Designing content for users with invisible disabilities
What are invisible disabilities?
Invisible disabilities are physical, mental or neurological conditions that are not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a person’s movements, senses or activities. They often include cognitive disabilities such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD), autism and epilepsy. They can also include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Many living with these challenges are still fully active in their work, families, sports or hobbies. Some can work full or part-time, but struggle to get through their day, with little or no energy for other things. Others are unable to maintain gainful or substantial employment due to their disability, have trouble with daily living activities and need assistance with their care. Some may not even know they have a disability (e.g. ADHD).
Designing for invisible disabilities
Many people do not realize that when they design their content intentionally with accessibility best practices in mind, they are benefiting everyone. Keeping these key points in mind will make your content usable and more enjoyable for all:
- Including captions or transcripts may be required but it also helps those with cognitive disabilities. They can help to provide focus on the material being presented and they can also help for those that may speak English as a second language.
- Providing warnings if content is explicit, traumatic or contains flashes. This can help someone with epilepsy, depression and/or PTSD.
- Using plain, simple language. We recommend around a 7th-9th grade reading level. This allows users to find the information they need, easily understand it and use the information as they see fit. This can be evaluated using the Quality Assurance tool in Siteimprove.