How usable are WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA success criteria?
As part of our work on reimagining accessibility guidelines, the Silver Task Force is running a number of surveys on different topics.
In this survey, we want to hear from people familiar with W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 on the usability of WCAG’s Level A and AA success criteria. Your feedback will help make future accessibility guidelines as usable as possible.
We invite you to provide your views by completing the WCAG Usability Survey. Many thanks for your time!
My concern is that AA / AAA criteria actually overlook reading disorders.
In my own research, I have discovered that people suffering from Dyslexia and Irlen syndrome actually benefit from REDUCED contrast, and yes, that often means NOT meeting the AAA criteria for accessibility.
My feeling is that while AA / AAA is a fantastic measure of accessibility for certain conditions (I’m actually working on an accessibility color-picker that includes the AA/AAA calculations in a real-time display)…it is unfortunate that it is a criteria that ironically exacerbates problems for those with reading disabilities.
Granted, your average dyslexic goes to great lengths to mask/hide their troubles, which is partly why we don’t hear much about it.
As a general point, I think we need to address the issue of how one accessibility criteria can actually be in conflict with that of another. Personally, I think this may be happening in more places than anyone has really identified.
An app that would allow customization may be a good solution, as long as the content is compatible. I do think content managers are asked to do what may seem like the impossible by designing for all needs but if there was an option to modify content to ones needs, that should be built in.