Thank you to everyone that attended “Writing for Accessible Learning: ALT Text, Captions, and Beyond!” at this year’s Accessibility Summer Camp! I had a blast presenting this session. I heard there were over 100 of you in the audience at one point!

This session equips instructional writers with practical skills to make materials accessible for all. Dive into clear language practices and free tools for readability checks. Craft engaging captions, transcripts, and ALT text for learners with disabilities. Leave empowered to write inclusively, boost engagement, and achieve better learning outcomes!

Session Description and Objectives

Can everyone read your content? You might be surprised. A significant number of your readers may experience neurodivergence, disability, or other conditions that prevent them from interacting with your written content. Learn how to write with accessibility and inclusion in mind, including strategies for readability, captions, transcripts, and more – with resources and checklists to get to work right away.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Edit writing for readability and clarity
• Write quality captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for audio/visual content
• Write quality ALT text for images

Writing for Accessible Learning Session Slides

Mentimeter provided a great platform for audience participation, as usual!

Looking for the final slides with audience responses? Download them here.

Session Resources

Readability and Language Tools

• Hemingway App
• Readable
• Federal Plain Language Guidelines
• WCAG: Readable

Other Accessible Writing Resources

• AI ALT Text Generator (use with caution and always double-check!)
• AWS Amazon Transcribe
• YouTube Automatic Captioning

Accessible Writing Series

Did you miss the series of posts on Writing for Accessibility I’ve had on the blog lately? Check them out here:

• Writing ALT Text for Accessibility
• Writing for Readability
• Writing Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions
• Writing Bonus! Accessible Emoji Use
• More on Accessible Writing: Fancy Fonts

Writing for Accessible Learning Session Recording

The recording is now available from the Accessibility Summer Camp website!

Visit this link to watch my session.

Did you find the session informative? I’d love to hear from you! 

The post Recap: Writing for Accessible Learning appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

I did a thing this weekend – I graduated! I’ve been participating in a Speaker’s Academy for the last several months, led by the National Speakers Association – Las Vegas Chapter. Our Speaker’s Showcase on Saturday featured my new mini-keynote, “A Crash Course in Disability Etiquette.”

Update: The edited recording is here! I’ve provided my initial version of the talk below, and the final video contains the accurate spoken transcript.

Good morning! Take a moment, if you can, to look around you. Notice the three people closest to you. It’s likely that one of the four of you is living with a disability. This isn’t just a statistic—it’s a reality that affects how we build our communities and workplaces to be inclusive and accessible to everyone.

Today, we are fortunate to have Britne Jenke with us, an expert in accessibility training and consulting. As someone who navigates the world informed by her own experiences with disability, Britne brings invaluable insights that challenge conventional views on disability etiquette.

In her talk, ‘A Crash Course in Disability Etiquette,’ Britne will transform your understanding of what it means to be truly inclusive. You’ll learn not just the ‘rules’ but the real-life applications of creating respectful and welcoming environments for everyone. Get ready to change the way you think about and interact with the world around you.

Please join me in welcoming an inspiring trainer, consultant, and advocate—Britne Jenke!

“A Crash Course in Disability Etiquette”

by Britne Jenke

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. I’d like you to meet Ruby.

Ruby has been my trusty companion for years. She joins me anywhere, and like any woman, she’s always supportive – and she does it in style!

I use a cane on occasion because I have a chronic pain condition, fibromyalgia. My canes help me manage places like the conferences I speak at, with long walks down halls of rooms and lots of standing through expo halls and receptions. I once worked at a factory with a daily walk of 2000 steps from the parking lot to my desk, and you better believe Ruby was there to get me out of that factory every night.

There are several causes of fibromyalgia, one of which can be prolonged nerve stress. My doctors told me I acquired fibro through years of unsuccessfully managing undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD comes from an incident I’d rather not discuss today, and after therapy it really affects me less than my daily challenge of bipolar disorder. (That one I inherited.)

Yes, I am a mess. And since these conditions affect my day to day life and function, I am considered disabled by most definitions. I have medications, strategies, and tools to support me – but I’ve found that modern life is, well, less than inclusive to disabled people.

So I’m here today to shed light on the realities of disability and hopefully create a few new champions of inclusion. How? I’m going to share 3 strategies that will equip you with the tools you need to navigate disability etiquette with confidence. We’ll debunk common myths, learn how to offer assistance appropriately, and create a more inclusive environment for everyone.

We’ll start with: ask before assuming.

Let’s talk about good intentions gone awry. We’ve all been there, right?  You see someone struggling, your hero instincts kick in, and BAM! You’re sprinting across the room, ready to be the savior of the situation.

Hold on a second. Don’t get me wrong, opening doors and picking up dropped items is awesome!  But when it comes to disability etiquette, sometimes that well-meaning chivalry can backfire.

Like where you “help” someone with a disability without asking if they actually need it.  Like swooping in to help someone in a wheelchair with their coat – spoiler alert, they probably had it under control. Or, maybe you see someone walking with a white cane, or maneuvering through a doorway with a mobility cane, and politely offer an arm. Great! You asked… but did you wait for the answer?  Because grabbing someone’s arm, even with permission, can be disorienting! 

The key takeaway here is this: We can all be champions of inclusion, but let’s make sure our help is wanted, not just well-intended. Ask before you assume, and let the disabled person take the lead. That way, everyone wins!

Next let’s talk about respectful language.

Buckle up for some cringeworthy classics! We’ve all heard them, maybe even accidentally uttered one ourselves (don’t worry, we’re all learning!). 

• The Low Expectations Award: “Wow, I can’t believe you’re married with kids!” “I can’t believe you have a full-time job!” Shocker, right? People with disabilities can have fulfilling lives too.
• The Discount Disguise: “You don’t look disabled!” Uh, thanks? Disability doesn’t always come with a neon sign.
• The Participation Trophy: “Everyone has a disability!” No, not everyone. But judging someone’s abilities based on their appearance is never cool.
• The Age-Defying Mystery: “You’re too young to have that!” Newsflash: disabilities don’t discriminate by age.
• The Divine Intervention: “I’ll pray for you.” While well-meaning, unsolicited prayers can be off-putting – and not very inclusive.

Now, let’s ditch the awkwardness and embrace empowerment! Here’s the golden rule: Unless someone asks for your advice, skip the unsolicited suggestions on diet, religion, or even positivity. You’re not the first to suggest that, trust me.

And lastly, ditch the euphemisms! “Handi-capable,” “differently-abled,” “special needs” “special forces”  – they’re outdated and frankly, unnecessary. And telling disabled people “You’re so brave and inspiring”? Don’t be patronizing, we’re just living our lives.

Disability is not a dirty word. Let’s embrace accurate and inclusive language.

Finally, let’s create a welcoming environment.

Alright, so we’ve talked about the “what not to do’s” – but why is creating a welcoming environment so important?  Think about it: most folks are familiar with racism, sexism, and ageism – all forms of prejudice against specific groups. 

But what about ableism, the bias against people with disabilities?  It’s just as real, and it can be both intentional and unintentional. 

If someone assumes a person with a disability can’t do something because of their disability – that’s ableism. If someone treats them differently – or worse, makes fun of them – ableism. 

Here’s the thing: when we create a welcoming environment, we break down barriers. We show everyone, regardless of ability, that they’re valued and included. And that, my friends, is what being a champion of inclusion is all about!

I know my work in accessibility and disability inclusion will never be done, as people with disabilities are the world’s largest and fastest-growing minority group.

Any one of you could join this group at any time – from a health condition, accident, or simply by aging. If you’re not disabled now, you’re just not disabled YET. 

You might make a friend of your own like Ruby someday.

So what can we do? It helps to accept we might make mistakes and others make mistakes.

• Educate ourselves about disability.
• Be willing to learn and adapt.
• Ask questions.
• Avoid and challenge assumptions.
• Be conscious of our own privilege.
• Consider multiple, new, and different possibilities.
• Get to know people from marginalized groups.
• Support organizations that advocate for people with disabilities.

As you leave this session, go forward and champion inclusion by practicing what you learned today and spreading awareness on disability etiquette. 

My experience in this Speaker’s Academy was amazing! I’ve learned from some of the greatest, with incredible mentors that have helped me shape and refine my speaking skills, proposals, and topics – and prepared me to take the stage more often. 

I had the absolute honor of sharing the graduation stage on Saturday with my fellow graduates Brian Williams, Speaker, eMcee, eCommerce Advisor, Rhonda Lea, CSSBB, Nathan Whittacre, Emma Schermer Tamir, Parmjit Kaur, PMP®, CSM®, Kelly Fisher, and Marty Suidgeest. We heard so many experts sharing their wisdom across different topics and industries, and I guarantee everyone in the audience left the day having learned something new.

If you missed this event, I’ll see you at the next one! Check out my list of upcoming speaking engagements here. Want to book me to present this talk – or another – at your organization? Get in touch!

The post Recap: A Crash Course in Disability Etiquette appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

Do you know about Workplace in Action? It’s a worldwide initiative focused on assisting corporations in establishing sustainable and holistic diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. From training, to assessments and surveys, to certification and maturity analysis – this robust and comprehensive program is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

And the best part? I’m one of their executive trainers! I’m thrilled to be the team’s expert on accessibility and disability inclusion.

Recently, I was invited to host a webinar on Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces. We packed so much great information into one short hour, and I wanted to share this recap to provide some additional resources.

Disability Statistics

We started off the webinar by examining the disability landscape. According to recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 6, or 1.3 billion total people worldwide are living with a disability. Only 17% of disabled people were born with their disabilities – but disabilities become more prevalent with age.

Since my audience for this webinar was global, we included some statistics from European countries for reference.

• WHO Disability Fact Sheet
• Institute for Public Policy Research: Work for Disabled People
• EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights: People with Disabilities

Looking for more statistics on Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces? I linked to several in the recap of my DisruptHR Las Vegas talk.

Disability Laws

We had so many different countries in attendance for the webinar, and I covered some of the most well-known and applicable laws in Europe and around the world. A great reference I found for specifics on each country was this Global Directory from Disability:IN.

Global Directory

Another great resource was a blog post from Level Access on Navigating International Accessibility Laws. These resources together let us share with our participants the most up-to-date and applicable accessibility and disability inclusion laws that apply to their location.

Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces: Accessibility At Work

Remember that discussion about Accessible Presentation Software? I had promised to give Poll Everywhere a try, and it was a lifesaver for this webinar! The meeting chat was useful for asking and answering questions, but I wanted to grab tangible data on the areas of discussion that were most relevant to the participants. We asked, “Which of these areas present the most accessibility challenges for you?”

Benefits of Disability Inclusion

Some of the benefits of accessibility and disability inclusion are obvious, while other benefits might surprise you.

• Stronger Talent Pool: Businesses that embrace disability inclusion gain access to a wider range of qualified candidates. 
• Employee Engagement and Retention: Studies show a positive correlation between disability inclusion and employee retention rates.
• Access for Everyone: Disability inclusion benefits everyone. It creates a more equitable society where all individuals, regardless of ability, can participate fully in education, employment, and community life.
• Innovation and Problem-Solving: People with disabilities bring unique experiences and approaches to the table, fostering creativity and innovation in tackling problems.
• Financial Gain: Companies that prioritize disability inclusion often see higher revenue, net income, and profit margins.
• Improved Reputation: Disability inclusion demonstrates a commitment to diversity and equality, leading to a more positive public image.

Case Studies

Sharing success stories from companies that are doing disability inclusion right is one of my favorite parts of presenting this topic! There are some wonderful organizations making a different for their employees with disabilities.

In this webinar, we highlighted case studies from Aetna, Meta (Facebook), Delta, and P&G.

Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces: Creating an Inclusive Culture

So many more resources to share! There’s never enough time to discuss them all, but here are a few of our favorites we shared in the webinar.

Reading Material

Our recommended reading list includes Disability Visibility by Alice Wong and Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau. I’m especially excited about the upcoming ABC Disability children’s book from three-time Paralympian swimmer, medal-winner and disability advocate Sarah Rose.

Looking for more books about Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces? I shared several in this NDEAM post last year.

Videos

Disability inclusion is a popular topic for TED Talks. We shared a couple of our favorites during the webinar.

There are several more great TED Talks out there about Disability Inclusive Workplaces. Check out this post from NDEAM last year for more!

Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces: Q&A

We ended the session with a robust question and answer session, covering everything from disability awareness to disclosure in the workplace to accessible physical spaces.

Some common themes in the answers were around changing attitudes and perspectives about people with disabilities, and thinking creatively about solutions for accommodations and inclusive events.

Want to learn more about Workplace in Action, and how your company can benefit from DEI services designed to support organizations in their efforts to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces? Get in touch!

Webinar Recording

The post Recap: Accessibility & Disability Inclusive Workplaces appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support DisruptHR Las Vegas on September 28th, 2023! Now that I’ve had some time to reflect and review the presentation, I wanted to share some references and resources from, “You’re Just Not Disabled YET: Accessibility for Everyone.”

First of all, I know the event did not have an interpreter or captioning available for those with hearing loss, and I have made recommendations to the organizers on accessibility considerations for next year’s event. The full video (below) does, however, have closed captions and a full transcript available. The venue, Zappos Tony Hsieh Theater, was otherwise physically accessible and a great choice for an event of this size.

I pulled out some quotes I wanted to share references for, but please get in touch if you’d like more information about the presentation!

Presentation Quotes

People with disabilities are the world’s largest and fastest growing minority group. (1)

Up to 1 in 4 (27 percent) adults in the US have some type of disability. (2)
70 to 96% of those disabilities are “invisible.” (3,4,5)
Also, people with disabilities need 28% more household income to achieve the same standard of living as those without disabilities. (6)

Why? They often earn less on average (6), participate in the workforce at a significantly reduced rate (6), while often having increased expenses (6).
Disabilities become more prevalent with age (7), but changes to things like our eyesight and hearing can happen much earlier in life than we expect.

Of all US employees with a disability, only 39% of those have disclosed their disability to their manager. (8)
Even fewer employees, under 25%, disclose their disability to their teammates or to HR. (8)

The one argument for accessibility that doesn’t get made nearly often enough is how extraordinarily better it makes some people’s lives. (9) How many opportunities do we have to dramatically improve people’s lives just by doing our job a little better? (9)

Presentation References

1. Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities – United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs
   https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html
2. Disability Impacts All of Us – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
   https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
3. What is an Invisible Disability? – Invisible Disabilities Association
   https://invisibledisabilities.org/what-is-an-invisible-disability/
4. Invisible Disabilities: Break Down The Barriers – Forbes, March 2020
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulamorgan/2020/03/20/invisible-disabilities-break-down-the-barriers
5. Invisible Disability – Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_disability
6. The Extra Costs of Living with a Disability in the U.S. – National Disability Institute
   https://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/extra-costs-living-with-disability-brief.pdf
7. Ageing and Disability – United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs
   https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/disability-and-ageing.html
8. Why People Hide Their Disabilities at Work – Harvard Business Review, June 2019
   https://hbr.org/2019/06/why-people-hide-their-disabilities-at-work
9. Steve Krug –  Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Additional Resources

• Videos, Webinars, and Podcasts – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The Hidden Challenges of Invisible Disabilities – BBC Health, June 2017

Full Video

Song Credit: “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Cast

Closing Thoughts

Oh my gosh, I was so nervous! The topic ideas I had submitted for the Reno and Las Vegas DisruptHR events were slightly different, so I made changes to the presentation over the course of only a week. (Did you miss my post on DisruptHR Reno?) And there were so many more people I knew locally that came out to support ATD Greater Las Vegas – which was both exciting and nerve-wracking! Overall, I’m thrilled I was able to get this message out to this audience, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of the inaugural DisruptHR Las Vegas event. See you next year!

The post DisruptHR Las Vegas 2023 appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support DisruptHR Reno on September 21st, 2023! Now that I’ve had some time to reflect and review the presentation, I wanted to share some references and resources from, “Designing Inclusive Experiences.”

First of all, I know the event did not have an interpreter or captioning available for those who have hearing loss, and I have made recommendations to the organizers on accessibility considerations for next year’s event. The full video (below) does, however, have closed captions and a full transcript available. The venue, Bruka Theater, has some accessibility challenges as well – the event was standing room only!

I pulled out some quotes I wanted to share references for, but please get in touch if you’d like more information about the presentation!

Presentation Quotes

People with disabilities are the world’s largest and fastest growing minority group. (1)

Up to 1 in 4 (27 percent) adults in the US have some type of disability. (2)
70 to 96% of those disabilities are “invisible.” (3,4,5)
Also, people with disabilities need 28% more household income to achieve the same standard of living as those without disabilities. (6)

Why? They often earn less on average (6), participate in the workforce at a significantly reduced rate (6), while often having increased expenses (6).

Of all US employees with a disability, only 39% of those have disclosed their disability to their manager. (7)
Even fewer employees, under 25%, disclose their disability to their teammates or to HR. (7)

Presentation References

1. Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities – United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs
   https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html
2. Disability Impacts All of Us – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
   https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
3. What is an Invisible Disability? – Invisible Disabilities Association
   https://invisibledisabilities.org/what-is-an-invisible-disability/
4. Invisible Disabilities: Break Down The Barriers – Forbes, March 2020
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulamorgan/2020/03/20/invisible-disabilities-break-down-the-barriers
5. Invisible Disability – Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_disability
6. The Extra Costs of Living with a Disability in the U.S. – National Disability Institute
   https://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/extra-costs-living-with-disability-brief.pdf
7. Why People Hide Their Disabilities at Work – Harvard Business Review, June 2019
   https://hbr.org/2019/06/why-people-hide-their-disabilities-at-work

Additional Resources

• Videos, Webinars, and Podcasts – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The Hidden Challenges of Invisible Disabilities – BBC Health, June 2017
• Steve Krug –  Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Full Video

Song Credit: “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Cast

Closing Thoughts

This was my first ever DisruptHR experience and I had so much information, so little time! Those slides (changing every 15 seconds!) came flying so much faster than I expected. I definitely ran out of breath! Overall, I’m thrilled I was able to share my message with this audience, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of DisruptHR Reno 5.0!

What happened next? DisruptHR Las Vegas!

The post DisruptHR Reno 2023 appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

Thank you to everyone that joined me live for the Inclusive Pixelation finale to National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a FREE webinar on accessibility testing, specifically for learning and development! View the recording, transcript, slides, and more below.

Accessibility Testing for Learning and Development Webinar

Download the slide deck: Accessibility Testing for Learning and Development (PDF)

Download the transcript: Accessibility Testing for Learning and Development (TXT)

View the full webinar with captions:

Resources

These are some of the wonderfully helpful resources I’ve used to conduct my own accessibility testing, that I’m more than happy to share with you!

• WAVE Web Accessibility Checker – Enter any website, or install the browser extension to check anything you can open in a browser window, like your eLearning course or a PDF.
• Color Contrast Checker Bookmarklet – Drag this bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar to pop open a color contrast checker you can use on anything you can open in your browser!
• Chromatic Vision Simulator App [iOS | Android] – A simple phone app to simulate different kinds of color blindness. Great for printed resources, or as a supplement to a color contrast checker.
• Britne’s Accessibility Resources on Linktr.ee
• Adobe Acrobat Pro – Create and Verify PDF Accessibility
• Make Your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible to People with Disabilities

The post Recap: Webinar on Accessibility Testing for Learning and Development appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.