Solutions Masterlist

This MasterList is designed to serve as a resource for researchers, developers, students, and others interested in understanding or developing products that incorporate one or more of these features.

NOTE: This is a living list of known approaches for enhancing access for those with disabilities, literacy issues, or effects of aging. Its comprehensiveness and value comes from the many contributions that have been made to the list. If you know of approaches that are not listed here - or information on any of the approaches that should be included on the sub-pages please forward the information for inclusion. We have established a rewards program to help offset costs for contributors. See the "Challenges" tab above for information on the rewards program for the MasterList. Or simply send additions, corrections, or questions about this list to Contribution@RaisingTheFloor.org, including [MasterList] in the subject line.

Organization

The topics are divided into several main areas by general function.  

Each feature or approach is then listed below along with applicable disabilities to each feature are marked with the following icons:

• B - Blindness (For our purposes, blindness is defined as no or very low vision - such that text cannot be read at any magnification)
• LV - Low Vision
• CLL - Cognitive, Language, and Learning Disabilities (including low literacy)
• PHY - Physical Disabilities
• D/HOH - Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Each of the approaches in the list below links to a separate page that provides:

• a short description of the approach
• which disability groups would benefit from the approach 
• commercial software that uses the approach
• free or demo commercial software that uses the approach
• opens source software that uses the approach
• research on the approach

1. Reading Aloud & Highlighting

• Read entire text aloud - B, LV, CLL, D/HOH
• Read words or blocks of text aloud when highlighted or clicked - LV, CLL
• Highlight each word as it is read aloud - LV, CLL
• Provide pronunciation help on-demand - CLL
• Allow the user to correct text-to-speech mispronunciations and/or retrieve pronunciation corrections from a central source - B, LV, CLL
• Use vocal characteristics to present visual formats - B, LV, CLL

2. Reorganizing, Simplifying, & Translating

2.1 Visual Transformations

• Adjust colors according to user settings - LV, CLL
• Shift colors to be make text and images visible with certain types of color blindness - LV
• Adjust text font, including size and spacing (leading and kerning) - LV, CLL
• Adjust contrast or use a low contrast mode - LV, CLL
• Adjust magnification - LV, CLL
• Use a customized, alternate style sheet (CSS) - LV, CLL
• Use or provide special fonts to facilitate reading by people with Dyslexia - LV, CLL

2.2 Reorganizations

• Reformat displayed text to facilitate reading - LV, CLL
• Reformat web page display with a balanced depth & breadth of menus - B, CLL, PHY
• Create skip links ("skip to main content", etc) - B, PHY
• Group links according to context - B, CLL, PHY
• Create consistency (of controls, navigation, layout, labels, and icons) among web pages, while maintaining distinguishable appearances of pages - B, LV, CLL

2.3 Other Transformations

• Prevent flashing to reduce risk of epileptic seizures and reduce distractions - LV, CLL
• Transform content to conform to accessibility standards - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
• Translate and format text for Braille display - B
• Provide Alternate Simpler Web Browser - CLL

2.4 Sign Language Translation

• Translate from sign language to text - D/HOH
• Translate from text to sign language - D/HOH
• Provide real-time translation of speech to sign language for live feeds, streaming audio and multimedia content - D/HOH
• Retrieve existing sign language multimedia (e.g. link to an existing sign language version of a video) - D/HOH

2.5 Translation into Simpler Form of Same Language

• Translate text into a simpler language - CLL
• Retrieve and link to existing simpler language version- CLL

2.6 Graphic Translations

• Translate text to symbols - CLL
• Translate text to pictures - CLL
• Convert emoticons to icons and set an alternate text label - B, CLL

2.7 Adjust/remove time limits on reading, listening, or acting

• Provide ability to pause, rewind, and replay multimedia - B, CLL
• Provide ability to extend or remove time limits on reading - B, LV, CLL, PHY
• Provide ability to extend or remove time limits on completing an action (filling in a form, etc) - B, LV, CLL, PHY

3. Supplementing Page Content

Most of the following can be done either by an automated tool or by collaborative/third party markup:

3.1 Word level enhancements and definitions

• Retrieve a definition for any selected word from a glossary/online resource - CLL
• Retrieve a definition for a selected idiom from an online resource - CLL
• Retrieve a definition for a selected abbreviation, acronym, or technical term from an online resource - CLL
• Retrieve a definition for foreign language phrases - CLL

3.2 Page & Site Level Enhancements

• Support collaborative third party markup (customized accessibility scripts for web pages that are designed by and shared among users) - B, LV, PHY, CLL, D/HOH
• Provide descriptions of links - B, CLL
• Generate site maps - B, CLL
• Display breadcrumbs - list of previously visited pages and path to current page - B, CLL

3.3 Integrated Help & Reminders

• Provide cues and prompts to aid browsing - CLL
• Provide contextual help - CLL
• Offer real-time assistance - CLL

3.4 Transcription & Captioning of Audio

• Generate or retrieve a text alternative for audio/multimedia content - D/HOH
• Provide visual alerts for system sounds - D/HOH

3.5 Image Description

• Generate or retrieve text descriptions/tags for poorly labeled images - B, LV
• Sonify videos or images to provide "synthetic vision" using audio - B

4. Audio Enhancement

Automatically do AND/OR give the user the ability to.

• Reduce/eliminate background noise - D/HOH, CLL
• Adjust pace of speech/audio - D/HOH, CLL
• Adjust volume and pitch - D/HOH, CLL

5. Adjustable or Alternate Input Devices

Automatically adjust or allow the user to adjust input settings..

5.1 Keyboard settings

• Delay time before repeat (RepeatKeys)- PHY
• Debounce time (BounceKeys) - PHY
• Ignore short key presses (Delay time before key acceptance - SlowKeys)- PHY
• Keep modifier keys active until another key is pressed (StickyKeys) - PHY

5.2 Mouse/Pointer Settings

• Mouse gain / cursor speed - PHY
• Double-click speed - PHY
• Dwell click - PHY
• Cursor size and trails - PHY
• Show pointer location on key press - PHY
• Highlight/drag without holding button - PHY
• Use mouse gestures to perform commands or enter text - PHY
• Anti-tremor mouse filtering - PHY

5.3 Alternate Text Entry Methods

• Keyboard input: Make all functionality available via the keyboard - B, PHY
• Voice input: Make all functionality available via voice control - B, PHY, CLL
• Virtual / On-screen keyboard - PHY, CLL
• Make all functionality available with a limited number of input switches or a reduced keypad- PHY
• Accept Morse code inputs from mouse or other input device - PHY
• Accept symbol-based input - PHY, CLL

5.4 Alternate Pointing Methods

• Support head-tracking input - PHY
• Support joystick-to-mouse input - PHY
• Support eye-tracking input - PHY
• Keyboard control of mouse pointer (MouseKeys) - PHY

5.5 Automation of Common Tasks

• Provide customizable hotkeys that perform actions with fewer keypresses - PHY, CLL
• Provide Macros that re-play a set of pre-recorded actions with a single keypress - PHY, CLL
• Provide customizable shortcuts to help users jump to the content they need - PHY, CLL

6. Facilitating Written Communication

• Automatically check spelling and grammar - CLL
• Assist with homophones (e.g. intelligently choose between "their," "there," and "they're" given the context) - CLL
• Automatically predict/complete words and phrases - CLL
• Read letters and words aloud as they are typed - B, LV, CLL

7. Error Prevention & Recovery

• Help minimize errors - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
• Provide general strategies and contextual aid to safely recover from errors - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH

7.1 Safe internet use

• Assist in judging credibility and authenticity of sites - CLL
• Maintain a list of trusted sites - CLL

8. Preference & Privacy Features

• Automatically determine and adjust settings - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
• Choose preferred features and adjust settings with a user-friendly feature wizard - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH
• Provide settings and options that are easy to try out and modify (because settings may cause confusion) - B, LV, CLL, PHY, D/HOH

9. Special

9.1 Virtual Worlds & Gaming

• Use sound proximity/doppler to provide an audio interpretation of visual content and actions - B, LV
• Provide audio descriptions of objects in local area (within a selective perception / "virtual horizon")  - B, LV, CLL
• Provide the ability to discover relationships between items - B, LV

9.2 Accessible Authentication Methods

• Provide accessible CAPTCHAs to authenticate access to websites - B, LV, CLL
• Enable secure access without a memorized password - CLL

9.3 Real-time Navigation

• Provide GPS navigation/wayfinding features on mobile devices - B, LV, CLL