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Developing for Aphasics

Developing for Aphasics. Tony Ziolkowski. Who Am I ?. Long time software developer since 1968 Stroke survivor, happened in 2009. What is Aphasia?. Result of a brain injury to the left side of the brain. About Aphasia. 40,000 to 50,000 strokes yearly in Canada

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Developing for Aphasics

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  1. Developing for Aphasics Tony Ziolkowski

  2. Who Am I ? • Long time software developer since 1968 • Stroke survivor, happened in 2009

  3. What is Aphasia? • Result of a brain injury to the left side of the brain

  4. About Aphasia • 40,000 to 50,000 strokes yearly in Canada • 20% suffer from aphasia i.e. 8,000 to 10,000 • characterized by either partial or total loss of the ability to communicate verbally or using written words

  5. Reading: ability to understand written words and their meaning • Hearing comprehension: ability to understand spoken language • Speech: ability to communicate and record events orally • Writing: ability to communicate and record events with text • Naming: ability to identify an object, color, or other item with an appropriate word or term

  6. Need For Aphasia Friendly Sites • Aging computer savvy population • Prevention of isolation of aphasia sufferers • Ease of access and communications

  7. Challenges For Developers • Production of aphasia friendly web sites • Presentation of written materials • Graphics, simplification • Audio, slowing rates • Input, user may have difficulty using mouse and/or keyboard • Speech recognition, handling of hesitation, stuttering, etc.

  8. Aphasia Friendly Print Documents • Suggested font: Verdana or other sans serifs • Heading Size: ~ 24 point • Regular text: ~ 18 point • Spacing: lots of white space between sentences and/or paragraphs • Margins: 1.25” or greater • Units of Text: check text into short sections

  9. Visual Elements: Pictures, contrasting colours, bullet lists, frames around text • Use pictures to explain words • Write in simple words and big print • Allow more time to read • Bold Keywords, be careful not to overdo it

  10. Question and Answers

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