July is Disability Pride Month
July is Disability Pride Month - a time to recognise and celebrate people with disabilities, their identity, and their contributions to our communities and society
But it’s also a good time to stop and reflect. To think about who we build for, what we choose to prioritise, and what accessibility really means.
Here’s something many people don’t realise: disability is the only minority group that anyone can become a part of at any given point in their life, whether it’s through injury, illness or age. It’s also important to remember that many disabilities aren’t visible, such as chronic fatigue, neurodivergence's, anxiety and or other mental health conditions. Disability touches more lives than we often acknowledge, which is why awareness, empathy, and inclusive design are so important.
Accessibility is for everyone
The features we call “accessibility tools” aren’t just for someone else. They might be for you one day as well. In fact, they might already be making your life easier without you even noticing:
- Captions on videos help people with hearing loss, but they’re also useful in noisy environments, or when watching something while holding a sleeping baby.
- Colour vision accessibility settings help anyone with color vision differences. They can also benefit gamers without color blindness by making visuals easier to recognize.
- Haptic feedback on phones can support those with low vision, but it also helps anyone keep track of actions without looking.
- Text-to-speech has opened up access for people who struggle with reading or motor control. And that audiobook you’re listening to while walking the dog? It started as an accessibility tool too. “Talking books” were created for people with visual impairments. What began as an accessibility tool has become a an artform and normal part of daily life. And it hasn’t stopped there. Now we have audio theatre and other rich sound-based formats that make stories feel almost cinematic.
- Speech-to-text makes a difference for people with motor skill difficulties,
- Adjustable fonts and contrast settings are essential for some and helpful for many.
- Dark mode and distraction-free reading views, which many of us choose by default, began as accessibility features.
- And for all the BookTok fans, those e-reader remote control page turners might seem like a convenience or even a “lazy” gadget, but for someone with limited mobility or dexterity, they’re actually an important accessibility tool.
What we often see as an everyday convenience is actually built on a foundation of inclusion - one which brings us to education.
Designing for every learner
Every student deserves to learn. That includes students who need more time, different formats, more flexible paths, or simpler navigation. It includes learners who process information in non-traditional ways or who thrive with different types of feedback.
Screen readers, keyboard navigation, flexible assignments, simplified layouts, alt text, colour contrast, remote participation tools, and learning plans that adapt to students...These examples are not just “extras.” They are essential tools that help students participate, express themselves, and feel seen.
When we improve accessibility for a few, we end up making things better for everyone.
What Accessibility Means at itslearning
At itslearning, accessibility is a core commitment.
- We have a dedicated accessibility team tasked with improving accessibility in our platform
- We include accessibility considerations throughout our internal policies
- We provide continuous accessibility training for our staff
- We assign clear accessibility targets and responsibilities
You can learn more about our commitment on our dedicated accessibility page.
What we're working on
We’ve made important progress to improve accessibility across our platform and continue working on key updates.
- One major focus has been enhancing navigation. We’re removing iframes from areas where teachers and students spend most of their time. If you’re curious about why, you can read our article on why we’re removing iframes and how this improves accessibility. In short, iframes create challenges for screen readers, keyboard navigation, mobile responsiveness, and overall clarity for users. We will keep extending this work across the platform.
- We’ve also recreated all platform icons with higher contrast and a modern design. This change not only improves visual clarity for everyone but also meets WCAG accessibility standards, making the experience smoother and more consistent. Read more about it in our article: Improving Accessibility and Design.
- Looking ahead, we’re redesigning the resource page to be more accessible and inclusive. This update aims to help all users, including those using screen readers or navigating without a mouse, to fully manage and explore their resources. You can read more in our article about how outdated elements will be soon replaced with solutions built for everyone. This feature is in development, and we’ll share updates as it progresses.
Looking forward
Our focus is on reducing barriers and making sure all students, educators, staff, and guardians feel supported and included throughout the learning journey.
Are we finished? Not even close. But we’re listening, we’re learning, and we’re working to do better.
Disability Pride Month is a reminder that disability inclusion isn’t a one-time effort; it isn’t performative or a PR stunt risk. It’s a responsibility that we all share, one that shows up in the choices we make, the tools we use, and the voices we include.
Happy Disability Pride Month from all of us at itslearning. Let’s keep building a future where everyone has a seat at the table.