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Neurodivergent experiences tell us: please choose kind design.
20 per cent of humans are on neurodiversity’s spectrum, and that’s a cautious number. Many of these folks, or anyone else for that matter, do not even know why their life experience is so exhausting, leaving them anxious or depressed—online and offline.
But we can change that by making words and visuals, structures and flows more and more inclusive by design —for all the people who use it.
Anxiety makes using devices harder
Apart from the shared burden of Covid-19 and an ongoing challenge due to the pandemic, neurodivergent folks struggle even more with anxiety and depression than neurotypical people. Prof. Amanda Kirby published the following numbers on LinkedIn:
About 40% of people with Autism Spectrum Conditions also have Anxiety; More than 15% of people with Dyslexia have anxiety, and between 25–40% of people with ADHD have been reported to be anxious also.
* Remember that ADHD/ASC/Dyslexia/DCD all often overlap with each other, and is the rule rather than the exception.
This means, in general, products and services should offer a user experience that is treating its users with kindness, so their anxiety is not fueled by it. All of the users would benefit from this, not just neurodivergent ones. I will use one central question in my survey “Neurodiversity and UX writing” as a jumping-off point to show you some data:
Q: Which factors should (UX) writers be always mindful of for apps, websites and general design of digital interfaces?
The survey answers basically reflect my own bias — or rather confirm it. User experience design is not just UI or UX, or content or interaction design. It’s the whole package that appears either accessible and (neuro)inclusive or is excluding people with certain cognitive differences in processing — and they need to process what we have designed.
