Digital Accessibility for Users with Epilepsy

In today's digital age, we rely on the internet for almost everything - from shopping and communication to entertainment and education. But have you ever stopped to think about how accessible these online experiences are for people with epilepsy?

We can say, epilepsy is a neurological condition that can cause seizures triggered by various factors, including certain visual patterns and intense flashing lights. This blog will explore the importance of digital accessibility for people with epilepsy and how we can make the online world safer and more inclusive for them.

What is Epilepsy?

Before we delve into the importance of digital accessibility for users with epilepsy, let's briefly understand what epilepsy is. ‘Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes unprovoked, recurrent seizures. A seizure is a sudden rush of abnormal electrical activity in your brain’. Healthline. These seizures can vary in severity and can sometimes lead to physical convulsions, loss of consciousness, or altered awareness.

Now, imagine trying to navigate a website or use an app while dealing with epilepsy. The flickering animations, red color flashing and rapidly changing content found on many websites can trigger seizures or worsen the condition for individuals with epilepsy.

Digital Accessibility for Users with Epilepsy

Digital accessibility for epilepsy focuses on creating online content that is safe for individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. It involves designing websites, apps, and multimedia content in a way that avoids potential seizure triggers.

How Digital Content Can Impact Users with Epilepsy?

1. Seizure Triggers: Certain visual elements on websites or in videos, such as flashing lights, rapidly changing colors, or intense patterns, can trigger seizures in individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. These triggers can make it unsafe for them to navigate or consume digital content.
2. Stress and Anxiety: Websites with cluttered layouts, distracting animations, or complex navigation can increase stress and anxiety levels, which may exacerbate seizure risk in some individuals with epilepsy.
3. Video Games and Virtual Reality: Some video games and virtual reality can have flashy graphics, quick movements, and totally immersive settings. While these features might be thrilling for a lot of people, they can be too much for someone with epilepsy. Game creators should think about adding choices to reduce the intense visuals for a more comfortable experience.

Benefits of Digital Accessibility for Users with Epilepsy

Digital accessibility for epilepsy also aligns with broader efforts to make the internet a more inclusive space for all individuals with disabilities. It's a step towards a digital world where nobody feels excluded or endangered while navigating the web.

WCAG Success Criteria and Conformance levels for Epilepsy

1. Understanding SC 2.3.1: Three Flashes or Below Threshold (Level A) – The purpose of this success criterion is to ensure that users can explore the entire content of a website without risking seizures caused by sensitivity to flashing or flickering visuals. Flashing Content - Content that has the potential to cause a seizure (when it's more than 3 times per second and is large and bright) is not acceptable, even for a brief moment, as it could lead to a seizure. Simply turning off the flashing is not a reliable solution because the seizure might happen faster than most users can react to turn it off.
2. Understanding SC 2.3.2: Three Flashes (Level AAA) - The purpose of this success criterion is to decrease the likelihood of seizures. While it's not possible to completely eliminate seizures, especially for those who are very sensitive, we aim to reduce the risk by getting rid of any flashing that occurs at a rate of 3 times per second across the entire screen. This goes beyond the usual measures found in international standards, as followed at Level A, and helps further minimize the chances of someone experiencing a seizure.
3. Understanding SC 2.2.2: Pause, Stop, Hide (Level A) – The purpose of this success criterion is to prevent anything on a website from distracting users while they are trying to use it.

Checklist for moving, blinking, scrolling

When there's anything on a website that moves, blinks, or scrolls automatically, lasts more than five seconds, and appears alongside other content then there should be a way for users to pause, stop, or hide it. The only exception is if the movement, blinking, or scrolling is crucial for a specific activity on the website.

Note: Normally, blinking doesn't happen at speeds of 3 times per second or faster, but it's possible. If blinking is faster than 3 times per second, it's also considered a flash.

• Scrolling content - for scrolling content, the scroll delay should be >=400
• Moving content - for the moving content, there should be a way or mechanism to stop or pause or to reduce of the moving elements.
• Blinking content -Blinking content can be allowed for a short time as long as it stops or can be stopped.

Note: The success criteria 2.3.1, 2.3.2 and 2.2.2 are integral components of the point (5) Non-interference within the WCAG conformance requirements (https://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20080430/conformance.html).

These criteria emphasize the importance of providing users with predictable and consistent experiences, ensuring that content does not interfere with their ability to navigate or use the website effectively. Compliance with these criteria contributes significantly to enhancing accessibility and usability for all users, particularly those with disabilities who rely on assistive technologies. Therefore, adherence to Success criteria 2.3.1, 2.3.2 and 2.2.2 is essential for achieving a maximum level of WCAG conformance and ensuring a more inclusive online experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, digital accessibility for epilepsy is about making the online world a safer and more inclusive place. It involves designing websites and digital content with the needs of individuals with photosensitive epilepsy in mind. By following accessibility guidelines, avoiding seizure triggers, and providing warnings and alternatives, we can ensure that the internet remains a welcoming and accessible space for everyone.

So, the next time you create or encounter digital content, remember the importance of digital accessibility for epilepsy. It's not just about pixels and code; it's about making the digital world a better place for all of us, one accessible website/app at a time! Get in touch with accessibility experts at BarrierBreak to know how we can support you in achieving your digital accessibility goals.

This article by Aneesuddin Syed is a part of our BB Geek series where BarrierBreak team members share their expertise on accessibility and inclusion, drawing from their extensive experience in the field.