A presentation (debuted at Accessibility Camp Toronto on Nov. 16, and repeated at Accessibility DC on Nov. 19) about Dragon NaturallySpeaking as an assistive technology tool. The presentation covers some of the capabilities and limitations of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and what it can reveal about accessibility limitations of your electronic interfaces and content.

1. +
Dragon Sucks! Digital
Accessibility for the
Physically Challenged
Accessibility DC
November 19, 2013

2. +
Physical Challenge

3. +
About Eric

I am a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton.

I currently serve as the Section 508 trainer for the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs.

My favorite accessibility guideline is ADAAG 5.2.

I’ve been a Dragon user since 1997.

I have cerebral palsy.

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About Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder, hence “cerebral.”

The United Cerebral Palsy foundation estimates that between
1.5 million and 2 million adults in the US have cerebral palsy
(courtesy UCP: November 2013).

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates
that 10,000 babies are born with cerebral palsy in the U.S.
each year.

Cerebral palsy affects my mobility, dexterity, and posture. It
causes spasms and tremors. It affects my visual-spatial
processing.

5. +
The Big Picture

In 2011, the U.S. Federal Government estimated that
19,937,600 citizens had a disability that affected their mobility
or dexterity.

That’s almost 7% of the population.

I worked for a large government organization. We supported
approximately 7,000 assistive technology users.
Approximately 4,000 of us used Dragon. 1,500 used a
screen magnifier. 900 used a screen reader.

This is all to say that there are a lot of us.

6. Nothing on the Web
is+ Inaccessible to
Me.

7. +
Things That Are Inaccessible to Me

Stairs

Rows of tables that are packed tightly so I can’t easily work a
room

Things on the top shelf in the grocery store

Most cars, taxicabs, and venues outside of public transit

“Ah yes, a fence. The cripple’s natural enemy.”

8. +
Accessibility is About Options
Present Your Users With Multiple Ways of Reaching an Endpoint.
Public Park in St. Petersburg, Florida

9. +
Functional, Beautiful, Subtle.
Robson Square, Vancouver.
Built in 1973, the same year that the Rehab Act was signed in the U.S.

10. +
ADA Accessibility
Guidelines 5.2
“Where food or drink is served at
counters exceeding 34 in (865 mm) in
height for consumption by customers
seated on stools or standing at the
counter, a portion of the main counter
[designed to accommodate a
wheelchair] shall be provided.”

11. +
I can access the Web because…

I can see.

I can point and click.

Even when it’s difficult to point and click, I have cheap and
powerful assistive technology (AT).

If I couldn’t see OR point-and-click, conflicts between the AT
commonly used by people with mobility impairments and that
used by people with vision impairments are minimal.

12. +
My Favorite AT

Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Premium ($99)

Windows Speech Recognition
(built into Windows)

KnowBrainer 2012 (free to
people with disabilities, Voc
Rehab centers, and AT
professionals).

Kensington Expert Mouse ($70)

SmartNav ($500)

13. +
Speech
Recognition
Demo
(Eric really likes this part.)

14. +
But Dragon isn’t AT!
What Dragon Can’t Access
What Dragon Can Access

Flash
ARIA
Implicit Labels
<div> elements





Java


Software controls and input
boxes (coded to standard
Windows conventions and
exposed to accessibility APIs)



Most of the “modern web”
Alt Text
Explicit Labels
Text Input Areas
Text Links

15. +
A Keyboard Without a Keyboard

All Dragon users and testers should learn the universal radio
alphabet.

Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Papa, Tango, Victor and Zulu are
sonically distinct from B, C, D, P, T, V and Z.

Knowing this alphabet makes it easy for end users to spell
words and send keystroke commands.

A Dragon user can emulate keyboard commands by saying
“press <key>” or “press <combination of keys>.”

16. +
“Dragon Should Access ARIA!”

Prove it! What’s the business case?

Dragon 11 introduced several requested features:


Direct posting to Facebook and Twitter


Easy management of open applications
“Buchholz” and “Saltalamacchia” were added to the vocabulary.
Dragon 12 added new features, too:

Increased speed, accuracy and efficiency. This laptop has 3 GB
RAM.

Dictate remotely from iOS and Android devices

Training is no longer needed (and not recommended for most).

17. +
“Nuance Doesn’t Care!”

This argument is counterproductive.

Nuance acknowledges Dragon’s capability as AT when it is
convenient to them.

Peter Mahoney (@DragonDictator) is Nuance’s Chief
Marketing Officer. Prior to that, he was General Manager for
Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

His daughter uses a wheelchair. He wrote about inaccessible
travel at Boston’s Logan Airport on TravelByWheelchair.com.

18. +
So, What Am I Asking?

Make your labels visible and pronounceable. Visible labels tell
me what to say, and pronounceable labels let me say it.
Bonus: Instructions will be more usable by users with visual
and cognitive impairments.

Make your targets big. Bonus: Non-responsive sites will be
more usable on mobile devices. Less pinching-and-zooming in
order to tap what you meant to tap.

Make a visible focus indicator. Bonus: This will help keyboardonly users and low-vision users.

Make your Alt Text the same as your visible text. Bonus:
Equivalency!

19. +
More Demos!
(Remember the bad visual processing?
Eric’s slides have lots of words.)

20. Contact:
@ewaccess
+
Ewaccess.Wordpress.com
Linkedin.com/ewaccess
ewaccess@gmail.com
Wright_eric@bah.com