Accessibility is Not “Extra Steps” | Disrupt the Status Quo

Oct 30

As humans, we like predictability. We like experiences to be as easy as possible. The “status quo” which is an experience and/or expectation that the society has normalized is something that we are used to. While there are people who are always looking for ways to disrupt the status quo to work towards a just society, we cannot underestimate how difficult it can be to change.

Along with the attitude of status quo, the concept of “extra steps” when considering accessibility in the process is quite prevalent. This is different from the lack of knowledge about the expectations as people who bring up the extra steps complaint are aware of the said extra steps and would like to choose not to do it. The issue with framing it as extra steps is not recognizing that the information is missing to a significant number of people along with feeling not included and unable to access what is needed or wanted.

Here are some key highlights when complaining about extra steps for accessibility.

People who need it do not have the necessary information. They may want to connect and could benefit from the knowledge, resource, product, or service that you are providing. You are reducing the impact you could make by excluding people with disabilities.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not always the best without accountability. Using AI tools to make your work easier is not the problem. The problem is not reviewing it to ensure that people can still access the same information as everyone else. From wrong words to having one support but not other are all factors in the inaccessibility. Without the accountability from the beginning, you are actually adding more steps beyond the extra steps that were a concern.
Not adding accessibility into your design process is what makes it feel like extra steps. Creating content, products, and services comes with many steps to achieve the end result. Making accessibility as part of your process will reduce what you need to do compared to finding out at the end that it is not accessible and adapting your process. Those “extra steps” are more if they were not considered to make your process more efficient.
If you are creating content, product, and service for income and profit, you are losing an audience and money that could have been received if it was accessible to start with. There are many persons with disabilities who would love to have what their friends, families, and peers have but not be able to due to inaccessibility of your process.

Those “extra steps” only feel like extra steps because of your expectation of completion. You can shift your mindset to design a better process with accessibility in mind where completion will actually feel finished. Even better, it will be something that can be inclusive and accessible for everyone in your targeted audience which does include people with disabilities.