Examples of Relying and Not Relying on Sensory Characteristics

Last updated: 5/26/2025

"Click the blue, rectangle button": learners may not be able to perceive color or shape or may perceive color differently
"Use the left-hand pane...": "left" and "right" typically need to be perceived and do not have an assistive technology equivalent
"In the larger area you'll find...": assistive technologies cannot interpret size

"Click the blue Exit button": incorporating the element's programmatically defined name is often the most straightforward way to describe it in a way that’s accessible to all learners
"Follow the instructions below to...": "above" and "below" may seem like sensory characteristics, but if their use aligns with the reading/focus order encountered by assistive technology users, they can be employed without further descriptors being needed
- Just make sure these descriptors are accurate under all conditions: for instance, if a paragraph is below another paragraph at narrower browser widths but to the right of the other paragraph, in a two-column configuration, at wider browser widths, you wouldn't want to use "below" to describe the paragraph, as that wouldn't always be accurate
"Use the link provided here...": in certain circumstances, structure can be used to describe an element so long as it can't be misinterpreted; for instance, if there were multiple links available in an environment, "Use the link provided here..." wouldn't be sufficiently descriptive, as it could refer to any of those links

Electronic Accessibility