Accessibility blogging: introductions!

First of all, can you hear me at the back? Or rather, is everyone finding my journal easy to read? I try to go for what I personally find easiest and what I think is likely to work universally, such as font choice, background colour, or paragraph length, but if it's messing up your text-to-speech system or giving you a blinding migraine, do let me know. My own preferences, by the way, are for properly punctuated and spelt text in paragraphs that don't get too long, in normal font size and colour, and if you want me to have a hope of remembering who you are, it really helps to keep to the same icon!

I'm going to be blogging from my own perspective as well as trying to understand what computing is like for other people, so let's begin by telling you a bit about me. I've got severe ME/CFIDS and am unable to work as a result, which is why my journal is titled "A Lobster of Leisure". (I'm nicknamed the Lobster after getting sunburnt at a barbecue a few years ago and spending a week complaining that I looked like a lobster. It stuck.) The problems which affect computer use are overall fatigue, muscles and joints (weak and get tired or painful easily), eye problems (I'm not partially sighted but I can barely read due to processing difficulties known as Meares-Irlen Syndrome and muscular weakness), migraine (the other reason why I fuss about colour and light sources), hearing (Auditory Processing Disorder, which means that I'm neurologically hard of hearing), cognitive problems (memory, concentration, getting words muddled), and having to spend a lot of time in bed. I am a complete bookworm, or rather audiobookworm these days, and studied English Literature at university. I used to be a keen musician until I got ill, and still have the world's loveliest piano, so I'll probably be looking at some music-related stuff. I am addicted to quilting.

I'm going to do a series of posts today just to round up the subjects I should cover. The posts will be divided up by disability/accessibility problem. You don't have to identify as disabled - and indeed we will no doubt have a discussion about the politics of that term sooner or later - to join in, as long as the subject affects you in some way or even just if you're simply interested in it. Here are the categories I'm thinking of:

( Read more... )

Accessibility blogging: introductions!

First of all, can you hear me at the back? Or rather, is everyone finding my journal easy to read? I try to go for what I personally find easiest and what I think is likely to work universally, such as font choice, background colour, or paragraph length, but if it's messing up your text-to-speech system or giving you a blinding migraine, do let me know. My own preferences, by the way, are for properly punctuated and spelt text in paragraphs that don't get too long, in normal font size and colour, and if you want me to have a hope of remembering who you are, it really helps to keep to the same icon!

I'm going to be blogging from my own perspective as well as trying to understand what computing is like for other people, so let's begin by telling you a bit about me. I've got severe ME/CFIDS and am unable to work as a result, which is why my journal is titled "A Lobster of Leisure". (I'm nicknamed the Lobster after getting sunburnt at a barbecue a few years ago and spending a week complaining that I looked like a lobster. It stuck.) The problems which affect computer use are overall fatigue, muscles and joints (weak and get tired or painful easily), eye problems (I'm not partially sighted but I can barely read due to processing difficulties known as Meares-Irlen Syndrome and muscular weakness), migraine (the other reason why I fuss about colour and light sources), hearing (Auditory Processing Disorder, which means that I'm neurologically hard of hearing), cognitive problems (memory, concentration, getting words muddled), and having to spend a lot of time in bed. I am a complete bookworm, or rather audiobookworm these days, and studied English Literature at university. I used to be a keen musician until I got ill, and still have the world's loveliest piano, so I'll probably be looking at some music-related stuff. I am addicted to quilting.

I'm going to do a series of posts today just to round up the subjects I should cover. The posts will be divided up by disability/accessibility problem. You don't have to identify as disabled - and indeed we will no doubt have a discussion about the politics of that term sooner or later - to join in, as long as the subject affects you in some way or even just if you're simply interested in it. Here are the categories I'm thinking of:

( Read more... )

Brainstorming: visual problems

If you have any of the following:

* Blindness
* Partial sight
* Meares-Irlen Syndrome/Scotopic Sensitivity/Visual Stress
* Dyslexia
* Other visual problems e.g. from autism spectrum disorders
* Migraine with visual triggers

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: hearing problems

If you have any of the following:

* Deafness
* Hard of hearing
* Auditory processing disorder (neurologically hard of hearing)
* Other hearing problems

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: fatigue, pain etc.

If you have any of the following or similar, or feel that your computer use puts you at risk of:

* Fatigue
* Pain
* Muscular or joint problems
* ME/CFIDS
* Fibromyalgia
* RSI
* Issues with ergonomics or physical positioning

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: cognitive issues

If you have any of the following or similar:

* Cognitive problems
* Memory problems
* Concentration problems

e.g. ADHD, dementia, brain fog from ME/CFIDS, problems resulting from a brain injury

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: other

If you have

* any disabilities, medical conditions or accessibility needs not covered in the previous posts

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: other

If you have

* any disabilities, medical conditions or accessibility needs not covered in the previous posts

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: cognitive issues

If you have any of the following or similar:

* Cognitive problems
* Memory problems
* Concentration problems

e.g. ADHD, dementia, brain fog from ME/CFIDS, problems resulting from a brain injury

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: visual problems

If you have any of the following:

* Blindness
* Partial sight
* Meares-Irlen Syndrome/Scotopic Sensitivity/Visual Stress
* Dyslexia
* Other visual problems e.g. from autism spectrum disorders
* Migraine with visual triggers

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: hearing problems

If you have any of the following:

* Deafness
* Hard of hearing
* Auditory processing disorder (neurologically hard of hearing)
* Other hearing problems

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.

Brainstorming: fatigue, pain etc.

If you have any of the following or similar, or feel that your computer use puts you at risk of:

* Fatigue
* Pain
* Muscular or joint problems
* ME/CFIDS
* Fibromyalgia
* RSI
* Issues with ergonomics or physical positioning

then comment here to tell me about your experiences, the adaptations or software you use or are interested in, what it's like surfing the web, what you'd want to know about a computer or computer equipment before buying it, and anything else you think is relevant. You can write on behalf of someone you know too.