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• Using a Computer Intervention to Support Phonological Awareness Development of Nonspeaking Adults

  Ha Trinh · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This short paper presents a pilot study investigating whether a computer-based intervention delivered on an iPad can help adults with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI) develop phonological awareness — the ability to identify and manipulate the sound structure of…

  phonological awareness · literacy · severe speech and physical impairments · computer-based intervention · iPad

• The PhonicStick: A Joystick to Generate Novel Words Using Phonics

  Rolf Black · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This short paper introduces the PhonicStick, a novel joystick-based device that enables non-speaking children to explore letter sounds (phonics) and blend them into words. The motivation stems from a key limitation of existing Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs): while VOCAs…

  AAC · phonological awareness · literacy · joystick · cerebral palsy

• Humsher: A Predictive Keyboard Operated by Humming

  Ondrej Polacek, Zdenek Mikovec, Adam J. Sporka, Pavel Slavik · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents Humsher, a novel text entry system controlled entirely by humming — short melodic and rhythmic vocal gestures distinguished by pitch (high/low) and duration (short/long). The system targets people with severe upper-limb motor impairments such as quadriplegia…

  text entry · alternative input · assistive technology · motor disability · non-verbal vocal interface

• A Mobile Phone Based Personal Narrative System

  Rolf Black, Annalu Waller, Nava Tintarev, Ehud Reiter, Joseph Reddington · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper describes the development and evaluation of a mobile phone-based data collection system that supports personal narrative for children with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI). Personal narrative — the ability to tell others about one's experiences — is…

  AAC · personal narrative · cerebral palsy · natural language generation · mobile technology

• Kinerehab: A Kinect-based System for Physical Rehabilitation — A Pilot Study for Young Adults with Motor Disabilities

  Jun-Da Huang · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents Kinerehab, a Kinect-based intelligent rehabilitation system designed to assist young adults with motor disabilities in performing physical therapy exercises. Developed in collaboration with physical therapists at the Kaohsiung County Special Education School…

  physical rehabilitation · motor disability · Kinect · motion sensing · cerebral palsy

• ITHACA: An Open Source Framework for Building Component-Based Augmentative and Alternative Communication Applications

  Alexandros Pino, Georgios Kouroupetroglou · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces ITHACA, an open source software framework for developing modular, customizable AAC applications. The authors address a persistent problem in assistive technology: AAC products are typically expensive, monolithic, difficult to customize, and limited in…

  augmentative and alternative communication · AAC · open source · assistive technology · component-based development

• Exploring Visual and Motor Accessibility in Navigating a Virtual World

  Shari Trewin, Mark Laff, Vicki Hanson, Anna Cavender · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper explores accessibility requirements for 3D virtual worlds, using PowerUp—an educational multiplayer game teaching middle schoolers about renewable energy—as a testbed. Virtual worlds present unique accessibility challenges: they rely on visual realism and dynamic…

  virtual reality · game accessibility · visual impairment · cerebral palsy · motor accessibility

• Evaluating the STANDUP Pun Generating Software with Children with Cerebral Palsy

  Annalu Waller, Rolf Black, David A. O'Mara, Helen Pain, Graeme Ritchie, Ruli Manurung · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper evaluates STANDUP (System To Augment Non-speakers' Dialogue Using Puns), software that uses natural language generation to enable children with complex communication needs (CCN) to create and tell novel punning riddles. Unlike traditional AAC systems that rely on…

  AAC · cerebral palsy · children · natural language generation · computational humor

• Sibylle, an assistive communication system adapting to the context and its user

  Tonio Wandmacher, Jean-Yves Antoine, Franck Poirier, Jean-Paul Départe · 2008 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  Sibylle is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system designed for people with severe motor disabilities who cannot use conventional keyboards. The system has been in clinical use at the Kerpape rehabilitation center in Brittany, France since 2001, serving…

  AAC · word prediction · language modeling · user adaptation · n-gram models

• Understanding Pointing Problems in Real World Computing Environments

  Amy Hurst, Jennifer Mankoff, Scott E. Hudson · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This paper develops techniques for collecting and analysing pointing performance data during real-world computer use, rather than solely in laboratory settings, to understand how pointing behaviour varies over time for individuals with motor impairments. Two computers were…

  motor disability · pointing · input methods · assistive technology · cerebral palsy

• Sudoku Access: A Sudoku Game for People with Motor Disabilities

  Stéphane Norte, Fernando G. Lobo · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This paper from the University of Algarve, Portugal presents Sudoku Access, an accessible version of the Sudoku puzzle game designed for people with motor disabilities. The system provides two alternative input methods: switch-based scanning and speech recognition, allowing…

  game accessibility · motor disability · scanning input · speech recognition · switch access

• EasyVoice: Integrating Voice Synthesis with Skype

  Paulo A. Condado, Fernando G. Lobo · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper presents EasyVoice, a system developed at the University of Algarve that integrates text-to-speech synthesis with Skype to enable people with voice disabilities to have real-time phone conversations. The core insight is that while TTS systems and VoIP applications had…

  voice disabilities · text-to-speech · VoIP · augmentative communication · virtual keyboard

• SIBYLLE: a system for alternative communication adapting to the context and its user

  Tonio Wandmacher, Jean-Yves Antoine, Franck Poirier · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  This paper describes the latest version of SIBYLLE, an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system developed at the Université François Rabelais and the Université Européenne de Bretagne for users with severe motor and speech impairments — including cerebrally and…

  augmentative and alternative communication · AAC · word prediction · virtual keyboard · single switch

• WADER: a novel wayfinding system with deviation recovery for individuals with cognitive impairments

  Shih-Kai Tsai · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  This short ASSETS 2007 poster paper from Shih-Kai Tsai at Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan presents WADER (Wayfinding system with DEviation Recovery), a prototype indoor wayfinding system aimed at individuals with cognitive impairments — explicitly named populations…

  wayfinding · indoor navigation · QR code · cognitive accessibility · cognitive disabilities

• A comparison of area pointing and goal crossing for people with and without motor impairments

  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Krzysztof Z. Gajos · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  Wobbrock and Gajos at the University of Washington present a controlled study comparing two fundamentally different target-acquisition paradigms — conventional area pointing (move into a confined region and click) and goal crossing (sweep the cursor across a goal line, no click…

  target acquisition · goal crossing · area pointing · Fitts' law · steering law

• Improvements in Vision-based Pointer Control

  Rick Kjeldsen · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the HeadTracking Pointer (HTP), a vision-based head tracking system developed at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center that uses a standard webcam to allow people with motor disabilities to control a computer pointer through head movements. The system addresses…

  head tracking · pointer control · computer vision · assistive technology · motor disabilities

• Developing Steady Clicks: A Method of Cursor Assistance for People with Motor Impairments

  Shari Trewin, Simeon Keates, Karyn Moffatt · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from IBM Research and the University of British Columbia presents Steady Clicks, a cursor assistance feature designed to reduce clicking errors for mouse users with motor impairments. The system addresses three specific error types identified in prior empirical…

  motor impairment · cursor assistance · mouse input · clicking errors · target acquisition

• Indoor Wayfinding: Developing a Functional Interface for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments

  Alan L. Liu, Harlan Hile, Henry Kautz, Gaetano Borriello, Pat A. Brown, Mark Harniss, Kurt Johnson · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of Washington describes the design and user evaluation of an indoor wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments, including traumatic brain injury, Down syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, and cerebral palsy. Rather than…

  cognitive impairment · wayfinding · indoor navigation · wizard of oz · multimodal interface

• Mouse Movements of Motion-Impaired Users: A Submovement Analysis

  Faustina Hwang, Simeon Keates, Patrick Langdon, John Clarkson · 2003 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '04)

  This paper presents a detailed submovement analysis of mouse cursor trajectories from six motion-impaired users (four with cerebral palsy of varying types — athetoid, athetoid with spasm, and general — and one with Friedrich's ataxia and tremor) and three able-bodied controls…

  motor disability · cursor control · pointing device · target acquisition · cerebral palsy

• visiBabble for Reinforcement of Early Vocalization

  Harriet Fell, Cynthia Cress, Joel MacAuslan, Linda Ferrier · 2003 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '04)

  This paper presents visiBabble, a real-time system that detects syllable-like vocalizations in infant babbling and responds with brightly coloured animations as visual reinforcement. The system targets infants at risk for speech impairments due to conditions such as cerebral…

  early intervention · speech and language · child development · acoustic analysis · developmental disabilities

• An Invisible Keyguard

  Shari Trewin · 2002 · Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '02)

  This paper from IBM T.J. Watson Research Center presents OverlapKeys, a software-based alternative to physical keyguards that filters overlap typing errors — instances where two keys are pressed simultaneously when only one was intended. Overlap errors are common among keyboard…

  keyboard accessibility · motor disability · typing errors · input filtering · assistive technology

• Cursor Measures for Motion-Impaired Computer Users

  Simeon Keates, Faustina Hwang, Patrick Langdon, P. John Clarkson, Peter Robinson · 2002 · Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '02)

  This paper systematically analyses cursor movement patterns of motion-impaired computer users to understand the specific difficulties they face with point-and-click interactions in graphical user interfaces. The authors argue that existing cursor measures, primarily developed by…

  motor disability · pointing device · cursor control · target acquisition · force feedback

• Evaluation of Scanning User Interfaces Using Real-Time-Data Usage Logs

  Peter O'Neill, Chris Roast, Mark Hawley · 2000 · Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from Sheffield Hallam University and Barnsley District General Hospital presents a novel approach to evaluating electronic assistive technology (EAT) for people with severe disabilities through automated analysis of real-time usage logs. The research focuses on the…

  switch access · scanning interface · assistive technology · cerebral palsy · usage analytics

• Investigating the Applicability of User Models for Motion-Impaired Users

  Simeon Keates, John Clarkson, Peter Robinson · 2000 · Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from the University of Cambridge investigates whether the Model Human Processor (MHP) — a foundational user model from Card, Moran, and Newell's "The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction" — accurately describes how motion-impaired users interact with computers.…

  motor impairment · user modeling · universal access · human-computer interaction · cerebral palsy

• A Storytelling Robot for Pediatric Rehabilitation

  Catherine Plaisant, Allison Druin, Corinna Lathan, Kapil Dakhane, Kris Edwards, Jack Maxwell Vice, Jaime Montemayor · 2000 · Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory and AnthroTronix describes PETS (Personal Electronic Teller of Stories), a storytelling robot designed for pediatric rehabilitation. Children control a large furry robot using body-worn sensors…

  assistive robotics · pediatric rehabilitation · therapeutic play · participatory design · cerebral palsy