What is Neurodivergent? and ways to create Neurodivergent friendly content?
The modern world is ever changing, is the way we see how people think. Neurodivergence is something relatively new to the Medical Community. Whereas people with Aspergers, ADHD and other forms of Neurodivergence where once treated as an abnormality, it is now being treated as a different way of thinking and learning.What is Neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence is when the brain processes the world differently to the larger portion of the population. As mentioned above for a long time this was sought to be treated whereas in more modern times we seek to be more inclusive of Neurodivergent people.
This is also applicable to the Business World as well. Everything from Work Documents and Websites to Social Media Marketing can be optimized for Neurodivergent people. So let's take a look at how you can help make your Business more inclusive not just for Neurodivergent Customers but Staff as well.Fonts to help Neurodivergent people understand your brand
Now we all have our favourite fonts, mine is Times New Roman, I write absolutely everything in it. I sometimes try to emulate it in my own handwriting. But Times New Roman and similar fonts can be hard for people with Dyslexia to understand what you're saying.
The easy way to fix this is to use fonts like Calibri or Arial. They instantly make any written work more accessible to people with Dyslexia. If you want to go a step further you can use easy to understand fonts such as OpenDyslexic or Dyslexie. These are specifically designed for people with Dyslexia to have an easier time when reading.CamelCase
Don’t worry, you aren’t going to have to learn a new piece of software. This may sound like a program to edit Documents for Neurodivergent people or another specialist font. It is however, a simple and easy way to write Hashtags.
Long Hashtags like #villagegreenfestival can look confusing to Neurodivergent people. Not only this, it’s hard for Text-To-Speech Systems to understand what the Hashtag is saying and will read it as a weird mesh of text.
Again, there is a simple fix for this. By typing #VillageGreenFesitival you have 1. Successfully written in CamelCase. 2. You have essentially separated the words, making it easier for Neurodivergent people to read and Text-To-Speech to read aloud.Use Subtitles or Captions
Subtitles and Captions have been in use in Social Media Marketing and by Content Creators since the mid 2010’s. This is because people are often at work and will watch without audio on their lunch breaks.
Obviously this can help people who are hard of hearing or sensitive to certain stimuli. It's a simple fix that can greatly expand potential clients and or customers. One thing to remember however is that Neurodivergent people especially will rely on these captions and subtitles more. So ensure that spelling and grammar is up to speed to ensure they work 100%.Avoid Flashing Images or Colours that Clash
This is probably the most important one. Flashing Lights can trigger dangerous seizures amongst certain Neurodivergent groups. The easy fix here is simply do not have ANY flashing images on your Website, Social Media, Branding or Marketing Materials.
Secondly, you want to have colour schemes that are easy to understand. This is already a deeply embedded concept in Marketing so it's not much of an extension. A Newsletter with a light blue background and dark purple font is going to confuse a Neurodivergent person. Simply use calm, light or dark backgrounds with white or black fonts. As you can see, the few things mentioned in this blog are easy adjustments to your Business practices that can make your Business far more inclusive to Neurodivergent people.