Glossary

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Social accessibility(also: Social model of access)

An approach to accessibility that recognises the role of social interactions, human help, and community practices in enabling access for people with disabilities, rather than focusing solely on technological or environmental modifications. Social accessibility encompasses…

Socially Recursive Inference(also: Social Recursion)

The cognitive process by which individuals' perceptions and behaviors are shaped by what they believe others think about them or their situation. In accessibility contexts, socially recursive inference manifests when AT users are influenced by what they think non-disabled people…

Socio-Technical Infrastructure(also: Sociotechnical System)

The interconnected combination of social structures (institutions, policies, norms, relationships) and technical systems (software, hardware, platforms) that together shape how people interact with technology and each other. In accessibility contexts, socio-technical…

Sociotechnical Identity

The aspect of personal identity that is constructed and expressed through the technologies a person uses. In assistive technology research, sociotechnical identity refers to how AT serves as a vehicle conveying both functional ability and social identity. The concept recognizes…

Special Education(also: Special Needs Education, SPED)

Educational programs, services, and instruction specifically designed to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. Special education encompasses a range of settings from fully inclusive classrooms with support services to specialized separate schools. In India,…

Spoon Theory(also: Spoons)

A metaphor created by Christine Miserandino to explain the limited energy available to people living with chronic illness or disability. In this framework, each daily activity costs a certain number of "spoons" from a finite supply, and once spoons are depleted, the person…

Spoon theory(also: Spoons, Energy accounting)

A metaphor created by Christine Miserandino to explain the limited energy reserves experienced by people with chronic illness and disabilities. "Spoons" represent units of energy, and every activity — from getting dressed to attending a meeting — costs spoons. Once spoons are…

Stigma(also: Social stigma, Disability stigma)

A negative social perception or mark of disgrace associated with a particular attribute, condition, or circumstance. In disability and accessibility contexts, stigma refers to the social devaluation people experience when using assistive technologies or disclosing disabilities,…

Symbolic Interactionism(also: SI)

A sociological tradition, associated with Herbert Blumer and the Chicago School following George Herbert Mead, that understands social reality as constructed through ongoing interaction: people act toward things — including other people, technologies, and disability itself — on…

Technoableism

A concept describing how technology is framed as a solution to disability in ways that reinforce ableist assumptions, treating disability primarily as a problem to be fixed rather than a form of human diversity. Coined in the context of disability studies and critical technology…

Temporary Disability(also: Short-Term Disability, Transient Disability)

A disability or impairment that is expected to be temporary in duration, resulting from illness, injury, surgery, or other medical conditions. Temporary disabilities create access needs that may be identical to those of permanent disabilities but are complicated by uncertain…

Tokenism(also: Token Inclusion)

The practice of including a small number of individuals from underrepresented groups primarily for the appearance of inclusivity rather than for meaningful participation or impact. In accessibility research, tokenism occurs when studies include a minimal number of disabled…

Translanguaging

The practice of drawing on multiple languages within a single interaction or communication act, leveraging a person's full linguistic repertoire rather than treating languages as separate, bounded systems. Translanguaging is particularly relevant to accessibility for…

Visual Epistemology(also: Sighted Epistemology)

Ways of knowing and understanding the world that are dependent on visual perception. Visual epistemology treats sight as the primary and most reliable sense for gathering information, often positioning visual evidence as more trustworthy or complete than information obtained…

Workplace disclosure model(also: Disclosure decision model, Joachim and Acorn framework)

A theoretical framework for understanding how individuals with invisible disabilities decide whether, when, and how to disclose their condition at work, and the outcomes that follow. The Joachim and Acorn model categorizes disclosure types by intention and timing: protective…

World-Making(also: Worldmaking)

World-making, drawing on Nelson Goodman's 'Ways of Worldmaking' and extended in disability scholarship by Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp, refers to the active construction of shared social worlds through symbols, practices and routines rather than the passive inhabitation of fixed…

d/Deaf(also: Deaf, deaf, Big D Deaf)

A convention used to distinguish between two meanings of the word deaf. Uppercase "Deaf" refers to people who identify as culturally Deaf and are part of the Deaf community, sharing a common language (sign language), values, and social norms. Lowercase "deaf" is an audiological…