Inclusive Design

This website strives to make use of features from the Neurodiversity Design System (NDS). 

Design considerations were intentionally made for the learning and user experience, in hopes of making the website an accessible platform in which all staff can learn. 

• I utilized Arial, a sans-serif font, in this website several reasons. 

• It is a less formal font that is good for readability and  legibility. With proper spacing, it can be supportive of readers with vision issues, or dyslexia. 

• A clear font can also cause less reader fatigue and extend reading retention time. 

• This was my first time designing a Google Site and button creation was not nearly as straightforward as Wix or other platforms. I did some research but was not able to find how to make a button that would interact when you hover over the buttom. 

• I was able to make vivid, filled-in buttons with a larger hit radius for learners with fine motor skill difficulties. For learners with ADHD or visual  issues, these larger buttons can indicate with visual cues about where to click and navigate. 

• For extra support with visual cues, I added a tap icon emoji on top of linked sections or videos to let staff know what icons/images are clickable. Google Sites makes buttons that are thin, generic, and flat. It needs easier ways to add shading, borders, or other dynamic elements to make buttons more visible. 

• If Google Sites had buttons with easy-to-use, drop-down tabs I did not discover them. 

• Alternative Text or Alt Text is important for supporting diverse learners and inclusive design. Some learners utilize screen reader apps. These apps will read-aloud Alternative Text for an image. 

• Providing helpful Alternative Text gives context about an image and why it was included in a website. Plus, it offers the reader information even if the image fails to load. 

• I am revising my Alternative Text on this website as I learned that I entered some Alt Text incorrectly, or what is not best practice. For instance, some of my Alt Text included 'This is an image of or photo of.' Sometimes my descriptions were too long or general. 

• I am learning how to include Alt text on non-decorative images. This means understanding that the same image can have different Alt Text on this website, depending on how it is used and the text around the image. 

Neurodiversity Design System. (n.d.). Neurodiversity Design System. https://neurodiversity.design/

    Write helpful Alt Text to describe images. (n.d.). Digital Accessibility​. https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content- 

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