Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide

By Jennifer Kretchmer

Please note: Disability consulting is both time-consuming and emotionally draining. The Disabled community is routinely underpaid, has un- or under-employment rates dramatically higher than the nondisabled community, and regularly experiences discrimination, bias, and bigotry. PAY YOUR CONSULTANTS.

This is the Free edition of the Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide. The Patreon edition and Consulting Client editions are regularly updated and contain nearly double the content available in the Free edition.

This document may be shared, but please credit me.

Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide

(Free Edition)

By Jennifer Kretchmer

Essential Learning and Tools

• Stella Young's TED Talk   
• A Working Definition of Ableism (continually updated thread) by Talila “TL” Lewis
• Anti-Ableism 
• Social Model of Disability 
• TTRPG Safety Toolkit by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk

Panel Discussions

• A Discussion on Disability for Worldbuilders
• Part 1 of the Accessibility in D&D panel on Venture Maidens
• Part 2 of the Accessibility in D&D Panel on Venture Maidens

• Panelist Bios and Contact Links 

• Inclusive Dungeon Design Panel from D&D Celebration

Gaming Resources

• Fate Accessibility Toolkit by Evil Hat:

• This is my strongest recommendation—it was authored by disabled people and covers accessibility, designing and accurately and respectfully playing disabled PCs and NPCs, game mechanics, and much more

• Accessibility Resources for Gaming by FayOnyx: An extremely comprehensive resource of considerations, tips, tools, and more
• DOTS RPG Project | Accessible Gaming: An organization making tabletop gaming more accessible
• Accessible RPG: A wiki of resources and information on accommodations
• High Fantasy Disability Tables: InclusionDream’s High Fantasy RPG Tables
• Script Change RPG Toolbox and Script Change on itch.io by Beau Jágr Sheldon: Resources for the Script Change Safety Tool

Table and Game Accessibility Tools

• Dice of Rolling: Color-coded polyhedral dice and other tools for gamers:
• Needs Met Through Role-Playing Games by Aubrie S. Adams : RPGs and Social Needs
• Guide to Physical Needs Accommodations in Tabletop Gaming 
• Dyslexia-Friendly Character Sheets by @Axelle
• Meeple Like Us: Tabletop Gaming Accessibility Reviews
• Dungeons and Dragons: A How-To for Blind and Low Vision Tabletop Enthusiasts by Jessica Rickards
• Knights of the Braille’s Accessible Dungeons & Dragons Materials: Accessible resources for blind/low vision players and DMs
• Blinded by the Roll: The Critical Fail of Disability in D&D by Shelly Jones
• That All May Read | National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled: Has an accessible version of the Player’s Handbook in Braille and Audio formats

Characters, Mechanics, and Worldbuilding

• Writing Characters With Disabilities | Resources by Elsa R. Sjunneson
• The Combat Wheelchair for D&D by Mark “MustangsArt” Thompson
• Blind/Visually Impaired Characters by Deven Rue
• Combat Wheelchair Minis by Strata Miniatures

• 25% of proceeds benefit the Ehlers Danlos Society

• SleepySpoonie's D&D's Disability Mechanics: A comprehensive set of D&D mechanics for numerous disabilities and chronic illnesses
• Reimagining Disability in Role-Playing Games by Elsa R. Sjunneson
• Ableist Monsters by FayOnyx
• Ridding Your Monsters of Ableism by Fay Onyx
• Respectfully Depicting a Character Adapting to a Disability by Fay Onyx
• Game Mechanics that Treat Disability as a Limitation by FayOnyx

Tropes

• What's So Scary About Disability? by Laura Elliott: Exploration of Disability tropes in horror  
• Sages, Villains, and Seers: Mapping Disability in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Charlotte Loftus

• Five Signs Your Story Is Ableist by Chris Winkle
• Disabled People’s Feelings About Cures Are More Complex Than You Think by Andrew Pulrang

Art and Design

• Accessible PDFs with InDesign Alternatives by Jacob Wood
• How To Illustrate Wheelchairs In Comic Books by Jill Pantozzi: A lesson in illustrating wheelchairs from someone who uses one
• The Guide for Two-Legged People Who Don't Know How to Draw Wheelchairs by Calvin Arium
• A Thread on Fantasy Wheelchair Design by Jennifer Kretchmer
• 7 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about Accessibility by Jesse Hausler
• The 7 Principles by the NDA: The 7 Principles of Universal Design

Technology Tools

• Clipomatic: Video Captioning for Instagram, Snapchat, and more
• Open Dyslexic Font: More comprehensible font for dyslexic individuals 
• AFB's Social Media Accessibility Guidelines: How to make your social media accessible 
• Rev: Transcribe Audio to Text | Transcription Company & Website: Audio and video transcription and captioning - $1.25/min
• Slack’s Accessibility Series

• How to Fail at Accessibility 
• How not to fail at Accessibility. A compendium of accessibility resources
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 

• WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind 

Events

• How To Make Game Conventions More Accessible by T.R. Knight
• How to make professional conferences more accessible for disabled people by Gabi Serrato Marks: Applies to conventions as well
• Creating accessible and inclusive meetings or events: An infographic by UMN
• ADA National Network: ADA Compliance Information, Guidance, and Training

Language

• Ableism/Language by Lydia Z. Brown: A guide to ableist terms and non-ableist alternatives
• Alternatives to using ableist slurs: Alternatives to using ableist slurs 
• “Cr*ppled” and “Paralyzed”: A discussion of synonyms for “cr*ppled” and “paralyzed 
• why the words “stupid” & other slurs against people w cognitive disabilites are harmful by belenen
• It’s Time To Stop Even Casually Misusing Disability Words by Andrew Pulrang
• I am Disabled: On Identity-First Versus People-First Language: Identity-first vs. People-first language exploration 
• What Is Identity-First Language, & Should You Use It?: How to talk about disability, according to disabled people: 
• Yes, You Can Call Me Disabled: A discussion about identity and terms 
• ‘L*me,’ ‘stand up’ and other words we use to insult the disabled without even knowing it: An exploration of subtle ableism in everyday language
•  Inclusive Language in Media Style Guide: An incredible guide to inclusive language published by Humber Canada  

Supporting Disabled People

• 100 Ways to Show Up for People with a Chronic Illness by Maggie Leventovskaya
• Five Things Non-Disabled People Forget by Cara Liebowitz

Further Learning:

• Modern Ableism and Disability Prejudice: A Webinar 
• Here's Why Kindness Toward Disabled People Is More Complicated Than You Think by Rebekah Taussig
• Cr*pple Punk: The hashtag that helped me wear my disability with pride by Alastair Baldwin
• Infantilising Disabled People is a Thing and You’re Probably Unconsciously Doing It by Elizabeth Wright
• Judith Heumann’s Fight for Disability Rights (Drunk History’s episode on the Section 504 Protests) Learn a bit about one of the most important events in disabled history
• Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution The Oscar-nominated, Sundance Award-winning documentary about Camp Jened, a camp for disabled teenagers in the 1970s that fomented the modern disability rights movement.