Enhancing PowerPoint Accessibility: Using the Outline View to Support Neurodivergent Audiences

Neurodivergent individuals, including those with Attention-Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (ADD, ADHD), autism, epilepsy, or dyslexia often face challenges with attention, information processing, and reading.

Did you know that PowerPoint offers features that can help you design with neurodiversity in mind? If you would like more information, don’t miss the Best Practices for PowerPoint Accessibility session on March 13, 2025.

March ITAO PowerPoint Spotlight - The Outline View

When creating content, it is important to consider neurodiversity to ensure that all audience members can effectively process and engage with your content. The Outline View feature provides a text-based view of your slides, rather than the design. Why is this important for neurodivergent individuals?

• The outline view creates a hierarchical structure that organizes information clearly and logically, offering a clear roadmap so that individuals can easily navigate between sections. This improves focus for those who may struggle otherwise.
• By eliminating visual distractions like background images, animations, and complex formatting, this feature reduces cognitive load, allowing individuals to focus on the main content without feeling overwhelmed.
• It helps individuals who rely on adaptive technologies to read and understand the content more easily.

Give it a try! Adjust your design with the Outline View by going to the View tab and selecting Outline View to see the slide content.

• Review each slide – Are the main points visible in the outline? Is any text missing from the slide? Do all slides have unique titles?
• Missing text? – If some text does not appear, you may be using the wrong type of content box. Adjust it to ensure that all text is properly displayed in the outline.

Important! Text boxes are not visible in the Outline View pane; content placeholders must be used.

If you need to add content placeholders instead of text boxes, see how to add, edit, or remove a placeholder on a slide layout.

Tip: Copying and pasting placeholders or adding text boxes creates barriers, as the text will not appear in the Outline View and could be missed by adaptive technologies.

The Outline View in PowerPoint is especially important for neurodivergent individuals because it does the following:

• Reduces cognitive load – Seeing all slide content in a structured text format helps process information without the distraction of design elements.
• Improves organization – It ensures a clear, logical flow of ideas, making it easier to structure presentations effectively.
• Enhances focus – For those with ADHD, dyslexia, or executive function challenges, the Outline View minimizes visual clutter and allows them to focus on content rather than formatting.
• Facilitates editing – It allows presenters to quickly spot missing or redundant information without flipping through slides one by one.
• Provides better accessibility – It ensures that the text is readable, that titles are unique, and that key points are clear, which are essential elements for both presenters and audiences with neurodivergent needs.

Incorporating the Outline View into your PowerPoint workflow may seem like a small change, but it can make a big impact. By creating a more structured, predictable, and sensory-friendly presentation, neurodivergent individuals can process and retain information more effectively. These simple adjustments not only improve clarity and organization, they foster a more inclusive environment where everyone can engage with the content more comfortably and efficiently.

If you have any questions or need additional support to create your PowerPoint presentations, please reach out to us through the Request Management Tool or at EDSC.TI-IT.A11Y.ESDC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.

-IT Accessibility Office