ADA · Independent Living Movement
This house is built to be used.
I work at Walton Options for Independent Living. The Americans with Disabilities Act is the law. The Independent Living Movement is the reason a Center for Independent Living exists — we are the experts on our own lives. Disability does not mean inability. Nothing about us without us. Cross-disability. This site has to live that — not just say it.
I am a two-time ruptured brain aneurysm survivor with a traumatic brain injury. Short-term memory is tricky. I need large, clear type and a quiet page. So does a lot of our community. That is who this was designed for first.
Every disability
Blind. Low vision. Deaf. Hard of hearing. DeafBlind. Brain injury. Stroke. Spinal cord. Wheelchair. Walker. Speech. Learning disability. Intellectual disability. Autism. Mental health. Chronic illness. Pain. If we did not write your word, you still belong. That is the Independent Living Movement. That is the ADA lived out.
What is already here
- Atkinson Hyperlegible type — made to be read, not decorated.
- High contrast. Dark sky, light words. One accent color.
- Big tap targets. You can use it with a finger, a stick, or a keyboard.
- Screen readers: VoiceOver, TalkBack, NVDA, JAWS. Pictures have descriptions. Stories are words.
- Motion stops if your device asks it to.
- No pop-up junk. No files to download. Stories are words, not programs.
If you are blind
Yes. This house is for you too. Walton Options serves all disabilities, and so does this site.
- It works with VoiceOver (iPhone and Mac), TalkBack (Android), NVDA, and JAWS.
- Every picture has words. The guitar on the Moon, Earthrise, the house art — a screen reader will speak the description.
- The art wall is stories in text, not only pictures. You can hang a star by typing.
- The radio player has a name. If that player is awkward, there are plain text links to the same shows right under it.
- Links that leave this site say they open in a new tab.
Make the words bigger
Use the A A A buttons in the menu, or here. Your choice stays on this device.
You can also pinch-zoom, or use your browser’s zoom. That works too.
Keyboard
- Tab moves through the page. Shift+Tab goes back.
- Enter or Space opens a link or button.
- The first Tab shows “Skip to main content.”
If something blocks you
Tell me. I will fix it. That is independent living — we remove the barrier, we don’t tell you to live with it.
Les Paul Morgan · Walton Options for Independent Living (opens in a new tab)