Even though one in four people has a disability in the U.S., not everyone has met someone with a disability. At least, not one they know about. When we have not engaged with a disabled person, it’s harder to know how to be a disability ally. Naturally, people have assumptions based on what they’ve seen … Read more
All communications and interactions need to have multiple options. Not everyone wants to do the default, which is often a phone call or talking.
In August 2017, I had unexpected emergency surgery. This was going to make it difficult for me to train for my second half marathon the following December. The doctor told me to take it easy for two weeks. And then slowly ramp up my workouts based on how I feel. In other words, make progress, … Read more
Here’s a round-up of short captioned topics and tips. These used to be in the giant captioned video guide. But it was becoming unwieldy and I wanted to take out instructions for software as that’s always changing. I also separated out the Captioning Videos FAQ. Captions Revealing Secrets Should captions reveal secrets? Sometimes the speaker … Read more
When it first hit, the pandemic was a curse. For everyone, of course. But I’m talking about it being a curse in a different way for me as a deaf person. You know. With a mask-mask here. And a mask-mask there. Here a mask, there a mask. Everywhere a mask-mask. Sorry. Got carried away there … Read more
Would you publish an article on your website if it has typos and other errors? Well, then. Would you publish captions on your website if it has typos and other errors? That’s what automatic captions are and why I call them autocraptions. Automatic captions are like a person or synthesized voice speaking flatly without inflection … Read more
Content accessibility isn’t just the responsibility of the design and production team. It’s everyone’s job. OK. Maybe content marketing doesn’t know to add alt text to images. Maybe a salesperson doesn’t know PDFs need to be accessible. Maybe a graphic designer doesn’t know about contrast beyond complementary colors. Do you detect a theme here? I … Read more
UPDATE on November 8, 2021: Peloton has subtitles for its live classes. Out of the blue, I received multiple messages pointing to an article on TMZ about an accessibility lawsuit. It had a sensationalist headline: “Peloton Sued: Deaf Folks Need More Guidance!!!” Before I opened the article, I could feel myself getting riled up for … Read more
If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s this: prepare for the unexpected. No company can think of every possible scenario that will happen. One of the first things to do is to create a process. There’s always going to be a need for a process or making a change to one. And believe … Read more
Do you caption your videos? Why or why not? Let us know in comments. World Health Organization reports that more than 5 percent of the world’s population is deaf or hard of hearing. [Source WHO] And guess what. The deaf and hard of hearing are not the main users of captions or subtitles! So captioning … Read more