Displayed with the express permission of Autism Speaks Canada. All work shown is the property of Autism Speaks Canada.
DESIGN FOR INCLUSION
Autism Speaks Canada is committed to ensuring access to reliable information and services across the lifespan.
Making reliable information available and accessible to those to need it can often get overlooked. When designing any web-page, considering needs of those with different and unique levels of ability is key to making a resource that is accessible to everyone. Often times, engaging the community you are creating for is the key to success.
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE
Throughout this section I will be using identity first language ("autistic person" rather than "person with autism") as this is the preference of the many autistic people I have worked with and the general preference in the autistic community. Identity-first language affirms that being autistic is a key part of a person's identity. Person-first language separates the person from autism. Please always respect individual preferences and use the language that is the autistic person's preferred way of identifying.
LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY
The autism community in Canada has long been informing Autism Speaks Canada needs to update the About Autism section on the website. Not only was the language outdated and followed the medical model of talking about autism, but also the text heavy format made it hard for autistic people to navigate it. In the past, pages were designed with the parents in mind rather than the autistic individual, and we wanted to move away from that legacy. We came away with four key asks from the autism community:
Make the pages more accessible.
Include autistic voices.
Update the information provided.
Make it fun and easy to navigate.
SPOTLIGHTING AUTISTIC VOICES
One of the primary goals of the new About Autism Hub was to include the lived experiences of autistic people in Canada to personalize the information. Often autism is talked about through the perspective of medical professionals and caregivers, rather than through the perspective of autistic people. One of the core challenges was how to incorporate the stories we received from the community into the hub's different pages. We then worked with those people to make sure that their stories are in the right place and that the meaning they wanted to convey was there.
AUTISM FRIENDLY DESIGN
At the core of my design process was having an understanding of design principles that can make this section of the website more accessible for autistic people.
Key things kept in mind:
- Clear hierarchy is crucial; make sure that what is important and what are extra details is clear
- Avoid high contrast for everything. Onlyuse for important elements
- Images shouldrelate and add to the text they are beside
- Dividing up blocks of text with imagescan help things not be overwhelming
- Navigation should be clear and uncomplicated. Provide multiple navigation options to allow users the option to go through the information their way.
Incorporating the above principles while still following the brand guidelines was a crucial balancing act in this project.
CHALLENGING THE FACE OF AUTISM
One of the other goals of the About Autism Hub was to challenge the stereotypes around autism. Autism has historically been portrayed as a condition that only affects white boys. To combat this inaccurate stereotype, we made sure to include a diverse cross-sections of autistic people in Canada, including adult women and men, girls, and people from a variety of cultural backgrounds and racial ethnicities. We also included updated information that recognizes that autism is a spectrum and that every autistic person has a unique combination of autistic characteristics. We made sure to share stories that exemplify that spectrum.
PROCESS
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN
Throughout the process of working on the About Autism Hub, many different stakeholders participated in the design and content of the website. The Marketing team worked with an external web developer, the Programming department, and autistic Canadians and caregivers.
RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY
The response from the autism community was overwhelmingly positive. Some of the main features that were appreciated were:
- The inclusion of autistic people's experiences
- The variety of forms of navigation
- How the information was broken up and the reduction of huge blocks of text
- The change in language to be less medical in nature
ASSISTING DEVELOPMENT
In cases where the web development team was unable to create certain features in the time frame, I went back in to add those features post launch. We also listened closely to any feedback on the website post launch, and I was tasked with implementing those changes.
COLLABORATORS
Project done as part of my work for Autism Speaks Canada, where I acted as the lead for the website design.
Project launched in April of 2023