In reply to Amanda Rush.

Amanda,

Take a look, for example, at this: https://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/text-customization/r11

The first "rule" that popped up when I tested this plugin was to increase the contrast between the text and the background. As the above article suggests (and it's one of very many that say the same thing) it's about the worst possible thing you can do for someone with dyslexia.

Ironically, while those without dyslexia typically claim to prefer higher contrast, that's only when viewing a site for a short period. Lower contrast is much less tiring for those without dyslexia too if they are viewing a site for a couple of hours or more. Having tried this on my own sites (which are designed to be viewed for long periods) I have received a huge number of compliments for those without dyslexia who say that they can stay on my sites without problems, which they just can't do on other sites.

So, apart from specific cases where extra high contrast is necessary -- in which case, we should be told precisely what those use cases are -- I suspect that this "rule" advocating high contrast is exacerbating problems not just for dyslexics but for many others besides.

In fact, as the above article also suggests, but doesn't explore much, what's important for dyslexics is not just that the contrast is relatively low but that appropriate colors (especially of the background) are used.

My daughter teaches a lot of dyslexic students, and the first tool she uses (and, typically, also the most effective) is to lay a colored filter over whatever is being viewed or read. The difference is often -- and immediately -- remarkable. (I have passed on this tip to several colleagues with dyslexic children. They have been amazed by the difference it makes.)

Backgrounds of beige, salmon, or certain shades of blue seem to work best, with a font that is a something like a mid shade of gray.

Obviously, you can just Google for further resources, but a quick guide to the worst things for dyslexics can be found here: http://uxmovement.com/content/6-surprising-bad-practices-that-hurt-dyslexic-users/

None of those things are covered by WCAG 2.0 or aXe (apart from a very vague reference to sans serif fonts). So I don't care if WCAG 2.0 is an "international standard" (whatever that means). It's simply not addressing a major accessibility issue.