Tip of the Day

Include captions when using audio or video clips and materials.

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Equivalent Text Descriptions

Universally designed documents, slides, videos, etc require additional preparation to make them accessible to all individuals.  Equivalent text descriptions (EqTD’s) provide written descriptions of graphic elements.  While it is typical to think of this process as an accommodation for blind individuals, EqTD’s help individuals with low vision, cognitive or perceptual limitations as well as the student who does not speak English as a primary language, or who may not have completely understood the purpose of a graphic in a lecture.  The location of EqTD’s may vary.  On this page it is demonstrated that EqTD’s may be placed in a separate location with a copy of the graphic, a  method that allows for bi-modal learning.

Learn about Equivalent Text Descriptions:

ACCESS-ed Website

The ACCESS-ed logo ACCESS-ed Logo
A large ACCESS-ed logo.
The ACCESS-ed logo ACCESS-ed Logo
A small ACCESS-ed logo
The R2D2 logo R2D2 Logo
The R2D2 Center logo including the text "Rehabilitation Research Design & Disability"
The UWM logo UWM Logo
The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee logo.
Round, red bullet point indicating that the category is selected. Bullet (bright)
Square, red bullet point that changes into a brighter red circular bullet point when the webpage is selected. Bullet (dark)
Square, red bullet point. Bullet (pale)
Red, double arrow that links to the first page in a series of pages. Double arrow (first)
Red, double arrow that links to the last page in a series of pages. Double arrow (last)
Link to an external website (blue arrow extending outward from the middle of a red box). External link
Internal link (blue arrow pointing inward to the middle of a red box). Internal link
Shadowed, double arrow indicating that you are at the first page in a series of pages. Shadowed double arrow (first)
Shadowed double arrow indicating that you are at the last page in a series of pages. Shadowed double arrow (last)
Shadowed single arrow indicating that you are at the last page in a series of pages. Shadowed single arrow (next)
Shadowed single arrow indicating that you are at the first page in a series of pages. Shadowed single arrow (previous)
Single red arrow linking to the next page. Single arrow (next)
Red single arrow linking to the previous page. Single arrow (previous)

It took me several years of struggling with the heavy door to my building, sometimes having to wait until a person stronger came along, to realize that the door was an accessibility problem, not only for me, but for others as well. And I did not notice, until one of my students pointed it out, that the lack of signs that could be read from a distance at my university forced people with mobility impairments to expend a lot of energy unnecessarily, searching for rooms and offices. Although I have encountered this difficulty myself on days when walking was exhausting to me, I interpreted it, automatically, as a problem arising from my illness (as I did with the door), rather than as a problem arising from the built environment having been created for too narrow a range of people and situations.

Susan Wendell, author of
The Rejected Body: Feminist Philosophical Reflections on Disability