Date:         Fri, 7 Mar 1997 23:41:13 -0800
From: Eileen Lopp <elopp@U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
Subject:      Re: [MAD] International Web Accessibility
To: MADNESS@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
 
CybrWay'n wrote:
>
> i'm still struggling to figure out just what "accessibility for people with
> disabilities" means with respect to psych disabilities
>
 
A few things I've run into at work:
        1.  Fan noise can increase the incidence of voices for some people.
        2.  For people on meds, the mouse is often a major stumbling block (can
cause a tremor or slow down their response time to where a mouse is just
about impossible to use with any accuracy).  I've gotten really good at
offering up all sorts of options for that one.
        3.  Monitor flicker has a few times been known to cause trouble for
people who have either visions or seizure disorders.
        4.  Meds also slow peoples' typing speeds -- no one in the lab who is
on meds has tested at over 40 wpm, not even those who used to be
professionals with speeds over 70 wpm.
 
These are just the hardware issues -- the very idea of networks and/or
modems sets off some peoples' fear/anxiety; 'wizards', which are so
common in current software, also hit some people really hard (should
have called them something else, less 'occult', maybe).  The red lines
Word 7.0's spell check puts under anything it doesn't recognize also
really bothers some people (especially when it does that to their name).