Accessibility Declaration of SOS Sciatique
SOS Sciatique aims to make its information, tools, and contact pathways usable by people with different abilities, technologies, devices, and browsing contexts.
This declaration presents our objective, the measures sought, the limits to be verified, and how to report an obstacle. It does not constitute a statement of complete compliance until a documented audit is conducted.
Goal and current status
SOS Sciatique uses the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.2, as an international reference framework. The improvement goal is level AA, which includes the criteria from levels A and AA.
Pursued Objective
Gradually integrate WCAG 2.2 AA criteria into models, new content, forms, interactive tools, media, and significant corrections.
Compliance Status
The site has not yet undergone a complete audit to assert full compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA. Therefore, this statement should not be accompanied by a logo or a claim of complete compliance.
Scope of the Declaration
This declaration targets the public site sossciatique.com and its French and English versions. The evaluation should consider the content, functions, and pathways that are genuinely accessible to visitors.
Editorial Content
Pages, articles, tables, FAQs, images, medical warnings, references, biographies, menus, search, and footer.
Interactive Functions
Forms, witness options, Polylang language selector, Slider Revolution, accords, questionnaires, and orientation tools.
Related Documents and Services
PDFs, videos, maps, integrated media, downloads, and external platforms accessed from SOS Sciatique.
The services of TAGMED Clinic, its appointment portal, and any external service can be managed separately. When an obstacle comes from a third party, SOS Sciatique seeks to provide an explanation, an alternative path, or reasonable assistance, without being able to directly modify all external components.
Measures sought in the pages
The new content produced with the SOS Sciatique model is structured to facilitate reading and adaptation. However, real deployment must be verified in WordPress and on the devices used.
- a descriptive page title and a single main H1;
- heading levels organized in a logical order;
- links whose text explains the destination or action;
- relevant alternative text for informative images and an empty attribute for purely decorative images;
- tables with understandable headers and cells outside of visual presentation;
- buttons and form fields accompanied by a name or an accessible label;
- instructions and errors that do not rely solely on color;
- a responsive layout that allows for zooming and reorganization of content;
- a properly declared page language in French or English;
- urgent warnings and information presented in text form.
Make Health Information More Understandable
Accessibility also involves understanding. Content on sciatica may include anatomical terms, vertebral levels, neurological symptoms, and urgent decisions. The page should assist the reader in spotting what is essential without oversimplifying to the point of being misleading.
Clear Language
Define important terms, shorten complex sentences, and distinguish symptoms, possible causes, and diagnosis.
Hierarchy
Present the summary and warning signs first, then the explanations, options, and references.
Multiple References
Associate text, headings, lists, and tables; do not convey a conclusion solely through color or an image.
Careful Instructions
Explain when to stop a tool, seek medical help, or use another channel.
Abbreviations such as MRI, L4-L5, L5-S1, EFVP, or CTA should be explained upon first use when the context does not make them evident. The French and English versions should convey the same level of information and the same warnings.
Images, audio, videos, and animations
Images
An informative image receives a brief description suited to its function. A complex anatomical map should also be explained in nearby text or in a longer description.
Audio and video
Informative videos should provide synchronized subtitles, a transcript, and, when necessary, a description of important visual information.
Movement
Automatic animations should be limited and controllable. No content should flash in a way that could provoke a photosensitive reaction.
The generated images used on SOS Sciatica do not necessarily represent real patients, employees, or practitioners. This information is indicated in the captions when relevant to understanding.
Forms, consent, and error messages
An accessible form allows understanding of the purpose, mandatory fields, expected format, errors, and the next step. A visible label should remain associated with each field; a simple placeholder text in the field is not sufficient.
Before Sending
Short instructions, fields limited to what is necessary, logical order, mandatory status announced, and separate consent when required.
After an Error
Clear summary, identified respective field, explained cause, and the possibility to correct without losing unnecessary data already entered.
After Sending
Explicit confirmation, next step, other means of contact, and no reliance on a single animation or color.
The consent banner must allow accepting, declining, and reopening preferences via keyboard. Important buttons must remain large enough and spaced on the touch screen.
Known or Under Evaluation Limits
In the absence of a complete audit, the following elements are considered priority areas to test rather than functions declared compliant.
- old items produced before the adoption of the SOS Sciatique model;
- order of titles, incomplete alternate texts, and inherited generic links;
- contrast of certain colors, overlapping texts, and focus indicators;
- mobile navigation, dropdown menus, and fixed or floating content;
- Slider Revolution, animations, and carousel controls;
- questionnaires and customized interactive snippets;
- consent manager and anti-spam services;
- PDFs, digitized documents, maps, videos, and integrated content;
- tools, widgets, or platforms managed by external suppliers.
Recommended verification method
The audit should cover a representative sample: homepage, pillar page, article, form, questionnaire, mobile menu, bilingual page, media, policy, and appointment process.
| Verification Type | What it examines | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Automated Analysis | Detectable code errors, contrasts, missing attributes, accessible names, and some structures. | Only detects part of the obstacles and does not always judge relevance. |
| Keyboard only | Focus order, menus, buttons, forms, dialogues, tools, traps, and visibility. | Must cover both computer and applicable mobile navigation. |
| Zoom and Resizing | Text enlargement, zoom at 200% and 400%, orientation, and reorganization without loss of information. | The theme breakpoints and tables must be tested separately. |
| Screen Reader | Language, headings, regions, links, forms, states, errors, tables, images, and reading results. | Test at least one common combination of reader and browser, without claiming to cover all technologies. |
| Human Review | Clarity of alternative texts, understanding, coherence, cognitive effort, and usefulness of instructions. | Testing with people with disabilities provides information that tools alone do not offer. |
Report an Obstacle or Request Another Form of Access
Use the Contact page and select the reason “Site Accessibility”. If this form itself constitutes an obstacle, alternative contact details should be posted here after confirmation by the owner.
To facilitate reproduction and correction, please specify, if possible:
- the page address or document name;
- the inaccessible function or passage;
- The action you were trying to perform;
- The device and the browser used;
- The assistive technology, only if you wish to specify it;
- The format or help that would allow you to access the information.
The request must be reviewed, directed to the responsible person, and followed up until a response or a reasonable alternative solution is offered. The information provided is processed according to the privacy policy.
Responsibilities and Continuous Improvement
Creation
The authors, translators, and editors apply the models, alternative texts, titles, links, tables, and warnings provided.
Development
The WordPress administration checks the theme, plugins, interactive components, forms, updates, and regressions.
Monitoring
The reported obstacles, audits, corrections, and dates for re-evaluation are recorded in an internal register.
A verification is recommended before a redesign, after a major theme or plugin change, when adding an interactive tool, and periodically on the most used templates. Corrections should be prioritized according to their severity, frequency of occurrence, and the absence of an alternative solution.
Frequently Asked Questions about Accessibility
Is SOS Sciatique compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA?
Level AA is the improvement objective, but no complete audit currently confirms full compliance. The page must be updated following a documented assessment.
Can I navigate using only the keyboard?
Main functions should be usable via the keyboard. Menus, Slider Revolution, accordions, forms, language selectors, and interactive tools need to be verified on the actual site.
Does the site work with a screen reader?
Structured HTML and alternative text support this use, but full compatibility depends on the theme, extensions, components, and their configuration. An audit with common combinations is required.
Can I enlarge the text?
The content must remain readable and usable with browser zoom. Overlapping text, tables, mobile menus, and consent windows are among the elements to be tested at 200% and 400%.
Why do some images have alternative text?
Alternative text conveys the function or essential information of an image to those who cannot see it. A decorative image should preferably be ignored by assistive technology.
Should videos have subtitles?
Informative videos should provide accurate and synchronized subtitles. A transcription and a description of visual information may also be necessary depending on the content.
What should I do if a PDF is inaccessible?
Report the document and the desired format. SOS Sciatique should check if it can provide an HTML version, a corrected document, a transcription, or appropriate assistance.
How to report a button that doesn’t work?
Provide the URL, the name of the button, the action attempted, your device, and your browser. Assistive technology may be mentioned, but this detail should remain optional.
Do I need to send proof of disability?
No, to report a common barrier or request information in an accessible format. Do not submit unnecessary medical information through the general form.
Are external services covered?
They may have their own rules and limits. SOS Sciatique must nonetheless identify significant barriers of which it is aware and seek an alternate route or assistance when reasonably possible.
Official References
- W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Overview.
- W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2.
- W3C — preliminary accessibility checks.
- Québec Government — Standard on the accessibility of websites SGQRI 008 3.0.
The Québec government standard is cited as a reference resource and applies to public organizations within its scope. This page does not claim that SOS Sciatique is a public organization or that a compliance audit has been conducted.
Help us identify and fix it
Please specify the page, the function, and the assistance needed. Do not send any medical files or complete identification documents in your first message.
Dr. Sylvain Desforges, B.Sc., D.O., N.D., Osteopath
Editorial information, sources and limitations
This content is intended to inform patients about sciatica, possible causes, warning signs, and care options. It does not replace an individualized assessment.
Reference sources
References are selected according to the subject of the page: guidelines, systematic reviews, then institutional resources.
- NCBI Bookshelf – Sciatica — Clinical institutional resource
- AAOS OrthoInfo – Sciatica — Patient resource from a professional society
- ameli – Sciatica — French institutional patient resource
Complementary resources from the TAGMED network
These internal resources complement the clinical information and thematic linking. They do not replace national guidelines or systematic reviews.
Limitations of this information
The information on this page is general. It does not constitute a diagnosis, prescription, or guarantee of results. Pain radiating into the leg may have several causes; assessment should consider clinical history, examination findings, symptom progression, and, when appropriate, complementary tests.
When to seek urgent medical care
Seek urgent medical care if you experience loss of bladder or bowel control, saddle anesthesia, major or progressive leg weakness, unexplained fever, pain after significant trauma, or severe pain that rapidly worsens.
