Accessibility

Our goal

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA across thistleandember.org, including the member portal, the Share Your Story survey, and the resource library.

What we have done

• Every page works with a keyboard alone, with a visible outline showing where you are.
• Text and buttons meet contrast standards for readability.
• Survey questions and their answer choices are grouped so screen readers read them together.
• Pages resize for phones and for zoom up to 400 percent without scrolling sideways.
• The Exit Now button and the Esc key shortcut (press it twice) work with a keyboard and screen readers.
• An accessibility button (the person icon in the bottom-left corner of every page) offers:
  • Read aloud for the whole page, or for any text you click, with slower and faster speeds.
  • One-switch settings for seizure safety, low vision, ADHD, reading and cognitive support, keyboard navigation, and older adults.
  • Content adjustments: text size, line height, letter spacing, text alignment, a readable font, highlighted titles and links, and a text magnifier.
  • Color adjustments: dark or light high contrast, high or low saturation, and monochrome.
  • Orientation adjustments: stop animations, hide images, mute sounds, a reading guide, a reading mask, highlight on hover, highlighted keyboard focus, a big cursor, and click-to-read.
  • If you hide the button, press Alt + Shift + A on a keyboard to bring it back, or reload the page in a new visit.
• We built these options ourselves. They do not use an outside service or track you. Read aloud uses your device's own voices, so page text is not sent anywhere. Your choices are saved on your device only.
• If you use a screen reader such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, or TalkBack, the site is built to work with it directly. You do not need to turn anything on.
• We test pages with automated accessibility checks after changes.

Known limits

• Automated checks catch many problems, but not all. We have not yet had the site reviewed by people who use assistive technology every day, and we would welcome that feedback.
• Some older resource articles may have images or links that need better descriptions. We fix these as we find them.
• The fillable PDF version of the survey may not work well with every screen reader. The online survey is the most accessible option.

Other ways to take part

If anything on this site is hard to use, you do not have to struggle through it. Email us and we will help, for example by sending information in another format or helping you share your story another way.

Report a barrier

Email thistleandemberproject@gmail.com and tell us the page and what got in the way. You do not need to share anything personal. We aim to reply within 5 business days.

Last updated October 2026.