Accessible Helper Module

Goals:

1. Assist in making Drupal content more accessible.
2. Serve as an api for other drupal accessibility modules when common
   functionality is needed
3. Demonstrate modifications to existing themes to make them accessible.
4. Serve as a demonstration to promote accessibility improvements to Drupal core and contributed modules. We realize accessibility should be integrated into core and all contributed modules, but understand the need for short term fixes also.

Components

Accessible Helper Modules is a group of modules.
At this point it is more of a proof of concept than a useful module.

Accessible API Module (accessible_api)

General toolset including guidelines data, site accessibility preferences,
and functions other modules may build on.

• store any reusable data such as guidelines and mapping of guidelines
  to drupal authoring contexts.
• configuration interface and retrieval function for site accessibility guideline preferences.
  The idea here is store the general accessibility preferences here, but utilize
  preferences in other modules and themes.
• configuration of accessibility conventions preferences where practices are not yet clear.
  e.g. should content be positioned off screen left, top, or right

Accessible Fix Module (accessible_fix)

Accomodate and fix accessiblilty deficiencies
in core and contributed module. Works on a case by case basis with hooks like
hook_form_alter to modify other modules forms and markup. As a rule, these
are either stop gap measures until real fixes are made in modules or when
accessibility implementation is unclear or preference based.

• examples include google_cse and search module in drupal 6 needing labels.
• allows for offscreen heading configuration in blocks
• allows for applying aria roles to blocks
• allows for overriding .tpl files with accessible ones.

Accessible Help Module (accessible_help)

Adds contextual accessibility help for content authors.

Module Discussion

Discussion on this module takes place in http://groups.drupal.org/accessibility and the issue queue linked to below. On the IRC discussion is in #drupal-accessibility.

Maintainers

We welcome co-maintainers, and think the following would keep the workload reasonable:

• Two or more coders. One of whom has maintained a module before to act as a mentor.
• Some accessibility experts.
• A handful of people who were willing to test.
• A documentation person or two.
• Someone to find accessibility issues in modules, themes, and core that can be accomodated by this module

Developer Questions

• Is there a procedure in place to find modules for which to provide fix? No, but the following are useful approaches. Look at list at http://drupal.org/node/425494 . Search on accessible or accessibility on drupal and look for module related content.
• Is the goal for individual fixes to eventually get them committed to the module itself? The goal is to get them fixed in the modules themselves. Ideally the "fix" functionality of this module would not be needed at all.
• What is the development cycle for the accessible_fix component of this module? When other modules and core are in alpha, beta, etc. stage its best to submit patches to those projects; that will accomplish much more. When in Release Candidate or Release phase, development of fixes may be more feasible here.
• What is the development cycle for the accessible_api component of this module? The standard alpha, beta, RC cycle.