Search, read and write: An inquiry into Web accessibility for dyslexics
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Date
2016Metadata
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Original version
Petrie, Helen; Darzentas, Jenny; Walsh, Tanja; Swallow, David; Sandoval, Leonardo; Lewis, Andrew; Power, Christopher [Eds.] Universal Design 2016: Learning from the past, designing for the future p. 450-460 Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, IOS Press, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-684-2-450Abstract
Universal design in context of digitalisation has become an integrated
part of international conventions and national legislations. A goal is to make the
Web accessible for peop
le of different genders, ages, backgrounds, cultures and
physical, sensory and cognitive abilities.
P
olitical demands for universally
designed solutions have raised questions
about
how it is achieved in practice.
Developers, designers and legislators have
looked towards the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for answers. WCAG 2.0 has become the de
facto standard for universal design on the Web. Some of the guidelines are
directed at the general population, while others are targeted at more specific
user
groups, such as the visually impaired or hearing impaired. Issues related to
cognitive impairments such as dyslexia receive less attention, although dyslexia is
prevalent in at least 5
-
10% of the population. Navigation and search are two
common ways
of using the Web. However, while navigation has received a fair
amount of attention, search systems are not explicitly included, although search
has become an important part of people’s daily routines. This paper discusses
WCAG in the context of dyslexia f
or the Web in general and search user interfaces
specifically.
A
lthough certain guidelines address topics that affect dyslexia,
WCAG does not seem to fully accommodate users
with dyslexia
.