In Switzerland, there is an organization called Insieme. Insieme is an organization for and by people with intellectual disabilities and their families. It is a member of Inclusion Europe.The organization created a guide for easy surfing on the internet for people with intellectual disabilities. The guide gives tips and instructions to creators of websites on how to make websites accessible to people with intellectual disabilities.Tips include aspects such as easy-to-read instructions, information about the protection of data and also ways to make websites clearer. |
Insieme Switzerland, the Swiss federation of associations of parents of people with intellectual disabilities, has published an ‘Easy Surfing’ guide. The guide is specifically meant for web developers, designers and editors and entails instructions on how to set up accessible websites for people with intellectual disabilities.
The guide is structured into 14 specific recommendations that should lead to a higher degree of online accessibility, such as easy-to-read instructions, clear content tips, information on data protection and easy navigation and orientation guidelines. Insieme mentions in the document that these recommendations should not be considered as limitations:
‘The guide is not intended to limit the creativity of web developers, but to make them aware of the potential pitfalls. We also want to encourage developers to experiment with new design elements and to try out new ways of doing things.’ Another argument in favor of using the guide is that the companies and organizations behind these websites will also benefit, since easy-to-use services will most probably attract more potential users.
Insieme Switzerland has developed the ‘Easy Surfing’ guide together with the Swiss foundation ‘Access for All’ and the University of Applied Science and Arts Northwestern Switzerland.
For more information about Insieme, click here.