Assent

A participant's affirmative agreement to take part in research, used when the individual cannot legally provide informed consent — most commonly children or people with certain cognitive disabilities. Unlike informed consent, assent does not carry the same legal weight but serves as an ethical safeguard respecting the participant's developing autonomy. In accessibility research, assent must be understood as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event, requiring researchers to continuously check for verbal and non-verbal cues of comfort or withdrawal, particularly when working with participants who have complex communication needs.