DisabilityAware is a comprehensive, accessibility-focused educational web application built with ASP.NET Core MVC. The platform provides clear, structured information on disabilities, support services, educational resources, and inclusion best practices — while strictly adhering to modern accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA).
The goal of DisabilityAware is to:
- Promote disability awareness and inclusion
- Provide accessible, easy-to-understand educational content
- Support individuals, caregivers, educators, and organisations
- Demonstrate best-practice accessible web development using ASP.NET Core
- ASP.NET Core 7.0 MVC
- HTML5
- CSS3 (Custom CSS + CSS Variables)
- JavaScript (ES6+)
- Bootstrap 5.3
- jQuery 3.6
- Font Awesome 6.4
- Inter (Body text)
- Space Grotesk (Headings)
- Accessibility toolbar (fixed position)
- Font size adjustment (12px – 30px)
- High-contrast mode (black/white)
- Text-to-speech using Web Speech API
- Stop speech functionality
- Persistent user preferences (localStorage)
- WCAG 2.1 AA compliant
- Full keyboard navigation
- Screen-reader friendly (ARIA + semantic HTML)
- Minimum colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1
- Fully responsive navigation (Bootstrap 5)
- Active page highlighting
- Sticky navigation with scroll effects
- Smooth scrolling for anchor links
- Back-to-top button
- Mobile-first responsive design
- Animated hero section
- Disability education cards (6 categories)
- Statistics section with animated counters
- Inclusion principles and support highlights
- Detailed explanations of disability categories
- Filterable and structured content
- Interactive cards and tables
- External resources and references
Most comprehensive section of the platform
- Assistive Technology
- Personal Support
- Educational Services
- Employment Support
- Housing Support
- Health Services
- Interactive technology assessment tool
- South African funding and grant resources
- Service provider directory (150+ links)
- Interactive service request forms
- Downloadable tools and guides
- Educational guides and learning materials
- Downloadable resources
- Training calendars
- Search functionality
- Inclusion best practices
- Accessibility guidelines
- Community and training resources
- Organisational inclusion strategies
- Local development using IIS Express
-
.NET 7.0 SDK or later
-
Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code
-
Node.js (optional – frontend tooling)
-
Modern browser:
- Chrome 90+
- Firefox 88+
- Safari 14+
- Clone the repository
- Open the solution in Visual Studio
- Restore NuGet packages
- Run the project using IIS Express
- Navigate to
https://localhost:xxxx
- Multi-language support
- User accounts and profiles
- CMS-driven content management
- API integration for live service data
- Automated accessibility testing