Accessibility Guidelines

The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities New Website

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The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities in partnership with Coleman Fellow Redhwan Nour, PhD, has re-designed our website to serve as an accessibility model for individuals with cognitive disabilities.  We have done this by following  the accessibility guidelines established by WCAG 2.0 AA,  and recently updated in January 2017, by the U.S. Access Board.   The update is referred to as the 508 Refresh and adopts a broader range of WCAG 2.0 success criteria and requires that all electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities.

Key Website Accessibility Principles

WCAG 2.0 is the internationally recognized group responsible for determining website accessibility standards.  The group uses four key principles as guides to help ensure that websites are accessible.   These principles are :

• Perceivable: Available to the senses (vision and hearing primarily) either through the browser or through assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers, screen enlargers, etc.)
• Operable: Users can interact with all controls and interactive elements using either the mouse, keyboard, or an assistive device.
• Understandable: Content is clear and limits confusion and ambiguity.
• Robust: A wide range of technologies (including old and new user agents and assistive technologies) can access the content.

Website Accessibility Guidelines for Cognitive Disabilities

At the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, we believe that accessible web site design is universal design and benefits everyone.   We recognize that each of the major categories of disabilities (visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive) require certain types of modifications when designing web content.  In particular, cognitive disabilities provide website designers with many individualized challenges, but designers have begun to address this challenge by focusing on the following general characteristics;  learning disabilities, distractibility, and an inability to remember or focus on large amounts of information.

For more information about the accessibility features on the Coleman Institute website please contact us.