From the course: Android App Development: Accessibility

What is accessibility? - Android Tutorial

From the course: Android App Development: Accessibility

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What is accessibility?

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- [Instructor] Digital accessibility is the design and development of experiences that people with disabilities can independently consume and interact with. The word independently means that if someone with a disability can only perform a task with the assistance of another person, it means the experience is not accessible. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world's population have some form of disability. That corresponds to more than one billion people, making it the largest minority group in the world. As we grow older we are at a higher risk of developing some form of disability. More than 46% of older persons, those age 60 years and over, have disabilities. It is projected that the number of older persons will grow by 56% in 2030, which is about 1.4 billion people. So when you do not consider making your applications accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities, you're also ignoring a potential large group of your customers. The question then becomes how do you create user experiences that are accessible for people with disabilities? First, let's talk about disabilities. Disability generally refers to some form of impairment. A person with a disability has greater difficulty with one or more types of tasks than the average person. But the definition I like the most is that a disability is mismatch between a person and their environment. In this day and age being unable to read for the lack of vision or unable to walk for the lack of mobility is much less impairing given the technology advancements we have. These would only become impairments if the culture allows them to be. For example, a wheelchair user is not able to enter a building if no ramps or elevators are provided. The impairment, therefore, is coming from the building, not the person.

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