Can the Web Be Made Accessible for People with Intellectual Disabilities?

This article presents the findings of a research project that aimedto contribute to the social inclusion ofpeoplewith intellectual disabilities (ID) in theWorldWideWeb (theWeb). The Inclusive New Media Design (INMD) project brought together thirty-one Web designers and developers with twenty-nine people with intellectual disabilities to explore the best practice for building Web sites accessible to the ID community. Specifically, the project took accessibility techniques identified in ID accessibility research, and investigated what would (or would not) make it possible for Web professionals to implement them. This article suggests some tentative answers to the question of whether a fully accessibleWeb can be built, one that includes peoplewith ID. While the article outlines simple steps that can be taken to facilitate accessibility for people at the mild end of the ID spectrum, it also highlights a number of barriers that exist to implementing ID accessibility guidance, most notably the power holders and decision makers with whom Web designers work, who may not share the designers’ commitment to accessibility