WebAIM has a good article that defines cognitive disabilities in relation to Web accessibility. The article is entitled, naturally, “Cognitive Disabilities“.
- Section / Page 1 discusses why classifying cognitive disabilities by functional disability, rather than by clinical diagnoses, is more useful in terms of Web accessibility. It then discusses the functional limitations some people experience.
- Section / Page 2 talks about how to accommodate these functional limitations, and offers some good, specific site-design / accessibility suggestions.
- Section / Page 3 attempts to demonstrate how people with cognitive disabilities may have trouble with Web site content. It presents an activity in which it asks the reader to follow a set of instructions, and shows how difficult that can be for anyone.
An important point this article makes is that “In many cases, the techniques for more making web content accessible to people with cognitive disabilities are nothing more than techniques for effective communication.”