#Accessibility is important.

A week ago I had a humdrum accident.

With a badly scratched cornea and bruised retina in my eye (I know, how the heck did I manage that?!) I’ve done something this week 285 Million people do every day - live as a vision impaired person.

1/11
Unable to focus my injured eye I’ve been struggling to read, write, endure screen time for more than a few minutes and of course, use the internet - things all those 285 Million vision impaired people experience as everything from minor difficulties to impossible to do.

2/11
Not used to vision impairment my injury seriously hampered my ability to work.

Long term vision impaired people become resourceful in overcoming problems. But lack of and/or poorly applied accessibility features constantly limit the experiences of differently abled people.
3/11
It goes from difficult to impossible. It constantly reminds differently abled people that their needs are an afterthought at best.

#Accessibility
#A11y

4/11
Take just the two most well known common disabilities, vision and hearing impairment. There are:

- 285 million vision impaired people worldwide and 2 million in the UK
- 466 million people with hearing loss worldwide and 9 million in the UK

(Sources at end of thread)
5/11
Those huge numbers are the tip of the iceberg.

The frustrations I’ve temporarily lived with were a small taste of what people with accessibility needs suffer all the time.

We can make #A11y accessibility guidelines standard practice. Make it unthinkable not to.

And...

6/11
Can we go further?

Refining and following accessibility guidelines helps open up our products, services and content indiscriminately. Can we also routinely test our designs and content with people across a range of abilities?

Can we refine the experience for all abilities?
7/11
Done well, making the designs and content we ask people to use accessible without boundaries only adds to the experience for all.

It’s never going to make it worse.

So what could we possibly lose by opening it up?

8/11
*If you’ve been running usability tests of designs and/or content with differently abled people I’d love to talk and learn more about it.

I know a good few have long been doing great work on accessibility on the web, in products and services. You’re stars!

#A11y

9/11
Fortunately for me my eye injuries are temporary and with treatment from NHS eye doctors my vision is quickly returning.

I’m lucky! The huge numbers of people for whom so many services, products and information sources are not designed are not.

10/11
I hope this thread will help you to think about opening up your work to them and helping make the world more accessible.

11/11
You can follow @JontiEccles.
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