Multi-Modal Content Delivery

Description of the Technologies

Textual content can be delivered in different modes to help people with cognitive disabilities comprehend it. These modes can include:

• text to speech (TTS)
• video;
• text with contextually-relevant images;
• text with consistent icons and graphics; and/or
• text replaced or augmented by symbol sets.

Challenges for People with Cognitive Disabilities

Difficulty of text comprehension by people with cognitive disabilities ranges from minimal to extreme. They may comprehend most of a web page's textual content, or none at all.

Proposed Solutions

Text is written communication.

Textual content can be provided in a variety of alternative modes / formats as described below. Ideally, people with cognitive disabilities should be able to choose that content is delivered in the mode they comprehend best. This is an important component of the proposed Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure.

Text To Speech

Text To Speech (TTS) is hardware or software that produces human speech by a computer. Most TTS reads text aloud in a voice. Other TTS converts symbols, such as those employed by augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), into spoken speech.

Many people with cognitive disabilities, such as Dyslexia, may have the capacity to use a screen reader for text to speech (TTS). However, people with severe cognitive disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, may require simpler TTS delivery. A common one is a TTS widget embedded in a website. Advantages include that there is nothing to download and install; and learning how to use the widget is dramatically simpler than learning how to use a screen reader.

Video

Video is a short film clip of moving visual images with or without audio.

Video should be captioned to aid comprehension, and to aid accessibility for people with hearing issues. It is common for people with cognitive disabilities to have physical disabilities.

Text With Contextually-Relevant Images

An image is a picture, a representation of a visual perception.

User research has shown that text comprehension is significantly enhanced where accompanied by contextually-relevant images. A picture of an object may be easier to recognize than a textual description of it.

Text With Consistent Icons And Graphics

An icon is a small image or drawing that commonly represents a function. A graphic is a drawing of a visual perception or an abstract concept, or is otherwise a representation of an object or an idea.

Text accompanied by consistent iconography helps convey meaning, such as by associating discrete textual passages with each other. Similarly, a pie-chart graphic may help convey meaning easier to comprehend than a table of statistics.

Text Replaced Or Augmented By Symbol Sets

A symbol is a sign that represents or suggests an idea, an object, an action, or a belief.

Symbol sets are the basis for augmentative and alternative communication, which is effective for many people with cognitive disabilities. Examples include people who are non-verbal and/or who have Autism. Ideally, interoperable symbol sets would be used to replace or augment web-based text.

Ease-of-Use Ideas

Text should be written clearly and simply using the following attributes:

• plain-language standards relevant to language and culture;
  • (Examples for English include:
  • literal explanations, e.g., without jargon, slang, and metaphors;
  • active voice, not passive voice; and
  • no or minimal use of acronyms and abbreviations.)
• visual and organizational structures, e.g., headings and bulleted lists;
• large font size; and
• sans-serif font

The first 2 attributes, especially the clear structures, will help comprehension via text-to-speech.