Glossary

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Co-Pilot Mode(also: Copilot Mode, Xbox Copilot)

Co-Pilot Mode is an accessibility feature, introduced by Microsoft on Xbox in 2017 and since adopted elsewhere, that lets two controllers be combined so they act as a single logical controller driving the same in-game player. The feature was created primarily for disabled…

Cochlear Implant(also: CI)

A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to individuals who are severely deaf or hard of hearing. Unlike hearing aids that amplify sound, cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Users still…

Cochlear Implant(also: CI)

A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to individuals who are deaf or have severe hearing loss. Unlike hearing aids which amplify sound, cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the inner ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The…

Cochlear implant(also: CI, Bionic ear)

A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss by directly stimulating the auditory nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells in the cochlea. Unlike hearing aids, which amplify sound, cochlear…

Cocktail Party Effect(also: Selective Auditory Attention)

The human ability to focus auditory attention on a single speaker or sound source while filtering out competing background noise or other simultaneous conversations. Named after the experience of following one conversation at a noisy party, this perceptual phenomenon has been…

Code Accessibility(also: Programming Accessibility, Accessible Coding)

The practice of making programming environments, source code, and software development tools usable by people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. Code accessibility encompasses accessible IDEs and text editors, aural or tactile representations of code…

Code Jumper(also: Project Torino)

An accessible physical programming toolkit originally developed by Microsoft Research (under the name Project Torino) that uses tangible pods connected by cables to teach programming concepts to children with visual impairments. Each pod represents a programming construct such…

Code-Based Modeling(also: Programmatic Modeling, Scripted 3-D Modeling)

An approach to creating 3-D models by writing code rather than using visual direct manipulation interfaces. Code-based modeling tools like OpenSCAD allow users to define shapes, transformations, and boolean operations through programming languages. This approach is inherently…

Cognitive Artifact(also: Cognitive Artefact)

An artificial device — physical or digital — designed or appropriated to maintain, display, or operate on information in ways that support human cognitive performance. The term was codified by Don Norman to describe how objects like calendars, shopping lists, sticky notes,…

Cognitive Assistance(also: Cognitive Aid, AI-Powered Assistance, Assisted Cognition)

Technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to supplement or expand human cognitive and perceptual abilities. In accessibility contexts, cognitive assistance systems recognise people, objects, text, and environments and convey that information through…

Cognitive Demand(also: Cognitive Complexity, Cognitive Requirements)

The amount of mental effort, attention, and processing required to use a technology, interface, or system. High cognitive demand in assistive technology interfaces can prevent adoption by users with cognitive impairments, fatigue, or limited experience with technology.…

Cognitive Orthosis(also: Cognitive Prosthesis, Cognitive Assistive Device)

A technology-based device or system designed to compensate for cognitive deficits by supporting functions such as memory, planning, attention, and task sequencing. Analogous to a physical orthosis that supports a weakened limb, a cognitive orthosis augments impaired cognitive…

Cognitive Orthotic(also: Cognitive Orthosis, Cognitive Support Device)

A cognitive orthotic is an assistive technology device or system designed to compensate for cognitive impairments by providing external support for functions such as memory, planning, sequencing, and decision-making. Analogous to a physical orthotic that supports a weakened…

Cognitive Prosthesis(also: Cognitive Prosthetic, Digital Memory Aid)

A cognitive prosthesis is a technology-based system designed to supplement or replace cognitive functions that have been impaired due to conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injury, or other neurological disorders. These systems can range from simple reminder apps to…

Cognitive Scaffolding(also: Scaffolded Support, Guided Task Support)

External supports or structures that help a person complete cognitive tasks they might not be able to manage independently. In education, scaffolding refers to temporary supports removed as competence grows; in accessibility, it often means persistent supports embedded in…

Cognitive Training(also: Brain Training, Cognitive Remediation)

Structured programs or applications that use repeated practice on standardized tasks to improve specific cognitive functions such as working memory, attention, or processing speed. In accessibility contexts, cognitive training is particularly relevant for people with learning…

Cognitively Assistive Robot(also: CAR)

A category of socially assistive robot designed specifically to support people with cognitive impairments — most commonly mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, traumatic brain injury, or learning disabilities — in everyday cognitive tasks such as remembering appointments,…

Collaborative Editing(also: Collaborative Authoring, Co-Editing)

The practice of multiple users simultaneously or sequentially creating and modifying shared documents or content. In accessibility contexts, collaborative editing poses particular challenges when participants use different modalities to interact with the same content — for…

Collaborative Memory(also: Distributed Cognition, Shared Memory)

The process by which memory tasks and cognitive load are distributed across multiple people, typically within families or close social groups. In the context of disability and caregiving, collaborative memory refers to how family members collectively manage the memory needs of a…

Collaborative Robot(also: Cobot, Co-Robot)

A robot designed to work alongside humans in shared workspaces, as opposed to traditional industrial robots that operate in isolation. Cobots are of particular interest for workplace inclusion because they can reduce physical workload, adapt to individual abilities, and create…

Collaborative Troubleshooting(also: Cooperative Problem-Solving)

A process where two or more people work together to identify, diagnose, and resolve technical problems, sharing knowledge and strategies to reach a solution. In assistive technology contexts, collaborative troubleshooting between screen reader users presents unique challenges…

Collaborative virtual environment(also: CVE, Shared virtual space)

A computer-based distributed virtual space where multiple users can interact with one another and with virtual objects in real time from separate physical locations. For children with autism, CVEs offer controlled social practice environments that reduce the sensory overload of…

Collision Avoidance(also: Obstacle Avoidance, Anti-Collision System)

A safety feature in assistive technology, robotics, and intelligent wheelchairs that automatically detects obstacles in the user's path and takes action to prevent impact — typically by stopping the device, alerting the user, or redirecting movement. Collision avoidance systems…

Color Filter(also: Color Filters, Display Color Filter)

An operating-system or browser-level feature that alters how colors are rendered on screen, including grayscale, inverted colors, and filters for protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia color vision deficiencies. Used by low-vision users and users with color vision deficiency…

Color Identifier(also: Color Detector, Color Recognition Device)

A color identifier is an assistive technology device or application that detects and announces the color of objects for people with vision impairments. Standalone hardware devices use a light sensor pressed against an object to identify its color and speak the result aloud.…

Color Sonification(also: Colour Sonification, Color-Audio Encoding)

The process of translating colour information into audible sound signals, enabling people who are blind or have visual impairments to perceive colour through hearing. Color sonification systems typically map different colour properties (such as hue, saturation, and luminosity)…

Colour blindness(also: Color blindness, Colour vision deficiency, CVD)

A condition affecting the perception of colour, caused by absent or altered photoreceptors in the retina. The main types are classified by which colour receptors are affected: protanopia (absent red receptors), deuteranopia (absent green receptors), and tritanopia (absent blue…

Coloured Overlay(also: Colored Overlay, Tinted Overlay, Reading Overlay)

A transparent coloured sheet placed over text or a digital colour filter applied to a screen to reduce visual stress and improve reading comfort for some people with dyslexia, Meares-Irlen syndrome, or other visual processing difficulties. Coloured overlays work by altering the…

Combination Repertoire

A type of technology repertoire where multiple tools work together simultaneously to provide access for a single task. For example, a person who is deaf and hard of hearing might use automatic captions, Bluetooth hearing aids, and good lighting together during in-person…

Comic Strip Conversations(also: CSC)

A visual-support technique developed by Carol Gray (1994) for autistic children and adolescents, in which a social interaction is illustrated as a short comic strip with simple stick figures, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and colour codes for emotion. By externalising who…

Command Recognition(also: Command Classification, Input Recognition)

The process by which a computer system interprets and classifies a user's input action — such as a gesture, voice command, or key press — as a specific intended command from a predefined vocabulary of possible commands. The accuracy of command recognition is characterised by the…

Communication Access Realtime Translation(also: CART, Realtime Captioning, Stenographic Captioning)

A captioning service where a trained professional uses a stenographic keyboard to transcribe spoken language into text in real time, producing near-verbatim captions. CART provides the highest accuracy among live captioning methods and includes speaker identification, tone of…

Communication Board(also: AAC Board, Symbol Board, Choice Board)

A low-tech or digital display of symbols, pictures, words, or phrases arranged on a surface that a person with complex communication needs can point to, touch, or select to express messages. Communication boards can be static (fixed vocabulary on a single page) or dynamic…

Communication Diary(also: Communication Notebook, Communication Book)

A low-tech, typically paper-based personal resource used by individuals with communication difficulties to support daily interactions. Communication diaries may contain written keywords, names, drawings, photographs, collaged objects, and other materials that serve as memory…

Communication Partner(also: Conversational Partner, Interaction Partner)

A person who regularly interacts with an AAC user and supports their communication, including family members, caregivers, teachers, therapists, and peers. Communication partners play a critical role in AAC success — they model AAC use, create opportunities for communication,…

Communication Partner Training(also: Conversation Partner Training)

Structured training for the people who regularly communicate with an AAC user — including family members, caregivers, teachers, and peers — to help them support effective communication. Communication partner training teaches strategies such as allowing extra time for AAC…

Communitas

A sense of community, solidarity, and mutual support that emerges among people sharing a liminal or transitional experience. Coined by anthropologist Victor Turner, communitas describes the bonds formed when individuals navigate uncertain life transitions together. In…

Compensatory Technology(also: Compensatory Approach)

Assistive technology designed primarily to offset or make up for a person's functional limitations, focusing on what the person cannot do rather than building on their existing abilities. While compensatory approaches have historically dominated AT design, there is a growing…

Complex Needs(also: Complex Access Needs, Complex Support Needs)

Complex needs refers to the situation where an individual requires support across multiple areas of functioning due to a combination of physical, sensory, cognitive, communication, or behavioral factors that interact in ways that make standard single-impairment approaches…

Computer Braille(also: Computer Braille Code, CBC)

Computer Braille is a specialized braille notation system that includes characters for symbols commonly used in computing, such as brackets, braces, semicolons, and other punctuation not found in standard literary braille. Unlike literary braille, which uses contractions to…

Computer Feedback System(also: CFS, Computerized Feedback System)

A technology system that detects a user's behavior — such as vocalizations, movements, or physiological signals — and provides immediate audio, visual, or haptic responses mapped to that behavior. In speech and communication interventions, computer feedback systems translate…

Computer Use Agent(also: CUA, computer-using agent, desktop agent)

A computer use agent is an AI system powered by multimodal large language models that operates a computer by taking screenshots and performing mouse, keyboard, and scroll actions — mirroring the interactions of a sighted user to complete natural language tasks such as booking a…

Computer-Aided Instruction(also: CAI, Computer-Assisted Learning, Computer-Based Instruction)

Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) is the use of computer software to deliver educational content, practice exercises, and assessment in a structured learning environment. In accessibility contexts, CAI is particularly valuable for individuals with disabilities because it can…

Computer-Based Intervention(also: CBI, Technology-Based Intervention, Digital Intervention)

A structured programme delivered through computer technology that aims to teach, rehabilitate, or support skill development. In accessibility contexts, computer-based interventions use software applications — often on tablets or other mainstream devices — to provide interactive…

Computer-Based Speech Training(also: CBST, Computer-Aided Speech Training, CAST)

Computer-based speech training (CBST) refers to software systems designed to help individuals improve their speech production through automated exercises, feedback, and practice. These systems typically present target words or utterances, capture the user's speech through a…

Computer-Using Agent(also: CUA)

An AI agent, typically built on a Large Multimodal Model, that perceives a computer's graphical user interface through screenshots, reasons about on-screen context, and directly manipulates the interface by clicking, typing, scrolling, and navigating between applications. Unlike…

Computerized Visual Communication(also: C-VIC)

A computer-based assistive technology system that enables people with aphasia to communicate by arranging icons and images on screen to form sentences, which can then be translated into spoken or written language. C-VIC systems use structured visual vocabularies where users…

Concatenated Speech Synthesis(also: Concatenative Synthesis, Unit Selection Synthesis)

A method of producing synthetic speech by connecting pre-recorded segments of human speech, typically diphones (transitions between phonemes) or demi-syllables, to form complete words and sentences. Concatenated speech synthesis produces more natural-sounding output than older…

Concatenative Synthesis(also: Unit Selection Synthesis)

A text-to-speech method that generates synthetic speech by concatenating (joining together) pre-recorded segments of human speech. These segments, called units, may be phonemes, diphones, syllables, or words. The system selects and joins appropriate units from a large database…

Concurrent Speech(also: Simultaneous Speech, Parallel Audio)

The presentation of multiple audio streams simultaneously, leveraging the human ability to selectively attend to one stream while monitoring others — known as the cocktail party effect. In accessibility research, concurrent speech has been explored as a way to help blind users…