We are working to make this site as easy to navigate and accessible as possible.
We are looking to follow both the Section 508 guidelines, as well as the WCAG 2.0 guidelines.
In the guidelines of “Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia,” we are still striving. Our intro video has closed captions, but we are in the process of captioning the other videos.
The resources provided on disability.gov/accessibility-options are some of the best on the web, so they have been copied below. You can find info on accessibility help for many different disability type by operating system below.
According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), “Web accessibility” means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to the Web. W3C also states that Web accessibility should consider all disabilities that affect access to the Web, such as visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities. “Usability” means how easy something is to learn and use.
There are a number of ways that people with disabilities can change settings on their computer, smartphone/tablet and browsers to make the Internet more accessible and usable for themselves and others. Many operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac, and browsers, such as Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, have accessibility settings that allow users to change background colors, as well as text and icon sizes; choose a preferred font; magnify computer screens; use screen readers or “text to speech” applications, and more.
The following information can be used not only to improve and personalize your experience on Disability.gov, but also on other websites you visit.
Operating Systems
To learn about “built-in” accessibility options available on your device, select the appropriate link to your operating system.
Microsoft
(To find which version of Windows you have on your computer, go to the Start menu, select “Computer” and then, choose “Properties” — the name of this option may vary. A box will open with information on the version of Windows your computer is using.)
Apple Mac OS X
(For information on Mac OS 8 or 9, visit www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/archive/mac/seeing/text/os/text_os9.shtml.)
- For people with vision impairments
- For people with hearing impairments
- For people with physical disabilities or motor skills impairments
- For people with learning disabilities
Mobile Devices
To learn about “built-in” accessibility options available on your mobile device or tablet, select the appropriate link.
- IOS Devices: iPhone/iPads
- Android Devices — (You may also find TechRepublic‘s article on Android Accessibility Options for People Who Are Blind or Hard-of-Hearing helpful.)
- BlackBerry Devices
- Windows Devices
Browsers
To learn about accessibility options available on various browsers, select the link to the browser you like to use.
- Internet Explorer (IE)
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome — information for people who are blind or low vision. (Read the section titled, “Chrome Browser.”)
- Safari