Glossary

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Assistive Technology Lending Library(also: AT Lending Library, AT Library)

A service, often operated by state agencies or nonprofits, that allows individuals with disabilities to borrow assistive technology devices for trial periods before purchasing them or as a long-term resource. Lending libraries reduce the financial risk of trying new AT and help…

Assistive Technology Mainstreaming(also: Mainstreaming, AT Mainstreaming)

A design philosophy and practice where assistive technology features are integrated into mainstream consumer products rather than developed as separate, specialized devices. Examples include smartphones with built-in screen readers, tablets used for AAC, and headphones that also…

Assistive Technology for Cognition(also: ATC, Cognitive Assistive Technology, Cognitive Prosthetics)

Technology designed to support cognitive functions such as memory, attention, planning, and problem-solving for people with cognitive impairments. This includes reminder apps, task prompting systems, navigation aids, and other tools that compensate for difficulties in…

Assistive device customization(also: AT personalization, Custom assistive technology)

The process of tailoring assistive technology devices to match an individual's specific physical dimensions, functional abilities, preferences, and activity requirements. Traditional AT customization involves ordering from catalogs with limited options and long wait times, or…

Assistive technology(also: AT)

Any device, software, or equipment that helps people with disabilities perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. In digital accessibility, this includes screen readers, screen magnifiers, switch devices, eye-tracking systems, voice recognition software, and…

AssistiveTouch

An iOS accessibility feature that provides an on-screen menu of customizable touch-based shortcuts, allowing users to perform gestures and actions that might otherwise require physical buttons or complex multi-finger gestures. AssistiveTouch is particularly helpful for people…

Asynchronous Control(also: Self-Paced Control, Asynchronous BCI)

A mode of interaction with a computer or assistive device where the user can issue commands at any time of their choosing, rather than being constrained to respond within system-defined time windows. In brain-computer interface research, asynchronous control is contrasted with…

Audible Pedestrian Signal(also: APS, Accessible Pedestrian Signal)

A device attached to a pedestrian crossing traffic signal that conveys the WALK and DON'T WALK phases through non-visual cues — typically beeps, chirps, speech messages, or a vibrating tactile arrow indicating the direction of travel. APS support safe crossing for blind and…

Audification

A sonification technique that directly translates a data series into sound by mapping data values to audio waveform amplitudes, effectively "playing" the data as an audio signal. Unlike parameter mapping sonification, which maps data attributes to sound properties like pitch or…

Audio Augmented Reality(also: Audio AR, Augmented Audio Reality, Audio-Augmented Environment)

The overlay of digital sound — synthesised speech, music, earcons, or spatialised audio cues — onto a user's perception of their real or virtual environment. Audio augmented reality can be head-worn (via open-ear or bone-conducting headphones) or environmental (via fixed…

Audio Beacon(also: Auditory Beacon, Sound Beacon)

A spatial audio cue, typically a repeating tone or beep, attached to a specific location or object to help users with visual impairments navigate toward or identify points of interest in physical or virtual environments. Audio beacons vary in parameters such as pitch, timbre,…

Audio Cue(also: Auditory Cue, Sound Cue, Earcon)

A non-speech sound used to convey information in an interface. In accessible programming environments, audio cues represent code structures, syntax errors, or navigation landmarks—for example, a door-opening sound for an "if" statement or distinct tones for different indentation…

Audio Cues(also: Earcons, Auditory Icons, Sound Cues)

Non-speech sounds used in software interfaces to convey information, status changes, or events that would otherwise be communicated only visually. In accessible development environments, audio cues can indicate errors, warnings, code changes, and navigation events, providing…

Audio Description(also: AD, Descriptive Audio, Audio Narration)

A narration track that describes visual elements of media, exhibitions, performances, or environments for people who are blind or have low vision. In museums, audio descriptions provide verbal accounts of exhibits, artworks, and spatial layouts. While valuable, research shows…

Audio Description Customization(also: Personalized Audio Description, Adaptive AD)

The ability for users to adjust the content and presentation of audio descriptions for video media based on their individual preferences. Customization dimensions may include detail level, emphasis on specific visual elements (such as facial expressions, scene settings, or…

Audio Desktop(also: Auditory Desktop, Non-Visual Desktop)

An audio desktop is a logical workspace that provides the functionality of a graphical electronic desktop entirely through auditory interaction, including speech output, auditory icons, and audio-formatted content. Unlike screen readers that describe a visual desktop, a true…

Audio Emphasis Level(also: AEL)

A sonification technique that represents the degree of visual emphasis applied to text (such as larger font size, bold styling, or color changes) using distinct audio cues layered onto speech output. For example, strongly emphasized text might be accompanied by a bell ringing…

Audio Enriched Links(also: AEL, Audio Link Preview)

A JAWS screen reader extension that provides spoken previews of linked web pages before a blind user follows a hyperlink. When activated on a focused link, the system fetches the destination page in the background and speaks a summary including the page title, its relationship…

Audio Feedback(also: Auditory Feedback, Sound Feedback)

Information conveyed to a user through sound in response to an action or event within a system. Audio feedback encompasses a wide range of techniques including earcons (short abstract sounds), auditory icons (sounds that resemble real-world events), speech output, and…

Audio Formatting(also: Audio Rendering)

The process of converting structured electronic documents into audio output that conveys not just textual content but also the logical structure and formatting of the original document. Audio formatting uses synthesizer parameters such as pitch, stereo positioning, speaking…

Audio HTML Access(also: AHA, AHA Framework)

Audio HTML Access (AHA) is a framework of principles for choosing sounds to use in audio-based HTML interfaces, developed by Frankie James at Stanford University in the late 1990s. The framework provides structured guidelines for selecting audio cues to represent web document…

Audio Interface(also: Auditory interface, Sound-based interface)

An interface that conveys information through sound — including speech (text-to-speech), earcons, beeps, spatialised audio, and sonification of data streams. Audio interfaces dominate mainstream accessibility technology for blind users (screen readers, navigation apps such as…

Audio Localization(also: Sound Localization, Auditory Localization)

The ability to identify the location of a sound source in space using auditory cues such as interaural time differences (the slight delay between sound reaching each ear) and interaural level differences (volume variations between ears). Audio localization is a critical skill…

Audio Production(also: Audio Engineering, Sound Production)

The process of creating, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering audio content using specialized software and hardware. For blind and low-vision users, audio production presents unique accessibility challenges because professional digital audio workstations (DAWs) like Logic…

Audio Tone(also: Auditory Cue, Earcon)

Non-speech audio signals used to convey information such as the presence, location, or status of objects or interface elements. In accessibility contexts, audio tones can supplement or replace verbal descriptions, similar to how screen readers like JAWS use different sound…

Audio game(also: Audiogame, Sound-based game, Accessible game)

A digital game designed to be played primarily or entirely through audio, without requiring visual information. Audio games use spatial sound, earcons, music, voice narration, and other auditory cues to convey gameplay information, environments, and interactions. They range from…

Audio-Based Interface(also: Audio Interface, Auditory Interface)

A computer interface that uses sound as the primary means of conveying information and supporting interaction, rather than visual display. Audio-based interfaces are essential for blind and visually impaired users and may employ speech output, environmental sounds, musical…

Audio-Based Navigation(also: Audio Navigation, Auditory Navigation)

A navigation approach that uses audio output — typically synthesised speech, spatial audio cues, or sonification — as the primary means of providing wayfinding information to users. Audio-based navigation systems are particularly important for blind and visually impaired people,…

Audio-Based Virtual Environment(also: Audio Virtual Environment, Sound-Based Virtual World, Auditory Virtual Environment)

An audio-based virtual environment is a computer-generated interactive space that uses sound — including 3D spatial audio, stereo effects, and environmental audio cues — as the primary channel for conveying information about the virtual world, enabling navigation, orientation,…

Audio-Reactive Visuals(also: Sound-Reactive Displays, Audio-Visual Feedback)

Visual display systems that respond in real time to audio input, translating sound properties such as frequency, amplitude, pitch, and rhythm into light, color, and movement. In accessibility contexts, audio-reactive visuals serve as a sensory substitution channel for d/Deaf and…

Audio-Spatial Mapping(also: Auditory-Spatial Mapping, Sound Spatialization)

A technique that uses sound properties such as pitch, volume, panning, and spatialization to represent spatial information non-visually. In accessibility contexts, audio-spatial mapping helps blind and low vision users build mental models of physical or virtual spaces by…

Audio-Tactile(also: Audio-Tactile Interaction, Audio-Haptic)

An interaction paradigm that combines tactile (touch-based) and auditory feedback to convey information. Audio-tactile systems pair physical surfaces, such as raised maps or 3D-printed models, with location-triggered audio output so that touching a specific area plays a…

Audio-Tactile Interface(also: Audio-Haptic Interface, Multimodal Tactile Interface)

A user interface that combines tactile (touch-based) interaction with auditory feedback to convey information that is otherwise visual. Audio-tactile interfaces are widely used in accessibility to make graphical content such as charts, maps, and diagrams accessible to blind and…

Audio-Visual Entrainment(also: AVE, Brainwave Entrainment)

Audio-visual entrainment (AVE) is a therapeutic technique that uses rhythmic light and sound stimuli to influence brainwave activity, guiding the brain toward specific frequency states associated with relaxation, focus, or reduced anxiety. The technique has been demonstrated to…

Audio-tactile interface(also: Audio-tactile system, Talking tactile)

An interactive system that combines physical tactile surfaces with electronic audio feedback, providing spoken labels, descriptions, or sonified data when the user touches specific areas of a tactile graphic or map. Audio-tactile interfaces reduce the cognitive load of tactile…

Audiophotography(also: Audiophotograph, Audio Photograph, Sound Photograph)

A medium proposed by Frohlich and Tallyn in which a photograph is packaged together with an associated audio recording — typically ambient sound captured at the moment of the shutter, a spoken caption added afterwards, or both. For accessibility practice the audiophotograph is a…

Auditory Channel Conflict(also: Audio Channel Competition, Auditory Interference)

A situation where multiple audio streams compete for a user's attention through the same sensory channel, reducing comprehension and increasing cognitive load. For blind and visually impaired users who rely on screen readers, auditory channel conflict is a significant barrier in…

Auditory Display(also: Audio Display, Auditory Interface)

The use of sound to convey information, data, or interface state to users. Auditory displays encompass a range of techniques including sonification, earcons, auditory icons, and speech output. In accessibility, auditory displays are critical for providing non-visual access to…

Auditory Feedback(also: Audio Feedback, Auditory Display)

The use of sound — including tones, sound effects, earcons, and speech — to convey information about system states, user actions, or environmental changes. In accessibility, auditory feedback serves as a non-visual channel for communicating information that is typically…

Auditory Graph(also: Audible Graph, Sonified Chart)

A non-visual representation of data that uses sound properties such as pitch, volume, duration, and timbre to convey the values and patterns typically shown in visual charts and graphs. Auditory graphs are an important assistive approach for making data accessible to people who…

Auditory Icon(also: Audio Icon)

A non-speech sound used in a user interface that represents an object, action, or event by mimicking its real-world sound — for example, the sound of crumpling paper to indicate deleting a file, or a camera shutter sound for taking a screenshot. Auditory icons rely on causal…

Auditory Interface(also: Audio Interface, Aural Interface, Non-Visual Interface)

A user interface that conveys information and accepts input primarily through sound rather than visual displays. Auditory interfaces range from simple screen reader output to complex auditory environments using spatial audio, earcons, speech synthesis, and sonification. In…

Auditory Map(also: Audio Map, Sonic Map)

An auditory map is an audio-based representation of geographical information designed to enable blind and visually impaired users to access and understand spatial environments without relying on vision. Auditory maps use combinations of speech, auditory icons (representative…

Auditory Masking(also: Sound Masking, Acoustic Masking)

A perceptual phenomenon where the presence of one sound makes it difficult or impossible to hear another sound. Masking occurs when sounds share similar frequencies or when a louder sound overwhelms a quieter one. In accessible design, understanding auditory masking is essential…

Auditory User Interface(also: AUI, Audio User Interface)

A user interface that relies primarily on audio output — including synthesised speech, earcons, auditory icons, and sonification — to convey information and enable interaction. Auditory user interfaces are essential for users who are blind or have low vision, and they can…

Augmentative Communication(also: AAC, Augmentative and Alternative Communication)

Methods, tools, and strategies used to supplement or replace spoken or written communication for people who have difficulty producing or comprehending speech and language. AAC ranges from low-tech approaches like picture boards and sign language to high-tech devices with speech…

Augmentative and Alternative Communication(also: AAC)

A broad set of strategies, tools, and technologies used to supplement or replace spoken or written communication for people with complex communication needs. AAC ranges from low-tech solutions like picture boards and communication books to high-tech speech-generating devices,…

Augmentative and Alternative Communication(also: AAC)

A set of tools, strategies, and techniques used to supplement or replace spoken or written communication for people with complex communication needs. AAC ranges from low-tech options like picture boards and symbol cards to high-tech solutions including speech-generating devices…

Augmentative and Alternative Communication(also: AAC)

A range of methods, devices, and strategies used to supplement or replace speech for individuals who have difficulty producing or comprehending spoken language. AAC encompasses both unaided approaches (such as gestures, sign language, and facial expressions) and aided approaches…

Augmentative and alternative communication(also: AAC, Alternative communication, Aided communication)

A range of strategies, tools, and technologies used to supplement or replace spoken or written communication for people who have difficulty producing or understanding speech. AAC encompasses unaided methods (gestures, facial expressions, sign language, body language) and aided…