03 Types of Disabilities

Question 1

What are 9 categories of disabilities?

Answer 1

1. Visual disabilities
2. Auditory disabilities
3. Deaf-blindness
4. Speech disabilities
5. Mobility, flexibility and body structure disabilities
6. Cognitive disabilities
7. Seizure disabilities
8. Psychological / psychiatric disabilities
9. Multiple / compound disabilities

Question 2

What is blindness?

Answer 2

• Sightlessness or a loss of vision
• Includes partial blindness (sight is very limited, low)

Question 3

What are some common causes of blindness?

Answer 3

• Diabetes
• Macular Degeneration
• Glaucoma
• Accidents or traumatic injuries to the eye
• Stroke
• Retinitis Pigmentosa

Question 4

What is the legal definition of blindness?

Answer 4

• Visual acuity of 20/200 with corrective lenses, or
• field of vision (what can be seen in front of the person) that is 20 degrees in the eye that has the best vision

Question 5

What are the main categories of disabilities for web accessibility?

Answer 5

• visual disabilities (including blindness, low vision, and color blindness)
• auditory disabilities
• motor disabilities
• cognitive disabilities
• seizure disorders

Question 6

What does a screen reader do?

Answer 6

Screen readers convert the text on the web page into spoken words.

Question 7

List three solutions for individuals who cannot see digital or electronic interfaces (such as computers, automated teller machines (ATMs), mobile devices, airport kiosks, etc).

Answer 7

• Screen readers: read interfaces and content out loud to users.
• Self-voicing interfaces and applications: communicate to users without the need for a screen reader, but are best for broadcasting info because there is no interaction like screen readers.
• Refreshable Braille output devices: use screen readers to convert digital text to Braille. Expensive and only a minority of blind people know how to read Braille.

Question 8

What is a solution for individuals who cannot use screen readers on digital content and/or interfaces not designed with accessibility in mind?

Answer 8

• Interface designers and content authors can edit the markup to make it compatible with the assistive technologies used by blind people.

Question 9

What are solutions for individuals who cannot see when walking?

Answer 9

• Canes: help blind people feel their surroundings as they walk.
• Service animals: trained to assist blind people, help them navigate their surroundings.
• GPS-based walking instructions: with an audio interface, either automated or via a remote human navigator.
• Raised tiles on the ground: indicate the edge of a platform, a pathway along a sidewalk, the beginning of a staircase, etc.
• Eliminate low-hanging architectural features: a blind person might bump into them
• Clear pathways without obstructions (hallways, sidewalks, etc.)

Question 10

What are solutions for individuals who cannot see signs or other text on buildings or other areas in the built environment?

Answer 10

• Map and geolocation applications on mobile devices: can announce the names and descriptions of buildings, other location-related information.
• Braille labels and descriptions on entrances, rooms, bathrooms, historical markers, and other points of interest (as long as the person knows Braille, and as long as the Braille labels are easy to find).
• Tactile models of the exterior of buildings, or of floor plans of the interior of buildings: help blind people form a mental map of their surroundings.