Weekly Reading List 21 April 2025

One of the things I do at TPGi is compile a weekly reading list for our Chief Accessibility Officer, culled from 434 RSS feeds and 42 email lists and newsletters. The focus is on focus on digital accessibility, web dev or design, general web tech,
and disability.

Join Us for Six Ways to Manage Mail in the New Outlook with JAWS

Elizabeth Whitaker: Thursday, April 17 at noon ET for a live webinar

https://blog.freedomscientific.com/join-us-for-six-ways-to-manage-mail-in-the-new-outlook-with-jaws/

 

Enhancements in JAWS 2025.2504.89 (April 2025)

Recent updates to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge impacted the ability to select and copy text on web pages using JAWS. This update restores this functionality.

https://support.freedomscientific.com/Downloads/JAWS/JAWSWhatsNew#latest

 

Nominations Open – International Excellence Awards for Accessible Publishing 2025

This global award recognizes a publisher and a project initiative that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of commercial e-books .

https://www.accessiblebooksconsortium.org/w/news/2025/accessible-books-consortium-international-excellence-award-call-for-nominations

 

CSUN 2025: A DeafBlind Take on Progress, Priorities, and the Road Ahead

Scott Davert: shares his firsthand experiences with cutting-edge assistive technology devices demonstrated at CSUN 2025.

https://www.helenkeller.org/csun-2025-a-deafblind-take-on-progress-priorities-and-the-road-ahead/

 

Leading Autism Organizations Release Joint Statement on Upholding Scientific Integrity and Supporting the Autism Community

Partners across the disability and public health sectors stand united in our call for science-based decision-making.

https://autisticadvocacy.org/2025/04/leading-autism-organizations-release-joint-statement-on-upholding-scientific-integrity-and-supporting-the-autism-community/

 

Tariffs and People with Disabilities

Sheri Byrne-Haber:  tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products is a direct hit to people with disabilities.

https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/tariffs-and-people-with-disabilities/

 

Announcing development of Trust Meter Technical Specification

Inclusive Design Research Center: TMTS outlines the requirements for notifying AI systems operators when the scenario, group or individual about whom the AI-based decision is made (beginning with people with disabilities), is unreliable to make these decisions.

https://idrc.ocadu.ca/about/news/announcing-development-of-trust-meter-technical-specification/

 

Do politics belong at web events?

Remy Sharp: Nothing is free of politics in this era as it does indeed impact nearly everything we do.

https://remysharp.com/2025/04/07/do-politics-belong-at-web-events

 

Beware of Vibe Accessibility

Bogdan Cerovac: our use of GenAI drastically reinforces it’s own biases.

https://cerovac.com/a11y/2025/04/beware-of-vibe-accessibility/

 

A11y 101: 1.4.5 Images of Text

Nat Tarnoff: The problem of images of text is that screen readers can’t see the text.

https://tarnoff.info/2025/04/14/a11y-101-1-4-5-images-of-text/

 

What It Means to Shift Left on Accessibility and How to Do It Right

Matt Robison: building inclusivity into every phase of a project—from strategy to QA—saving time, reducing risk, and creating better user experiences.

https://www.lullabot.com/articles/what-it-means-shift-left-accessibility-and-how-do-it-right

 

Out of order

Donnie D’Amato: Trying to manipulate the order of things using CSS often has hidden problems.

https://blog.damato.design/posts/out-of-order/

 

Inclusive Dark Mode: Designing Accessible Dark Themes For All Users

Alex Williams: offering customization and embracing adaptability can transform dark mode from a design trend into a universally empowering tool.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/04/inclusive-dark-mode-designing-accessible-dark-themes/

 

AI and Accessibility: Opportunities and Challenges for Content Creators

Josh Crawford: the intersection of AI adoption and accessibility responsibility presents both exciting opportunities and significant challenges.

https://www.digitalaccesstraining.com/pages/articles?p=ai-and-accessibility-opportunities-and-challenges-for-content-creators

 

The Contrast Triangle

Chip Cullen: Interesting tool for calculating conformant color contrast.

https://contrast-triangle.com/

 

Never lose a z-index battle again

Manuel Matuzović: Infinity can be super helpful when you want to ensure an element is at the top of the z-axis.

https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2025/never-lose-a-z-index-battle-again

 

Fostering An Accessibility Culture

Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats: offers insights from his own journey, where small, consistent habits made a big difference.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/04/fostering-accessibility-culture/

 

What Does It Really Mean For A Site To Be Keyboard Navigable

Eleanor Hecks: Prioritizing keyboard navigation prioritizes the user experience for a diverse audience.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/04/what-mean-site-be-keyboard-navigable/

 

Video: Exploring AI’s Role in Accessibility

Aquent Gymnasium interviews Aaron Gustafson, Accessibility Innovation Strategist for Microsoft, on "AI for
Accessibility".

https://www.youtube.com/live/7ObB4jM-QXU

 

Web typography: a refresher and history

Jeffrey Zeldman: A refreshing dip into what we’ve learned about web typography over the past 20+ years.

https://zeldman.com/2025/04/20/web-typography-a-refresher-and-history/

 

How to write error messages that actually help users rather than frustrate them

Amy Hupe: we often forget to give the same care and attention to the times when things will go wrong.

https://piccalil.li/blog/how-to-write-error-messages-that-actually-help-users-rather-than-frustrate-them/

 

Tooltip Should Not Start An Accessible Name

Kelly Ford: The unique should generally come first in an accessible name.

https://theideaplace.net/tooltip-should-not-start-an-accessible-name/

 

Debunking the Myths of the iOS Accessibility Inspector

Mark Steadman: the tool has gotten a bad reputation for being unreliable and only being an "automated" checker.

https://dev.to/steady5063/debunking-the-myths-of-the-ios-accessibility-inspector-4597

 

Overengineered anchor links

Mats Erdkamp: Anchor links are deceptively simple at first glance: click a button, scroll to the heading, and done.

https://thirty-five.com/overengineered-anchoring

 

Empowering Teams During Accessibility Remediation: What Works & What Doesn’t

Chris Hinds: Navigating the complexities of accessibility remediation can be intimidating for organizations.

https://equalizedigital.com/empowering-teams-during-accessibility-remediation-what-works-what-doesnt/

 

Accessibility Support

Will your code work with assistive technologies? A caniuse for accessibility.

https://a11ysupport.io/

 

How to Prioritize Backlog Video Content for EAA Compliance

Sofia: By making your backlog video content accessible, you can ensure that everyone will enjoy your content, regardless of their abilities.

https://www.3playmedia.com/blog/eaa-backlog-video-compliance/

 

Five Exemplary Example Accessibility Statements Aligned with Best Practices

Heather Berg: These accessibility statement examples come from real organizations across industries.

https://accessibleweb.com/tips-tools-tutorials/exemplary-accessibility-statements-examples/

 

A holistic approach to digital accessibility

Preety Kumar:  business leaders can help close the accessibility gap and eliminate the disconnect between where we want to be and where we are.

https://www.deque.com/blog/a-holistic-approach-to-digital-accessibility/

 

ADA Compliance Checklist for Websites & Mobile Apps 

Meghna: many businesses are still unaware that inaccessible websites and mobile apps can constitute a violation of the civil rights of Americans with disabilities.

https://www.digitala11y.com/ada-compliance-checklist-for-websites-mobile-apps/

 

Inclusive Gaming: Analyzing Audio Description in Overwatch’s Kiriko Video

Meryl Evans: how Blizzard Entertainment masterfully implements audio description in their lore video for the Overwatch character Kiriko.

https://equalentry.com/audio-description-overwatch-kiriko/

 

Boost revenue with accessible ecommerce checkout optimization

Krista Pereira: Gen Z’s criteria for frictionless experience is similar to that of their grandparents: get me through the process fast and without issues.

https://makeitfable.com/article/fix-checkout-barriers-reduce-revenue-leaks/

 

Alt Text for Accessibility

Practical tips for writing it more effectively.

https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/alt-text-for-accessibility/

 

Accessibility Challenges When Interacting With Web Forms on Mobile

Michael Taylor: common shortcomings with mobile web form accessibility.

https://blog.usablenet.com/accessibility-challenges-when-interacting-with-web-forms-on-mobile

 

How to Pick the Perfect Font Size

Andrée Lange: A Guide to WCAG Accessibility

https://www.a11y-collective.com/blog/wcag-minimum-font-size/

 

Automated accessibility testing: strengths and limits

Callum McMenamin: a clear, practical discussion on how automated and manual testing complement each other.

https://www.openaccess.nz/blog/automated-accessibility-testing-strengths-and-limits/