Psychological/psychiatric disabilities are conditions that affect a person's mental health or emotional well-being, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
In the IAAP CPACC Body of Knowledge document, the disabilities are split to three categories: social disabilities, emotional disabilities and behavioral disabilities.
What barriers might people with psychological/psychiatric disabilities encounter?
There are several potential barriers, but here are a couple of examples for the web:
- Inaccessible language: Websites with complex or unclear language may be difficult to understand.
- Inaccessible multimedia content: Websites that rely on multimedia content, such as videos or games, that may trigger certain psychological/psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety or seizures, may be inaccessible for some users.
- Inaccessible navigation: Websites that require precise mouse movements or keystrokes may be difficult for people to navigate.
- Inaccessible design: Websites with poor design or layout, such as those with flashing or blinking content, may trigger certain psychological/psychiatric conditions or cause discomfort to some users.
- Inaccessible forms and input fields: Websites that require precise keystrokes or long, complex forms may be difficult for some users.
Psychological / Psychiatric disabilities can also be very stigmatizing. And with getting medical help, there can also be barriers.