Accessibility Suggestions for All Presenters
NWSA is committed to making the Annual Conference accessible to all attendees. If a need arises on-site, we encourage you to stop by registration for assistance and ask for a NWSA staff person.
Audio-Visual Practices
- Always add alternative text and detailed image descriptions if you include images or graphs in your presentation. This includes describing the content (visual details and relationships between objects or people), providing surrounding context, and using clear language. Word allows for “alt text” to be added to images through the “Alt Text” function. Please describe images aloud when moving through your slides.
- Example: Image: An image of a big city.
- Description: A busy city street with yellow taxis driving closely to each other. A group of young people are waiting at the crosswalk in front of multiple tall, grey buildings.
- All videos should have closed captions and narration included, if possible.
- For fonts, always use a font size of 20 or greater and sans serif fonts (i.e. Calibri, Helvetica, and Arial) to make typed materials more readable.
- Further, the most accessible text color and background is a white font on a dark background or dark font on a white background.
- Headings should always be implemented to improve the clarity of the text. Do not rely on color coding for organization.
Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word & PDF Accessibility
- The Association developed a PowerPoint presentation template for your reference and use. You can download this editable file here.
- Word is a preferable platform for creating documents as it allows for headings, alternative text, and other accessibility features to be preserved as a PDF and during screen reader use.
- All presenters who feel comfortable sharing companion materials should make sure any document used for their work has thorough headings that are managed by using the software’s Heading tool. By using this tool instead of font changes to create headings, it ensures that folks who use screen readers can navigate the document completely. Additionally, headings should always follow the structure of the document and be ordered by sections and subsections.
- Presenters can use the Adobe Acrobat accessibility check tool to review suggestions for accessibility.
- Presenters should use this link for the best practice on converting Word documents to PDF.
Accessibility Requests
Conference registrants may request accessibility services (sign language interpretation, sighted guides, etc.) to facilitate their full participation in the annual meeting. NWSA is committed to making the Annual Conference accessible to all.
Any accommodation requests related to scheduling and room location (i.e. scheduling your session near an elevator/escalator, requesting an ASL interpreter, etc.) were made during the submission process Oxford Abstracts. Any additional accessibility requests were made via a form that closed on September 1st. If you have any urgent accessibility needs please contact our office directly at nationaloffice@nwsa.org. Please note that some services may be available for only some portions of the conference. If a need arises on-site at the annual conference, we encourage you to stop by the NWSA registration booth(s) for assistance.
Fragrance Free Conference Environments
In the interest of supporting our colleagues with sensitivity to alcohols and scent, we ask that attendees refrain from wearing perfumes or fragrances. Perfumes and fragrances (including scented lotions) can negatively affect people with multiple chemical sensitive syndrome (MCS), asthma, and/or autoimmune disorders. For every 100 people in America, there are an average of 10 with asthma, 20 with an autoimmune disorder, and/or 12.5 with MCS.
Accessibility during Plenary Sessions
The Association designates accessible, ADA compliant seating during Plenary Sessions at our Annual Conference. Seating is located at the front of our Ballroom space (Grand Riverview Ballroom B at the Huntington Place Convention Center) and is identifiable via our signage. We also remain dedicated to providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation at as many events as possible - including our Plenary, Presidential, and Author Meets Critics sessions!
Accessibility at Huntington Place Convention Center
The Governing Council accepts and selects bids from conference sites that offer accessible meeting and community spaces (s) that meet the needs of attendees with a range of mobilities, enable us to provide gender-inclusive and accessible restrooms, and private space for lactation. The Association ensures the inclusion of a designated quiet space for attendees who benefit from low-sensory environments and the ability to recharge their social batteries throughout the duration of the conference.
The Huntington Place Convention Center also has wheelchairs available to use located at the front desk. Click here to view Huntington Place’s own accessibility page. Our commitments serve to meet the needs of attendees with disabilities but also work to the benefit of all conference attendees.