Website Comfort for Autistic Users (Survey)

[MaxWainwright]

Hi everyone!​

My name’s Max and I’m an undergrad student currently working on my final year dissertation.

I’m researching how websites can be designed to be more accessible through colour, layout, content, and navigation. The goal is to find out which design features help reduce cognitive and sensory overload.

The study is aimed at autistic adults aged 18+ (diagnosed or self-diagnosed). You’ll be asked to look through a simple prototype website and then answer a few questions based on your experience. It should only take around 10 minutes to complete.

Your feedback will help me understand what supports comfort and focus online - and the end goal is to suggest web design improvements that better suit autistic users.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Survey link: Website Usability & Comfort

I’d really appreciate your time and response, thank you so much for taking part!

 

[Judge]

For me the most significant change has been through using the "Dark Reader" extension for browsers. Makes all the difference in the world in terms of controlling brightness and contrast for greater comfort on my eyes, along with a preference for a dark graphic user interface. The only drawback are the very few sites that manage to defy this extension.

Available for Firefox and Chrome engine-based browsers. As for individual layout and composition...well, design standards/protocols exist, but not necessarily adhered to. IMO, this is probably as good as it's going to get in most cases. Unless of course a specific website is exclusively geared to an autistic audience.

 

[thejuice]

Hi everyone!​

My name’s Max and I’m an undergrad student currently working on my final year dissertation.

I’m researching how websites can be designed to be more accessible through colour, layout, content, and navigation. The goal is to find out which design features help reduce cognitive and sensory overload.

The study is aimed at autistic adults aged 18+ (diagnosed or self-diagnosed). You’ll be asked to look through a simple prototype website and then answer a few questions based on your experience. It should only take around 10 minutes to complete.

Your feedback will help me understand what supports comfort and focus online - and the end goal is to suggest web design improvements that better suit autistic users.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Survey link: Website Usability & Comfort

I’d really appreciate your time and response, thank you so much for taking part!

Great idea and good luck with the dissertation. A very pressing issue for us and our health and I expect it would make quality of life better for all!

 

[Jumpinbare]

I just get a blank screen on Firefox

 

[MaxWainwright]

Great idea and good luck with the dissertation. A very pressing issue for us and our health and I expect it would make quality of life better for all!

Thank you!

 

[MaxWainwright]

Great idea and good luck with the dissertation. A very pressing issue for us and our health and I expect it would make quality of life better for all!

For me the most significant change has been through using the "Dark Reader" extension for browsers. Makes all the difference in the world in terms of controlling brightness and contrast for greater comfort on my eyes, along with a preference for a dark graphic user interface. The only drawback are the very few sites that manage to defy this extension.

Available for Firefox and Chrome engine-based browsers. As for individual layout and composition...well, design standards/protocols exist, but not necessarily adhered to. IMO, this is probably as good as it's going to get in most cases. Unless of course a specific website is exclusively geared to an autistic audience.

View attachment 141525

Thank you for showing me this!

 

[MaxWainwright]

I just get a blank screen on Firefox

I'm sorry you are seeing that, unfortunately I cannot replicate the black screen, perhaps try a different browser

 

[thejuice]

How does it know my Google address?

 

[Misery]

The one big suggestion I have is that for each of the sections, instead of just listing the individual places/whatever in a single large article, put some links on the left side of the page that can let the user jump between them, and see at a glance what's in there.

How does it know my Google address?

It's a Google doc form, if you're logged into your Google account at all, it'll spot that and pull up your account's address. They all do that. At least all the ones I've seen do it.

Pretty much all things that Google makes are linked like that. If you're on something Google related, it can see your Google account. Doesnt matter what browser you're using, it doesnt have to be Chrome.

 

[Crossbreed]

@MaxWainwright, something you should be aware of when addressing autism,...

Per DSM-5, ASD is divided into three levels [read: types].
Autism Subtypes...
Usually in the USA,

• 3s require a legal guardian in adulthood;
• 2s require some type of conservator of estate;
• 1s require neither.

This forum (and the internet, generally) skews toward 1s. The vast majority of 3s are preliterate and oblivious to literate media.

The European standard, ICD-11, lumps (our) 2s & 3s together.

As a 1, I can cope with a disorderly web page as I must with disorderly meatspace, though some sense of order is preferred. My one caveat would be a "wall of words" with no paragraph breaks. Such does not offend me, but seems like too much work for its likely content.

 

[tlc]

I just get a blank screen on Firefox

I did too on Firefox, but then waited maybe a half a minute, then it showed up. And I'm on 100 MB/s fiber. Maybe it's the delay from USA to Scotland.

Biggest issue for me, besides the load time, was lack of scroll bars (I chose the PC/Laptop viewing method). With no scroll bar, #1 I didn't know there was even more content below. #2 I never knew where I was on the page. #3 I had nowhere to park my cursor so I could use my arrow keys.

 

[Outdated]

I just get a blank screen on Firefox

I had no issues - Firefox in Linux. It opened fast for me.

Biggest issue for me, besides the load time, was lack of scroll bars (I chose the PC/Laptop viewing method). With no scroll bar, #1 I didn't know there was even more content below. #2 I never knew where I was on the page. #3 I had nowhere to park my cursor so I could use my arrow keys.

I never noticed no scroll bars, I'm used to using the mouse wheel for scrolling.