Resource Guide: Bring into the Digital Accessibility Careers, Part 2

Here are fantastic resources to learn more about digital accessibility careers. Thanks to Louise Clark for putting this together.

Disability Rights Laws

Guide to Disability Rights Laws

This guide provides an overview of Federal civil rights laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities.

Accessibility Laws and Regulations

Lainey Feingold is a disability rights lawyer and author who maintains a blog on issues around digital accessibility and the law.

AODA Training Online

This free online training covers basic information about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), details about its standards, and its benefits.

How does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) relate to digital accessibility?

A brief article answering the question.

Understanding and Applying the ADA Amendments Act and Its Regulations

Gives an overview of the changes made to the definition of disability, a summary of the guidance provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s regulations, and practical ideas for applying the new definition in the workplace.

Accessibility Guidelines

What is WCAG 2.1: A History of WCAG

Welcome, WCAG 2.1! The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines get an update.

WCAG 2.2

Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

abilityJobs.com

A job site for people with disabilities. The site offers an accessible virtual career fair.

AFB Blind Leaders Development Program

Every year, AFB selects a cohort of blind or visually impaired individuals for this 12-month program: 50% emerging leaders as Fellows and 50% established leaders to act as their Mentors.

Become an Accessibility Tester with Fable

People with disabilities can apply to become a tester to find and share accessibility issues.

Blind Institute of Technology

BIT has several programs for training blind people for careers.

Disclosing a Disability in the Workplace

Information and ideas to help individuals make educated decisions about disclosure.

Job Accommodations Network

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues.

VMWare Neurodiversity Program

VMware’s Neurodiversity Inclusion program is tailored towards individuals with autism.

Training

Fable Pathways

Courses help learners build new technical and non-technical skills to work in the tech sector. Work at your own pace with free, accessible, and on-demand courses.

Digital Accessibility Education, Training, and Certification

This course list provides information about courses, training, and certification on digital accessibility from different providers. You can filter submissions to find those matching your specific interests and needs.

Deque University

Deque offers a variety of online digital accessibility courses. If you have a disability, you qualify for a Deque University Scholarship to access the company’s web accessibility curriculum for a full year at no cost.

Testing Accessibility

A self-paced workshop designed to teach you the principles and effective patterns of accessibility, from design to deployment.

Video Accessibility 101 

This course was designed to make you an accessibility leader to ensure you feel confident as an advocate within your organization.

W3C Accessibility Fundamental Overview

Lists courses for getting started with accessibility and other resources.

Podcasts

A11y Rules

The host has met a lot of interesting people involved with web accessibility and wanted to learn more about them. The A11y Rules Podcast is the result.

Disability Bandwidth

A show where the hosts talk with disability leaders about career, life, and technology.

The Disability Visibility Podcast

Conversations on disability politics, culture, and media.

Included: The Disability Equity Podcast

The podcast delves deep into issues of disability equity.

Newsletters

Accessibility Weekly

Microassist’s Accessibility in the News

UMD Web Design References lists many articles on digital accessibility.

Resources for Careers and Roles

Multiple Roles

Teach Access Accessibility Skills Hiring Toolkit 

This toolkit help organizations build internal capacity for producing accessible digital products. It provides position description language and interview questions for a variety of accessibility-related roles.

University of SC Digital Accessibility Roles and Responsibilities

Everyone who creates, edits, manages, or purchases digital properties or content for the university that may end up in a digital context has the responsibility for ensuring their work complies with digital accessibility guidelines.

Volunteering

Digital A11ies

Digital A11ies is a grassroots accessibility organization paving the way toward a truly accessible web. We strive to address critical gaps in accessibility through research, education, and advocacy.

Knowbility

Knowbility is a nonprofit organization with the mission of creating an inclusive digital world for people with disabilities. They have a variety of volunteering opportunities.

Minneapolis Institute of Art – Content Writers

Can you write simple descriptions of what you see? If so, please join this important effort.

YouDescribe

Volunteers provide audio descriptions of YouTube videos.

UX Researchers

Ethical considerations when doing UX research with people who have disabilities with Sheri Byrne-Haber

User Research with People with Disabilities by Sheri Byrne-Haber

Usability testing with people with disability with Andrew Arch and Sarah Pulis.

The Call for Trauma-Informed Design and Research Practice by Rachael Dietkus

Becoming a trauma‐informed designer is crucial to finding solutions that respond to the many complex problems we face as a society.

Trauma-Informed UX Design: How Trauma-Informed Care and Digital Accessibility Unite by Madison Dunaetz

What is trauma-informed design? By Melissa Eggleston

Designers

ARRM Visual Designer Responsibilities Mapping

ARRM UX Designer Responsibilities Mapping

BBC Designing for Accessibility Posters

Designing for Accessibility and Inclusion by Steven Lambert

A closer look at the different lenses of accessibility through which you can refine your designs.

A Designer’s Guide to Documenting Accessibility & User Interactions

The difference between keyboard and screen reader navigation by Léonie Watson

Engaging in disability as a creative practice by Liz Jackson

Discusses the impact of engaging in disability, not as a problem to be solved, but rather as a discipline and a creative practice. This presentation teaches designers how to design WITH, rather than for disability.

Teach Access UX / Visual Designer

Teach Access UX / Interaction Designer

WebAim Keyboard Accessibility

Content

Plain Language Guidelines

These are the official guidelines for the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

Talk: Moving Beyond Empathy: A11y In Documentation by Alexandra White

Often, writers leave it to engineers to build accessible products but don’t take into consideration how to make their documentation accessible, too. This talk focuses on how writers can make change in their work.

Developers

ARRM Frontend Developer Responsibilities Mapping

A Complete Guide To Accessible Front-End Components by Smashing Magazine

Setting up a screen reader testing environment on your computer by Sara Souedain

Untangling The Complex World Of Accessible Patterns by Carie Fisher

Yes, accessibility is also a backend concern by Eric Bailey

QA Testers

Teach Access Quality Assurance Tester

Trusted Tester Training

A Trusted Tester is an individual who has achieved at least 90% on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Section 508 Trusted Tester Certification Exam. To become a Trusted Tester an individual must complete the DHS Trusted Tester online training course requirements and pass the DHS Section 508 Trusted Tester Certification Exam.