AJAX Epidemic - Has Accessibility been forgotten?

I have been reviewing the recent AJAX news epidemic with keen interest.

I'm all for the user interface experience of Browser applications moving increasingly towards the Rich Client capabilities of Desktop applications, BUT ... Accessibility must not be forgotten.

It appears to me that the vast majority of the Web Development discussion seems to be falling into two camps:

• Rich AJAX Web Clients - High usability and responsiveness
• Basic Accessible Applications - Low usability and responsiveness

AJAX capabilities should be added in a manner that enables "Graceful Accessibility" for those members of the population that can't use the enhanced AJAX visual effects.

Browser applications need to be developed to enable them to adapt to the users configuration, whether that may be a speech enabled or script disabled Browser. This approach would mean that Web applications can be delivered that meet strict Accessibility Guidelines, are based on Web Standards and deliver a rich usable experience.

Unfortunately, this makes the construction and testing of these type of applications considerably more difficult. The traditional programming methods employed to create most Web Applications are becoming impractical to deliver on these ideals.