On October 11, 2023, members of the Greater Good community participated in a webinar hosted by Able SC. When asked “Why do we need accessible communications?”, Mary Alex Kopp and Mary Reaves of Able SC let us know that 1 in 4 Americans has a disability, and 1 in 3 South Carolinians has a disability (that’s 1.2 million people!) Plus… it’s the law. They explained that digital accessibility is the term given to all the considerations that, when brought together, make sure that websites, digital documents, presentations, social media, or any other content that is present in digital spaces is equitably accessible to people with a wide variety of disabilities. Below are the basics to get us all started:
- Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia
- Make it easier for users to see and hear content
- Make all functionality available from a keyboard
- Make content appear and operate in predictable ways
- Use headings and lists with proper formatting
- Provide text alternatives (alt text and image descriptions) for photo- and graphics-based content
Able SC offers many, many resources to help. Follow this link to view the Disability Civic Engagement Guide and find more resources by visiting Able SC’s website at able-sc.org.
