How Technology Can Help Increase Understanding

We have text-to-voice prostheses for the visually impaired, and voice-to-text (captioning) for the hearing impaired. What about a prosthesis for the Cognitive Prothesiscognitively impaired? Configurable in settings, the prosthesis for the cognitively impaired could allow a user or their surrogate to specify the areas in which the user needs support. Have trouble interpreting statistics? Check. Find charts a mystery? Check? Are abstract concepts… abstract? Check.

HTML/XML coding could specify types of confusing elements and provide additional context and interpretation around them. (If we want to make the digital universe accessible, let’s make it accessible for everyone! Expenses be damned.)

Then a dismissible panel could appear on the right rail that has read the coding and can present the helpful data. Sounds easy. We just need another revolution in the universal design world.

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