Poster: Web Accessibility for People with Cognitive Disabilities (RESNA 2005)

2005

Richard Appleyard

People with developmental cognitive disabilities (DCD) are increasingly using the Web for recreational, social, vocational and consumer needs but a reliable and accurate user model of how DCD moderate user access is lacking. The purpose of this pilot study is twofold: First, investigators present a conceptual model of several fundamental elements required for successful Web navigation. Second, we conducted usability evaluations with participants who had mild to moderate levels of DCD to examine the overall conceptual “fit” of the model. Results: The usability evaluation demonstrated that the majority of participants with DCD were unable to successfully use the W3C accessibility compliant Web site and different Web navigation problems were identified. It is clear from this study that DCD user profiles present a complex mix of user strengths and weaknesses and current guidelines do not sufficiently address accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities. http://www.resna.org/ProfResources/Publications/Proceedings/2005/Research/CAC/Small.php

Conference presentations and posters presented

Visual Format or Large Print, Electronic (disc, CD, 508 compliant web posting)

N/A