As the year draws to a close, we would like to warmly welcome our newest members to the Zero Barriers community. With 12 partner councils (and counting), we end the year on a high, and the promise of a continued commitment to creating liveable communities for all people in 2023.
How Businesses can be Inclusive of People with Autism
There are many ways that businesses can be more inclusive of people with autism. Below are some simple and inexpensive tips that you can start implementing today.
Keep clutter to a minimum. This limits distraction and improves the comfort levels of people with autism.
Dim the lights and keep noise levels down.Too much sensory stimulation can be challenging for people with autism. Implementing “quiet hours” and reducing lights can help create a calm and inclusive environment.
Offer ‘relaxed’ checkout lanes. These lanes allow for slower speeds to give extra time for helping customers with a variety of needs, including autism.
Provide the space and freedom to move around. Many people with autism struggle if their movement and personal space is limited or restricted. Providing space for movement will help facilitate a friendly and comfortable environment for them.
Employ people with autism. Research shows that business performance is not decreased and in many instances, is in fact improved with employees with autism. This is largely due to them being equally qualified and competent, as well as their reliability and high attendance rates.
What’s In This Issue?
How Businesses can be Inclusive of People with Autism
Community Voice: Featuring David
World Braille Day
Zero Barriers Business Spotlight: Subway – Greystanes
World Braille Day
“ When it comes to diversity and with disabilities, we always need to find a way to express who we are in our own ways.”
– Jamie Brewer, actress.
It is World Braille Day on 4th January. Braille is a sensory portrayal of alphabets and numbers in signs and symbols where six dots are used to represent each alphabet and numeral. People who are blind or with low vision can read books and magazines that are printed in visual font using braille.
The goal of World Braille Day, which has been held annually since 2019, is to increase public awareness of the role that Braille plays as a method of communication in the full understanding of the rights of the blind and partially blind people. In the context of education, ideology, and freedom of speech, as well as inclusivity, braille is crucial.
The COVID-19 epidemic has shown how crucial it is to publish key information in digital format, particularly in Braille and audible formats. In the absence of such standards and procedures, many people with disabilities may miss out on important information which could disadvantage or exclude them, or even put them at risk.
Do your part to celebrate and promote this important day. The significance of Braille is not well understood. Make use of your social media channels to spread the word. Give a Braille-written gift to a person who is blind or partially sighted. This present might be a book, a toy, or educational materials. Why not also pick up Braille reading? It can be advantageous because you could teach and assist someone who genuinely needs it by using your knowledge.
Schizophrenia can be described as an invisible illness. Those who live with Schizophrenia are often afflicted by very real and painful feelings, these experiences are internal and hidden from others. Modern medication is effective at dealing with hallucinations, delusions, and disorganised speech/behaviour. Yet, science still has a way to go for managing the negative (in this case meaning to be missing something) symptoms of Schizophrenia. This class of symptoms include loss of expressiveness, apathy, lack of joy and a drop in social and occupational functioning. This is more the case for people like David.
An Interview with David
What has been your experience living with Schizophrenia?
“I’ve had Schizophrenia for 35 years now and I have never not taken my medication, so I am generally free of symptoms. It used to be a lot tougher when there were fewer medications available. But now there is a whole new generation of medications, so I live a good life now. I live on a pension now, I can volunteer at the hospital and I have my own place.”
What are the things that prevent you from going to a business or service given the illness that you live with?
“Probably self-confidence – if it’s somewhere where I must mingle or where I feel like an outsider, that’s difficult. Also lack of motivation and if somewhere is too stimulating. I am an early riser. Early in the morning, it is peaceful and there is no noise outside.”
What things do you wish businesses knew about living with schizophrenia?
“Well, I think that the main thing is that organisations need to be sympathetic to others and treat everyone as equals. Some people are helpful, others not so much. People need to have a sympathetic attitude towards those who have illnesses. It is important to treat people as you want to be treated; with respect and dignity.”
Zero Barriers Business Spotlight: Subway Greystanes
Subway Greystanes is a community-minded business located in the Cumberland City Council local government area (LGA). They pride themselves on their inclusive practices and are known in their local community to be welcoming of all people, irrespective of ability. You’ll be greeted with a smile, and the customer service you will receive is one of respect and patience. The shop is also built with access in mind. The doorways are wide enough for people with mobility aids and there are no obstacles to enter.
You can find Subway at Pemulwuy Marketplace, Greystanes NSW. The Marketplace also has accessible parking and toilets for the convenience of all of its customers.
Zero Barriers encourages customers to show their support of disability-friendly businesses. To that end, we have an online directory that lists all businesses and services across our NSW partner councils that are committed to access and inclusion. Please visit the directory at www.zerobarriers.net.au to find your nearest disability-friendly business or service.
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Virtual Keyboard
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Navigation Keys
Accessibility Statement
zerobarriers.net.au
11/12/2023
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
