Disability-Led Design

A design practice in which people with disabilities are not consultants, test subjects, or "users" but the authors, directors, and decision-makers shaping the work. Disability-led projects invert the typical power dynamic of accessibility research: non-disabled researchers and engineers support a creative or functional vision that originates from disabled practitioners, who retain authorship over outcomes. The term is common in disability arts and performance (e.g., disability-led theatre companies) and is increasingly applied to HCI and AT design to distinguish genuine leadership from participatory methods that still centre non-disabled researchers.