Accessibility Statement

Our commitment to making the PAAL Program website usable and accessible for everyone.

Last updated: March 26, 2026

Our Commitment

The PAAL Program is committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to all visitors, including individuals with disabilities. As an organization that serves individuals with autism and their families, accessibility is central to our mission — not just in our programs, but in every way we communicate.

Standards We Follow

We strive to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities, including:

  • Visual impairments (blindness, low vision, color blindness)
  • Hearing impairments
  • Motor and mobility impairments
  • Cognitive and learning disabilities

Accessibility Features

Our website includes the following accessibility features:

  • Semantic HTML — proper heading hierarchy, landmark regions, and ARIA labels for assistive technology
  • Keyboard navigation — all interactive elements (links, buttons, menus, forms) are navigable via keyboard
  • Color contrast — text and interactive elements meet WCAG AA contrast ratios
  • Descriptive alt text — all images include meaningful alternative text
  • Responsive design — the site adapts to different screen sizes, zoom levels, and orientations
  • Form labels — all form fields have associated labels for screen reader users
  • Focus indicators — visible focus outlines on all interactive elements
  • No auto-playing media — no audio or video plays automatically
  • Reduced motion support — animations are minimal and purposeful

Known Limitations

While we strive for full accessibility, some areas may have limitations:

  • Some placeholder images may have generic alt text that will be updated as real photography is added
  • Embedded third-party content (such as Google Maps or PayPal donation forms) may have accessibility limitations outside our control
  • Older PDF documents may not be fully accessible; we are working to remediate these

Assistive Technology Compatibility

Our website is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:

  • Screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack)
  • Screen magnification software
  • Speech recognition software (Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
  • Keyboard-only navigation
  • Browser zoom up to 200%

Feedback and Support

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our website. If you encounter any barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us:

PAAL Program — MECA
Downingtown, PA
Email: info@paalprogram.org

We will make reasonable efforts to respond to your feedback within 5 business days and to address accessibility concerns as quickly as possible.

Continuous Improvement

Accessibility is an ongoing effort. We regularly review our website to identify and fix accessibility issues, train our team on accessibility best practices, and incorporate accessibility into the development of all new content and features.