Glossary
Terms used in accessibility research and practice. Each entry has a definition, common aliases, and category tags.
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- Accessibility Advocacy(also: Accessibility Activism, A11y Advocacy)
- The practice of promoting, educating others about, and pushing for the adoption of accessible practices in digital and physical environments. In online spaces, accessibility advocacy often falls disproportionately on people with disabilities themselves, who must repeatedly…
- Accessibility Internet Rally(also: AIR, AIR-Austin)
- An annual web-development competition run by Knowbility (based in Austin, Texas) in which teams of developers are paired with non-profit clients and judged partly on the accessibility of the websites they build in a short timeframe. AIR uses a structured judging rubric that…
- Alliance for Technology Access(also: ATA)
- The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) was a U.S. national network of community-based, consumer-driven technology resource centers founded to make assistive technology accessible to people with disabilities. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, the network grew to include…
- Allyship(also: Accessibility Allyship, Disability Allyship)
- The practice of non-disabled people (or people without a specific disability) actively supporting disabled colleagues by advocating for accessibility, following accommodation norms, and helping identify and address barriers. In accessibility contexts, allyship includes actions…
- Autism Self-Advocacy(also: Autistic Self-Advocacy, Autism Rights Movement)
- A movement led by autistic individuals who advocate for their own rights, autonomy, and inclusion in decisions that affect their lives. Autism self-advocacy challenges the dominance of non-autistic parents, professionals, and researchers in speaking for and making decisions…
- Civic Technology(also: Civic Tech, Civic Hacking)
- Technology developed by community members, advocacy groups, or volunteers to improve public services, increase government transparency, and address civic challenges. In accessibility, civic technology includes open-source tools and platforms built to monitor and improve the…
- Counteractive Frictions(also: Counteractive Friction)
- A concept introduced by Ly et al. for the deliberate, strategically produced disruptions that marginalised communities generate to contest hegemonic infrastructures — petitions, protests, Human Rights Tribunal filings, targeted social-media campaigns, guerrilla postering.…
- Curb Cut Effect(also: Curb Cut Phenomenon, Electronic Curb Cut)
- The phenomenon whereby accessibility features designed for people with disabilities end up benefiting a much broader population. Named after sidewalk curb cuts — ramps originally mandated for wheelchair users that also help people with strollers, bicycles, rolling luggage,…
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day(also: GAAD)
- An annual event held on the third Thursday of May to focus attention on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people with disabilities worldwide. Founded in 2011, GAAD is observed through events, talks, workshops, panels, and accessibility-focused…
- Independent Living Movement(also: IL Movement)
- A disability rights movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s advocating for disabled people's right to live independently in the community, make their own choices, and participate fully in society on a par with nondisabled peers. The movement organized protests, including…
- National Federation of the Blind(also: NFB)
- The largest membership organization of blind people in the United States, founded in 1940. The NFB advocates for the rights and equality of blind and low vision people through policy work, technology advocacy, education, and community building. The organization frequently…
- Neurodivergent Movement(also: Neurodiversity Movement)
- A social movement, largely driven by online collective action beginning in the early 2000s, that challenges traditional deficit-based models of neurological differences like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other cognitive variations. The movement advocates for understanding these…
- Right to Repair
- A movement advocating for consumers' ability to repair, modify, and maintain their own devices and equipment, including access to diagnostic information, repair manuals, and replacement parts. For people with disabilities, right to repair is especially significant because…
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