Types of Disabilities Flashcards
What are some common causes of blindness?
- Diabetes
- Macular Degeneration
- Glaucoma
- Accidents or traumatic injuries to the eye
- Stroke
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
What is the legal definition of blindness?
- Visual acuity of 20/200 with corrective lenses
- Field of vision (what can be seen in front of the person) that is 20 degrees in the eye that has the best vision
What is a screen reader?
Software that converts digital text into spoken words.
What are solutions for individuals who cannot see digital or electronic interfaces (such as computers, automated teller machines (ATMs), mobile devices, airport kiosks, etc)?
- Screen readers can read interfaces and content out loud to users by converting digital text to synthesized speech (if they have been designed to be accessible)
- Self-voicing interfaces and applications can communicate to users without the need for a screen reader. Appropriate mostly for broadcasting information because they usually do not interact with the interface or content as screen readers do.
- Refreshable Braille output devices use screen readers to convert digital text to Braille. These devices are typically expensive, and only a minority of blind people know how to read Braille.
What are solutions for individuals who cannot use screen readers on digital content and interfaces not designed with accessibility in mind?
- Edit markup to make it compatible with the assistive technologies used by blind people.
What are solutions for individuals who cannot see when walking?
- Canes help blind people feel their surroundings as they walk.
- Service animals (e.g. “Seeing Eye” dogs), 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 to indicate the edge of a platform, a pathway along a sidewalk, the beginning of a staircase, etc.
- Eliminate low-hanging architectural features that a blind person could bump into.
- Clear pathways without obstructions in hallways, sidewalks.
What are solutions for individuals who cannot see signs or other text on buildings or other areas in the built environment?
- Map and geolocation applications on mobile devices - announce buildings and other info
- Braille labels (as long as the person knows Braille, and as long as the Braille labels are easy to find)
- Tactile models of the exterior or of floorplans of buildings (help blind people form a mental map of their surroundings)
What are solutions for individuals who cannot see or feel the controls on flat interfaces on consumer devices such as microwaves, ovens, dishwashers, etc.
- Alternative interfaces (knobs, other tactile controls)
- Audio interfaces
- Mobile apps for remote control
What are solutions for individuals who cannot read the text on the containers or packaging for consumer items such as medicine, toothpaste, shampoo, sunscreen, hand cream, personal care products, foods, drinks, candy?
- Embossed Braille on packaging
- Braille stickers on packaging
What are solutions for individuals who cannot read money to determine its value?
- Mobile apps (photograph the money and read the value to blind people)
- Paper bills and coins of different sizes, shapes, or textures
- Non-cash systems of payment (computer, mobile devices)
What are solutions for individuals who cannot read books, magazines, posters, postal mail, or other printed materials?
- OCR images of the text
- Place online or in digital formats
What is low vision?
- the ability to see, but vision that is far from perfect, even with powerful lenses
- someone with low vision may be unable to drive or read printed text unless enlarged
What are common characteristics of blur in low vision individuals?
Blur - faces and objects appear blurry, difficult to distinguish details
What are common characteristics of blur with low contrast in low vision individuals?
- Blur with Low Contrast - Blurred vision, sees objects in low contrast (not many bright vs. dark areas)
What are common characteristics of cataracts in low vision individuals?
Blind spots in eyes, causes them to miss visual information if it’s in one of their blind spots
What are common characteristics of diabetic retinopathy in low vision individuals?
Causes people to see floating dark spots
What are common characteristics of glaucoma in low vision individuals?
See only a small area, no peripheral vision. The edges are heavily darkened or vignetted.
What are common characteristics of hemianopia in low vision individuals?
Limits vision to a smaller area. Usually on either the right or left side of both eyes.
What are common characteristics of macular degeneration in low vision individuals?
- Eye disease where there is a loss of vision in the center of the eye, the field of vision.
- People with macular degeneration have peripheral vision, but have blurred vision or a blind spot in central vision.
What are common characteristics of retinal detachment in low vision individuals?
Vision can be affected in multiple ways
- Some may experience flashes of light in their vision field
- Some see what is called “floaters” in their vision, which can appear as dark debris floating in front of them.
What is screen magnification?
- When the screen is magnified, it zooms in on a section of the screen and displays it at high resolution
- Shows a small portion of the screen at a time
- Examples are ZoomText or MAGic
What are some of the challenges of screen magnifiers?
- If an image is particularly large, a user may need to scroll around the screen to see the whole thing
- If an alert appears outside focus, the alert may be missed. Better to ensure popups appear in area of focus.
What are the benefits of color customization for individuals with low vision?
- Helps with difficult to read text
- Some people experience pain when looking at bright lights - all-white backgrounds are difficult - color customization remedies this
What are solutions for individuals who find small text hard to read?
- Screen magnifiers
- Utilities to enhance contrast, change colors, or alter other aspects of visual appearance
- Screen readers (but only if the digital information has been designed to be accessible)
- Self-voicing interfaces (on ATMs, kiosks, transportation systems, etc.), but are best for broadcasting information
- Alternative large print versions
- Alternative digital versions (web, mobile applications, etc.) of printed materials
What are solutions for individuals who find low contrast text can be hard to read.
- Software or hardware options to enhance contrast
- Design using color combinations with high enough contrast to easily read
What is colorblindness?
- The inability to distinguish between certain kinds of colors (not see no color at all)
- Especially applies to colors of equal brightness or luminosity, even if colors appear different to someone without color-blindness
What is the most common form of colorblindness?
- Red-green color-blindness.
What are two common sub-types of red-green color-blindness?
- Deuteranopia
- Protanopia
What are assistive technologies for colorblindness?
- Not many available - you mainly have to live with it
- EnChroma has developed glasses
What are solutions for individuals who find certain color combinations—red and green in particular—difficult to distinguish?
- Design so users do not depend on color to convey information
What is an assistive technology for deafblindness?
- Refreshable Braille display (in combination with a screen reader)
What is a refreshable braille display?
- Refreshable Braille displays have a line of holes in the physical interface that allow small pins to come up and down to form Braille characters
- The screen reader sends a line of text to the refreshable Braille display
- Users read the text on that line, then press a button to go to the next line. The pins drop down, then come up in a new configuration to reflect the new line of text.
What are solutions for individuals who cannot see digital text?
- Screen reader
- Screen reader paired with refreshable Braille device or “printed” in a Braille embosser
What are solutions for individuals who cannot hear audio (including the audio portion of videos)?
- Closed captions
- Transcripts
- Convert text transcript to refreshable Braille by a screen reader or “printed” in a Braille embosser
What are auditory disabilities?
- Hearing impairment, hearing loss, and deafness
- Diminished hearing
- May have difficulty understanding speech
- Difficulty distinguishing foreground noise from background noise
What are causes of auditory disabilities?
- Genetics
- premature birth
- Infections/illnesses
- Ear trauma
- Exposure to loud noises
- Aging
What are solutions for individuals who cannot hear the audio portion of videos?
- Provide synchronized captions with videos
- Provide sign language interpretation
What are solutions for individuals who cannot hear audio content?
- Provide a transcript
- Provide sign language interpretation
What are solutions for individuals who cannot hear speeches and talks in a room?
- Provide sign language interpretation
- Provide live captions on a monitor during the speech
What are solutions for individuals who cannot hear doorbells, alarms, and other sounds?
- Provide alternative visual alerts, such as lights that flash, pulse, dim, turn on, or turn off