- From: David Poehlman <poehlman1@home.com>
- Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 19:02:50 -0500
- To: "Ian Jacobs" <ij@w3.org>, <w3c-wai-ua@w3.org>
I will be satisfied if we make no changes to this document in this instance. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Jacobs" <ij@w3.org> To: <w3c-wai-ua@w3.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 7:16 PM Subject: [Editorial] Adopt Section 508 definition of "assistive technology"? Hello, The WCAG WG suggested [0] that UAAG 1.0 adopt the definition of "assistive technology" used in US Federal regulations. The following definition appears in Section 508 final rule [1]: "Assistive technology. Any item, piece of equipment, or system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." Compare to our definition in the 23 March draft [2]: <BLOCKQUOTE> In the context of this document, an assistive technology is a user agent that: 1.relies on services (such as retrieving Web resources, parsing markup, etc.) provided by one or more other "host" user agents. Assistive technologies communicate data and messages with host user agents by using and monitoring APIs. 2.provides services beyond those offered by the host user agents to meet the requirements of a users with disabilities. Additional services include alternative renderings (e.g., as synthesized speech or magnified content), alternative input methods (e.g., voice), additional navigation or orientation mechanisms, content transformations (e.g., to make tables more accessible), etc. For example, screen reader software is an assistive technology because it relies on browsers or other software to enable Web access, particularly for people with visual and learning Examples of assistive technologies that are important in the context of this document include the following: 1. screen magnifiers, which are used by people with visual disabilities to enlarge and change colors on the screen to improve the visual readability of rendered text and images. 2. screen readers, which are used by people who are blind or have reading disabilities to read textual information through synthesized speech or braille displays. 3. speech recognition software, which may be used by people who have some physical disabilities. alternative keyboards, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate the keyboard. 4. alternative pointing devices, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate mouse pointing and button activations. Beyond this document, assistive technologies consist of software or hardware that has been specifically designed to assist people with disabilities in carrying out daily activities, e.g., wheelchairs, reading machines, devices for grasping, text telephones, vibrating pagers, etc. </BLOCKQUOTE> What if we combine the two? Start with the Section 508 definition (and quote section 508), then "transition" into the specific idea of assistive technology as used in this document? Note: I will be satisfied if we make no changes to the document. - Ian [0] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2000OctDec/0365.html [1] http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm [2] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-UAAG10-20010323/ -- Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org) http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs Tel: +1 831 457-2842 Cell: +1 917 450-8783
Received on Wednesday, 28 March 2001 19:28:51 UTC