Accessibility
What's actually built in, stated plainly, and — just as importantly — what hasn't been tested yet.
Why this matters here specifically
StoryCue's primary audience includes autistic and additional-needs children and adults, many with sensory sensitivities, dyslexia, or low vision. Accessibility isn't a compliance checkbox for this product — it's close to the whole point.
What's built in today
Atkinson Hyperlegible throughout
Chosen specifically for dyslexia and low-vision readability, not as a style pick — used for every piece of text on every page, including the printed PDF.
WCAG AA contrast as a working minimum
Every text and UI-boundary colour in the design system is checked against the 4.5:1 (text) and 3:1 (component boundary) thresholds — including a fix this year to the hairline border colour, which previously measured around 1.5:1.
Motion respects your settings
The one deliberate animation in the product (the read-aloud screen's step transition) is removed entirely if your device has "reduce motion" switched on — checked directly against the prefers-reduced-motion media query, not just declared.
Keyboard focus is visible
Every interactive element shows a themed focus ring when reached by keyboard, and every button, form control, and standalone link has a minimum 44×44px touch target. Links inside a sentence follow the size of the text around them.
Decorative icons are hidden from screen readers
Icon-only buttons carry an aria-label describing the action; purely decorative icons (like the logo mark) are marked aria-hidden so they don't add noise to a screen reader's output.
What hasn't been tested yet
The items above are real, and checked against their stated thresholds — but checked by automated and manual contrast/structure review, not by an actual screen-reader user or an external accessibility audit. Specifically still outstanding:
- A full walkthrough with a screen reader (VoiceOver, NVDA, or JAWS) by someone who actually uses one day to day.
- A full keyboard-only walkthrough of every flow, including the creator's custom-story authoring tools.
- Formal WCAG 2.1 AA conformance testing by an external assessor, and a VPAT-style conformance report some school procurement processes ask for by name.
Found a problem?
If something here doesn't work with the assistive technology you use, we'd genuinely like to know: jack@snapshotschools.co.uk.