RE: Final call for concensenses - replacing the phrases " cognitive and learning disabilities and mental health impairments"

+1

Thank you,
Jennie

Jennie Delisi, MA, CPWA
Enterprise IT Governance Coordinator | Customer Service Management
Minnesota IT Services | Partners in Performance
600 N Robert Street, Suite 2800
St. Paul, MN, 55146
O: 651-201-1135
Information Technology for Minnesota Government | mn.gov/mnit<http://mn.gov/mnit>
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From: Julie Rawe <jrawe@understood.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 8:12 AM
To: Rashmi RK <rashmirkatakwar@gmail.com>
Cc: Lisa Seeman <lisa1seeman@gmail.com>; public-cognitive-a11y-tf <public-cognitive-a11y-tf@w3.org>
Subject: Re: Final call for concensenses - replacing the phrases " cognitive and learning disabilities and mental health impairments"

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________________________________
+1

On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 3:51 AM Rashmi RK <rashmirkatakwar@gmail.com<mailto:rashmirkatakwar@gmail.com>> wrote:
+1

Regards,
Rashmi


On Tue, 8 Apr 2025, 17:23 Lisa Seeman, <lisa1seeman@gmail.com<mailto:lisa1seeman@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi Folks

On yesterday's call we agreed on replacing the long phrases "cognitive and learning disabilities and mental health impairments"   to refer to our users in making content useable.
You can object to the wording before the 12 April 2025 at 6pm Boston time. If we do not hear objections by then we will assume everyone is OK with this.

The  consensus is:
1: The new title is cognitive accessibility guidance

2: We have a sub title along the lines of :

Making content usable for people with  cognitive,  intellectual, developmental, learning and specific learning disabilities,  neurodivergence, mental health impairments and temporary impairments that affect cognitive function.

 (We can agree on the exact wording of the  subtitle later - but we agree on the direction )

3. We explain who is included in both the abstract and the introduction.

4. We replace the phrase "people with learning and cognitive disabilities" in the document so that the intent is not changed, but it is easier to read and follow.

This would involve  using different phrases depending on what fits.  (We leave it to the editors' discretion to draft it). Included phrases are:

  *   The phrase "cognitive accessibility guidance" where it fits. It would have a pop up glossary item with what the phrase means and  a full list of who is included
  *   The phrase " Our user groups" - also with a pop up explaining who is included.
  *   Sometimes an extra sentence may be added such as: "users with disabilities that impact cognitive accessibility".   We may sometimes use that sentence where it is helpful and easier to understand

Caveats
Caveat 1. a certain amount of feedback could be gathered from the first working draft to see if people feel included and find these phrases easy to understand so that it is clear who is included

Cavert 2. We ask Shawn and W3C staff about  using metadata to support SEO and how to make sure we are found by the user groups who need us.

--
All the best

Lisa Seeman-Horwitz

LinkedIn<http://il.linkedin.com/in/lisaseeman/>, Twitter<https://twitter.com/SeemanLisa>