Accessibility is built-in by those who benefitĪmy Barzach, upon founding Boundless Playgrounds, used legos, string, sticks and clay to lead groups of children with and without disabilities in brainstorming what the best possible, inclusive playgrounds could look like for optimal learning, socialization, and fun. Both Reader Mode and Narrate are products of inclusive design: they help everyone whether they have a disability or not, permanent or temporary. When driving, for example, a person can’t use their eyes or hands to perform other tasks, like read or scroll through an online article, and Narrate is a solution for this. The tools also help people who are temporarily unable to carry out online tasks. And, Narrate is advantageous for those with visual impairment. People with dyslexia and cognitive disabilities who find lots of screen clutter problematic tell us they enjoy Reader Mode and Narrate. (Anecdotally, many Firefox users use Narrate to intentionally reduce screen time.) Yet, we hear of users with many different needs who benefit from these two offerings. The technical term for this type of build is inclusive design, something Firefox engineers think critically about with each update of Firefox.įor example, Firefox’s Reader Mode and Narrate tools are useful for anyone who wants to focus on content or have their browser read aloud. Instead, the playground caters to all children who want to play, socialize, learn and exert some energy. Jonathan’s Dream doesn’t cater solely to people with disabilities, with this in mind. And, people with disabilities live with, and among, people without disabilities. In enabling people with disabilities, we enable and empower them to do their part in ensuring a brighter future for everyone.” Accessibility is inclusive by designĪccording to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability. ![]() “But to do that, they need the tools that provide them that opportunity. “Each and every person - regardless of their abilities or disabilities - has a responsibility to contribute what they can to society, and each person has something unique and invaluable to give,” said James Teh, who manages accessibility for Firefox products. Accessibility means giving every person a realized fair and equal opportunity. The playground humanizes the reason standards exist in the first place. Jonathan’s Dream shows us that accessibility can and should mean more than meeting standards. Meeting them might mean that you’re providing the best experience possible for the end-user of your product, but it might not. And also, it’s important to keep in mind that standards are in place because of the humans that benefit from them. There are hundreds of articles on meeting accessibility requirements for buildings based on the American Disabilities Act, and there are hundreds more articles and forums for web developers on what they need to do to meet W3C guidelines based on the Web Accessibility Initiative. Accessibility is more than meeting standardsĪ quick web search on accessibility surfaces many articles and forums on how-to-not-be-sued when building for offline or online accessibility. The playground teaches us that accessibility is more than simply meeting standards accessibility is inclusive by design it’s built-in by those who benefit and it means continuous, ongoing improvement. Jonathan’s Dream sets an example for everyone looking to create inclusive products, including those building for web accessibility. And, instruments and reading exhibits built into the playground foster inclusive play, where every child is welcomed and benefits physically, socially and emotionally.Īmy and Peter Barzach, the creators of Jonathan’s Dream, conceived of the playground in 1996 in honor of their son, and they later founded Boundless Playgrounds to make inclusive, accessible spaces for children more commonplace. ![]() Swings with torso support enable those with limited upper body strength or mobility to enjoy the classic back-and-forth fun that other kids find easily at typical neighborhood playgrounds. Kids play basketball with hoops of varying heights, suitable for those in and out of wheelchairs. In West Hartford, Connecticut, the Jonathan’s Dream playground is accessible for all families and children, those with and without disabilities alike. There is no better way for us to improve the accessibility part of our mission than in a way that is also inclusive and involves the people that are directly impacted by our product decisions. Mozilla’s mission is to ensure the web remains a global resource, open and accessible to all. This post was initially posted on the Internet Citizen blog.
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