How each barrier harms the specific populations Laradon serves — and what changes after remediation.
The 43 technical failures translate into tangible harms for 450+ individuals with IDD, their families, and their caregivers.
Harm: Lorem ipsum is a "cognitive trap" — users expend mental energy decoding nonsense. Ambiguous "Read More" links force guessing. No site search blocks preferred navigation.
After fix: Clear link labels, plain language, consistent structure support independent task completion and reduce the caregiver "interpretation burden."
Harm: Countdown timer = "visual shout" — overwhelming stimulus. Popups trigger sensory overload. Unpredictable changes cause anxiety. Users close the tab to self-regulate.
After fix: Calmer, predictable interaction model. Single nav system, fewer surprises, reduced motion. Autistic users engage on their own terms.
Harm: Animated countdown digits pose medical risk — photosensitive seizures. SUDEP is a real concern. No pause control.
After fix: Removing/controlling animation + prefers-reduced-motion eliminates a life-threatening risk vector.
Harm: 100+ tab stops, no skip nav, hover-only menus, ~20px targets. Each switch activation costs significant physical effort — the "keystroke tax."
After fix: Skip links + keyboard nav + 24px targets = content in 3–5 activations instead of 100+. Independence instead of exhaustion.
Harm: Same cognitive barriers + unstructured content. W3C COGA persona "George" models exactly these failures.
After fix: Visual cues, step-by-step processes, large targets, undo/back support successful independent information seeking.
Harm: "Time left to donate" → panic. Broken links → distrust. Multiple CTAs → decision paralysis and compulsion loops.
After fix: Removing time pressure, predictable interactions, reversible actions break the anxiety-avoidance cycle.
Harm: Visual noise, popups, competing CTAs, inconsistent hierarchy hijack attention. Executive function overload prevents task completion.
After fix: Clear hierarchy, fewer interruptions, structured navigation support executive function — one task at a time.
Harm: Unexpected popups + lack of user control trigger trauma responses. People seeking services in crisis encounter barriers at the worst moment.
After fix: Calm, predictable flows restore sense of safety. People in crisis can follow through on service entry.