Accessibility Statement

Effective date: [LAUNCH DATE]

Last reviewed: [LAUNCH DATE]

Our commitment

Stokes & Associates, Inc. works every day with people whose lives have been changed by injury, illness, and disability. Assessing what someone can do — and what barriers stand in the way — is the core of our practice. It would be inconsistent with that work to put barriers in front of the people who come to our website.

We are committed to making www.stokes-associates.com usable by the widest possible audience, including people who use screen readers, magnification, speech input, switch devices, keyboard-only navigation, captions, or other assistive technology.

Conformance status

We are working to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities.

This website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. “Partially conformant” means most of the site meets the standard, and we are actively working on the areas that do not yet. We treat accessibility as ongoing maintenance rather than a one-time project.

What we have done

Accessibility was part of how this site was designed and built, not something added afterward. Measures include:

• Semantic HTML structure with a logical heading hierarchy on every page
• Full keyboard operability, with a visible focus indicator and a “skip to main content” link
• Descriptive text alternatives for images that convey information, and correct handling of decorative images
• Color contrast that meets or exceeds WCAG Level AA ratios for text and interface elements
• Meaning never conveyed by color alone
• Form fields with persistent visible labels, clear instructions, and error messages that identify the problem in text
• Descriptive link text that makes sense out of context
• Support for text resizing up to 200% and reflow at 400% zoom without loss of content or functionality
• Responsive layouts that work in portrait and landscape on mobile devices
• Accessible names and roles for interactive components, using ARIA only where native HTML is not sufficient
• Respect for the operating system’s reduced-motion preference
• Accessibility requirements included in our content guidelines and in our review process for new pages

Technical specifications

Accessibility of this site relies on the following technologies working with your browser and any assistive technology you use:

• HTML
• WAI-ARIA
• CSS
• JavaScript

The site is designed to work with current versions of major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, used together with assistive technologies such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack.

How we test

• Self-evaluation against the WCAG 2.2 Level AA success criteria during design, build, and content review
• Automated testing with axe DevTools, Lighthouse, and WAVE
• Manual keyboard-only navigation testing
• Manual screen reader testing on desktop and mobile

Known limitations

We want to be straightforward about where the site falls short. We are aware of the following and are working to address them:

• Older PDF documents. Some of our older newsletters, articles, published chapters, and curriculum vitae were produced as PDFs that are not fully tagged for screen readers. We are remediating them as we go and prioritizing the most frequently requested documents. An accessible version of any document on this site is available on request — see below.
• Third-party content. Embedded maps, video players, social media feeds, and similar components are supplied by outside providers, and we do not fully control their accessibility. Where a component creates a barrier, we will provide the same information in another format.
• Video captions and transcripts. Newly published video includes captions. We are adding captions and transcripts to older recordings.

Requesting an accessible format

If you need any information on this site — including a report, publication, form, or document — in an alternative format such as accessible PDF, plain text, large print, or braille, or if you need assistance completing a form, tell us and we will provide it at no cost to you.

We can also take any request by telephone or by mail if using the website is not workable for you.

Tell us about a problem

We want to hear about barriers you run into. Your feedback is the fastest way for us to find and fix issues.

Email: info@stokes-associates.com

Phone: 504.454.5009

Fax: 504.455.1081

Mail: Stokes & Associates, Inc., Attn: Accessibility, 3501 N. Causeway Boulevard, Suite 900, Metairie, LA 70002

When you contact us, it helps if you can include:

• The web address of the page
• A description of the problem you encountered
• The browser, device, and assistive technology you were using, if you know
• How you would like us to respond

Our response commitment. We aim to acknowledge every accessibility message within two business days and to provide a substantive response, including a target date for any fix, within ten business days. If a request is urgent — for example, you need a document for a proceeding on a deadline — tell us and we will prioritize it.

If you are not satisfied with our response, ask that your message be escalated to a member of our management team, who will review it and reply directly.

Physical accessibility

Our Metairie office is wheelchair accessible. If you need an accommodation for an appointment or evaluation — including accessible parking, an interpreter, additional time, a service animal, or a modified setting — contact us in advance at 504.454.5009 and we will make arrangements.

Ongoing work

We review this statement and reassess the site at least annually, and again after any significant redesign or new feature. This statement was prepared on [LAUNCH DATE] and last reviewed on [LAUNCH DATE].