Content patterns that help neurodivergent readers
Structure, wording and predictability do more for day-to-day usability than most visual polish. Here is what tends to work.
Filed under content design. A guidance note, not news; we keep it current instead of dating it.
Front-load every page
Many readers with ADHD, dyslexia or autism triage a page in seconds. If the first screen does not say what the page is for and what to do with it, the page may as well be blank.
Put the point first, in the heading and the opening line. Detail, caveats and background can follow for the readers who want them.
Write for a tired brain
Plain writing takes more effort than formal writing, which is why so little of it exists. It pays that effort back on every visit.
- One idea per sentence, one job per page.
- Concrete verbs over abstract nouns: send us the report, rather than documentation submission.
- Define a term the first time it appears, then keep using the same term.
- Numbers and dates in figures, not words.
- Headings that summarise, so the page can be skimmed by headings alone.
Predictability is a kindness
Navigation in the same place on every page, buttons that always look like buttons, forms that never rearrange themselves after loading. Surprise has a place in design; the route to something a person needs is not it.
SENVault is used by people under real pressure, so its screens repeat the same patterns wherever they can. A reader coping with a deadline should never have to relearn the interface on the way.
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