Summer is officially upon us, offering a perfect opportunity to relax and recharge. In this month's newsletter, we delve into an important yet often overlooked topic: Cognitive accessibility.
You might be wondering, "How does cognitive accessibility impact my job as a developer?". This edition aims to answer that question by exploring the essence of cognitive accessibility, its significance in today's world, and practical steps you can take to create more inclusive digital experiences in your daily work.
Meet our curator of the month
Susanna Hyötyläinen is a Senior Software Developer and Accessibility Specialist at Futurice with over 8 years of experience in modern software development. She's a quality-oriented developer who is attentive to details and passionate about creating inclusive digital services for all. In her free time, she enjoys sports photography and air yoga.
In this article on Deque’s blog, Glenda Sims and Jennie Delisi briefly explore cognitive disabilities and the importance of incorporating cognitive accessibility into design. While the article primarily targets designers, its insights hold significant value for anyone involved in digital product development. As developers, we often end up making design decisions in our daily work even though we’d be working closely with a design team. Understanding how design can help people with cognitive disabilities allows us to see how our design decisions might affect them.
Jamie Knight & Lion are an autistic duo, who have worked for BBC for the past 11 years as Accessibility professionals. In this talk on London’s Accessibility community meetup, Jamie talks about his life as an autistic person and how environments disable him. While the talk focuses on his personal experiences, Jamie covers important topics such as the social model of disability and shares practical tips to make websites more accessible.
"13 Letters" is an accessibility podcast hosted by Will Butler and Cordelia McGee-Tubb, featuring interviews with some of the world’s leading experts on accessibility. In the episode "Cognitive Dissidents," they interview Shell Little, an Accessibility Specialist, Inclusive Designer, and Cognitive Disability Speaker. Shell shares her personal journey into the field of accessibility and discusses cognitive disabilities. She provides practical examples of how to enhance digital experiences for people with cognitive disabilities.
Lastly, I'd like to share MDN's Cognitive Accessibility documentation, which offers practical insights into creating accessible solutions for individuals with cognitive disabilities. I appreciate how the documentation covers relevant guidelines from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and provides actionable advice on how cognitive accessibility can be enhanced from a developer's perspective.
Are you a developer with knowledge of accessibility and a strong drive to learn more? Come help us build accessible and thoughtful products and services.
