Check the following elements and ensure they are accessible
For each item that you have in your document, click on the accessibility guideline(s) that corresponds to it in order to learn how to make the element accessible. You may also want to set up your default Word document style to be accessible.
Here is additional information on Microsoft Office Accessibility Support for Microsoft Word.
It is important to always run an Accessibility checker. When creating documents it is easy to forget small details that can make a document inaccessible
There are three levels of an issue. An error, warning or tip.
Error- Content that makes the document difficult or impossible to read and understand for people with disabilities.
Warning- Content that in most (But not all) cases makes the document difficult to understand for people with disabilities.
The blue box will show additional information from Microsoft on why, how and other tips to make your materials accessible.
etting heading styles allows screen readers to navigate through a document and makes it easier to read for everyone.
Page formatting (lists, headings and links), is read aloud to screen reader users, so the content is understood in context. It’s important then to properly format lists.
Alternative text descriptions of images (ALT text) allows screen reader users to benefit from the information being conveyed by an image
When an image or object is not in line with the text it makes it difficult for screen readers to navigate. This can make the document inaccessible to anyone using screen readers.
To fix an object no inline you need to remove text wrapping.
Links are a major method of navigating for everyone, but especially screen reader users. If the links are embedded into meaningful text, they are much more useful.
NEED A NEW IMAGE with Delta example- Delta College- www.delta.edu!!!
Hyperlink Tips:
Screen readers read tables from left to right, top to bottom, one cell at a time (no repeats). If cells are split or merged, the reading order can be thrown off. To test the reading order of your table in Word, place your cursor in the first cell of the table. Now press the Tab key repeatedly to navigate through the table. This will be the reading order that assistive technologies will use.
Merged, nested, and split cells change the reading order of tables. Make sure you construct your table in a way that accommodates good reading order.
*Once you check the reading order, the warning will still appear in the Accessibility Checker Inspection Results box. As long as the other errors and warnings are taken care of the PowerPoint will still be accessible.
Designating column headers in a table is essential to screen reader users understanding how the information is laid out. Please note that Microsoft Word only allows the top row of a table to be designated as a header row. You cannot designate the first column as a header.
Don’t use color alone to make a distinction, a comparison or to set something off or apart from the rest of the document. If you categorize something by color alone, those who are color blind or blind will not be able to benefit from the information. Make sure there is enough color contrast between foreground (font) color and background color.
Proper spacing is not recommended by hitting Enter, Tab or space bar multiple times; instead the spacing feature in the Paragraph formatting menu is used to create blank spaces.