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Become a Cognitive Accessibility Advisor

Open employs Advisors to try new products and services developed by other companies.

We want to make these products and services easier to use for people with cognitive disabilities.

People with cognitive disabilities are people who sometimes:

Are easily distracted.
Forget or lose things.
Struggle when there are too many steps to do a task.
Have a hard time with conversations.
Are diagnosed with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, down syndrome, or traumatic brain injuries.

We are looking for people with cognitive disabilities to be part of our group of Cognitive Accessibility Advisors.

If you want to be an Advisor, please complete the sign-up form. You can also look at our current opportunities.

If you have questions, e-mail us at info@OpenAccessibility.ca.

Meet some of our advisors!

Asha, a call centre agent

Asha works from home at a call center where she conducts opinion surveys. In the past, she had a hard time in jobs where there were too many instructions. In this job, the instructions don’t have more than 3 steps which makes it easier for her to complete her tasks. Asha also likes working from home because commuting is difficult for her.

She needs some help from her husband with certain day-to-day activities like managing her medication and long-term money management.

John, a bakery associate

John works at a local bakery where he has different responsibilities like arranging displays, taking customers’ orders, and restocking items in the store. John is also able to complete simple transactions at the cash register like accepting payment if he is given the exact amount. However, he may need his colleague’s help if there are complex calculations to make like giving back change. He has no problem understanding the instructions from his supervisor as long as there are not more than 2 steps.

John likes his job at the bakery because he gets to chat with new people all day. He is able to communicate with his colleagues and customers fluently and in short sentences. Unfortunately, some customers try to take advantage of John. For example, a customer told him they forgot their wallet and would come back to pay. John believed them, but the customer never came back to pay.

Marie, a retired lawyer with dementia

Marie retired from her law firm in his early 60s when she found she was forgetting important items that needed to be discussed in her complex caseload. She found that she was forgetting material that she had just read, losing and misplacing objects, and having trouble planning or organizing events. Marie is a very intelligent person and that has not changed. You will often find her reading an article about the law. However, she finds she cannot learn new things that rely on remembering new information. This can include new words or symbols.

Adapted from W3C COGA working group personas

Kwame, a car crash survivor

Kwame was involved in a very serious car crash that left him with some physical, and cognitive disabilities. He has returned to work however, he often finds conversations hard due to difficulties with remembering things.

His friends and family are amazed by how quickly he has regained his ability to speak and perform his daily life functions. They are confused by all of the cognitive difficulties he says he is having, despite his ability to articulate and communicate. For example, he often cannot recognize images and faces. He often gets lost in documents and websites.

Adapted from W3C working group personas

Current opportunities

Recruiting advisors in New Brunswick

We are looking for Advisors for a project with a bank. The bank wants to create a plan to make their products and services more accessible.

We invite you to be one of our Advisors.

Your opinion will help the bank make their service more accessible.

You can be an Advisor if:

You have a cognitive disability.
You can read, speak or write in French.
You have access to a computer or a phone.
You live in New Brunswick.

If you become an Advisor:

You will participate in two online or phone meetings at a time that is convenient for you. You can ask someone to help you talk with us if you want.
You may be asked to give your opinion of how easy a website is to use.
You will be paid $240. If you are asked to help with a website, you will be paid another $50. To be paid, you need to be at both meetings.

If you want to be part of our team or have any questions, please email us at info@OpenAccessibility.ca

Thank you for considering our invitation.

Recruiting advisors for a voice system

We are making a voice system for banking. We want you to help us test the voice system. A voice system is something like an Alexa Speaker, Google Home, Apple Siri, or a button that lets you talk instead of typing.