve to educate the
public about issues concerning the 54 million Americans who have
disabilities, and inspire action to maximize the participation in and
contribution to American society of people with disabilities.

N.O.D. has committed to making its own site as fully accessible for visitors
with disabilities as current technology allows. The site is Priority Level
One Bobby compliant, and incorporates additional accessibility standards set
by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative. The
site is also Section 508 compliant, meaning it meets the new standard for
government-related websites even though N.O.D. is a non-governmental
organization. The redesigned site was tested by the Bartimaeus Group, an
assistive technology vendor, on the following software: JAWS screen reader
and Braille reader, MAGic screen magnifier, and Dragon Naturally Speaking
voice recognition software. Furthermore, N.O.D. has enlisted the assistance
of a unique Blue Ribbon Panel, a group of some 40 computer users with
disabilities from across the country whose feedback will ensure that the
website is clear and easy to use.


So in spirit of trying to learn something I have a couple of questions:

1) Does current technology only allow only for Priority Level One
compliance?
2) Is this a "best of" example of accessible design?

Thanks,
Craig Hadley
Madison, WI

Received on Thursday, 6 December 2001 13:09:10 UTC