Accessibility at ND Hive

📖 4 min read

ND Hive is built for neurodivergent adults. Including readers with dyslexia, visual-spatial learning differences, low vision, deafness, ADHD, autism, and other accessibility needs. We design with the assumption that most of our community has at least one of these. This page documents what we’ve done, what we’re working on, and how to ask for accommodations we haven’t built yet.

What we’ve built so far

Reading and visual accessibility

• Audio reader on every Authority page: the “Listen to this article” button uses your device’s voice to read the page aloud. You can pause, change speed, and stop anytime. The current paragraph highlights as it’s read.
• Cream backgrounds, not pure white: reduces visual stress for dyslexic readers and people with light sensitivity.
• Larger body text (18px+) with generous line-height: easier to track for dyslexic and visual-spatial readers.
• No italics in body text: italics can reduce dyslexic readability by ~30%.
• Left-aligned, ragged-right text: avoids the “rivers” of whitespace that pull dyslexic eyes off-track.
• Color is never the only signal: headers and callouts use color + size + weight + text labels together.
• Skip-to-content link: appears when you press Tab. Jumps past navigation directly to article content.
• Visible focus indicators: the gold outline around buttons and links when navigating by keyboard meets WCAG 2.4.7.

For Deaf community members

• ASL-only Hive Sessions are available upon request. ND Hive has Deaf coaches on staff who lead these sessions in ASL. Email [email protected] with the subject “ASL Session request” to be matched with a Deaf coach.
• Deaf coaches are part of our coaching team. Not as an accommodation, as members of the team.

For auditory processing differences

• Live captions on all Hive Sessions via Zoom’s auto-caption feature. Useful for auditory processing disorder, anyone who processes written language faster than spoken, and members in noisy environments.
• Session transcripts available for recorded sessions, so you can read at your own pace.
• Text-based participation supported in every session. Chat is a full participation mode, not a fallback.

Cognitive and ADHD-specific accessibility

• Reading time estimates at the top of long articles so you know what you’re committing to.
• Table of contents on articles over 800 words. Jump directly to what you came for.
• Predictable page structure across Authority pages, Companions, and Worksheets. Same patterns reduce cognitive load.
• Camera always optional in all Hive Sessions. Body doubling works without showing your face.
• No autoplaying media on the website.

Motor and dexterity accessibility

• Touch targets are at least 44 × 44 pixels (WCAG 2.5.5). Buttons and form controls are large enough for trembling, low-dexterity, or stylus users.
• Full keyboard navigation. Every interactive element on the site can be reached and used without a mouse.

Standards we work toward

ND Hive aims for WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance. Some pages have already been audited against this standard; others are in queue. If you find a page that doesn’t meet your access needs, please tell us. See the contact section below.

What we’re still working on

• Captioning the historical recorded session library (in queue. Multi-month project)
• Auditing every existing page against WCAG 2.1 AA (scheduled rolling)
• Pre-rendered MP3 audio versions of Authority pages (the browser audio reader is v1; pre-rendered is v2 if member feedback shows browser voices are jarring)
• A “high-contrast mode” toggle for users who need stronger color contrast than our default cream + dark text
• A “reduce motion” preference that respects your operating system’s setting (already partially in place)

How to request an accommodation we haven’t built

If you need an accommodation that isn’t in place yet. For example, a transcript of a session that hasn’t been captioned, large-print PDFs, an alternative format for a workbook, or anything else. Email [email protected] with the subject line “Accessibility request.”

We commit to:

• Acknowledging your email within 2 business days
• Providing the accommodation OR a documented explanation of why we can’t, within 7 business days
• Adding your need to our roadmap if it points to a gap that affects others

If your access need is blocking you from using a Hive Session in real time, contact your session coach or any team member in chat. We’ll work with you immediately.

How to report an accessibility barrier

If you encounter a page, feature, or session element that’s inaccessible to you, please tell us. The fastest path is the same email: [email protected] with the subject line “Accessibility barrier.”

Include if you can:

• The page URL or feature you were trying to use
• What you were trying to do
• What got in the way (use any words that fit. We can translate to technical language)
• Your device and browser, if known

You don’t need to know the technical details. “I couldn’t read the text on this page because it was too small” is a complete report.

This page is a living document

Last updated: May 10, 2026.

We update this page as we ship accessibility improvements and as our community tells us what they need. If you have feedback on the page itself. What’s missing, what’s unclear, what would help you. Email [email protected].