La lengua de signos española en internetanálisis y diagnóstico de la accesibilidad

Abstract

Abstract In the present research, the importance of Spanish Sign Language (LSE) and the figure of the interpreter of Spanish Sign Language (ILSE) as an instrument of communication with deaf people are addressed. Moreover, the information and communications technology (ICT) must provide the possibility for people with hearing disabilities to access information, knowledge and communication through the Internet. The aim of this study is to analyse the relevance that ICT and the Internet have as a facilitating tool for integration from the digital point of view of people with hearing impairment and assess the quality of access to the web of institutions as Federations of the Spanish Deaf (Federaciones de sordos de España, FSE), Associations of the Spanish Deaf (Asociaciones de sordos de España, ASE) and Associations of Spanish Sign Language Interpreters (Asociaciones de intérpretes de Lengua de Signos de España, AILSE). In the study, exploratory and descriptive research techniques are combined. For data collection, it has been defined set of parameters and indicators proposed by different specialists and various UNE (Una Norma Española) Regulations that reflect specific characteristics of the LSE. Some parameters and indicators have been proposed by the author herself. According to the three parameters reported as a result of the research, it appears that the best average score is obtained by the FSE with 59.31 points, followed by the ASE with 51.37 points and finally, those which get worse average overall score are AILSE with 50.86 points. Based on the five levels of accessibility defined in the study, known as inaccessible, little or poor accessibility, accessible with limitations, good accessibility and excellent accessibility, after applying these levels based on overall scores obtained by each entity sets, it shows that the FSE reach a higher level of accessibility with respect to the other two groups of entities analysed. Moreover, the ASE and AILSE show a number of limitations that make the overall information provided by their respective websites to be considered little or poor accessibility for hearing impaired people. Those differences, regarding the mean, are statistically significant. In addition, the detected weak points in the analysed resources are pointed and corrective and improvement measures are established. Recommendations are provided so that, if implemented, analysed entities can be closer to the ideal web design. Finally, the study propose a Code of Good Practices for those entities that wish to correct the errors detected by the study, and recommendations are proposed for the Public Administration on how to set up an accessible website for people with a hearing disability . Keywords Federations of the Spanish Deaf (FSE), Associations of the Spanish Deaf (ASE) and Associations of Spanish Sign Language Interpreters (AILSE), the Internet, Documentation, Web Pages, Website, Barriers, Accessibility, Hearing Impairment, Spanish Sign Language Interpreter, Support and Relay Techniques, Parameters, Indicators, Deaf Person.