• Success Criterion 1.2.1
  • Conformance level A

Show Notes Presented as if They Were a Real Transcript

1.2.1 — Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

Scenario

Setting

A hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler

What’s wrong

Waveform-only audio player where the "transcript" is just show notes/summary, not equivalent content.

Example 

<div class="audio-message" aria-label="Nurse's message, waveform player">
  <canvas class="waveform"></canvas>
  <audio src="/audio/pre-op-instructions.mp3" controls></audio>
</div>
<!-- Actual audio says: "Stop eating solid food after 8pm, clear liquids
     only until 6am, take your blood pressure medication with a small
     sip of water." -->
<div class="tab-transcript">
  <p>Fasting instructions for your procedure.</p>
</div>

Why it matters

A patient prepping for surgery needs the exact fasting cutoff times; a one-line summary that just says "fasting instructions" could lead them to eat at the wrong time and get their procedure cancelled.

How to test

Compare the 'transcript' content to the actual audio: if it's really just show notes or a summary rather than what was said, it fails equivalence.

How to fix

Show notes or a summary are not a substitute for a transcript; the transcript must contain the actual spoken content word for word.

<div class="audio-message" aria-label="Nurse's message, waveform player">
  <canvas class="waveform"></canvas>
  <audio src="/audio/pre-op-instructions.mp3" controls></audio>
</div>
<div class="tab-transcript">
  <p>Stop eating solid food after 8 PM tonight. Clear liquids only until
  6 AM. Take your blood pressure medication with a small sip of water.</p>
</div>

Outcome

A deaf patient reads the exact fasting times and arrives for surgery correctly prepared.

Who is affected

Deaf patients and anyone who can't play audio in a waiting room get a vague summary instead of the specific times they need to follow correctly.

Learn more

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