Web accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities
- 1. Web Accessibility for People with Cognitive Disabilities Deborah Dahl, Ph.D. Principal, Conversational Technologies Member, W3C Cognitive Accessibility Task Force Philly Tech Week EvoHaX April 17, 2015
- 2. Web Accessibility • Web accessibility for people with sensory and motor disabilities has been a long-time concern – W3C standards include ARIA and WCAG • Web accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities is also important
- 3. Cognitive Disabilities • Cognitive disabilities are very common • Include dyslexia, dementia, age-related cognitive decline, Down Syndrome, aphasia, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities and dyscalculia The benefits of the Web should be available to people with cognitive disabilities
- 4. World Wide Web Consortium Design Principle Web for All
- 5. Cognitive Functions People with cognitive disabilities may have trouble performing some or all of these functions, or may be unable to perform them at all • Language – reading, writing, speaking, listening • Attention • Learning • Memory – working, short-term, long-term • Reasoning and executive function – making decisions
- 6. Website characteristics that degrade cognitive accessibility • Language disorders (aphasia, dyslexia, autism) – Complex language – Reliance on text for information – Captcha • Attention disorders (ADHD, autism) – Cluttered web pages – Animation – Interruptions • Memory and learning disorders – Invisible UI elements, special gestures – Flat design – Memory demands (deep menus) – Inconsistencies in icons, menus, etc. – Unclear or misleading link labels • Time limits (many disorders)
- 8. W3C Cognitive Accessibility Task Force • Task force in the Web Accessibility Initiative • 33 participants from 11 organizations • Started in 2013 • Publications • Cognitive Accessibility User Research – http://www.w3.org/TR/coga-user-research/ • More coming! • Website http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/cognitive-a11y-tf/
- 9. Techniques for Cognitive Accessibility • Techniques are aimed at making it easier for people with cognitive disabilities to use web • Work on techniques in the task force is still early • Some examples of general ideas – Use clear structure and writing style – Make it easy to undo mistakes – Provide enough time – Avoid distractions and interruptions
- 12. Hacking ideas for cognitive accessibility • Assistive technology – something a user could use to improve cognitive accessibility of websites • Developer tools – cognitive accessibility evaluation • Responsive design for cognitive accessibility – Style sheets?