Order and control: ideal online experience for an autistic person
First-hand feedback on online products to help you make digital experiences inclusive and accessible by the autistic community.
This year's global events have accelerated our dependency on technology, but also highlighted the urgency of making it inclusive. For several months many of us had to rely on digital services to provide the essentials. The process of adoption was easier for some than others. Unfortunately, many realised that the majority of digital products were not made for them.
This is the first interview in my series ‘Inclusive by Design’ where I’d like to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, learn from their perspective of digital experiences first hand and explore the ways that design and tech can become truly human-centric, reflecting all its diversity.
My first conversation is with Victoria Rose Richards (@victoriaroserichards), a 22-year-old artist based in Devon. She runs her own successful online store and has over 100,000 followers on social media. I first discovered Victoria’s unique and beautiful embroidery artworks a few months ago. In one of her recent posts, Victoria shared her life experiences as an autistic person. I really wanted to explore her unique ways of experiencing the world, processing information, layouts and colours, and also understand her view on using digital products. I also realised that although medical research on autism is widely available, there are very few research publications on the digital design on this subject.
According to The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey of 2014, between 0.5% and 1.3% of people in England are autistic. Autistica — The UK’s national autism research charity, also states that one in a hundred people in the UK is autistic.
Below is the interview with Victoria. I will also be creating a follow-up article with recommendations on designing for neurodiversity (including autism).
Irina Rusakova: Victoria, please tell me a little bit about yourself.
Victoria Rose Richards: I’m someone who has struggled with my emotions and understanding others my whole life — although it also gives me strengths, most my problems are due to me being autistic (such as my depression) and things were much harder, especially at school, before I was formally diagnosed. Even though I was known at school for being intelligent and top of the year in all academic and creative subjects, being around all those people was very hard and tiring for me but I definitely settled in my A-Levels as I had free periods in which I could go to quiet places to study alone. I did biology, maths and sociology and made the decision to continue biology at university, completing a 3-year course in it last year in which I specialised in ecology and marine science! While studying, I discovered my love of embroidery and made the choice when I left to focus on it full time for a while as it makes me happy 😊. I also like embroidery as it makes me feel a bit closer to my nanny, who died two years ago and I have lots of memories of her with her sewing box (which I inherited!) — I only had one nanny as the other died before I was born and I felt especially close to her.
IR When were you diagnosed as autistic?
VRR About when I turned 14.
IR What are the strengths or advantages that you have because of being autistic?
VRR I like to think it has given me some talents and skills that I wouldn’t have otherwise had!
- Good listener — I’m someone who is naturally quite quiet, but I’m always happy to and often enjoy listening to others and am good at taking instructions, although due to some autism-associated sensory processing issues, I may need things explained or demonstrated to me a few times to learn it.
- Organised — I often rely on order and being organised ahead of time to cope with day-to-day life, and so I’m highly organised in the senses of both time keeping and keeping things in the right place!
- Artistic and creative — I have a good eye for details and colours… I can spend hours focussed on the tiny details!! And when the thing at hand is a special interest of mine, like my embroidery, I can do it for hours on end without being bored or tired 😊.
- Honest — I’m not very able to lie (I can’t think up lies on the spot as I have slower processing) so I always tell the truth. People have told me they love this about me as they always know where they stand with me, and I personally think it’s a strength as it means people can always trust I’m being truthful with them. I’m also very straightforward, not beating around the bush when discussing or describing things!
IR I’d like to know first hand — what is the right term to describe an autistic person and the community of autistic people?
VRR Most autistic people will tell you that they prefer to be called ‘autistic’ and not ‘person with autism’, the reason being that person first terminology (‘person with autism’) is really used for diseases or certain disabilities as its saying these things don’t define you… however, autism is not a disease and most autistic people don’t even consider themselves disabled, autism is how we were born and just how we are! Think of it like you wouldn’t ever say person with homosexuality, you’d say a gay person, it’s the same for autism!
(I believe there is a small part of the community though that may prefer person first: if you’re unsure when speaking one-to-one with one of us, it’s best to ask what we prefer personally!)
IR What role does the internet play in your life and personal independence?
VRR It plays a huge role — I manage my business on it and keep in contact with my friends through it!
IR How much time do you spend online daily?
VRR Actively online, maybe 2–3 hours; however, I do listen to things like podcasts when working which can be up to 7–8 hours a day!
IR What are the essential tasks that you usually do online?
VRR While I live with my parents, the only essential stuff I do online is mostly business, like buying supplies, managing my shop, promoting via social media and finding new opportunities. While on my own, I would also use it to check shops for shopping.
The most frustrating is when the colours are too strong or bright (I prefer neutral or darker), there are multiple columns or stuff on each side of the column to distract me (especially if they move too!) and sections aren’t clearly segmented so it’s harder to find the places I need.
IR I know that you have your online Etsy shop, how do you find the experience of managing your shop?
VRR I find it overall quite easy as everything is segmented into specific sections! However I do get confused sometimes with the actual creating a new listing as there is a huge amount of optional description things for some that makes it feel somewhat crowded.
IR Are there any particular websites/apps that you find difficult or uncomfortable to navigate?
VRR Twitter — because there are things on both sides of the feed, which also move when you scroll, I find it overwhelming and difficult to focus on the feed and find individual things. It can get a bit disorientating and I only last a minute on there at most really.
IR What is your experience of using self-service screens in supermarkets?
VRR I’ve never been able to use one, just from observing other people using one I could tell from them that I would not be able to navigate one on my own at all. I get confused easily with things including multiple components (which is also why I can’t learn to drive!).
IR What do you see as the most frustrating experience on the websites/apps that you use?
VRR The most frustrating is when the colours are too strong or bright (I prefer neutral or darker), there are multiple columns or stuff on each side of the column to distract me (especially if they move too!) and sections aren’t clearly segmented so it’s harder to find the places I need.
I feel somewhat disappointed I guess but not very surprised — not many sites are designed with the needs of neurodivergent people in mind as we’re the minority.
IR What was the latest frustrating online experience for you?
VRR Probably Twitter again — I was trying to find something and got quite confused trying to navigate it all!
IR How does it make you feel when you come across the websites that don’t match your requirements?
VRR I feel somewhat disappointed I guess but not very surprised — not many sites are designed with the needs of neurodivergent people in mind as we’re the minority.
IR Do you have any ‘hacks’ or ways of overcoming the imperfectly designed websites?
VRR I often reduce the brightness of my laptop a lot, mute it in case there are ads that play on their own, and switch between that site and a more easier on the eyes one often.
IR What are the most enjoyable websites/apps for you?
VRR I like Tumblr and have for years now — the single scrolling column and split sections make it very easy for me to follow and not overwhelming in any way!
IR What would be your perfect online experience?
VRR A minimalist site with organised sections apart from each other (much like the Etsy shop manager does), and a single column of info on each page without distractions on each side. Maybe a drop down menu with section titles that can be accessed at all times.
IR Are there any other changes on websites/apps that could improve the online experience for your wider community?
VRR Maybe not having adverts with sound that play automatically — those stress me sometimes when they play automatically as the sudden noise, even if quiet, can upset me due to my sensory sensitivity. Also things like having the option to change the colour of the background of the text would be great — pure white and bright colours can be hard on our eyes and off white or neutral colours would be much easier and more calming, but sites don’t generally have the option to change this.
Thanks to Victoria for sharing her story and experience of the digital space. Design has the power to make people feel comfortable and welcome. I hope this interview will help product teams to understand how including the requirements of an autistic person can make a significant difference to the experience of their users. You can make it easier for autistic people to thrive in the digital space and expand your user base.
Read the full summary and breakdown of designing for neurodiversity in the following story. I also plan to continue seeking out opportunities to interview people from underrepresented communities and sharing how we can improve design for everyone. I invite you to be a part of this conversation and share your experiences and feedback in the comments section below.
