6 min read

some Accessibility resources

If you're wondering where to start with accessibility, here's a list of my favorite links.
Banner of the Accessibility section of Apple’s Human interface guidelines

I’ve been an iOS developer since the iPhone was released, and one of the many side effects has been an increasing passion and understanding of accessibility, which ultimately resulted in my current professional focus on Accessible Spatial Computing (but that’s a story for another post).

Accessbility icon
An iconic image of the first iPhone being held by hand was featured in the original introduction to the iPhone page on apple.com
Introducing iPhone

One of the many things I’ve been lucky to experience through this process is the opportunity to engage with the community and witness individuals become inspired and taking ownership of solving the shortcomings of existing interfaces. As part of this experience, I wanted to make my list of most referred resources more public so that anyone trying to make their context more accessible could use it.


Books

https://www.iosaccessbook.com

Developing Inclusive Mobile Apps
To combat the issue of online exclusion, this book covers considerations mobile developers, or anyone creating mobile…
Teaching Accessible Computing
For computing to work for everyone, it must be accessible to everyone. Alas, it is not: people with disabilities in…

WWDC

In general, I recommend all WWDC accessibility sessions, but here is a ranking of my top five

Create accessible spatial experiences - WWDC23 - Videos - Apple Developer
Learn how you can make spatial computing apps that work well for everyone. Like all Apple platforms, visionOS is…
Design considerations for vision and motion - WWDC23 - Videos - Apple Developer
Learn how to design engaging immersive experiences for visionOS that respect the limitations of human vision and motion…
SwiftUI Accessibility: Beyond the basics - WWDC21 - Videos - Apple Developer
Go beyond the basics to deliver an exceptional accessibility experience. Learn how to use the new SwiftUI Previews in…
Deliver an Exceptional Accessibility Experience - WWDC18 - Videos - Apple Developer
Go beyond the basics and create apps with an exceptional accessibility experience. Learn how to design elements that…
App accessibility for Switch Control - WWDC20 - Videos - Apple Developer
Switch Control is a powerful accessibility technology for anyone with very limited mobility. The feature is available…

Documentation

Apple

Accessibility
Apple products and services have built-in accessibility features to help you connect, create, and do what you love in…

The accessibility section of Apple’s human interface guidelines is an inspiring living document that is a great expression of synthesis while also providing practical advice to help make sensible decisions.

Developer documents

Accessibility fundamentals | Apple Developer Documentation
Make your SwiftUI apps accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
Customized accessibility content | Apple Developer Documentation
Customize your apps to deliver accessibility information to your users in measured portions as they need it.
Improving accessibility support in your visionOS app | Apple Developer Documentation
Update your code to ensure everyone can access your app's content in visionOS.
Accessible descriptions | Apple Developer Documentation
Describe interface elements to help people understand what they represent.

Support documents

Accessibility Support
Find information about Apple's built-in accessibility tools and technologies that help people with disabilities get the…
VoiceOver User Guide for Mac
Learn how to use VoiceOver, the macOS screen reader, to control your Mac with a keyboard, refreshable braille display…

https://help.apple.com/voiceover/command-charts/

Microsoft

https://www.microsoft.com/accessibility/

Xbox Adaptive Controller | Xbox
Connect switches, buttons, joysticks, and mounts to create a custom controller experience that is uniquely yours.
Adaptive accessories help & learning
Learn how to set up the Adaptive Hub and connect it to your PC, Microsoft adaptive buttons, and the switches you…

Sony

https://www.sony.com/SonyInfo/accessibility/

Accessibility features on PS5 & PS4 | PlayStation
Learn about PS5 and PS4 accessibility features and game options, to customize your PlayStation experience in a way that…

Talks

Sommer Panage offers an interesting perspective on possible models for creating accessible teams within companies

Michelle Cortese gives a condensed master class of her course on ethical considerations and skills required for the current iteration of XR interfaces

Great explanation by Jaylin Herskovitz of the “Making Smartphone Augmented Reality Apps Accessible” research, with hints at future work

Insights into Apple’s Accessibility practice

Great details about how VoiceOVer came to be


YouTubers

Ryan Hudson Peralta demonstrates how versatile the Apple Vision Pro can be in terms of accessibility and makes a strong case for the voice control and, in particular, sound actions features


Podcasts

36 Seconds That Changed Everything
How the iPhone Learned to Talk
‎„Accesibilidad con Tecnologías Libres" auf Apple Podcasts
Un podcast para hablar sobre temas de accesibilidad y tecnologías libres. Secciones actuales: Una odisea en el…
‎„13 Letters" auf Apple Podcasts
"Accessibility" is more than just a setting on your phone or something you do to help the disabled - it's the reason we…
‎„Blind Access Journal" auf Apple Podcasts
This blog and podcast is about the blind and our quest for the greatest possible access to all the information…

Communities

Home | XR Access Initiative
A community committed to making virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (XR) accessible to people with disabilities…
Appt community - Appt
The Appt® platform is an initiative of the Appt Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Our mission is to make apps…
AppleVis
Accessible Apps, News, Podcasts, Guides, and Discussion for Blind and Low Vision Users of iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and…

Articles

Press

Slack's New Redesign Illustrates Its 'Non-Negotiable' Commitment To Building Accessible Tools For…
In a blog post, the Salesforce-owned company described the reimagined user interface as being "built for focus" by…
Inside Sony's Journey Of Building Accessibility Into Every Part Of Its Access Controller For…
In an interview with me conducted last week via videoconference, senior technical program manager Alvin Daniel…

Tutorials

Exploring Assistive Access
I've been meaning to explore Assistive Access, a new accessibility feature announced a few days ahead of this year's…

https://www.hackingwithswift.com/articles/261/i-screwed-up-one-key-accessibility-behavior-and-now-i-m-on-a-mission-to-do-better

Views and Voice Control Accessibility in SwiftUI
Using voice control with ScrollView and customized views
Introducción a VoiceOver para iOS
Con motivo del traslado de mi viejo blog de programar a ciegas a este nuevo y las continuas novedades en accesibilidad…
A Beginner's Guide to Using macOS with VoiceOver
For macOS Sonoma Intro If you're new to the Mac, learning and mastering the VoiceOver screenreader can seem daunting at…
Accessibility focus in SwiftUI
One of the new features of SwiftUI Release 3 is accessibility focus management. SwiftUI allows us easily handle the…

Research

Making Smartphone Augmented Reality Apps Accessible
Augmented Reality (AR) technology creates new immersive experiences in entertainment, games, education, retail, and…
Enable Blind Users' Experience in 3D Virtual Environments: The Scene Weaver Prototype | Extended…
Enable Blind Users' Experience in 3D Virtual Environments: The Scene Weaver Prototype Recommendations Toward accessible…