## 5 Barriers to Internet Access for People with Intellectual Disabilities
### Individual Impairment Associated Challenges in Accessing the Internet  
At an individual level, there are a number of cognitive, physical and sensory impairments associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities that will make accessing and using the Internet more challenging. Barriers to Internet access and use may reflect a interaction between the literacy, language and processing demands of using the Internet with impairments in language and communication ability and auditory reception, reasoning, idea production and cognitive speed, memory and learning skills, visual perception abilities and knowledge and achievement abilities [52]. As the primary input mode for the majority of Internet based communications (e.g., e-mail, instant messenger) involves typing, impairments in language and communication ability may prevent individuals with ID from getting their thoughts across in a way that is easily understandable to others [52, 67]. As the majority of communications in the online world rely on text input, this also means that many of the nonverbal communication cues that may be used to infer meaning in a message (particularly relating to emotions and interpersonal attitudes) will be missing or seriously attenuated, adding an additional layer of difficultly for co-communicators [38]. Moreover, as the majority of the information contained on the web is also text-based, accessing and using this information could pose problems for those individuals with impairments that affect literacy and reading comprehension. [PERSON] _et al._ (2004) [52] also consider how much of the terminology that is used in the world of computers and the Internet may be confusing to individuals with ID. For example, terms that have multiple meanings (e.g., menu, files, folders and window) may present problems to individuals with an ID, who can find abstract concepts more difficult to comprehend than concrete ones [27]. Using the Internet requires a level of sequential reasoning. For example, navigating the Internet is complex and interactive and the user must understand that specific actions are required in order to lead to desired responses. There must, for instance, be an understanding that all the information that one requires will not necessarily be contained within one specific webpage and that a number of steps may be required to access what one needs. Websites that require individuals to memorize long sequences of commands to get to where they want to go may put people with ID at a distinct disadvantage. Certain elements of website interface may interfere with the user's ability to reason abstractly. For example, cognitive impairments may impede one's ability to comprehend that a computer cursor arrow transforms into a hand icon when passed over a hyperlink or to differentiate successfully between the actions performed by a single click, right click or double click of the mouse [52]. Impairments in cognitive speed may specifically come to the fore if web connectivity is slow as this will mean that making a connection between the actions performed by the individual (e.g., clicking the mouse button) and the subsequent computer response may be difficult to achieve. Individuals with ID may also be hindered by an inability to recognize when one is required to wait for a webpage to catch up, which may result in errors in the form of multiple clicks because the individual cannot understand that the initial click of the mouse was sufficient [52, 67]. In terms of visual perception abilities, intricate displays with numerous screen elements, windows and buttons may pose problems to those who find attending to relevant environmental cues a difficult task to accomplish [52]. Websites are rarely designed to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities [53], and simple interfaces may be necessary for many individuals with ID to navigate them successfully [68]. Another issue relates to the current dominant mode ofinterfacing with the Internet (_i.e._, by making use of point and click devices, e.g., the mouse).