Understand different disabilities and design for it

Impairment and disabilities

Why should digital accessibility be considered?

If digital products and services are designed taking into account accessibility rules, it would remove digital barriers and thus allow any person with a disability to communicate and interact without this being a hindrance.

French companies in the private sector with an annual turnover exceeding 250 million euros are legally obligated to ensure their websites are compliant since October 1, 2020, and their mobile applications since July 1, 2021.

In 2018, the new international criteria were updated to include the new international criteria on accessibility (WCAG - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1).

What are the different types of disabilities and impairment ?

In the course of our lives, we are all likely to have a disability, whether it is situational, temporary or permanent.

To better understand how to consider the different criteria of digital accessibility, it is crucial to know the people for whom designers and developers will design applications and websites.

  • Physical or motor disability

    • Limited ability to move around, to perform gestures.

    • Partial or total motor impairment.

    • Decrease in physical abilities.

    • Natural consequences of aging.

    • Inability to use a mouse.

    • Slowness of execution.

    • Poor dexterity.

  • Disabling diseases

    • Illnesses that may cause disability.

    • Epileptic seizures caused by stroboscopic or flashing effects.

  • Deaf

    • Deafness

    • Hearing loss

    • Tinnitus...

  • Low vision

    • Blind,

    • Visually impaired

    • Color blind

    • Color perception disorder...

  • Mental or Psychic Disability

    • Psychic disability related to a mental pathology without consequences on the intellectual functions

    • Impaired mental and intellectual functions

    • Mental retardation

  • Cognitive Disability

    • Dys disorders

    • Memory disorders

    • Concentration disorders

    • Dyslexia

    • Difficulty with learning and/or language

Some examples of good practices to apply

Here are some very simple rules of good practice to adopt when designing with digital accessibility in mind.

Do

Design for users who navigate with the keyboard and the voice-only navigation.

Don’t

Do not force the use of the mouse or the digital screen

Do

Align your texts to the left and keep the page layouts consistent.

Don’t

To prevent reading problems, especially for dyslexics, avoid misaligning the different text blocks.

Do

Use simple sentences and bulleted lists.

Don’t

Avoid texts very long, they can lose users with Dys problems.

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