1. User Experience for the acquired disabilities
HCID2012 City University
12 April 2012
Caleb Tang
UX Consultant | Foolproof
Accessibility Chair | UK UPA @calebtang

2. People in the world currently living
1 bil with a disability
– 2011 WHO World report on disability

3. Disability is real
They exist in different forms § Vision
They can be visible or hidden § Hearing
They can be permanent, corrective or temporary § Motor
They can be born, acquired or developmental § Cognitive
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4. Many people with disabilities do not
consider themselves disabled
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/djou/1265264550/

5. Medical vs. Social model of disability
Medical
Model
Social
Model
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6. Many people with disabilities are not born disabled
§ Disabilities can be acquired through injury,
accident, illness or genetic inheritance
§ Disabilities are not homogeneous, they:
• may not have the same condition,
• may not communicate the same way,
• may not use the same tools,
• may have different preference
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7. Model of grief - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
“OK, I’ll get on with it”
“This is not real” “OK, maybe this is “It’s not the end of the
“its not that serious” temporary” world”
“I’ll seek a second opinion”
Stage 1: Denial Stage 5: Acceptance
Stage 3: Bargaining
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
“Why me?” “I’m doomed L”
“This is not fair!!!” “I’m hopeless”
Stage 2: Anger Stage 4: Depression
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8. Sudden vs. Gradual change
§ Sudden change
• Takes longer to learn
• Comparing to the mental model during the abled days
• Frustrated, angry, lack of patience, feeling hopeless etc
§ Gradual change
• Unaware of the gradual development of disability
• Start preparing and learning new ways to live
• Trying to do as much as possible while they can
• Swing between “abled” and “disabled”
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9. Born vs. Acquired disability learning model
§ People who were born disabled may:
• Go through formal training and education Give
up
on
life
• Be well connected with the community
§ While people with an acquired disability may:
• Go through stages of grief
• Take a long time before they are ready to learn new
ways to live
Rely
on
others
• Find learning challenging depending on age,
motivation and personality
Learn
to
be
independent
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10. What does that mean to UX?
§ Disability is not homogeneous
§ People with disabilities have emotions too
§ Disabled is not what people with disability call
themselves
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11. Labelling: Accessibility or Preferences
Accessibility Preferences
§ Not everyone with a disability § Everyone has a preference
considers themselves disabled § You don’t have to be disabled to use
§ They may not be aware or even accessibility features
associate themselves with the § Users are more likely to try out the
features feature
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12. Placement: Visible or hidden
Visible by default Hidden under accessibility page
§ Users are more likely to use it if its § Users have to find it
readily available § Users may not aware it exists
§ It helps educate users that such § It is technically accessible but not
functionality exists
usable
§ People with no disabilities may find it
suits their preference
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13. Marketing: Primary or accessibility feature
§ Siri is marketed as a primary feature
but it is actually a tool developed for
people with disabilities
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14. BS8878: Step 7 - Degree of user experience
§ What is BS8878?
• British standard to outline a framework for web
accessibility when designing or commissioning web
products.
• 16 step process in creating accessible web
products
§ Step 7: Consider the degree of user-experience
the web product will aim to provide
• Technically accessible
• Usable
• Satisfying or enjoyable
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15. BS8878: Step 7 - Degree of user experience
Technically
Usable
SaMsfying
or
accessible
enjoyable
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16. Blog: Personas – Inclusive requirements
Start including disability
experiences in your
personas
http://www.foolproof.co.uk/
personas-inclusive-requirements/
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17. Questions?
Thank you
@calebtang