3 issues - Re: Paper on Cognitive Disabilities

This paper sets out an ambitious tableaux.

It is concerned with SLD or fairly serious cognitive problems.
We need to formalise this somehow within the guidelines and also ensure that
the WAI homepage meets the need of a variety of users not only the techies.
Otherwise we fail.

The quotes below are out of context however, the meaning is as
intended. There are three quotes with comments.
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1.2. RESULTS
    1.2.4. Guidelines and Frameworks

The EITAAC report (1999) is notable for two things. First, it contains some
technology-specific standards and implementation details. Second, it sets an
accessibility goal. A person with a disability should be able to "perform
the same tasks, access the same information, with the same approximate ease
and in the same approximate time and at the same cost" as someone without a
disability (§4.3.1). This implies that designers should especially pursue
solutions that help to close the gap in task performance between those
with(cognitive) disabilities and those without.

Are we sure that we really are meeting this need, with regard to advice on
publishing a web page?

Due diligence is a popular american phrase, and its meaning probably not
right for this context however, given that there is a continuum of CD is the
WAI homepage, and its linked pages designed to meet a range of ability?

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2. GUIDELINES & STRATEGIES
    2.1. REDUNDANT, USER-CONTROLLED MODALITY OF INFORMATION
        Use visual examples (diagrams, icons, drawings)in addition to text
descriptions.

Please note that this is the first item on the list.

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4. SPECIFIC COGNITIVE DISABILITIES

Designers need to know the population they are designing for, and who to
recruit to help test or evaluate the result.

This assertion is one that I have tried to bring to members attention.
The context given should enable everyone to get some idea of the size of
this problem.

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This paper is a valuable collection of knowledge.
However it remains very academic, and does not attempt to meet the needs it
identifies.

There is no reason why an abstract should not.

jonathan chetwynd

jay@peepo.com

special needs teacher
web accessibility consultant

Received on Wednesday, 19 April 2000 06:39:47 UTC