Pawel: user with Asperger's
Published 25 October 2017
漏 Crown copyright 2017
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Websites can be so distracting. It takes me ages to do anything sometimes, as I feel like I have to read every word and click on every link.
Pawel is 24 and lives with his mum and dad in Birmingham. He has been looking for a job as a pharmacologist since finished his chemistry degree.
He has Asperger鈥檚, a condition on the autism spectrum that affects how he sees the world and interacts with people. He was also recently diagnosed with anxiety.
He鈥檚 recently been looking at the National Autistic Society鈥檚 resources on employment. He鈥檒l approach them for more support when he feels a bit more ready.
Devices and technology
Pawel is good with technology and can usually figure out how things work himself. He prefers to use apps because they鈥檙e simpler and less cluttered than websites.
His parents recently bought him a laptop for his birthday, which is great for playing games and looking for jobs.
He struggles with face to face communication, but likes chatting to people in gaming communities online. He gave up social media as all the comments were making him anxious.
Goals and wishes
Pawel wishes he could find what he needs on websites more easily - sometimes there鈥檚 so much to read through.
He wants to be able to talk to people using web chat instead of the phone so he has time to think about what he wants to say.
Frustrations
Too many distractions
Pawel gets easily distracted and wants to read everything and click every link. He wishes there wasn鈥檛 as much text or links.
Pawel gets distracted by other things as well - he finds moving content like banners or video distracting, and gets stressed out by bright colours.
Services not designed for his needs
Pawel thinks websites often assume you know more than you do.
He doesn鈥檛 like using the phone, but a lot of companies don鈥檛 let you contact them by email or live chat (or they make their details hard to find).
Making things work for Pawel
| What to do | Further reading |
|---|---|
| Avoid bright colours or garish combinations. | . |
| Allow save and return on forms and ensure 鈥榯ime outs鈥� on forms are reasonable. | , guidance by 18F (the US government鈥檚 digital agency). |
| Include people with autism in user research. | User research for government services: an introduction, guidance on 188体育. |
| Write in plain English and break up content with things like headings and lists. Use the 鈥榠nverted pyramid鈥� approach with the most important information at the top. | Structuring your content, guidance on 188体育. |
| Provide captions for video content. | , article by Mindful Research. |
More reading
鈥楧esigning for users on the autistic spectrum鈥� is one of a set of posters designed by the Home Office. You can .
Statistics about autism
About 700,000 people in the UK are on the autistic spectrum.
Only 16% of people with autism in the UK are in full time paid employment.
40% of people with autism have an anxiety disorder - it鈥檚 15% in the general population.