Facts about older people and making communication accessible
Your chance of being disabled increases with age.
Many older people experience some loss of sight or hearing or both. They may need large print or audio. They may get a lot of information via the radio, talking newspapers or libraries.
Older people may have physical impairments, such as a restricted ability to move their arms or hands. They might experience difficulty using a mouse.
The performance of the eye diminishes with age and can lead to decreased visual acuity, contrast or colour sensitivity, reduced field of vision, or an increased sensitivity to glare.
Older people who have visual impairments tend to find it difficult to point to specific objects on the screen and to click on small icons with the mouse.
Older people may also have a reduced spatial ability and a decline in memory, which might make it difficult to navigate the deep hierarchies of a website.
People of all ages, not just older people, may not think of themselves as disabled, which is why it is so important to make all channels and formats as inclusive as possible.
Accessible communication for older people
Older people may use any of the formats and technologies described in this guidance.
Detailed information on designing websites to be usable by older people is available on the University of Maryland website.
While there are many `silver surfers', many older people, particularly those over 85, do not have access to computers. The time is not yet right to rely only on digital communications for communication between government and citizens.
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