Spatial Reasoning

The cognitive process of understanding where objects are, how they are oriented, and how they relate to each other in three-dimensional space. Spatial reasoning is central to tasks like assembling products, navigating environments, reading diagrams, and manipulating tools. Blind and low-vision users build spatial understanding through tactile exploration, auditory cues, proprioception, and verbal description rather than vision, which means accessible instructions, navigation systems, and assistive tools must provide user-relative reference frames (e.g. 'the socket points toward you'), clock-face directions, and tactile landmarks rather than relying on diagrams or colour-coded arrows.