Thread: AJAX and Accessibility?

Does anyone know of any good resources on the subject of AJAX and accessibility?

A client of ours is having issues with an application that uses AJAX, as their screen reader cannot interpret the changes to the page display.

on the accessibility issue - do you make AJAX a requirement for those pages?

the method I've found works the best is to use unobtrusive techniques.

ie; you initially create the website without considering JavaScript. then, after the site is working, you layer JavaScript on top such that it adds features to the site.

an example might be nfgws.ie > Home
1. with JavaScript turned off, you are shown a menu which includes a link to a sitemap.
2. with JavaScript turned on, the menu gains some sub-levels thanks to Ajax.


Kae

you have a point there regarding the Javascript being turned on or off, but based on my statistics for the last few years, only 0.71% of my visitors has the Javascript turned off.

Javascript Enabled 160,314 - 99.29%

so I don't think that will be an issue.

ouch! ouch! ouch!

JavaScript is not Java.

I'm sorry to have to point that out, but it really makes me wince to see that kind of huge error.

Java vs. JavaScript

kae

The first place I would start is Ajaxian.

If you cant find something over there I'd be well surprised.

Perhaps they could develop the application in a way that degrades gracefully in the absense of JS, as kae mentioed above.

Do you know which screen reader they are using?

I think the jury is still out on AJAX and Accessibility, the current rule of thumb is that you should have a non AJAX alternative.

Most Accessibility guidelines suggest your site should work without Javascript enabled. This is because many screen readers cannot react to Javascript invoked changes, (sounds like this is the issue your clients are having) it has nothing to do with whether a users browser has the Javascript option enabled. I dont think there's any 'cure' for this I'm afraid.

Some links:
Bruce Lawson’s personal site : accessibility web standards
accessible.ie

Des

AJAX and Screenreaders: When Can it Work? [JavaScript & AJAX Tutorials]

read this article regarding the screen readers.

I could be wrong but the problem that the screen reader may be having is that the reader isnt capable of detecting the changes on the DOM? Theres a similar problem when it comes to carrying out usability testing on AJAX interfaces which is workable though so im sure there has to be a way around this too.

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