Accessible Communication and Information

This chapter starts by considering the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulatory requirements for ensuring effective communications with persons with disabilities. It then reviews approaches for accommodating communication needs, ranging from simple approaches (such as large point fonts and Braille signage) to an increasingly sophisticated range of communication technologies for persons with a wide variety of accommodation needs. For example, the chapter describes various technologies that assist persons who are blind or who have low vision, as well as communication strategies and...

This chapter starts by considering the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulatory requirements for ensuring effective communications with persons with disabilities. It then reviews approaches for accommodating communication needs, ranging from simple approaches (such as large point fonts and Braille signage) to an increasingly sophisticated range of communication technologies for persons with a wide variety of accommodation needs. For example, the chapter describes various technologies that assist persons who are blind or who have low vision, as well as communication strategies and technologies for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. It also describes the training and professional obligations of sign language interpreters.