508 and WCAG Services
Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act requires that all content on U.S. government websites be accessible to people with visual, cognitive, hearing, or motor impairments. Beneficiaries of federal funding must now guarantee 508 compliance of all web-deliverable content, and must ensure that everything distributed online for public use is equally accessible to users with and without disabilities.
Screen Reader Accessibility
Screen readers have afforded people with disabilities an unprecedented level of access to online media and digital publications. Clients like AARP rely on our remediation services to ensure that its publications are created following best practices, are fully accessible via screen readers, and comply with Section 508 requirements. TalentMEDIA understands that although accessibility can be ensured with automated testing, the true end goal—usability—requires a more human approach. Our services ensure that people with disabilities can use content easily and that information is conveyed accurately across all screen readers. Our standards surpass the original Section 508 requirements and extend to the more stringent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 global accessibility standards encompassed by the current 508 refresh.
Accessibility in Mind
Our design experts work closely with our accessibility experts in all phases of document layout—from the beginning of the document design process to the final print product. Combining these two areas of expertise early in the production process minimizes required remediation time and virtually eliminates the chances of a total document overhaul due to accessibility failures such as color contrast issues.
Adobe PDF Remediation
PDF has become the preferred format for distributing documents via the Internet. Our accessibility experts can convert your documents from virtually any publication software product to PDF, or you can send us your PDF file for remediation after conversion. TalentMEDIA accessibility specialists rely on Adobe Acrobat Pro and NetCentric Technologies’ CommonLook for Adobe PDF and Microsoft Office to guarantee that PDFs are 508 compliant and are effectively tagged for proper reading order and use by people with disabilities. After documents pass several levels of automated accessibility testing, our specialists use screen reader software such as JAWS and NVIDIA to verify accurate PDF navigation, reading order, and readability.
Microsoft Word Remediation
Our team can help clients—like the National Council on Disability—who require accessible documents in Microsoft Word verify that even the most complex Word documents are also fully 508 compliant. Accessible Word documents provide users with all abilities with all of the Word editing and writing tools, while still adhering to 508 compliance requirements.
Interactive Forms
Creating forms that are 508 compliant requires a thorough understanding of how people with disabilities use, navigate, and complete fillable forms. TalentMEDIA’s accessibility specialists ensure that users with disabilities can effectively use, navigate, and complete forms with a screen reader or other assistive technology.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The 2019 508 refresh expanded accessibility requirements to include the more complex WCAG 2.0 standards for accessibility. In 2022 these standards were updated to WCAG 2.2. TalentMEDIA’s accessibility experts thoroughly understand the WCAG guidelines and how users with disabilities perceive, navigate, and use online media.
