inSuit, technical aids, and web accessibility for people with motor disabilities

Let’s talk about web accessibility for people with motor disabilities. In previous posts we’ve talked about the importance of web accessibility and how to meet the standards and regulations that make it possible.

We know that our end goal is to be able to enable all users to access, browse, obtain information, and interact with the countless websites existing on the Internet.

To do so, it is important to bear in mind the needs of each of these groups in order to offer solutions that are universal, usable, clear, and allow for independent access.

Today we’ll focus on the technical aids that make the Internet accessible for people with motor disabilities, by making it possible for these users to access and enjoy any website.

The first thing to take into account is that motor disabilities can be the result of many different causes; and once we know the cause, it is easier to offer an effective solution that will eliminate barriers that stop users from freely accessing the Web.

Some of the more frequent users with motor disabilities are:

• Amputees
• People suffering from pathologies causing them pain or which limit the movement of joints (rheumatism, arthritis, etc.).
• Elderly people or those with impaired fine motor skills (tremors in upper limbs).
• People with muscular dystrophy.
• People whose eye-hand coordination is impaired.
• People with spinal cord injury (paraplegic or tetraplegic individuals).

In light of the above, it is worth emphasising that individuals living with neurological alterations or disorders may be diagnosed with a partial or permanent motor disability resulting from these pathologies.

Guaranteeing web accessibility for people with motor disabilities

If we comply with the various web accessibility guidelines, standards, and regulations, then we can guarantee the proper functioning of technical aids. This will ensure autonomy and accessibility for this group of people, who commonly:

• Replace the mouse with keyboard-based controls.
• Find it difficult to ‘click’ on things they see on screen.
• Find it difficult or impossible to use both hands.
• Enter text or browse the Internet very slowly.

Once we are aware of these aspects, you might ask yourself: How can I ensure web accessibility for these individuals?

When complying with web accessibility criteria for people with motor disabilities and to ensure optimal browsing, it is important to always be aware that users may be employing the following: speech recognition, sounds, keyboard-based commands exclusively, and switches.

Tips for making your website accessible for people with motor disabilities

• The website must allow for keyboard-based commands.
• The way in which data is entered must be compatible with the different types of text-to-speech readers or other support tools often used by people with motor disabilities.
• All commands should allow for activation using single keys. Bear in mind that many users may only be able to press one key at a time.
• The website must be able to respond to commands given by voice, feet, mouth, or eye-tracking devices.
• To navigate, users should be able to jump from the navigation bar, web page header, and around the web page without using the mouse.

inSuit accessibility guarantee for people with motor disabilities

We understand the importance of complying with web accessibility regulations and how web accessibility has a positive impact on the personal, professional and productive development of each group, and those with motor disabilities in particular.

That is why inSuit offers you a simple and effective tool that will ensure that all the necessary guidelines in the field of accessibility are met. This solution will effectively eliminate the different barriers facing users with motor disabilities when they browse the Internet, allowing them to freely explore, get information from, and interact with websites.

These are the inSuit web accessibility functionalities for people with motor disabilities:

inSuit Voice®
This function will allow users to use speech to navigate around the website using simple commands, without needing to use their hands.

inSuit Sound®
This function permits users to navigate using any type of sound, without hand or voice commands.

inSuit Keys®
Users can navigate using the keyboard without the mouse.

inSuit Button®
This aid helps users navigate using the keyboard as a switch to operate a sweeping keyboard, enabling interaction with the web page using a mouth stick, head pointer, foot, external switch, etc.

Discover all of inSuit’s features and how to make your website accessible by clicking here

Thanks to the functionality of these features when used in combination with the various external technical aids, many more users will be able to effectively access valuable information that is made available on the Internet daily.

inSuit will enable you to meet the regulations in Royal Decree 1112/2018 on web accessibility. This law will enable people with disabilities to navigate around the website independently, a transformative action that has a double impact.

We make it easy for you! We offer the ideal solution, consistently meeting WCAG standards, and those of WCAG 2.1 in particular, so that you can capitalise on and guarantee accessibility standards and regulations without making complicated changes to your original web page.

Would you like to know how to make your website accessible? Request a demo!