Neurodiversity & UX: Why Bangladesh’s Digital Brands Are Ignoring 15% of Their Users

by C. Basu · Published December 9, 2025 · Updated December 9, 2025

Neurodiversity & UX & Bangladesh

You know that moment when you open a local food delivery app during the lunch rush, and it screams at you? Pop-ups for free delivery, a sliding banner for credit card offers, and a countdown timer for a deal you didn’t ask for.

For you, it might just be annoying. But for a user with ADHD or sensory processing sensitivities, that interface isn’t just “busy”—it’s a wall. They close the app. They don’t buy the burger.

Here is the hard truth we need to discuss: We are obsessed with “frictionless” experiences in our pitch decks, but we are building digital obstacle courses in reality.

In my analysis of Bangladesh’s digital ecosystem, I’ve found a glaring blind spot. We design for the “average” user—someone with perfect vision, steady attention, and zero anxiety. But that user doesn’t statistically exist. By ignoring neurodiversity, brands in Dhaka are actively blocking revenue from nearly 20% of the population.

The 2.5 Million User Gap

Let’s look at the numbers, because they are staggering.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 15-20% of the population exhibits some form of neurodivergence—including Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia.² If we apply even a conservative 15% estimate to Bangladesh’s 77 million internet users (DataReportal, 2024), we are talking about roughly 11.5 million digital users whose brains process information differently.

But here is where it gets interesting for us in the local market.

Bangladesh is aggressively digitizing. We have the “Smart Bangladesh” vision, and we have startups disrupting everything from grocery (Chaldal) to education (10 Minute School). Yet, most local interfaces are built on “attention economy” principles—flashy, loud, and urgent.

Neurodiversity & UX: A diagram illustrating Cognitive Load Theory in UX design, comparing the limited working memory of neurodivergent users to a smartphone battery draining rapidly due to complex UI elements.

Compare this to the global shift:

Global Market: The spending power of the disability market is over $13 trillion (Forrester).
The Retention Reality: Sites with inclusive design see up to 35% higher return rates (CodeInk, 2025).³
The Cost of Ignoring: 71% of users with access needs will leave a site that is difficult to use (Click-Away Pound Survey).

We aren’t just losing “niche” users. We are losing anyone who is tired, stressed, or browsing on a small screen in a noisy bus in Farmgate.

A frustrated mobile user in Dhaka struggling to navigate a cluttered food delivery app interface, illustrating the impact of high cognitive load on user retention. A diagram illustrating Cognitive Load Theory in UX design, comparing the limited working memory of neurodivergent users to a smartphone battery draining rapidly due to complex UI elements.

The Science: Cognitive Load Theory

To fix this, we have to understand the mechanism. It’s not about making things “simple”; it’s about managing Cognitive Load.

Think of your user’s brain as a smartphone battery. Every decision, every moving animation, and every hard-to-read font drains that battery.

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The ADHD User & “Executive Function”

Users with ADHD often struggle with “working memory.” If your checkout process requires them to remember a voucher code from three screens ago, you’ve lost them. They need visible status, clear reminders, and speed. They don’t need a carousel that auto-rotates every 2 seconds—that steals their focus.4

The Autistic User & “Predictability”

For autistic users, specialized research shows that predictability is safety. If your navigation menu changes location between the Home page and the Product page (a common error I see in local e-commerce sites), it creates anxiety. They need literal, consistent patterns.5

The Dyslexic User & “Visual Processing”

It’s not just about swapping letters. It’s about the “river effect” in justified text blocks that makes reading physically painful.

The Framework: Designing for the Margins

So, how do we translate this into pixels? I’ve broken this down into a comparison table based on my reviews of standard Bangladeshi apps versus what a neuro-inclusive standard looks like.

Table 1: Standard vs. Neuro-Inclusive UX

Feature	Standard “Dhaka Design”	Neuro-Inclusive Approach
Typography	Stylish, thin serif fonts; justified text blocks.	Sans-serif (Verdana/Open Dyslexic); left-aligned text to reduce reading strain.
Navigation	Hamburger menus hidden behind icons; changing layouts.	Visible, persistent navigation bars; breadcrumbs on every page.
Feedback	Generic error messages (“Invalid Input”).	Constructive, blame-free errors (“Please enter the date as DD/MM”).
Motion	Auto-playing videos; flashing “Sale” banners.	“Pause” buttons for all motion; reduced motion settings respected.
Time	Countdown timers to create artificial urgency.	No timers unless necessary; extended session timeouts.

Practical Application: The “Bionic” Audit

If you are a Product Manager or CMO, you don’t need to rebuild your app tomorrow. You need to run what I call a “Bionic Audit.” Here is the 4-step process I recommend to my clients:

Step 1: The “Squint” Test (Sensory Audit)

Action: Open your app and squint your eyes until the text blurs.
Look for: Can you still tell what the primary button is? Is the “Cancel” button red (danger) or grey (neutral)?
Why: Neurodivergent users often have sensory overload.⁶ If the hierarchy isn’t clear without reading, it’s too noisy.

Step 2: Kill the Ghosts (Navigation)

Action: Map every user flow. Identify where navigation elements disappear.
Common Mistake: Hiding the “Back” button on checkout pages to “trap” the user.
Fix: Give users an escape hatch. Feeling trapped induces anxiety, which kills conversion.

Step 3: The “Plain Speak” Review (Content)

Action: Review your copy. Remove metaphors and idioms.⁷
Example: Change “Hit the road!” (for a ride-sharing app) to “Start your ride.”
Why: Autistic users often interpret language literally. Metaphors add unnecessary cognitive processing.

Step 4: The “Forgiving” Search

Action: Test your search bar with typos.
Insight: Users with dyslexia will misspell “restaurant” or “medicine.” If your search returns “No Results” instead of “Did you mean…”, you are failing them.

Case Studies: Who Is Doing It Right?

Global Lead: Samsung’s “Unfear” (2023-2024)

Samsung realized that for the 70 million people on the autism spectrum, the world is too loud.8 They didn’t just make a “feature”; they built an entire AI-driven app called Unfear.9

The Method: The app works with Galaxy Buds to filter out specific “trigger” sounds (like sirens or barking dogs) while letting human voices through.¹⁰
The Outcome: It won the Grand Prix at Eurobest and, more importantly, opened the Samsung ecosystem to a massive, loyal audience that previously found headphones isolating.¹¹
Lesson: Accessibility can be a standalone product differentiator.

Regional Context: The “Hidden” Telco Strategy in Bangladesh

While verified public case studies in Bangladesh are rare (a problem in itself), research from 2023 (ResearchGate) highlights that a major Bangladeshi Telco has started using Neuromarketing—specifically eye-tracking technology—to optimize their ad packaging.12

The Insight: They found that cluttered designs caused users to “gloss over” critical offer details.
The Pivot: By simplifying the visual hierarchy based on how the brain actually scans (F-patterns), they increased engagement.
The Missed Opportunity: They applied this to ads, but if they applied the same rigor to their app utility bill-payment flows, customer support calls would likely drop by 20-30%.

Action Plans

We need to move from “awareness” to “deployment.”

For Organizations & Brands:

Stop the “Overlay” Trap: Do not just buy an “Accessibility Widget” (those little handicap icons) and think you are done. They often break screen readers. Fix the code, don’t patch it.
Budget for Inclusion: Allocate 10% of your QA budget to testing with diverse users.
Timeline: Aim for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance by Q4 2025. It’s coming, and you want to be ahead of the regulation.

For Marketing Professionals:

Learn “Plain Language”: It’s a writing skill. Practice explaining your campaign to a 10-year-old.
Question the Metrics: If “Time on Site” is high, ask: “Are they engaged, or are they lost?”
Tool Up: Learn to use Stark (a Figma plugin) to check contrast ratios instantly.

For Students/Entry-Level:

Build a “Redesign” Portfolio: Take a popular local app (like Pathao or Daraz) and redesign one flow specifically for an ADHD user. Document your “Why.”
Certification: Take the free “Web Accessibility” course by W3C on edX.

Critical Perspective: The “Edge Case” Myth

Here is what skeptics will say: “This is too expensive for a small segment of users.”

I hear this in boardrooms all the time. But here is the reality: There is no such thing as an “edge case.” When you design for someone with permanent motor impairment, you also help the parent holding a baby (situational impairment) or the person with a broken arm (temporary impairment).

When you design for the neurodivergent brain—clear, calm, predictable—you create a better experience for the stressed-out salaryman trying to send money to his village on a slow 3G connection.¹³

Inclusion isn’t a tax. It’s an upgrade.

Key Takeaways

Design for the 15%: 1 in 7 users has a neurodivergent condition; ignoring them is leaving money on the table.
Cognitive Load is Currency: Every unnecessary animation or confusing button “spends” your user’s mental energy.¹⁴
Consistency is King: Predictable navigation reduces anxiety and builds trust.¹⁵
Stop the Blame: Error messages should help users fix problems, not shame them for making mistakes.
The “Curb Cut” Effect: Features built for neurodiversity (like dark mode or plain text) end up being preferred by everyone.
Start Small: You don’t need a total rebrand. Start with a sensory audit and clear up your navigation.

Bibliography

World Health Organization. (2023). Disability: Key Facts & Statistics. Read the Report
DataReportal. (2024). Digital 2024: Bangladesh Overview. View the Statistics
Microsoft Design. (2024). The Inclusive Design Toolkit: Cognitive Exclusion. Access the Toolkit
Samsung / Cheil Worldwide. (2023). Case Study: Samsung Unfear – AI for Autism. Watch the Case Study
Click-Away Pound. (2024). The Business Case for Digital Accessibility (The Cost of Ignoring). Analyze the Data
Forrester Research. (2023). The Billion Customer Opportunity: Digital Accessibility. Read the Insights
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). (2024). Internet Subscribers in Bangladesh – Current Stats. Check Local Data
Harvard Business Review. (2024). Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage. Read the Article
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). (2024). WCAG 2.2 Overview & Cognitive Accessibility Guidance. Review the Standards
ResearchGate / International Journal of Engineering. (2023). Usability Analysis of E-commerce Websites in Bangladesh. View the Study
Baymard Institute. (2024). Checkout Optimization & UX Benchmarks. See UX Benchmarks
Nielsen Norman Group. (2023). Complex Navigation & Memory Load. Read the Research
The Financial Express. (2024). Building a Smart Bangladesh: The Role of Digital Inclusion. Read Local Commentary
Stark. (2024). The Public Library: Making Software Accessible. Explore the Library
Google / The A11Y Project. (2024). Neurodiversity Design Myths. Read the Guide