Part 1 - Telecommunications Problems and Design Strategies for People with Cognitive Disabilities

I have been looking at Telecommunications Problems and Design Strategies for People with Cognitive 
Disabilities:
Annotated Bibliography and Research Recommendations by Ellen Francik, Ph.D.

http://www.wid.org/archives/telecom/Telecom.pdf

I assume that many people will not download it (although I am sure that some people will :) )

hear are some highlights:



I am splitting it into two emails this one is on checkpoints that are useful for cognitive disabilities.

I have taken that I ones were most useful for our inclusion or that the wording seemed better then what we have. Please take a look at the original, there are many more. Also note. This is biased on hard research. These are proven successful techniques.



and now to the main .... part 1:



provide a mode with minimum functionality. - Eliminate or hide what isn't essential.

Provide self-paced training and consider an adaptivetrainer. Briefly, they block certain errors, diagnose others, suggest effective responses, and fade into the background as users' skills increase.

Use simple screen layouts or one thing at a time presentation.

Use prompts for procedures and support decisionmaking.

Avoid functions that require simultaneous actions to activate or operate.

 Use a two-step "select and confirm" to reduce accidental selections, especially for critical functions.

 Structure tasks, cue sequences, and provide step-by-step instructions.

 Provide definite feedback cues: visual, audio, and/or tactile.

 Provide concrete rather than abstract indicators. Use absolute reference controls rather than relative ones.

 Use goal/action structure for menu prompts.

 Support "wizards" which offer help, simplify configuration, and assist with sequences.

 Automate complex sequences like system backup, application launch, and user registration.

 Provide defaults and make it easy to re-establish them.

Provide calculation assistance, or reduce the need to calculate.

 Provide a Web site map plus path information to the current page.

 Structure text for easy scanning; provide headings. Use sequential numbers for numbered menus or lists.

 Keep language as simple as possible. Highlight key information.

 Use highly descriptive words as hypertext anchors. Avoid the "click here" syndrome.

 Search engines should support spell check.

 Searches should support query by example and similarity search.

"use goal/action structure for menu prompts,"

 Users should be able to use word prediction and grammar and spell checkers in conjunction with all text entry.



All the best,


Lisa Seeman

1866 654 8680
www.GlobalFormats.com
Widen the World Web