Glossary

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Medical Model of Disability(also: medical model, individual model of disability)

A framework that views disability as a problem located within the individual, caused by disease, injury, or health condition, that requires medical intervention or rehabilitation to "fix" the person. Under this model, disabilities are deficits to be cured or managed. The medical…

Medicalization(also: Medical gatekeeping)

The process by which human conditions and differences are defined, categorized, and treated as medical problems requiring clinical intervention. In disability and AI contexts, medicalization is reinforced when technologies institutionalize diagnostic authority (e.g., AI autism…

Mental Health Stigma(also: Psychiatric Stigma, Mental Illness Stigma)

Negative attitudes, beliefs, and discrimination directed toward people with mental health conditions, leading to social exclusion, reduced help-seeking, and diminished self-esteem. For people with OCD, stigma manifests as public misunderstanding of the condition (trivializing…

Meta-Research(also: Research on research, Metascience)

The systematic study of research itself — the tools, workflows, norms, infrastructures, and institutional practices through which scholarly knowledge is produced, evaluated, and disseminated. Meta-research examines questions such as which methods and technologies researchers…

Microaggression

A subtle, often automatic remark, question, or action that communicates prejudice or negative stereotypes toward a member of a marginalized group. Originally coined by psychiatrist Chester Pierce in the 1970s to describe subtle discrimination against African Americans, the…

Mis-accommodation(also: Failed Accommodation, Accommodation Failure)

A situation where a disability accommodation that has been formally arranged fails to provide adequate access due to the unpredictability of real-world circumstances, context-specific limitations of the technology, or incorrect assumptions about the accommodation's…

Misfit

A concept from disability-studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson describing 'an incongruent relationship between two things' - the material mismatch between a body and an environment not built for it. Rather than locating disability in the individual, the misfit frames…

Misfitting

A concept from disability studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson describing the incongruent relationship between a body and its environment — when the world is not designed to accommodate a particular embodiment, creating disability through mismatch rather than individual…

Mixed-Ability(also: Mixed-Ability Environment, Mixed-Ability Workplace, Mixed-Ability Setting)

A social environment, workplace, or group where people with and without disabilities interact, collaborate, or share space. In mixed-ability settings, accessibility becomes a social and collaborative concern rather than just a technical one—assistive technologies that work well…

Moral Model of Disability(also: Religious Model of Disability)

A historical framework that attributes disability to moral failing, divine punishment, or supernatural causes such as curses or sins. Under this model, disability is viewed as a consequence of wrongdoing by the individual or their family, leading to shame, social exclusion, and…

Multiple Impairments(also: Multiple Disabilities, Complex Disabilities, Co-occurring Impairments)

The presence of two or more concurrent impairments — such as sensory, cognitive, physical, or neurological — in a single individual that together create complex accessibility needs not adequately addressed by solutions designed for any single impairment alone. Research shows…

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…

Neuronormativity(also: Neurotypical bias, Neuronormative standards)

The set of assumptions, norms, and practices that privilege neurotypical cognition as the default and superior way of thinking, communicating, and functioning, while treating neurodivergent ways of processing as deficient or deviant. Neuronormativity manifests in technology…

Non-visible disability(also: Hidden disability, Non-apparent disability)

A disability that is not immediately apparent to others through visual observation. Non-visible disabilities include neurodivergent conditions (autism, ADHD, dyslexia), mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, PTSD), chronic pain, chronic fatigue, diabetes, epilepsy, and…

Normate

A term coined by disability studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson to name the cultural figure - the imagined 'normal' body - against which other bodies are measured, valued, and judged deficient. The normate is not a real person but a template produced through social…

Ocular normativity(also: Ocularcentrism, Ocular norm, Visual normativity)

A concept from critical disability studies describing the cultural assumption that sight is the primary, most reliable, and most natural mode of knowing and perceiving the world. Ocular normativity positions visual interaction as the default and universal way to engage with…

Ocularcentrism(also: Visual Bias, Vision-Centrism)

The privileging of visual perception and visual ways of knowing in the design of technologies, interfaces, and information systems. Ocularcentrism in technology design manifests when visual assumptions are embedded in systems that are intended to be accessible — for example,…

Online Health Communities(also: OHCs)

Internet-based communities where people affected by a shared health condition exchange experiential knowledge, emotional support, and practical coping strategies. Traditionally hosted on dedicated forums, OHCs increasingly exist as “unbounded” communities on mainstream social…

Outcome-Based Education(also: OBE, Standards-Based Education)

An educational approach that focuses on measuring student achievement through specific, predetermined outcomes or competencies rather than on the process of learning itself. In disability and special education contexts, outcome-based education can be controversial because it…

PTSD(also: Post-traumatic stress disorder, Post-traumatic stress)

A psychiatric condition that can develop after exposure to traumatic events, characterized by intrusive memories, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, negative changes in mood and cognition, and heightened arousal responses including hypervigilance and exaggerated startle. In…

Parasocial Relationship(also: Parasocial Tie, Parasocial Interaction)

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided emotional bond that a media audience forms with a performer, creator, or online personality — the viewer feels a sense of friendship, loyalty, and familiarity despite no reciprocal awareness. In accessibility contexts, parasocial ties are…

Partial disclosure(also: Curated disclosure, Selective information sharing)

A disclosure strategy in which individuals share some information about their disability or neurodivergence while withholding specific details, often framing their needs in more socially accepted terms. For example, a neurodivergent worker might describe needing a quiet…

Participatory Evaluation(also: PE)

A research approach in which the people affected by a program, technology, or intervention are actively involved in evaluating it, rather than being passive subjects of assessment. In accessibility research, participatory evaluation means disabled people help define evaluation…

Passing(also: Passing as non-disabled, Neurotypical passing)

The act of concealing one's disability or neurodivergence to be perceived as non-disabled or neurotypical by others. Passing can be a deliberate strategy to avoid stigma, discrimination, or unwanted attention, or it may occur by default when a disability is not visible. While…

Person-First Language(also: People-First Language, PFL)

Person-first language is a linguistic convention that places the person before the disability or condition, such as "person with a disability" or "person with autism," with the intent of emphasizing personhood over diagnosis. While widely adopted in professional and medical…

Pleasure Activism

A framework articulated by adrienne maree brown that centers pleasure, joy, and satisfaction as essential components of social justice and liberation movements. In disability contexts, pleasure activism challenges the assumption that disabled people's lives are defined by…

Political/Relational Model of Disability(also: Relational Model of Disability)

A model of disability described by Alison Kafer that situates disability within sociopolitical systems, emphasizing how structures of power and interactions between people construct the experience of disability. Unlike the social model's focus on environmental barriers or the…

Positionality(also: Researcher Positionality)

The practice of researchers explicitly acknowledging how their own identities, experiences, backgrounds, and power positions shape their research process, analysis, and interpretations. In disability and accessibility research, positionality statements typically disclose whether…

Positive Design(also: Design for Subjective Well-Being)

A design framework, articulated by Desmet and Pohlmeyer, that explicitly targets human flourishing by attending to three components of subjective well-being: pleasure (positive affect in the moment), personal significance (pursuit of meaningful goals), and virtue (acting in line…

Post-Modern Model of Disability(also: Postmodern Model, Critical Disability Model)

A framework for understanding disability that integrates aspects of both the medical and social models, recognizing that both physiological factors and social barriers contribute to the experience of disability. Unlike the medical model (which locates disability in the…

Productivity Norms(also: Compulsory Productivity)

Socially constructed expectations about the quantity and pace of work output that individuals should maintain. Productivity norms are often built around non-disabled bodies and minds, creating barriers for people with disabilities whose work patterns, energy levels, or…

Psychosocial Disability(also: Psychosocial Impairment)

A disability that stems from diverse mental, cognitive, or emotional experiences that lead to impairment and experienced barriers in social participation. Psychosocial disabilities include conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health…

Qualitative Data Analysis(also: QDA, Qualitative Analysis)

A research methodology for systematically examining non-numerical data such as interview transcripts, field notes, audio recordings, images, and videos to identify patterns, themes, and meanings. The process typically involves coding data segments, categorizing codes into…

Quality of Life(also: QoL, WHOQOL)

Quality of life (QoL) is a multidimensional construct used in disability, rehabilitation, and accessibility research to capture well-being across physical health, psychological state, social relationships, and environmental factors. The World Health Organization's WHOQOL…

Queer-crip(also: Queer-crip theory, Queer crip)

A theoretical lens combining queer theory and crip theory to examine how queerness and disability co-produce experiences of marginalisation, care, and resistance. Queer-crip perspectives critique compulsory independence, heteronormativity, and ableist temporalities, instead…

Relational Accessibility(also: Relational Access)

An approach to accessibility that treats access as something co-constructed between people in everyday life, rather than a property of an individual user, tool, or environment. Relational accessibility recognises that communication, care, and adaptation are ongoing practices…

Representational harm(also: Representational bias)

A category of harm caused by AI systems that perpetuate or amplify negative stereotypes, demeaning portrayals, or erasure of particular social groups, distinct from allocative harms that deny resources or opportunities. In disability contexts, representational harms occur when…

Research Fatigue(also: Participant Fatigue, Community Research Fatigue)

The exhaustion or disengagement experienced by individuals or communities that are repeatedly recruited for research studies, particularly when they see little benefit or change resulting from their participation. In disability communities, research fatigue is a growing concern…

Segregated Education(also: Separate Schooling, Special Schooling)

An educational model where students with disabilities are educated in separate institutions or classrooms apart from their non-disabled peers. While segregated schools like residential schools for the blind can provide specialized instruction and peer support from other students…

Selective disclosure(also: Contextual disclosure, Situational disclosure)

The practice of revealing disability identity to specific people or in specific contexts while keeping it private in others, based on a continuous assessment of safety, trust, relevance, and potential consequences. Most people with invisible disabilities practice selective…

Self-Accommodation(also: Self-Accommodations)

Strategies and adaptations that individuals develop independently to manage disability-related challenges, without formal support systems or clinical intervention. Self-accommodations are particularly common among neurodivergent individuals who may not have access to formal…

Self-presentation(also: Impression management, Identity management)

The process by which individuals control how they are perceived by others, selecting which aspects of their identity to reveal, emphasise, or conceal in different social contexts. For people with invisible disabilities, self-presentation involves ongoing decisions about whether…

Sensory erasure(also: Sensory exclusion)

The systematic marginalization or elimination of non-visual sensory modalities in the design of technologies, interfaces, and information systems. Sensory erasure occurs when platforms treat visual interaction as the only legitimate or primary mode of engagement, rendering…

Sighted Bias(also: Visual Bias, Ocularcentrism)

The tendency in technology design to privilege sighted ways of perceiving and understanding the world, often unconsciously centering visual sensibilities in interfaces, descriptions, and assessment criteria. In accessibility contexts, sighted bias manifests when designers create…

Sighted-Centric Design(also: Vision-Centric Design)

Design approaches and practices that privilege sighted sensemaking and marginalize blind and non-visual ways of relating to the world. Sighted-centered design produces technologies, interfaces, and descriptive standards that assume visual perception as the default mode of…

Situated Knowledge(also: Situated Knowledges)

A concept from feminist epistemology, developed by Donna Haraway, holding that all knowledge is produced from particular social, bodily, and historical positions rather than from a neutral, objective standpoint. In disability studies and accessibility research, situated…

Situational Disability(also: Situational Impairment, Contextual Disability)

A temporary limitation in ability caused by environmental or situational factors rather than a medical condition. Examples include being unable to hear audio in a noisy environment, having limited dexterity while carrying items, or experiencing reduced vision in bright sunlight.…

Social Accessibility

A design paradigm introduced by Shinohara and colleagues emphasizing that assistive technologies must be designed for the social worlds they will be used within, not just for functional task completion. Social accessibility recognizes that assistive technologies often have a…

Social Model of Disability

A framework originating in disability studies and activism that views disability not as an inherent deficit in an individual but as the result of social, environmental, and political barriers that exclude people with impairments from full participation. Introduced by Michael…

Social Model of Disability(also: social model, barriers model)

A framework that distinguishes between impairment (a physical, sensory, or cognitive difference) and disability (the social barriers and exclusion that result from society not accommodating that difference). Under this model, people are disabled by inaccessible environments,…