Accessibility guidelines like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) pay less attention to cognitive disabilities. That’s because they’re harder to measure than other metrics.
Cognitive disabilities cover a wide range of conditions, including intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dementia, dyslexia, and more.
However, we also need to reduce unnecessary complexity in text — from user interface copy to articles like this one.
W3C’s (World Wide Web Consortium) Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Accessibility Task Force (also known as COGA) offers extra guidance, like Use Clear and Understandable Content.
This document includes simple rules like:
- Use Clear Words
- Use a Simple Tense and Voice
- Use Literal Language
The goal is to remove unnecessary complexity so content is more inclusive. Other tools and frameworks aim for the same thing: text that’s easier to follow, and tools that are easier to use.
Making content and websites less demanding helps everyone. It may not affect compliance much, since WCAG has no specific Success Criteria (its testable pass/fail rules) for this. But it clearly helps people use your content and succeed with it.