What is Document Accessibility?

Document accessibility refers to the practice of creating or remediating digital content, including Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel sheets, InDesign files, web pages, and PDFs that are accessible and usable by everyone, including individuals with disabilities. To achieve this, proper semantic structure, navigation elements, alternate text, color contrast, and tagging are implemented, enabling users of assistive technologies, such as screen readers, Braille displays, magnifiers, and more to effectively read, navigate, and understand the content.

NOTICE: An accessible Office file does not translate to an Accessible PDF file!

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Importance of Accessibility

  • Promotes Individuals Independence

    Accessibility is key in empowering individuals with disabilities to navigate, interact with, and benefit from various technologies and environments independently. By providing accessible tools and resources, you can enable these individuals to perform tasks without reliance on others, fostering self-reliance and confidence.

  • Meets Compliance Requirements

    Ensuring accessibility in digital and physical environments not only aligns with legal standards but also reflects a commitment to inclusivity. By meeting compliance requirements like Section 508, ADA, and WCAG standards, organizations demonstrate their dedication to creating accessible experiences for all individuals, including those with disabilities.

  • Promotes Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

    Embracing accessibility is a crucial step towards achieving true diversity, equity, and inclusion in society. It ensures that people with disabilities are not left behind and are given equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of life, from education and employment to accessing digital content.

  • Improves Universal Design for Learning

    Implementing accessibility principles in educational content and methods enhances Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It allows for the creation of flexible learning environments that can accommodate the diverse needs of all learners, thus enriching the educational experience and promoting better learning outcomes.

Impact of Inaccessibility

  • 4.8%*

    VISION

  • 6.1%*

    HEARING

  • 12.1%*

    MOBILITY

  • 12.8%*

    COGNITION

  • Other*

    NOT LISTED

*PERCENTAGES ARE FROM CDC “DISABILITY IMPACTS ALL OF US” INFOGRAPHIC.

Resources to Understand Document Accessibility

  • W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

    Comprehensive resource for web and document accessibility standards, including guidelines for PDF/UA compliance.

    Learn More at WAI 

  • NWEA Image DescriptionGuidelines for Assessments

    Guidelines for creating effective image descriptions in educational assessments.

    Download the PDF 

  • Diagram Center - Image Description Guidelines

    Detailed guidelines for describing images to ensure accessibility in educational and digital content.

    Explore Guidelines 

  • Information Technology Industry (ITI) - Council Website

    Resource for reviewing and accessing the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) editions.

    Review VPAT® Editions 

  • Access Ingenuity Webinars

    Free one-hour instructional webinars focused on digital accessibility and assistive technology.

    Explore Upcoming Webinars 

  • WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind)

    Offers extensive resources on web accessibility, including articles, tutorials, and tools for creating accessible documents.

    Visit WebAIM 

  • PDF Association

    Provides information and resources for ensuring PDF documents meet PDF/UA standards and other accessibility guidelines.

    Visit PDF Association 

  • WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

    Comprehensive guidelines for making web content, including documents, accessible to people with disabilities.

    Explore WCAG Guidelines 

  • Section508.gov

    U.S. government resource for understanding and implementing Section 508 accessibility standards.

    Learn About Section 508 

Meet Compliance Requirements

Navigating the various accessibility laws and guidelines can be challenging, with regulations including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, California’s Assembly Bill 434, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) criteria to consider. Ensuring your organization complies with the most up-to-date accessibility standards is essential.
To stay ahead of new laws and updates, such as the new WCAG 2.2 guidelines or the final Department of Justice ruling, it's crucial to understand the compliance requirements specific to the project and organization.

Access Ingenuity and our team of experts are here to help, offering accessibility training, website testing, document remediation, implementation support, and compliance monitoring. Get started with a free one-on-one meeting and customized consultation proposal.

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Tools to Author Accessible Documents

  • PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC)

    Free program for validating PDF documents against PDF/UA standards.

    Download PAC 

  • Job Access With Speech (JAWS)

    The world's most popular screen reader for both testing and end-user use.

    More Information about JAWS 

  • Colour Contrast Analyzer (CCA)

    Tool for checking color contrast in graphs, charts, text, images, and more.

    Download the CCA Tool 

  • axesPDF Software

    Software for checking and correcting PDF documents for PDF/UA and WCAG compliance.

    Download axesPDF 

  • NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)

    Open-source screen reader, ideal for secondary testing alongside JAWS.

    Download NVDA 

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

    Comprehensive tool for editing PDFs, including features to check and fix accessibility issues.

    Download Adobe Acrobat Pro DC 

Facing Document Accessibility Challenges? — We're Here for You!

Remediation can be a significant undertaking, especially for content that has already been designed and implemented. Our goal is to be your trusted partner, ensuring all your digital content is accessible and compliant.

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  • Capacity to handle rush requests and 24-hour turnaround projects.

  • Capability to work with final PDFs' or source files (InDesign, MS Word, MS Excel etc.).

  • Cost effective, flexible, and committed to meeting your needs.

This Site is Powered By Access Ingenuity

By ‘access’, we mean that persons with disabilities, or people that require assistive technology, are able to read, understand, and use a product in an equivalent manner. Designing something to be accessible can be rather difficult because it often requires you to put yourself in another person’s shoes. And, it can be difficult to see something from another person’s view, especially if that person is visually impaired. That is why we offer our assistance, whether it is simply evaluating the accessibility of your product, implementing the accessibility, or giving you the tools and skills to do it on your own.

Access Ingenuity provides a full range of services and solutions for organizations needing to make their information fully compliant and accessible. We focus on a variety of compliancy needs, including Section 508, ADA, and WCAG. Our goal is to ensure that ALL end users are able to access digital content including those with disabilities.

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