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Students Affected:

Principles: Be Flexible!

What It Means

Animated graphics—those that flicker, flash, and blink—can distract and even pose health problems for students.

If You Do It Wrong: Animated graphics may make it harder to concentrate on your content, especially for students with learning disabilities. Graphics that blink rapidly or change colors quickly from dark to light, could trigger a seizure in students who are susceptible.

If You Do It Right: Graphics are not animated unless absolutely necessary. If a graphic flickers or blinks, it does not do so at a rate that triggers photosensitive epilepsy. Avoid anything between 2 and 55 flashes per second, the range that can cause a problem in susceptible people.

The National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) and WebHealthCentre have more information regarding photosensitive epilepsy.

How It Works

1. Don't use animated graphics unless they are essential to your content.
   
   
2. If you must use animated graphics, make sure that they do not blink or flicker at a rate between 2 and 55 flashes per second.
   
   
3. Avoid graphics that change quickly from light to dark (like strobe lights), as they also may trigger epileptic seizures.
   
   

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