Macular+Degeneration+and+Internet+Accessibility

Macular degeneration, an age related disease in which central, sharp vision is diminished, is projected to affect 3 million adults over 65 by the year 2020. In an era when adults will continue to work into their late sixties, and therefore increasingly function in the Web 2.0 environment, it is imperative that the issue of accessibility is addressed, in order to allow these individuals to remain competitive in the job market. Macular degeneration poses a huge challenge for Internet users, in that it specifically affects reading text, (which makes up the lion’s share of Internet content), and demands high contrast images for comprehension.Blogging, tagging, creating wikis, and editing and sharing google docs are becoming required skill sets, which depend upon a user's ability to navigate text and graphics rich sites.

To see how text appears to a person with macular degeneration, click on the link below. []

Currently adaptive technology for this disease consists primarily of magnified screen readers, which allow users to both enlarge and increase the contrast levels of text and images on their computer screens. Although there is downloadable freeware available, such as Virtual Magnifying Glass, most users require the enhanced capabilities of commercial software programs, such as Zoomware or MAGic, which vary in cost from $150.00 to $900.00. Some of the programs enlarge text and images to 36x normal size, and allow the user to limit the cursor to only vertical and horizontal movement.

To see a video about Zoomtext, a popular commercial screen magnifier, please click on the link below. []

In an effort to address the accessibility issue, web designers are urged to utilize the following guidelines: 1. Use text without seraphs 2. Use large, bold text 3. Create links in high contrast colors 4. Use black on white text 5. Provide accurate alternative text 6. Provide skip links 7. Limit text placed within graphics

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