---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Will Whitlock <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 2009/6/17
Subject: Accessibility Check
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: Tina Elliott <[log in to unmask]>

Helen,

Your Dis-Forum query was forwarded to me by Tina Elliott from IMPACT
Associates working with me on a project on Inclusive Curriculum for
Disabled Students (ICDS) at the University of Westminster. Naturally, it
was important for this project that documents were fully accessible. In
researching this I found a number of interesting suggestions on websites
but perhaps for starters the most useful and coherent was 'Tips and
Tools' at Utah State University's Centre for Persons with Disabilities
website (http://www.ncdae.org/tools/factsheets/word.cfm).

For Word and Acrobat (.pdf) documents, the correct choice of typeface,
and line and page metrics are essential. The received wisdom is to
choose a sans serif typeface (though there is little convincing research
to support this view but no doubt your forum members have other views)
and a font size of 12-pt (though this is dependant on typeface choice).

Of equal importance, if not more, to typeface choice is line length
(measure), as determined by your margins, and line spacing. Avoid long
line lengths and/or adjust line spacing appropriately. So set left and
right margins at no more than 90-pts (3.17 cm) -- don't just accept MS
Word default (2.54cm). Use paragraph/line spacing/exact to set line
spacing at an appropriate size. The default single spacing is 120% of
chosen font size. This is not enough for a number of typefaces. For
example, use 14.5pt spacing for 11pt Arial (a ubiquitous 'system'
typeface, but a quite horrible and dyslexic-unfriendly). The appropriate
spacing does depend on measure and typeface (particularly its x-height).
This is all quite technical and I could say a lot more -- but there is
nothing to beat your own eye's judgement as to what looks right as you
adjust these parameters -- bearing in mind how dyslexic people for example
have difficulty in scanning long, poorly spaced lines .

The use of paragraph styles is important. It ensures appropriate
semantics with screen reading software. In that respect, correct grammar
and punctuation are also important. The various screen reading software,
for dyslexic and blind/partially sighted students, may be unable to
accurately read (in a semantics sense) poorly constructed text.
Additionally, images must include an alternative description (alt tag)
to be meaningful to a screen reader user.

Further guidance on enhancing readability and producing accessible
documents, using Word paragraph styles is provided at 'Understanding
paragraph, character, list, and table styles', at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/word/HA011876141033.aspx.

For producing Acrobat documents (.pdf files)-particularly for those
using screen readers-look at 'Read Out Loud', Adobe Acrobat's
text-to-speech tool
(www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/reader6/sec2.html). This feature
is a useful preview how your text sounds through a screen reader
(assuming you may not have your own screen reading software). Acrobat
also has an 'Accessibility' checking feature (menu item
Advanced/Accessibility). This will check your .pdf document
accessibility and suggest solutions to any identified problem.

Hope this helps.
Will

---
Will C. Whitlock
Senior Academic Higher Education
Educational Initiative Centre
University of Westminster
[log in to unmask]

The ICDS Project: Educational Initiative Centre and Disability Services
in conjunction with IMPACT Associates.