Accessibility Overview
The main groups of special needs users are those who have some sort of sensory deprivation, such as the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/partially sighted. For those who are deaf/hard of hearing, care must be taken to ensure any multimedia elements that use sound also convey the same information visually.
Technologies exist to allow the blind/partially sighted to access websites. These include web to speech systems and web to Braille systems. For such systems to function properly, the HTML must be simple and descriptive.
To accommodate this, the user interface should be developed in such a way that it complies with the recommendations of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium and with reference to the consortiums and standards listed below.
Accessibility Consortia and Standards
WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) - The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) is committed to lead the web to its full potential includes promoting a high degree of usability for people with disabilities.
The WAI, in coordination with organisations around the world, pursue accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
For further information please view www.w3.org/WAI/