Coping Strategies

The techniques and approaches that users with disabilities develop to navigate around accessibility barriers they encounter on the web and in digital interfaces. Expert screen reader users, for example, employ strategies such as using element lists, virtual search, heading navigation, and keyboard shortcuts to bypass inaccessible content. Research shows that expert users can effectively circumvent most accessibility barriers, while novice users encounter them directly — an important consideration for user testing, as relying only on expert evaluators can mask real barriers that less experienced users face.