How wcag 2.1 benefits people with cognitive impairment
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Presented at the 2019 ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium on October 1, 2019. Awarded "Best Paper" of symposium.
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How wcag 2.1 benefits people with cognitive impairment
- 1. How WCAG 2.1 benefits people with cognitive impairment
- 2. Meet the presenters: Valorie Sundby 2
- 3. Meet the presenters: Vanessa Howle 3
- 4. Meet the presenters: Karen Herr I “cut my accessibility teeth” working on federal contracts where Section 508 was the law. The importance of accessibility hit home when my father was diagnosed with macular degeneration and needed low-vision aids to surf the web, read his Kindle, and publicly post humiliating Facebook messages to his grandkids. 4
- 5. • Cognitive impairment categories • What is cognitive load? • Impacts of Cognitive impairment • How does WCAG 2.1 help? What we’ll cover today 5
- 6. 6
- 7. • Malfunction – something is broken • Instability – short period impairment • Progressive decline – deterioration over time Cognitive Impairment types 7
- 8. • Yale researchers Sally and Bennett Shaywitz – 1983 study tracking 400 Kindergarteners found 1 in 5 have dyslexia • Dr. Laura Cassidy – 50% of those incarcerated have dyslexia CBS News: Dyslexia - cracking the code In the news
- 9. 9
- 11. Intrinsic Load The effort it takes to understand the information. This is content. Intrinsic
- 12. Germane Load 12 The effort it takes to store the information. Germane
- 13. 13
- 14. “The cognitive impairment will always be there. Usually, when there is cognitive impairment, there is a level of anxiety that mounts quickly and stress can develop quickly. So perhaps, by creating a very positive environment, I can minimize anxiety. Of course, the most effective way is to find what works for each particular client. That’s always very unique based on the individual.” (Perez, 2019). Quote from a trainer
- 15. Word problem The sheptles clagged at x plobs per mocbets. The heffepts clagged at y plobs per netglips. Who got to the hestflef first? Math
- 16. Key points training people with cognitive disabilities: 1. Routine/Process to maximize comfort 2. Reduce distractions. 3. Provide a cheerful environment 4. Teach to the individual’s learning method 5. Pace to the individual. (reduces stress) Interview with a trainer
- 17. Personalization is Key. The following features have assisted me greatly in my journey: • Access to word definitions, synonyms and antonyms • Highlighting in different colors • Write notes on the page and extract information • Assistance to read and pronounce words Assistive technology for cognitive support
- 18. Four basic skills in auditory processing: Auditory Discrimination: song lyrics, screen readers Figure-to-Ground Discrimination: meetings, conferences Auditory Memory: remembering names – verbal introductions Auditory Sequencing: write everything down Speech and Auditory processing
- 19. • Often a comorbid impairment • Highly variable • Impact changes quickly Anxiety and cognition
- 20. 20
- 21. The success criteria impacts cognitive load in the following ways: • Eliminates or reduces: complexity, time limits, distractions • Optimizes: orientation, language, text size and spacing • Assists: labels and instructions, auto-complete, consistency WCAG 2.1 helps
- 22. 1.3.4 Orientation Continuous eye tracking can cause fatigue. • Allows user to adjust orientation to “sweet spot”. Related Success Criteria: • 1.4.4 Resize Text • 1.4.10 Reflow • 1.4.11 Text Spacing Extrinsic Intrinsic
- 23. 3.1.1 Language / 3.1.2 Language of parts • Screen reader pronunciation and intonation • Incorrect language leads to mispronunciation Correct Word/ Understanding Translate Mispronounced Word Extrinsic Intrinsic
- 24. 1.1.1 Non-Text Content Cognitive support iconography • Pair text with icon • Decorative • Mobile GermaneExtrinsic Intrinsic
- 25. Hand movement impacts cognitive load Success criteria that lighten the load: 1.4.13 Content on hover or focus, 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation 2.5.4 Motion Actuation 2.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms Extrinsic Intrinsic
- 26. WCAG Success Criteria lightens the load Extrinsic: • Leaves content visible to provide time to comprehend • Provides single point of operation to simplify interactions • Allows the use of a familiar interface (keyboard) instead of complex gestures Intrinsic: • Reduces anxiety by ability to undo inadvertent actions • Removes fear of erratic motion triggering an event • Eliminates the need to learn a new interface • Eliminates the need to learn new gestures Extrinsic Intrinsic
- 27. Forms: Guideline 1.3 Adaptable Make content available in a way that can be perceived. Provides the connection between the information and what the user is asked to do. GermaneExtrinsic Intrinsic
- 28. Forms: Guideline 1.4 Distinguishable Make the default presentation as easy to perceive as possible. GermaneExtrinsic Intrinsic
- 29. Forms: Guideline 3.3 Input Assistance Aim for first time success: • Provide enough information • Formatting instruction • Ability to review and modify GermaneExtrinsic Intrinsic
- 30. 30
- 31. Contact us 31 valorie.sundby@optum.com vanessa.howle@optum.com karen.herr@optum.com a11y@optum.com
- 32. Thank you!
Editor's Notes
- How WCG 2.1 benefits people with cognitive impairment Valorie Sundby Vanessa Howle Karen Herr We are so honored to be here and to have been recognized for this work. This research adds to that already done by the W3C COGA team.
- Meet the presenters: Valorie Sundby
- Meet the presenters: Vanessa Howle
- Meet the presenters: Karen Herr
- (Valorie) I had been watching the W3C COGA research and started doing more research on cognition itself. I felt there must be an easier way to look at the intersection of web accessibility and cognition that is so big and so variable. With this paper, we frame a way to research the benefits of WCAG for people with cognitive impairment. The key, I think is in cognitive load. What we’ll cover today Cognitive impairment categories What is cognitive load? Impacts of Cognitive impairment How does WCAG conformance help?
- (Valorie)
- (Vanessa) The prevalence of cognitive impairment and its impact is becoming more clearly understood over time. Reported recently on CBS News are these two dramatic statistics: In one study, 20% of 400 randomly selected kindergarteners were found to be dyslexic In another study, 50% of those incarcerated have dyslexia
- (Valorie) Extrinsic load is the effort it takes to perceive the content “What is going on here?” , “What is important?” Effective presentation methods can help reduce the extraneous cognitive load imposed on a learner Clean out the clutter and use proven methods to support cognition.
- (Valorie) Intrinsic load is the effort it takes to understand the information The load exerted on a visitor depends on: the complexity of the task or concept being presented, and a learner’s ability to understand the new information. The intrinsic load resulting from a complex task can be reduced by breaking it down into smaller, simpler steps for a visitor to complete. Guided forms Fewer information points on a page Fewer sections on a page Page sections with headings
- (Valorie) Germane Load is the effort it takes to store information Should I remember this for next time? What tools can I apply to organize this for later retrieval? The first time we experience something new can be daunting, as we do not have a schema that tells us what to expect. The germane load is produced as we observe and learn about the experience to help us to anticipate and understand it in the future. Consistent placement and order of repeated content can reduce the Germane load Cues such as pairing icons with text – cognitive support iconography
- (Vanessa)
- (Karen) Think about word problems. Raise your hand if you had a little “shudder” when I said that. Intrinsic –Intrisic load is perceiving the content. To some people, this is word salad. Extrinsic – Extrinsic load is understanding content. What is important? How can I organize this into something recognizable Germane- once the important information has been pulled out, use stored memory to solve the problem Building off of Roberto’s thoughts, it brought me back to my time tutoring math. I tutored math at the collegiate level for six years. Students I worked with came in and told me they were terrible at math, couldn’t do math, and hated math. As I worked with them, I realized many just had anxiety about math. Once I worked to remove that anxiety, they understood the material. I remember one student asking if I could sit next to him during his next test, so he would feel confident and calm. (Another called me his “math muse”, lol) Once you reduce the anxiety, you can focus on the cognitive load.
- (Vanessa)
- (Vanessa) Ability to have access to Word definitions and access to various synonyms and antonyms of words in the text. Understanding is key. Ability to produce Highlighted text in different colors similar to what you can do in a physical document. Helps with note keeping. Ability to apply notes to the page and then extract the information for study guides Ability to read and pronounce words. This is key for dyslexia.
- (Karen) There are four basic skills involved in auditory processing, and kids who have these problems may be weak in one or more of them. Auditory Discrimination: Jimi Hendrix”Excuse me while I kiss the sky” “Excuse me while I kiss this guy” This is the ability to notice and distinguish between distinct and separate sounds. This is crucial in being able tell similar but different words apart, like bat and pat, or seventy and seventeen. A lot of times, kids with auditory processing difficulties might miss information or misunderstand what you say because they mishear words,” says Cortese. “They’re not detecting the subtle differences in sounds.” They may also find it harder to learn to read and to express themselves clearly. When they’re speaking, they may mix up similar sounds because they don’t perceive the difference—say befs instead of best—and drop syllables out of words. Experts call this “syllable attenuation,” and it’s something kids often do when they’re learning languages but these kids continue to do it after most have begun to speak accurately. Kids with processing difficulties also have trouble rhyming, because their brain are not detecting that these are words that sound the same. For a lot of them, Cortese explains, that’s because they’re tuning in only to the beginning of the word, not the end. Figure-to-Ground Discrimination: This is the ability to differentiate important sounds from background noise, to follow verbal instructions or pick out one voice from the auditory clutter. In a classroom, a child who is weak in this figure-to-ground discrimination might have trouble being able to focus on what the teacher is saying rather than other sounds in the classroom. “It’s like a filtering problem,” Cortese adds. “What do I need to attend to? What do I need to filter out?” Auditory Memory: Auditory memory includes the ability to remember things we hear, in both the short-term and the long-term. Children weak in auditory memory have trouble remembering nursery rhymes and song lyrics, learning things through recitation, and remembering information unless it’s written down. Auditory Sequencing: This is the ability to understand and recall the order of sounds. A child with weakness in auditory sequencing will mix up numbers with the same digits in different order (84 and 48) and may switch the sequence of sounds in a word (ephelant instead of elephant). She may also have trouble recalling information presented in lists, and difficulty following instructions in sequence.
- (Valorie)
- (Valorie)
- (Valorie) When a mobile user is able to shift orientation it allows the user to find the “sweet spot” for their field of vision. Users who magnify the text especially benefit from being able to adjust from portrait to landscape mode Also, this allows them to optimize provide enough context clues on screen to help reading comprehension (related terms foveal (focus point) and parafoveal (periphery) processing, grapheme-to-phoneme conversion) Related success criteria with the same cognitive benefits include: 1.4.4 Resize Text 1.4.10 Reflow 1.4.11 Text Spacing Extrinsic – simplifies to the space given, eases fatigue Intrinsic – optimizes for reading comprehension
- (Valorie) Mispronounced words take extra time for cognitive processing to “repronounce for understanding”. Because the assistive technology continues to read while the user is “processing”, by the time they have compensated, the screen reader has moved on to different content. This adds to a cycle of frustration and anxiety, exacerbating future cognition. Extrinsic – reduces auditory input errors Intrinsic – supports word recognition and understanding
- (Valorie) Cognitive support iconography is the combining of text with an icon. The icon is considered decorative so the screen reader does not know it is there. One example is the mobile bottom tabbed navigation. Let’s look an example of a link with both a cognitive support icon and an informational icon. Cognitive support – has visible text that serves as the alt-text Informational image – has meaning on its own. Earlier, I mentioned how the use of icons helps lessen the Germans load but it also assists with Extrinsic – providing other ways of understanding information Intrinsic – breaking things up into smaller pieces of content, simplifying Images are processed in a different part of the brain than text The conversation on our team regarding testing is does the cognitive support icon need to meet 1.4.11 Non-text contrast W3C: Parts of graphics required to understand the content
- (Karen) When complex or even simple physical movement is required, the extrinsic and intrinsic load is increased. For example, as we age, our physical functioning diminishes including fine motor coordination , reflexes, and reaction times. Cognitive load is increased by how the persons responds to these changes This can create anxiety, fatigue, frustration and confusion. Attention is split between the physical movement and the web content. On the next slide we will look at how these success criteria can help lighten the load
- (Karen) Remember, Extrinsic load is the effort it takes to perceive the content Brain thought: “What is going on here?” , “What is important?”, Intrinsic: Brain thought: “Let’s make sense of this” “Makes sense” is unique to each individual brain
- (Karen) Guideline 1.3 Adaptable is about making content available in a way that can be perceived. This guideline is a powerhouse that lightens the load. lightens the Intrinsic load through Relationships – providing the connections between the information and what the user is being asked to do lightens the Extrinsic load through Organization – Meaningful sequence, Semantic Structure lightens the Extrinsic, Intrinsic and Germane load by laying the foundation of the page (landmarks, headings, lists, tables, paragraphs) and tapping the power of AT Provides consistency and predictability Reduces the need to reorganize Makes reorganizing easier when needed Reduces the need for recall providing sensory options and orientation lightens the Extrinsic load by providing options Input purpose - allows browsers and AT to tap into stored information and lightens Intrinsic and Germane load by reducing the need for memory.
- (Karen) Disabled submit buttons – why? What is the magic combination? Use explicit instructions and error messages. Not in the tab order and aren’t required to pass color contrast. Also, bootstrap and material design have different default buttons and disabled button looks. Have you ever clicked on a button you didn’t know was disabled and THOUGHT you submitted something? Called Customer Support (“I clicked, but nothing happened”). I have – and I’m a professional web developer.
- (Vanessa) With any form, the goal should be that the user can complete it the first time successfully Is enough information provided? Are formatting instructions visible? Does the visitor have the ability to review and modify their answers?
- Thank you!