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Disabilities when using apps

November 1, 2023

It is more difficult for people with disabilities to use apps. It is important that you know what a disability is, what disabilities there are and how they affect apps.

What is a disability?

A disability means that there are skills or senses that cannot be used optimally. Some disabilities are permanent, such as being blind or deaf. Other disabilities are temporary, such as a broken finger. In addition, there are situational disabilities. When you are in a silence compartment, it is not desirable to talk or play sound.

  • For example, offer subtitles to videos so that deaf people can understand the content.

  • Provide the option scale text so that older people can read the content.

  • Make your app easy to understand by making actions as simple as possible.

  • Make sure people with spasms can control the app via a keyboard.

  • Provide an alternative to voice control for those who find it difficult.

  • Allow blind people to operate the app through the screen reader.

What disabilities are there?

We focus on disabilities that make it more difficult to use apps. We have divided them into six groups:

  1. Cognitive impairments

  2. Hearing impairments

  3. Impairments caused by aging

  4. Mobility impairments

  5. Speech impairments

  6. Visual impairments

How many Dutch people have a disability?

There is no combined data about how many Dutch people have a disability. In the table below, we have combined data from multiple sources. We have calculated averages for the percentages and amount on the basis of the available data. Percentages are rounded to two significant figures, numbers are rounded to thousands. We have assumed there are 17.4 million Dutch citizens.

Amount of Dutch people with an impairment which effect the usage of apps.

  • Impairments due to aging

    3,400,000

  • Low literate

    2,500,000

  • Hearing impairment

    767,000

  • Colour blind

    742,000

  • Dyslexia

    680,000

  • ADHD

    442,000

  • Slight mental handicap

    370,000

  • Dementia

    262,000

  • Rheumatism

    259,000

  • Visual impairment

    222,000

  • Stuttering

    188,000

  • Autism

    170,000

  • Blind

    76,000

  • Severe intellectual disability

    76,000

  • Parkinson's disease

    53,000

  • Deaf

    45,000

  • Multiple Sclerose (MS)

    25,000

Percentages and sources

Disability

Percentage

Amount

Source

Impairments due to aging

19,5%

3.400.000

Centraal Bureau Statistiek (2020)

Low literate

14,7%

2.500.000

Stichting Lezen en Schrijven (2016)

Hearing impairment

4,5%

767.000

Stichting Hoormij (2019)

Colour blind

4,4%

742.000

Oogvereniging (2020)

Dyslexia

4,0%

680.000

Regionaal Instituut Dyslexie (2017)

ADHD

2,6%

442.000

RIVM (2010)

Slight mental handicap

2,2%

370.000

RIVM (2019)

Dementia

1,5%

262.000

RIVM (2019)

Rheumatism

1,5%

259.000

RIVM (2019)

Visual impairment

1,3%

222.000

Oogvereniging (2020)

Stuttering

1,1%

188.000

Gezondheidsplein (2019)

Autism

1,0%

170.000

Nederlands Jeugdinstituut (2018)

Blind

0,44%

76.000

Oogvereniging (2020)

Severe intellectual disability

70.000

RIVM (2019)

Parkinson's disease

0,31%

53.000

RIVM (2019)

Deaf

0,26%

45.000

Stichting Hoormij (2019)

Multiple Sclerose (MS)

0,15%

25.000

Nationaal MS Fonds (2020)

Overview of percentage and amount of Dutch people with a disability.

Permanent, temporary and situational disabilities

Permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities - Accessibility on Google Play

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