low-stim-extension

Our Google Doc with all of the information below and more about this project!

Overview

Abstract

Many people experience sensory overload when using the modern web. Autistic users, people with ADHD, individuals with migraines, and those with vestibular disorders often encounter websites filled with autoplay videos, flashing ads, and animated transitions that increase stress and cognitive load. We propose a low-stimulation Chrome browser extension that reduces motion, visual clutter, and dynamic distractions. The extension will disable non-essential animations, pause autoplay media, simplify layouts, and allow users to toggle sensory-reduction levels. The goal is to create a “browser layer” that supports sensory regulation and sustained focus, giving users control over their digital environment rather than forcing them to adapt to overstimulating design.

Our Project

Low Stim is a browser extension that gives users direct control over the visual and sensory environment of any webpage. Rather than asking neurodivergent users to push through overstimulating designs, the extension acts as a personal browser layer that filters out distractions on the user’s terms.

The extension currently supports two core features:

Select and Hide Distracting Elements — Users can click any element on a page (such as a flashing ad, an autoplay video, or an animated banner) and remove it from view. The rest of the page remains fully functional and readable.

Mute Colors — Users can reduce the color intensity of an entire page using a slider. Bright neon banners, high-contrast badges, and visually loud backgrounds are softened so content is easier to focus on without losing readability.

Both features can be toggled on and off at any time from the extension popup, and settings apply per-tab so users stay in control across different sites.

Installation Instructions

To install our extension locally:

1. Download or clone this repository to your computer.
2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/.
3. Turn on Developer mode in the top right corner.
4. Click Load unpacked.
5. Select the project folder containing the extension files.
6. After loading, pin Low-Stim to your toolbar for easy access.

Once installed, open any website and click the extension icon to adjust the page using our low-stimulation features.

Project Details

Motivation

The motivation for this project stems from first-person accounts of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), particularly those of Amythest Schaber. Schaber explains that sensory triggers throughout the day drain “brain energy” that would otherwise go toward learning or socializing. Negative sensory stimuli are not just annoying but can feel physically painful, and without accommodations, this overload can lead to meltdowns, exhaustion, and difficulty communicating. Our project assumes the responsibility of adjusting the environment to the person, recognizing that overstimulation is a neurological reality rather than a personal failure.

Disability Analysis

Disability Justice Principle 1

Commitment to Cross-Disability Solidarity - We must value and honor the insights and perspectives of all community memebers, specifically focusing on those left out of political or social conversations. We want to break down the isolation between various groups, including those with physical impairments, chronic illnesses, mental health disabilities, neurodiverity, and environmental sensitivies, to work toward collective liberation rather than focusing on a single disability in a vacuum.

Our project meets this principle through our commitment to customization and user agency. By making the extension customizible and allowing users to enable individual features, we acknowledge that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for neurodiversity. We understand that the needs of one user might directly contradict the needs of another user. This approach allows our project to serve a broad range of individuals, ensuring that one user demographic’s solution does not become another demographic’s barrier.

Disability Justice Principle 2

Collective Access - We must move beyond non-disabled standards of operating. Access is not a shameful individual burden but rather a collective responsibility where needs are met flexibly and creatively.

Our project has a complex relationship with the principle of Collective Access, which presents both opportunities and limitations. We understand that our project does not fully satisfy Collective Access because it still requires the disabled user to find, install, and configure the tool to fix a problem they did not create. However, we still attempt to support collective access by assuming the responsubility of adjusting the environment to the user, rather than forcing them to adapt to oversimulating design. As developers and researchers, we recognize that our tool is an intervention within a currently inaccessible web ecosystem. While we cannot solve the root issue of inaccessible web design at scale, we attempt to improve the ecosystem by providing a mechanism for users to create custom configurations, which acknowledges that web accessibility can look different for different people. However, true Collective Access will only by achieved when low-stimulation standards and guidelines are integrated directly into web developmen4t practices, removing the need for projects like ours entirely.

Background Research

Research on sensory processing shows that many digital environments can be overwhelming for neurodivergent users. People with autism, ADHD, migraines, and other sensory processing differences often describe the world as feeling “too loud, too fast, and too bright.” Motion, flashing visuals, background noise, and cluttered layouts can make it harder to process information and stay focused. While people often use low-tech tools like earplugs, sunglasses, or other items in a sensory kit to manage physical environments, similar support is rarely available in digital spaces. This suggests there is a clear opportunity for tools that help users reduce stimulation while browsing the web.

First-person accounts from neurodivergent creators show how common web design features can create accessibility barriers. In a talk about neurodivergent-inclusive web design, Owen Niblock explains that animated GIFs, autoplay media, and constantly moving carousels can make it difficult to concentrate or complete tasks online. When motion cannot be paused or controlled, it can cause sensory overload and force users to leave a website altogether. Research and interviews with people with ADHD also show that highly stimulating digital environments can increase distraction and reduce productivity, especially when users are surrounded by notifications, multiple tabs, and social media feeds.

Other first-person accounts highlight how sensory overload can affect concentration and well-being. Advocates such as Ben Lesh and Lyric Rivera describe the modern web as filled with constant stimulus that can increase stress and make it difficult to focus. As stimulation builds, users may struggle to concentrate or process information. Together, these accounts suggest that providing users with more control over motion, audio, and visual clutter could make online spaces more accessible. A low-stimulation browser extension that reduces animations, pauses autoplay media, and simplifies layouts could help users create a calmer and more manageable browsing experience.

First Person Evidence

Our project is informed by first person accounts from neurodivergent individuals describing how modern web design can create real barriers to focus, learning, and participation online.

Owen Niblock — Neurodivergent Inclusive Web Design

In a talk on neurodivergent web design, Owen Niblock explains how common web features like animated GIFs, autoplay media, and moving carousels can overwhelm users. He describes situations where motion on a page could not be paused, making it impossible to concentrate on the task he was trying to complete. In one example, he explains that a constantly moving carousel made it so difficult to focus that he had to stop working and recover in a dark room. Niblock also notes that unexpected audio on page load often causes him to immediately leave a website.

These experiences directly motivate our extension features that pause animations, stop autoplay media, and allow users to reduce motion.

Source: Owen’s YouTube Video

UMass Open Publishing - ADHD Distraction Interviews

Interviews with people with ADHD highlight how digital environments filled with notifications, social feeds, and multiple tabs can make it difficult to maintain attention. Several participants describe picking up their phones “for a second” and unintentionally scrolling for long periods of time, reducing productivity. Others explain that constantly switching between tabs or apps makes it difficult to stay focused on schoolwork or tasks.

These accounts highlight how overstimulating digital environments can disrupt concentration and productivity, reinforcing the need for tools that reduce distraction while browsing.

Source: Link to the article

Ben Lesh — ADHD and Digital Stimulus

Developer Ben Lesh describes the modern web as “chock full of distractions” and explains that many platforms are intentionally designed to capture attention through constant stimulus. He notes that when too many visual and informational elements compete for attention, it becomes difficult to prioritize tasks or focus on what actually matters.

This reinforces the value of customizable tools that allow users to remove distracting elements and create a calmer browsing environment.

Source: Ben’s podcast

Lyric Rivera — Sensory Overload Experience

Autistic advocate Lyric Rivera describes sensory overload as an experience where lights, sounds, and visual input gradually intensify until concentration becomes impossible. Rivera explains that during overload, lights may feel painfully bright and sounds become overwhelming, sometimes leading to migraines or disorientation.

This perspective highlights how overstimulation is not simply a preference but can have real physical and cognitive impacts. Tools that reduce brightness, motion, and visual clutter can help users manage these environments.

Source: Lyric’s video with transcript

Project Storyboard

Storyboard 1

Frame 1

Brief explanation: The user, Bob, is trying to follow a recipe, but a flashing sidebar ad keeps pulling his attention away.

Frame 2

Brief explanation: Bob activates the extension and selects the specific element causing the distraction.

Frame 3

Brief explanation: The visually distracting element is covered or removed, allowing the page to re-render in a simplified, low-stim state.

Storyboard 2

Frame 1

Brief explanation: Bob is trying to compare product specs, but the page is full of bright sale badges and neon banners that cause visual intensity.

Frame 2

Brief explanation: Bob opens the extension and turns on the “Mute Colors” feature to lower the visual intensity of the site.

Frame 3

Brief explanation: The page remains fully functional and readable but becomes less intense, enabling Bob to focus on comparing specs.

Accessibility Assessment

Success Criterion 4.1.2 - Name, Role, Value

Supports: The popup uses labeled form controls, so assistive technologies can identify what each toggle and slider does and what state it is in.

Success Criterion 2.4.3 - Focus Order

Partially Supports: The focus order is mostly logical, but in testing it was not always as smooth or clear as we wanted when moving through all controls in sequence.

Success Criterion 1.4.10 - Reflow

Partially Supports: The layout stays readable in most cases, but the fixed popup width can make content feel cramped when text is enlarged.

Success Criterion 1.4.4 - Resize Text

Partially Supports: Text can be enlarged through browser zoom, but the popup is not fully optimized for larger text sizes.

Success Criterion 1.4.11 - Non-textual Contrast

Supports: The main controls, boundaries, and interactive elements are generally visible against the surrounding background.

Success Criterion 1.3.1 - Info and Relationships

Supports: Labels, grouping, and structure are provided in the interface, so information is not communicated only through visual styling.

Success Criterion 1.1.1 - Non-text Content

Supports: The popup does not rely on meaningful images or icons for core functionality, so there is no major missing non-text alternative.

Success Criterion 1.3.4 - Orientation

Partially Supports: The popup works in its normal browser context, but orientation is not something our interface was specifically designed around or tested in depth.

Success Criterion 4.1.3 - Status Messages

Supports: Important control updates, such as the slider value, are available to assistive technologies rather than being shown only visually.

Success Criterion 1.4.3 - Contrast (Minimum)

Supports: The main text and labels are readable against the background and generally maintain sufficient contrast for normal use.

Validation

To validate our extension, we tested it across a variety of commonly used websites with different purposes and layouts, including Amazon, CNN, GIPHY, and standard Google searches. We chose these sites intentionally to cover a range of real-world conditions: e-commerce pages with dense product grids and promotional banners, news sites with autoplay video and heavy ad loads, image-heavy GIF browsing, and minimalist search result pages.

Across most tested sites, our core features performed as intended. The Hide Distracting Element tool successfully removed targeted elements such as ads, banners, and sidebars on the majority of pages we tested. The Mute Colors feature consistently reduced color intensity across both simple and complex layouts, making visually loud pages noticeably calmer without breaking readability.

Bugs and Edge Cases

Testing also surfaced a range of issues. Some were minor edge cases where a feature failed to apply correctly to a single specific element. For example, certain dynamically injected ads or elements inside iframes were not always targetable by the Hide tool. These bugs were isolated and did not affect the overall page experience.

Working through these issues gave us direct insight into why building reliable assistive technology is so difficult. A tool that works on most pages but breaks others is not a dependable accommodation. For a user who depends on the extension to browse comfortably, an unpredictable failure can be just as disruptive as having no tool at all. This experience helped us understand how accessibility overlays can become dongles: surface-level fixes that introduce their own fragility rather than addressing the underlying problem of inaccessible web design.

While our extension is not yet fully polished or consistent across all sites, this validation process meaningfully shaped our understanding of what production-quality AT requires and what we would prioritize in future iterations.

Learnings and Future Work

Throughout this project, one of the most important things we learned was the need for customizability in access technology. In our research, we realized that making user interface changes to meet the needs for one group of users would sometimes be in direct contradiction to the needs of another group. For example, users with low vision might need high contrast colors on a website to clearly distinguish between different parts and elements while users with sensory processing disorder may find high contrast colors particularly overstimulating. These findings brought us back to one of the core learnings from CSE 443, which was that we cannot treat accessibility as a monolithic issue with a “one-size-fits-all” solution. As such, in order to empower web users, we decided to focus on customizability with our extension project by allowing users to toggle and adjust individual features. Thus, they can create custom configurations that best fit their needs when accessing the web.

We also came to the humbling understanding of how difficult it is to design and create an access technology. This became particularly apparent during our testing, as we encountered a variety of bugs ranging in severity, from smaller, one-off edge case bugs on individual websites to breaking Google Chrome rendering which made most pages inoperable. These errors were caused in part by the planned scope of our project, which we had to shrink in order to focus on our core features. Ultimately, while our project is not completely bugless nor polished, we have come to appreciate the chance to briefly undergo the design and development process for creating an AT and have expanded our perspectives on accessible web design, AT creation, and disability justice, among much more.

Our future work for our extension involves improving our existing features to have more consistent functionality across a wider range of websites while also making them more adjustable/customizable. We also want to begin adding more features that can help address certain user needs, such as dyslexia-friendly fonts or dynamic text spacing. Another crucial future goal is to gather more user feedback, especially from users of different backgrounds and individuals who might use other ATs in conjunction with our AT.