About 7 minutes. Pathway 2 of the collection: how accessibility honours our human rights.

Barriers are in the design

A barrier is anything that stops a person from taking part. The POUR Barrier Sort puts it simply: barriers are never in the learner. They are always in the design, and we can reduce them.

The four POUR principles

Many accessibility guides use four principles, called POUR. In plain words:

• Perceivable: people can see, hear, or otherwise take in the information.
• Operable: people can use it, for example with a keyboard, a switch, or their voice.
• Understandable: the information and how it works are clear.
• Robust: it works with many tools, including assistive technology.

Progress over perfection

Many people wait to start until they can get accessibility perfect. Meryl K. Evans, a CPACC-certified accessibility consultant and TEDx speaker who was born profoundly deaf, suggests another approach. In her blog post Progress Over Perfection: The Better Way for Communication and Accessibility Advocacy (opens in a new tab), she argues that small, steady steps towards inclusion matter more than waiting for perfect. She also writes that kind, clear feedback helps people change, and harsh criticism often does not.

When you point out a barrier to someone, her approach has four parts. In my own words:

1. Thank them for what they are already doing.
2. Suggest one change.
3. Explain why it matters.
4. End on a positive note.

Beth's tip

You don't need to know every guideline to start. Find one barrier and reduce it. Then find the next one.

The Aiming for ALL Collection, by Beth Stark, M.S.Ed., CPACC. © Beth Stark. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab).