Glossary

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Learning Design(also: IMS Learning Design, IMS LD)

A specification from IMS Global Learning Consortium (based on the Educational Modeling Language) that provides a framework for describing the structure and sequence of learning activities, roles, and environments in educational scenarios. Learning Design enables the separation…

Liberatory access(also: Liberation-oriented access)

An approach to accessibility that goes beyond inclusion and assimilation to challenge the broader conditions of ableism and exclusion that create inaccessibility in the first place. Coined by disability justice activist Mia Mingus, liberatory access strives not just to help…

Loosely Coupled Interaction(also: Loosely Coupled Dual Interaction)

An interaction architecture in which two or more user interfaces share the same underlying content and data but operate independently through separate, non-overlapping input and output modalities. In a loosely coupled system, each interface is purpose-designed for its target…

Low-Barrier Access(also: Low-Barrier Technology)

Technology or services designed to minimize obstacles to initial use, including cost, setup complexity, training requirements, and technical prerequisites. Low-barrier access is particularly important for people with temporary or newly acquired disabilities who may need…

Low-Fidelity Prototype(also: Low-Fi Prototype, Lo-Fi Prototype, Paper Prototype)

A rough, inexpensive representation of a design - typically paper sketches, cardboard models, or wireframes - used early in the design process to explore concepts without investing in polished artefacts. Low-fidelity prototypes lower the barrier to critique and change, which is…

Maker Education(also: Making, Maker Movement, Makerspace Education)

An educational approach that emphasizes hands-on learning through designing, building, and debugging physical artifacts using tools such as electronics, 3D printers, laser cutters, and microcontrollers. Maker education connects theoretical knowledge with practical skills by…

Method cards(also: Design method cards, Ideation cards)

Structured design tools consisting of cards that present scenarios, questions, or prompts to guide designers through specific aspects of the design process. In accessibility contexts, method cards present concrete situations experienced by people with disabilities to help…

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…

Mixed-Ability Interaction(also: Mixed-Ability Play, Mixed-Visual-Ability, Cross-Ability Interaction)

Social interactions, activities, or collaborative experiences involving people with different levels of ability, such as sighted and visually impaired people playing a game together, or wheelchair users and ambulatory people sharing a physical activity. In the context of…

Mixed-Ability Team(also: Mixed-Ability Group, Mixed-Abilities Team)

A team or group composed of people with a variety of abilities, including disabled and non-disabled members who may have different sensory, motor, cognitive, or other access needs. Mixed-ability teams face unique coordination challenges because accommodations for one member may…

Mixed-Hearing Environment(also: Mixed-Ability Hearing Space, Mixed-Hearing Performance Space)

A setting in which people with varying levels of hearing ability—including Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and hearing individuals—participate together in shared activities such as music performance, collaboration, or learning. Mixed-hearing environments present unique challenges…

Mixed-ability play(also: Inclusive play, Mixed-ability gaming)

Game design that enables meaningful shared play experiences between people with and without disabilities, ensuring that ability differences do not prevent enjoyable social interaction. Mixed-ability play requires careful balancing of challenge levels, input modalities, and…

Mobile Makerspace(also: Maker Van, Makerspace on Wheels, Mobile Maker Lab)

A portable makerspace housed in a vehicle or transportable unit that brings making tools, materials, and activities to different locations rather than requiring participants to travel to a fixed facility. Mobile makerspaces are particularly valuable for reaching underserved or…

Multi-Sensory Design(also: Multisensory Experience, Multi-Sensory Accessibility)

Multi-sensory design is an approach to creating experiences, environments, or products that engage multiple senses—touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight—rather than relying predominantly on vision. In accessibility, multi-sensory design is essential for making visual content…

Multimodal Output(also: Multi-Modal Output, Cross-Modal Output)

The simultaneous presentation of information through multiple sensory channels or formats, such as audio, visual, tactile, and text-to-speech, allowing users to choose the modality or combination of modalities that best suits their abilities and preferences. In accessible…

Multimodal workshop materials(also: Multi-sensory workshop materials)

Physical materials designed for workshops or educational settings that convey the same content through multiple sensory channels — such as combining visual (large print, high contrast), tactile (braille, embossed textures, 3D printed objects), and auditory (NFC-triggered audio,…

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…

Multisensory Experience(also: Multi-Sensory Experience, Multisensory Design)

An experience designed to engage multiple senses simultaneously, including touch, hearing, smell, taste, and proprioception, rather than relying primarily on vision. In accessibility contexts, multisensory design is essential for creating inclusive experiences that people with…

Music Accessibility(also: Accessible Music, Musical Accessibility)

The practice of making musical experiences — including listening, performing, composing, and learning — available to people with disabilities. Music accessibility encompasses a wide range of approaches, from sensory substitution technologies that convert sound to vibration or…

Musical Accessibility(also: Music Accessibility)

The design and practice of making music creation, performance, learning, and appreciation available to people with disabilities. Musical accessibility spans multiple research communities including Human-Computer Interaction and New Interfaces for Musical Expression, addressing…

Mutual Support(also: Mutual support in HRI, Mutual assistance)

In accessibility and human-robot interaction research, a framing that moves beyond one-way robot-supports-user or user-supervises-robot models toward a bidirectional relationship in which each party compensates for the other's limitations. For a blind user travelling with an…

Nature Engagement(also: Engagement with Nature)

The active, lived practice of spending time in and interacting with natural environments - walking in parks, gardening, listening to birdsong, touching plants, sitting by water, and similar embodied encounters. Nature engagement extends beyond physical presence to multisensory,…

Negotiated Agency

A dynamic model of creative control in collaborative content creation where individuals with disabilities fluidly shift between the roles of director, collaborator, and editor in response to the task at hand, their personal preferences for privacy and autonomy, and the…

Neuronormative(also: Neuronormativity)

The assumption that neurotypical cognitive patterns — such as sustained linear attention, consistent daily productivity, conventional social communication, and predictable emotional regulation — represent the default or ideal way of functioning. Neuronormative standards are…

Nothing About Us Without Us(also: NAUWU, Nihil de nobis sine nobis)

A foundational principle of the disability rights movement asserting that people with disabilities must be meaningfully involved in decisions, policies, research, and design processes that affect their lives. In technology and AI development, this principle demands that disabled…

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,…

Older Adults(also: Seniors, Elderly, Aging Population)

People typically aged 65 and above who may experience age-related changes in vision, hearing, motor control, and cognition that affect how they interact with technology. Designing for older adults requires attention to larger text sizes, higher contrast, simplified navigation,…

Participant-led research(also: User-led research)

A research methodology in which participants — particularly those from marginalized or underrepresented groups — take an active role in directing the research process, shaping study protocols, and determining what aspects of a system or experience are most important to…

Participatory Action Research(also: PAR, Action Research)

A collaborative research methodology that involves participants as co-researchers in identifying problems, designing solutions, and implementing changes. In accessibility research, PAR ensures people with disabilities actively shape study design, data collection, and analysis…

Participatory Design(also: PD, Co-Design Process)

A design approach originating in Scandinavian workplace democracy that involves end users as active, equal partners in the design process, not merely as research subjects or consultants. In accessibility, participatory design ensures that people with disabilities contribute…

Participatory Design(also: Co-Design, Cooperative Design, PD)

A design methodology that actively involves end users as partners in the design process rather than passive subjects of user testing. In accessibility contexts, participatory design is particularly important because failing to consider user opinions early in design is a major…

Participatory Design(also: PD, Cooperative Design, Scandinavian Design)

A design approach originating in Scandinavian workplace democracy movements that emphasizes the direct involvement of people in the design of technologies and systems that affect them. Participatory design treats users as experts in their own experiences and gives them genuine…

Person-Centred Care(also: Person-Centered Care, Person-Centred Approach)

An approach to care and support that places the individual — their preferences, needs, values, history, and identity — at the centre of all decisions and interactions, rather than focusing primarily on their diagnosis or deficits. Originated in dementia care through the work of…

Person-Centred Planning(also: Person-Centered Planning, PCP)

A combination of approaches designed to empower people with disabilities to make their own choices and decisions about the support they receive. In accessibility contexts, person-centred planning shifts control from service providers to the individual, recognizing that people…

Person-Technology Match(also: PTM, Matching Person and Technology)

A systematic approach to selecting assistive technology by evaluating the fit between a person's specific abilities, needs, preferences, and environment and the features and demands of available technologies. The person-technology match process recognizes that the most…

Persona(also: User Persona, Design Persona)

A fictional but research-based representation of a user group that captures key characteristics, goals, motivations, and needs. In accessibility work, personas are used to represent the diverse experiences and requirements of disabled users, helping design teams maintain empathy…

Persona(also: User Persona, Design Persona)

A fictional character created to represent a type of user who might interact with a product, service, or website. Personas are grounded in research data and typically include details such as name, age, occupation, abilities, goals, frustrations, and technology usage patterns. In…

Persona Design(also: Design Personas, User Personas)

A user-centered design technique in which designers create fictional but grounded profiles of representative users — demographics, goals, context, pain points — to guide design decisions when direct user involvement is limited. In accessibility and HCI co-design workshops,…

Personalization(also: User Personalization, Interface Personalization)

The adaptation of digital content, interfaces, or experiences to individual user preferences, needs, and contexts. In accessibility, personalization is essential because people with the same type of disability may have very different needs and preferences — for example, some…

Personalized Learning(also: Adaptive Learning, Individualized Instruction, Differentiated Instruction)

Personalized learning is an educational approach that tailors content, pace, and delivery method to each learner's individual needs, preferences, and abilities. In accessibility contexts, personalization goes beyond selecting appropriate difficulty levels — it requires creating…

Personalized accessibility(also: Customizable accessibility, Adaptive accessibility)

An approach to accessibility that allows users to configure assistive features according to their individual needs, preferences, and abilities rather than providing a single fixed accommodation. Personalized accessibility recognizes that disabilities — particularly conditions…

Pervasive Accessible Technology(also: PAT)

A strategy for integrating accessibility directly into information technology infrastructure rather than retrofitting it after the fact. Proposed by Michael Paciello in 1996, Pervasive Accessible Technology combines a Standard Human Interface with an Accessible Information…

Player balancing(also: Dynamic difficulty adjustment, Skill balancing)

A game design technique that provides in-game advantages to lower-performing players, reducing performance disparities between competitors of different ability levels. In the context of accessibility, player balancing through skill assistance — such as aim correction in shooting…

Pluggable User Interface(also: Pluggable UI, Alternative User Interface)

A pluggable user interface is an interchangeable interface component that can be swapped in or out of an application without changing the application's core functionality. In the Universal Remote Console (URC) framework, pluggable user interfaces connect to an abstract "user…

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…

Prior Knowledge(also: Background Knowledge, Existing Knowledge)

Information and experience a user brings to a technology interaction before it begins, including technical knowledge of how devices work, functional knowledge of task goals, strategic knowledge of problem-solving approaches, and self-knowledge of personal abilities and…

Privacy by Default(also: Privacy by Design, Default Privacy Settings)

Privacy by default is a design principle requiring that systems automatically protect user privacy without requiring users to take action. In accessibility contexts, this principle is particularly important for older adults and people with cognitive disabilities who may not…

Privacy by Design(also: PbD)

A framework that embeds privacy protections into the design and architecture of systems and business practices from the outset, rather than adding them as afterthoughts. In the context of visual assistance technologies, privacy by design encompasses on-device processing, data…

Problem-Solving Style(also: Problem-Solving Facets, GenderMag Facets)

Problem-solving style refers to the characteristic ways individuals approach technology-mediated problem-solving tasks. In inclusive design, particularly in the GenderMag method, problem-solving style is captured across five facets: Motivations (why someone uses technology),…

Progressive Disability(also: Degenerative Condition, Progressive Condition)

A disability or condition that worsens over time, requiring adaptive strategies and technologies that can evolve with changing abilities. Progressive disabilities such as dementia, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy pose unique design challenges because assistive…