Glossary

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Clock Face Method(also: Clock Position Method, Clock Face Orientation, Clock Method)

A technique for describing the spatial position of objects relative to a person by using the positions on an analog clock face. For example, an item directly in front of a person is at 12 o'clock, to the right is at 3 o'clock, directly behind is at 6 o'clock, and to the left is…

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.…

Do-It-Yourself(also: DIY, DIY Task)

Tasks that an end user performs without professional help - commonly the assembly, setup, learning-to-operate, and troubleshooting of consumer products such as flat-pack furniture, kitchen appliances, alarm clocks, or smart-home devices. DIY tasks demand strict step ordering,…

Earmarking(also: Money Earmarking)

A financial-management practice, studied by sociologist Viviana Zelizer, in which people mentally or materially separate money into distinct categories tied to specific purposes (rent, groceries, savings goal, treats). Earmarking can take physical form — separate envelopes,…

Independent Living(also: Autonomous Living)

A philosophy and practical goal emphasizing that people with disabilities should have the same opportunities and control over their daily lives as people without disabilities, including making choices about where and how they live. In accessibility practice, independent living…

Meal Assistance Technology(also: Dining Assistance Technology, Food Accessibility Technology)

Assistive technologies designed to help people with disabilities identify, locate, and consume food independently during mealtimes. For people with visual impairments, these systems may use computer vision to recognize dishes, voice interfaces to provide information about food…

Money Management(also: Personal Finance Management)

The everyday practices of tracking income and spending, budgeting, paying bills, saving, and making purchasing decisions. For people with cognitive or developmental disabilities, money management is often a shared activity with family, support workers, or fiduciaries, and the…

Moneywork

A term coined by sociologist Sandra Colavecchia and introduced to HCI by Perry and Ferreira, describing the often-invisible labour of managing personal and household finances. Moneywork includes practical tasks (paying bills, budgeting, shopping, filing tax returns) and the…

Non-Visual Cooking(also: Blind Cooking, Cooking Without Vision)

The practice of preparing food without relying on visual information, as performed by blind and low vision individuals. Non-visual cooking involves distinctive strategies including tactile exploration to locate and verify ingredients and tools, spatial memorization of kitchen…

Pacing Aid(also: Pacing System, Time Management Aid)

An assistive technology that helps individuals with cognitive impairments manage the timing and sequence of activities in daily routines. Pacing aids provide cues — visual, auditory, or tactile — to indicate whether the user is on schedule, ahead, or behind, without requiring…

Parcel Locker(also: Package Locker, Smart Locker, Delivery Locker)

A self-service pickup cabinet where e-commerce parcels are deposited by couriers and retrieved by recipients using a code, QR scan, or mobile-app unlock. Parcel lockers are increasingly mandatory in apartment buildings and urban fulfilment networks. Accessibility barriers are…

Personal Care Assistant(also: PCA, Personal Care Attendant, Personal Support Worker)

A person who provides hands-on assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) to people with disabilities or older adults who need support with tasks such as bathing, dressing, toileting, grooming, eating, and transferring. PCAs may be formally employed through agencies or…

Product Identification(also: Product Recognition)

The task of determining what a packaged or unpackaged product is from visual (or other sensory) input, at a level of detail useful to an end user: generic type (soup, cereal, shampoo), brand (Campbell's, Kellogg's, Dove), and variety or flavour (tomato vs. chicken noodle; 90%…

Product Manual(also: Instruction Manual, User Manual, OEM Manual)

The documentation shipped with a consumer product that explains how to assemble, operate, and troubleshoot it. Product manuals come as paper booklets, fold-out sheets, PDFs, web pages, or occasionally audio. They are a chronic accessibility problem for blind and low-vision users…

Reacher(also: Grabber, Reacher-Grabber, Grabber Tool)

A reacher (also called a grabber or reacher-grabber) is a low-cost handheld assistive device — typically a lightweight aluminum or plastic shaft 60-90 cm long with a trigger handle at one end and a pair of gripping jaws at the other — used by people with limited reach, mobility,…

Recreational Exploration(also: Wandering exploration, Exploratory navigation, Open-ended exploration)

Movement through an environment driven by interest, curiosity, or enjoyment rather than by a fixed destination — for example wandering a museum, browsing a shopping mall, or exploring a neighbourhood. For blind and low-vision people, recreational exploration is harder to support…

Routinisation(also: Routinization, Age-Related Routinisation)

The tendency of older adults to increasingly organise their daily activities into fixed, predictable routines as they age. As cognitive resources decline, older adults optimise their remaining capacity by performing activities in the same order, at the same times, and in the…

Spatial Memorization(also: Spatial Memory Strategy, Kitchen Layout Memory)

A compensatory strategy used by blind and low vision individuals to navigate and interact with environments by memorizing the spatial layout of objects, tools, and landmarks. In cooking, spatial memorization involves learning where ingredients, utensils, and appliances are…

Tool Substitution(also: Adaptive Tool Use, Alternative Tool Use)

The practice of using a different tool than what is specified or expected to accomplish a task, common among people with disabilities who adapt their approaches based on available resources, physical capabilities, or personal preference. In non-visual cooking, BLV individuals…

Visual Prompts(also: Picture Prompts, Visual Cues, Photographic Cues)

Images, icons, photographs, or other visual representations used to guide, remind, or support individuals in completing tasks, following schedules, or navigating environments. Visual prompts are particularly important for people with cognitive disabilities, intellectual…

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