1.2 Understand What Disability Means

Disability is a broad concept that goes beyond medical diagnoses.

Thinking of disability in a singular sense can inadvertently lead to a narrowed understanding of someone’s experience with disabilities. Looking at disability as a spectrum where impairments can combine, overlap, and intersect with each other provides a better perspective into the lives of people with disabilities. 

There are many ways to think about the experience of disability, which tend to fall into different intertwining models. Models such as medical, social, and functional all address disability from unique perspectives, which consequently provides a more holistic approach to understanding.

We can explore examples such as someone being hearing-impaired without being wholly deaf, while partially sighted. They may use a wheelchair, but only in certain situations, or have trouble with bright lights, but only when their chronic pain flares up. 

Things to consider:

• Not all low-vision people are blind
• Not all people with limited hearing ability are deaf
• Not all people with limited mobility need wheelchairs, canes, or other assistive devices
• Not all people with cognitive limitations have difficulty learning or are socially inept 
• Some people might have combinations of limitations, such as low or no-vision, as well as cognitive limitations

Disability is Universal

Disability can fall into three categories: permanent, temporary, and situational. Individuals can experience one, or a combination of these categories, which creates unique circumstances for each person navigating society. 

• An individual may experience permanent paralysis requiring a wheelchair, while dealing with the situational issue of a distracting glare on their mobile screen 
• Another person with permanent low vision may experience a temporary hand injury that requires a cast, forcing them to adjust how they interact with their tablet device for a period of time

Thinking about disability as something that an individual can encounter in their everyday lives can help us understand disability as a whole. Use this mindset to anticipate ways to optimize digital products for any disability category, or a combination of categories.

Disability is Not Inability

Assistive technologies (AT) are products, equipment, and systems that help people with disabilities live, work, and learn on a daily basis. Non AT-users often assume that people with disabilities are “naturally proficient” at using AT. This is a flawed assumption. Assistive technology, like any other technology, has users that range from beginner to expert. Implementing consistent and simple layouts, intuitive navigational structures, and descriptive labeling ensures individuals with disabilities at varying levels of technical proficiency can enjoy their digital experiences. 

We can also consider how different ATs map to different types of disabilities to strengthen our understanding of how to develop and design for people with disabilities. This can include:

• Screen readers and magnifiers for people who are blind or have low vision
• Speech recognition software and switch control devices for users with motor difficulties
• Closed captioning and transcription for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are built upon four main guiding principles, known by the acronym of POUR. This stands for: 

• Perceivable: Information and UI elements must be built in a way that can be perceived by AT
• Operable: Controls and interactions must be usable with AT and cannot require interactions that some users cannot perform
• Understandable: Information, relationships, and UI controls must be understandable and comprehensible 
• Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents and technologies

By adhering to the POUR principles, we are proactively enabling AT to remove barriers that do not need to exist.

Disability is Human

We must approach our interactions with people with disabilities with respect, awareness, and sensitivity. Generally, it’s recommended to use person-first language, focusing on the individual’s identity rather than their impairment (“person with disability”). Conversely, there are communities who prefer disability-first language (“disabled person”), as it feels more authentic and connected to their experience. Use person-first language by default, and adjust your approach based on your interactions.

How We Know We’re Doing This

How We Know We’re Coming up Short