GAAD 2025 (links)

Posted 2 days ago

Yesterday, May 15, was Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).

The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access/inclusion and people with different disabilities.

I have read several accessibility focused articles recently and wanted to share those plus some other links to resources that have been helpful to m.

I spent a good part of last week adding focus indicators to the website for the ministry I now work for. Focus indicators are simple boxes around page elements that indicate that the element is in focus as a person uses a keyboard to navigate your site. By default, focus indicators work automatically as part of the browser’s default behavior. Many developers hide them because they can interfere with the design. I was guilty of that many times in the past. But developers also have the power to style the focus indicators to be in line with the brand and also improve the contrast of those indicators with the background they interact with.

Those changes to the site (adding focus indicators styles) went live today. So that is my way of celebrating GAAD this year. I still have more work to do to make the site more accessible but this is a great first step.

• What Does It Really Mean For A Site To Be Keyboard Navigable (Eleanor Hecks, Smashing Magazine) – This is a great article for awareness. Eleanor explains the why and talks about the different elements of a keyboard navigable site. Focus indicators are just one of those elements. I took note of several others that I plan to implement in the future.
• Awareness (Jeremy Keith) – Jeremy argues that awareness is not enough. It needs to lead to commitment that leads to action. I crossed that line several years ago in my accessibility journey.
• My accessibility journey (me) – I share my story of how I went from not taking accessibility very seriously to becoming an accessibility champion. And by that, I do not mean expert. But I champion accessibility and I am committed to growing more skilled in learning how to incorporate it into my work.
• Become an accessibility champion! (Nicolas Steenhout) – Nicolas is responsible for pushing me forward on my own journey. I heard him on Shop Talk Show and his encouragement helped me to cross the line into commitment.
• Practical Accessibility – This is a course by Sara Soueidan. I have not personally worked through the course but I have heard great things about it from people whose opinions I trust and value. I have seen several of her talks and read several articles that she wrote on the subject and they were all great.
• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally (Emily Ladau) – I read this book last summer after discovering it for GAAD last year. It is a great read that I would recommend to everyone. I need to read it again. And again.
• A11y Weekly – A weekly dose of web accessibility to help you bring it into your everyday work. Delivered to your inbox each Monday, curated by David A. Kennedy. I found this newsletter incredibly helpful to keep up with the latest articles and news regarding web accessibility.