Special Focus – Neurodivergent users

Hello all, welcome back to our course on digital accessibility. And today we will have a special focus discussion regarding uh special use case of neurode divergence and neurode divergent users and what are the specific barriers and challenges that they face and how we can enable uh access to digital and ICT technologies to them uh as much as possible. So before we dive into the challenges and barriers, let us first try to understand what is the meaning of neurode divergence and what is the uh relevance of it in today's day and age. So first aspect is uh were you even aware uh that over 15% so almost 15 to 20% of the global population uh is uh demonstrating some form of neurode divergence and which means that it is a very big chunk of the population. So that is a significant segment of the society uh which makes up people who are neurode divergent reminding us uh that it is a dire need of uh the hour and uh that it there is a plethora and a wide array uh of unique ways people experience and perceive and connect with the digital world. So let us try to understand what is neurode divergence and what is the meaning and what kind of uh um aspects come under neurode divergence. So uh neurode divergence is a non-medical term used to describe individuals whose brains process information or learn or behave in ways that are different from what is considered typical, right? or neurotypical by the society. So under this category there can be you know learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, touret syndrome, down syndrome, uh William syndrome, I'm sure you might have heard about OCD is something which is uh which is a term which is casually thrown around that I have OCD because I like cleaning a lot. uh dyslexia is I'm sure all of you might have seen that um movie tarin where uh dyslexia was kind of portrayed with a lot of sensitivity and children with dyslexia how difficult it is for them to match the speed of uh your typical way of learning or typical way of pedagogy or instruction. Um it can be autism, ADHD uh which is uh attention deficit um or ADD disorder or it can be disgraphia where uh people face challenges to understand or decipher graphics. Discalculia is where people face difficulty in learning or understanding mathematics. Dyslexia is reading or language related disability. This dyspraxia is uh where people face difficulty in speaking or um understanding spoken language. So basically what we're saying that the word d neurody divergence is really an umbrella term uh that highlights all of these neurological differences as natural variations of a human brain rather than deficits or disorders. Right? So these are just variations of human brain. We are not seeing any of it to be um you know which was a commonly thrown around word uh called retardation. None of it is actually that and uh now it is being recognized globally including uh India under the RPWD act. All of these aspects are recognized as learning disabilities or neurode divergence related disabilities and it's not a disease. It's not something which is curable. So basically we are looking at enabling access. Right? So here this is where our roles as designers, engineers and innovators comes into being as to how we can enable access to people facing all of these um deficits or disorders or variations of human brain access the same information with the same amount of efficacy um uh as a typical um human brain. So then let's look at some key concepts particularly in uh in the domain of terminology just so that we are sensitive towards using the terms carefully and not throwing them around casually. So the first is the neurodeiversity which we just read about. So neurode diversity is the overarching concept that that variations in human brain uh in human brain function are natural and normal. Uh they are just like differences in ethnicity or personality. Right? Then comes the next concept of neurody divergence. uh an individual whose specific neurological function diverges from the societal nor atypical uh neurological function can be brought under the category of neurode divergent individual. So neurode diversity is a concept is a common term while neurody divergent is an individual right and then there is neurotypical. Neurotypical is also an individual. Neurotypical is an individual whose brain function and development are considered as standard or typical with this within the society's expectations. So I hope these uh terms are pretty clear in their meaning and their usage. So let us now uh try to understand the difference between these two because these two are again individuals right. Neurodeiversity encompasses all of both of these neurody divergence the divergent individuals as well as neurotypical and then the concept of neurodeiversity says that uh there can be variations in human brain functions and all of it is natural. So let us try to understand the difference between a neurotypical individual and a neurode divergent individual. So a neurotypical individual are those whose brain functions, processes and behaves in alignment with typical development minds and whose who cultivate organizational and interpersonal skills at the same rate. rate is something which is very important because many a times we have seen that even neurode divergent individuals are able to eventually uh kind of learn and navigate uh their ways uh using interpersonal skills but their rate of learning those interpersonal skills or societal skills may be a little bit different. individuals who process information atypically for their age. Right? Again, here is also what uh the rate we were talking about. So when we say for example that a 3year-old should be able to recognize alphabets from A to Z, that is a typical standard of learning pedagogy. And uh if the individual is unable to recognize all of the different 26 alphabets by the age three, we are not saying that they are dumb. They are just expressing a different or neurodeivergent form of development which is atypical for their age. Neurode divergent individuals brain function differently not incorrectly. This is very important compared to most peers. So um what has really happened and what why do we even have this discussion about neurotypical or what is called a typical function because uh as per statistics uh most like we did see that around 15 to 20% individuals uh demonstrate some sort of neurode divergence but still the 80% or 85% are uh demonstrating typical behavior. So in terms of um developing organizational or learning pedagogies or frameworks for society to function, for organizations to function, for learning to function, most of the pedagogies and frameworks have been again till recently been uh framed or coined for people with typical behaviors. And uh for the longest time, people with neurode divergent um uh behaviors were considered um that they they have something wrong with their brains and they were being treated um um you know badly uh in different ways. But uh uh luckily now uh the research as well as the society as well as the policy makers are aligned with the idea that brain functions are just typical or different. There's no correct or incorrect way of doing anything. Some more perspective in the same terminology. So uh for example there are there's a person with ADHD, there's a person with autism, there's a person with OCD and there's a person with dyslexia. Each of these people are neurode divergent. This person is uh neurotypical. These people are each neurode divergent but individually they are not neurodyiverse. So since we are talking about a group of uh people all with AD uh ADHD individually they are neurode divergent but as a group this group is not neurodeiverse. This group is neurodeiverse where this is if we talk about this group this group is neurodeiverse because we are talking about different types of divergent. If there is a person with multiple such divergences then that kind of a person is called multiply neurode divergent. Only groups of people can be described as neurodeiverse. Individuals are not neurodeiverse but can be neurody divergent. So this terminology again is very important particularly when you are writing reports particularly when you are making PPTs you are you know even searching right uh so basically prompts these terminologies are very uh important. So as we discussed, neurode diversity kind of encompasses all of these uh facets and all of these uh disorders and uh limitations. And you can go um back to your search engine and you can um search about each of these neurodeiversity related uh barriers individually as well. So uh for example some people with cerebral policy also have limited motor skills sometimes if it is a severe form of CP. People um people with dyslexia are find it difficult to read or write particularly language and similarly each one of them will have their own uh limitations. For individual definitions and limitations, you can also refer to the RPWD act document which talks about what is legally the meaning of each of these limitations and uh because when we particularly talking about compliance, we have to be aware of what is the legal definition of each of these uh divergences. So it is it is important that you understand uh about each of these um uh definitions and particularly from a legal audit or compliance perspective. So you can look you can go through this document as well and you can individually do um a search engine exploration uh at your end. uh all of these aspects come under neurode divergence but let us also try to understand what are the challenges and strengths of people uh who are neurode divergent. So they do face difficulties with social interactions or communications. They may face sensory overload in certain environments. They may struggle with executive functions like organization and time management. There is need for clear routine uh and difficulty. They face difficulty with sudden changes. However, they have some very um interesting strengths. So it has been found and this this has been statistically laid out that um they are very creative and innovative thinkers. So you may be surprised but there are a lot of very u famous innovators who have had who have dyslexia. So Elon Musk is one popular such person I'm sure you are aware. Then Steve Jobs, actors, Abhishek Bachan had dyslexia and uh it has been uh over the years uh come to statistical relevance that uh they have demonstrated um extraordinary, creative and innovative thinking capacity. They can have high levels of concentration or hyperfocus in their areas of interest. Right? So may they may be getting sensory overload in certain environments but they can do high hyperfocus and high levels of concentration particularly in things in which they are interested and they can work on it for several hours which can be difficult for a neurotypical uh person. Sometimes they can have strong attention to detail and accuracy and they have unique problem solving abilities and they have a big picture perspective many a times because uh they are also um not we've seen that many a times bogged by uh the the constraints and the systems of the typical uh world which can fuel innovation many a times So now let us try to talk about accessibility issues uh pertaining to neurode divergence. Accessibility uh issues primarily comprise of sensory overload complex information uh they may be struggle with flashing content. So here we are talking about again for digital interactions primarily. So as you saw in the previous slide they have social anxiety and many of times these are some common challenges but uh we'll see how it pans out particularly in the form of digital interaction. Uh so they may have struggles with flashing content uh jarens uh because jarens are very context dependent and very socially aware uh which may not be the case with atypical thinking. Unpredictable layouts, strict time limits or confusing forms. Uh requiring clear language, visual aids, customization etc. uh so that to make it accessible uh both the physical and the digital accessibility. So let us kind of dive deeper into these aspects. So what are the common barriers uh pertaining to accessibility when we are looking at it from the perspective of neurode divergence. So first is as we discussed sensory overload. So what accounts for sensory overload? So it can be bright bright colors uh too many bright colors placed on the same screen uh flashing animations which are uh you know not even uh uh you know accessible to muting or pausing autoplay videos or audio. Too many sounds at once. Busy environments. Cluttered spaces. Cluttered desktops. cluttered screens, all of those uh can be a little bit overwhelming and overloading uh the sensory systems of uh people with neurody divergence. Cognitive and information processing related barriers. So maybe large blocks of text is difficult to read uh particularly for people with dyslexia. So maybe you can, you know, you use some spaces in between, use simple languages, use dyslexia friendly fonts, all of those aspects, complex sentences, again jarens, unusual words, unpredictable or inconsistent navigation and layouts, difficulty with visual tracking, attention or working memory. executive function and focus. So, uh any decision making related aspects where users have you know limited times to check an OTP on a different platform and enter it in some other um you know web page for instance um straight u or forms where you have to fill it in a given time. distractions from moving or flickering content. If it is, you know, you have ads on both sides of the screen like this um or on top of the screen with you know ads flashing and all of those things then it becomes really difficult for people with um who are neurody divergent difficulty in remembering passwords or instructions and icons. So if you notice a lot of these um aspects also have appeared in our special focus on elderly users. So what we are basically trying to understand with each of these special focus sessions is that many a times inclusive thought process not just enables access to any one special target user group uh but also expands it to other special use cases as well. So particularly this is helpful when you are say pitching a project in your company or pitching a product to a uh venture capitalist or you are writing for a research grant. So because they always ask about key what is the impact of this work? What is the projected impact? What is the projected or expected target user base? The moment you are able to understand that if I am this is the challenge faced by people with neurode divergence while this is also a challenge faced by people who are elderly. So whenever I am solving this particular problem say strict time limits I am solving it not just for uh neurode divergent users but also for elderly users. So then we can say okay 15% of the population has neurode divergence 20% of the population falls into the category of elderly together my work or my solution is going to impact 35% of the global population. Now we're looking at a billion billion billions of people right so then that um is actually the scale of the impact that your work can translate into. So it is important to understand individual aspects of all of these special use cases but also uh think about how we can actually not just solve for one but solve for many when we are looking at it from an inclusive design perspective. Coming to the last of uh common barriers. So uh communication and interaction there may be complex forms there may be multi-stage processes where there are uh you know you complete one you go to next then you complete one you're supposed to remember some chunks of information from the previous one uh or unclear feedback system or error correction mechanisms are there in the portal or on the app then it becomes very difficult unreliable chatbot s or life support. So this is something I think we all can agree which is which is there uh in a lot of use cases that there is a there is a chatbot it says what how can I help you but the moment you ask uh atypical question they are not able to help you really right or they are not a able to help you with stepbystep detailed um uh kind of an assistance. So uh it is usually not fulfilling its purpose. So um when we're talking about accessibility for neurode divergent users, we're also saying that accessibility for neurode divergent users benefits everyone. One aspect we did discuss that if we are talking about specific challenges and we have also seen those specific challenges with another group of users like elderly then we can always uh expand our target user group by adding just plainly adding that other particular group. But we are also saying that accessibility for neurode divergent users not just benefits uh them but also everyone because here again our concept of situational or temporary uh disability uh comes into picture because uh u the cognitive overload for example or sensory overload part if we think about Um there may be uh uh people who are neurode divergent who are facing those issues at all times but there may be people who are u you know tired they have not had a good sleep and situationally they are unable to concentrate on a given information and hence they are facing a situational um disability or they may be a temporary disability where they are on some particular medicine which is not allowing them to think clearly. They may be sleepy all the time. All of those aspects can be there. So while WAK guidelines are designed to support individuals with particular disability including those who identify uh as neurode divergent they ultimately benefit all users. So let's take some examples. So for example, a clear navigation, consistent layouts makes it easier for everyone to find the relevant information, not just people who are uh you neurode divergent. Readable text, it will help you of course uh people with dyslexia, but high contrast text and simple fonts improve readability for you all users and not just dyslexia. Similarly, flexible timers. So adjustable time limits can not only reduce stress for people with ADHD but also for anyone who needs extra time to complete the task and there can be multiple reasons for it. There can be as we said situational uh limitations right that um so I for once can give my own example whenever I'm trying to do some important task uh either your phone rings or your kid comes rushing to you with some uh major issue of their own and you can leave it leave uh for a bit do their work and then come back and complete the form. So let's get started designing for neurode diversity. So here are some actionable steps to make your digital assets more inclusive for ND users. So first is please simplify your layouts. Avoid clutter. Use clear consistent navigation, high contrast, use text stands. Ensure that your text stands out against the background colors. So this will not only help people with neurode divergence, it will also help people with who are elderly, who have low vision, um or who have uh um just concentration issues which are situational. Provide text alternatives. So offer text transcripts for audio content or captions for videos. So this is also useful for people who are hard of hearing. Test with neurode divergent users. So engage individuals who identify as neurode divergence to test the usability of your website. Educate your team. I think this is very important that we also need to not just learn and make ourselves aware about these special use cases and how what are the challenges that they face but also uh expand and disseminate that knowledge or sensitize your own team about those special use cases and how involving uh or including their challenges and their needs can not just enhance profit suitability for their company what what would also increase the impact of the kind of work that they are trying to do. So as again WAG uh um particularly for navigation and text and contrast we have already seen that they have some best practices in place. So particularly say for example for audio control uh autoplay can be distracting and overwhelming. So WAG requires that users have the ability to pause, stop or control the audio. And this is the criteria which you can refer to. Timing adjustability. Time limits can create unnecessary stress for users particularly those with ADHD uh or dyslexia. So WKAG recommends that website owners allow users to change or extend time limits. Pause, stop or hide. So moving or blinking primarily ads are can be very distracting. So WCA conformant experience give users the option to pause, stop or hide those uh pages after 5 seconds. on input. So many neurody divergent users benefit from predictability and WAG states that changes on a website should not occur automatically when a user inputs data. For example, selecting a checkbox shouldn't trigger an unexpected action like submitting a form. Consistency in navigation. So consistency uh helps user understand find where the key elements like menu, search bar or uh links will be there. This is particularly useful for people with autism. Then consistent identification. So buttons etc should look the same on each page. If it is meaning the same, if it has the same semantic functionality associated with it. So um the this is a resource which you can refer to um in order to so there are several blogs. One is of course uh the W CAG owned uh blog on digital accessibility and neurodeiversity. Please feel free to go through it in order to educate yourself more about accessibility for neurode divergence. And you can of course some search some uh uh more about uh neurody divergence learn indivi about individual aspects and individual disorders what kind of uh limitations they are facing. Then this is the this is one of the books which I had recommended in the initial weeks as well. Uh it's called inclusive design for a digital world. Please feel free to buy this book. uh and this this covers a lot of aspects uh of digital design and it also has a chapter on neurodyiversity and accessibility. So um thank you all for joining today's session. I will see you all in the next session.