How can you make web content accessible for people with Parkinson's disease?

2 Provide multiple ways to navigate

People with Parkinson's disease may have trouble using a mouse or a touch screen, especially if they have tremors or stiffness. Provide alternative ways to navigate your web content, such as keyboard shortcuts, skip links, breadcrumbs, and menus. Make sure your links are descriptive and easy to click or tap. Avoid pop-ups, sliders, carousels, or other elements that may move or change unexpectedly. Use clear labels and instructions for forms, buttons, and inputs.

3 Support different input methods

People with Parkinson's disease may prefer to use different input methods to access your web content, depending on their abilities and preferences. Some may use a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, or a stylus. Others may use voice input, speech recognition, or eye tracking. Support these different input methods by ensuring that your web content is compatible with assistive technologies, such as screen readers, magnifiers, or voice assistants. Use HTML elements and attributes that convey the meaning and role of your content, such as headings, labels, and alt text. Test your web content with different input methods and devices.

4 Offer flexible and adaptable options

People with Parkinson's disease may need to adjust your web content to suit their needs and preferences. Offer flexible and adaptable options that allow them to customize your web content, such as changing the font size, color, contrast, layout, or speed. Provide captions, transcripts, or audio descriptions for multimedia content, such as videos, audio, or animations. Allow them to pause, stop, or control the volume of multimedia content. Provide feedback and confirmation for actions and errors.

5 Follow the WCAG standards

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of standards that provide recommendations and criteria for making web content accessible for people with disabilities, including people with Parkinson's disease. The WCAG standards are organized into four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Each principle has guidelines and success criteria that you can use to evaluate and improve your web content. You can also use tools and resources that can help you check and fix accessibility issues.

Making web content accessible for people with Parkinson's disease is not only a matter of compliance, but also a matter of empathy and inclusion. By following these tips, you can make your web content more user-friendly, engaging, and beneficial for people with Parkinson's disease and other users.