RE: [SEC508] Can AJAX find harmony on agency Web sites?

["Barrett, Don" <Don.Barrett@ed.gov>]

You are right on the money.  Stand L of 1194.22 is one of the very few
which require screen reader testing since the functionality of text
depends upon which event handlers the screen reader deals with
successfully.

What is probably very controversial in the blindness community is
whether or not a page refresh is required to say something is 508
compliant; I say no way.  For example, suppose you have an AJAX
calculator and you enter 45+778 and hit enter.  Now, the answer appears
below the problem, and if you arrow down, you can read it with no
problem, but the screen reader doesn't tell you beforehand that the
answer is there; in other words, there is no refresh and no indication
that new information has been placed on the screen.  Is this a big
usability nightmare?  Sure it is; but it is also compliant since the
text is functional if you arrow down the screen.  After all, a sighted
person has to look down the screen in the same way that we have to arrow
down.
Some will respond that if you don't know the text has been placed there,
it isn't compliant; not true, the4re is no standard that mandates that
the screen reader tell you in advance that text has been placed on a
page.


Don Barrett
Section 508 Coordinator
U.S. Department of Education
(202)-205-8245
don.barrett@ed.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu]
On Behalf Of Sailesh Panchang
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 12:12 PM
To: sec508@trace.wisc.edu
Subject: [SEC508] Can AJAX find harmony on agency Web sites?

With reference to article on accessibility of AJAX apps:
http://www.fcw.com/article95257-07-17-06-Print&printLayout
I generally support the view, " code to the standard, not to the screen
reader,". But how do you reconcile  this to the S508 para (l0 mandate,
"...
the information provided by the script shall be identified with
functional text that can be read by assistive technology" ? Ability to
use the application with At is the final test in this case, is it not?

Also even many sighted users may be looking at the keyboard as they type
and not realize that AJAX has refreshed a part of the screen.  

Accessibility issues with DHTML and AJAX are summarized  in the Road-map
doc from PFWG http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/roadmap/DHTMLRoadmap040506.html

Sailesh Panchang
Senior Accessibility Engineer
Deque Systems Inc. (www.deque.com)
11180 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite #400,
Reston VA 20191
Phone: 703-225-0380 (ext 105)
E-mail: sailesh.panchang@deque.com


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