It is characteristic of electronic and digital content, and virtual platforms which enables people to use them without difficulties or barriers. That is, electronic accessibility aims to ‘[overcome] the barriers and difficulties that people experience when trying to access goods and services based on ICTs’ (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2015).
Accessibility usually refers to complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which are considered international standards for web accessibility. They were developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and their use is widely accepted in different parts of the word (Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad, 2019).
Although these designs can favour persons with visual disabilities, the elderly, and even non-native Spanish speakers, there are other information accessibility needs that go beyond the compliance of WCAG. Therefore, sign language must be considered as another language on the web (Fundación CNSE para la Supresión de las Barreras de Comunicación, 2013, p. 37).
References:
Fundación CNSE para la Supresión de las Barreras de Comunicación. (2013). Guía de accesibilidad para personas sordas en las industrias culturales. Gobierno de España, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Pág. 37.
Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad. (2019). Guía de estilo sobre discapacidad para profesionales de los medios de comunicación. Madrid: Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad.
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