The aging global population will thrust cognitive needs front and centre in the coming years

Organizations can ensure they are capturing the needs of both groups by incorporating people with cognitive disabilities into their user research practices.

This is why we’re making cognitive accessibility a priority. We’re expanding our tester community to formally recognize and engage individuals with cognitive disabilities. We’re investing in new methods to capture their experiences. And we’re working closely with companies to help them understand how cognitive accessibility fits into their broader accessibility and usability strategies.

At Fable, our mission is to empower people with disabilities to fully participate in, contribute to and ultimately shape society. For the past five years we have been pushing the envelope and advancing the ability of product teams to practice inclusive product development — with novel methods to engage quickly and easily with users with disabilities. Cognitive accessibility is the next big leap forward and we’re excited to lead the charge.

What we’re learning

We need to move beyond medical definitions to focus on functional needs and lived experiences. A cognitive diagnosis may be helpful for a medical professional, but for a product researcher or designer, the needs of the individual are what’s truly relevant. Our goal is to shape the industry and release a framework for the practice of cognitive accessibility, an approach centred on individual needs rather than a medical model of disability diagnosis.

In that vein, in 2024, Fable launched the Cognitive Accessibility Working Group, bringing together leading experts in the field dedicated to defining standards and methods for incorporating individuals with cognitive accessibility needs throughout the product development life cycle. We’re collaborating with practitioners, thought leaders, and clinical research firms to improve digital experiences for people with cognitive accessibility needs.

The group’s work has been organized into four task forces:

The pilot research is complete and the group is now in the in the fourth phase, focused on authoring a publication to share the research findings. These findings are critical to the design of Fable’s initial cognitive accessibility offering on Fable Engage. The full details will be released soon, but we’re excited to share a few highlights in advance:

Reliance on tech and tools

In our pilot group, 35% of participants reported using assistive technology daily, and the vast majority — 84% — leverage either assistive technology (screen reader, screen magnification etc), accessibility settings (captions, larger fonts etc.), tools (reminders apps etc.) or assistive devices (hearing aids). This intersectionality reinforces the need for a holistic understanding of users in product research and design.

Usability challenges

Fable’s Community often uncovers compatibility issues between digital products and assistive technology. The pilot group had more significant usability challenges. This means that conducting research with a cognitive accessibility group may uncover more usability insights than engaging with the general population. By engaging users with the most complex set of needs we inherently capture the needs of a broader audience.

Tailored research methods

We need to adapt existing research methods and create new ones to better engage people with cognitive disabilities. Commonly used research methods, such as the “Think Out Load” protocol, do not work well for all members of this group. Adaptations like shortened sessions, researcher scripts and participant guides are critical to make task interpretation and feedback easier and to keep cognitive load to a minimum. Soon, Fable will be releasing a guide to make it easier for all researchers and product teams to run engagements successfully.