- From: Anne Pemberton <apembert@crosslink.net>
- Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 08:10:17 -0700
- To: Kynn Bartlett <kynn-edapta@idyllmtn.com>
- Cc: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
At 03:31 PM 10/23/00 -0700, Kynn Bartlett wrote: >What do you think I need to know, as a web designer, about the needs >of the specific users we are talking about (those with cognitive >disabilities)? The first needs are: 1) Illustrate the text on a page -if illustrations are small to conserve upload time, include a larger version that can be accessed by clicking on the small version on the page, 2) write in the simplist language possible, 3)keep headings and titles short and simple, 4)use simple graphics to illustrate various titles and parts of a document, 5)if the information is necessarily complex, write a summary to appear at the top of the page or beginning of a site, in very simple language, and put the complex details later with simple suitable headings. The answer to those who argue that cognitively impaired folks cannot use computers, is that they can, and they are(and some come to the web via tv). There are several cognitively impaired students among those I teach every week, and, although it takes them longer to master the steps, they are learning, as much as possible, the same skills as the other kids. As I may have said already, there are many 4-8 year olds (pre-readers/beginning readers) who report using the Internet at home, often without any formal instruction in how to use it. They easily learn to click on graphics, and will also use blue underlined links if they contain few words, and one word is recognized. Higher functioning cognitively and learning disabled folks can use more complex sites, but generally need the simpler language in the content if they are to get any meat from the topic. Oh, let me also suggest that to keep language simple, it will be necessary to define terms via a link from the term rather than in the text. The link should include an illustration as well as definition of the term, and it should allow the user to use the back key to quickly return to the full text. Among the learning disabled folks there is a cadre of people who have average or higher cognitiion levels who are severly hampered reading text. These people will use sites function at a higher cognitive level that those who are "cognitively disabled", but need the help of illustrations. They are well suited to hearing the content read to them, and may be best accommodated by a speech-reading browser that doesn't block out the illustrations while reading the text. Anne Anne L. Pemberton http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Pav/Academy1 http://www.erols.com/stevepem/Homeschooling apembert@crosslink.net Enabling Support Foundation http://www.enabling.org
Received on Tuesday, 24 October 2000 07:35:31 UTC