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• "I'm Just Overwhelmed": Investigating Physical Therapy Accessibility and Technology Interventions for People with Disabilities and/or Chronic Conditions

  Momona Yamagami, Kelly Mack, Jennifer Mankoff, Katherine M. Steele · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This interview study examines physical therapy (PT) accessibility for people with disabilities and/or chronic conditions (da/cc), investigating both the barriers they face and opportunities for technology to help. The researchers conducted hour-long semi-structured interviews…

  physical therapy · chronic conditions · healthcare accessibility · telerehabilitation · wearable technology

• The Global Care Ecosystems of 3D Printed Assistive Devices

  Saiph Savage, Gabriela Marcu, Karina Caro, Hilda Chavez, Rosa I. Arriaga · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines the global care ecosystems that have emerged around 3D printed assistive devices, focusing on upper limb prosthetics. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 stakeholders from 10 different care ecosystems spanning seven countries: Brazil,…

  3D printing · assistive technology · prosthetics · maker movement · care ecosystems

• Implementing Ability-Based Design: A Systematic Approach to Conceptual User Modeling

  Amelie Nolte, Jacob Wobbrock, Torben Volkmann, Nicole Jochems · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical gap in Ability-Based Design (ABD): while the concept has been influential in accessibility research for over a decade, it has lacked a systematic methodology for implementation. ABD, introduced by Wobbrock et al., shifts the design question from…

  ability-based design · user modeling · design methodology · requirements analysis · accessible design

• Impact of Online Learning in the Context of COVID-19 on Undergraduates with Disabilities and Mental Health Concerns

  Han Zhang, Margaret Morris, Paula Nurius, Kelly Mack, Jennifer Brown, Kevin Kuehn, Yasaman Sefidgar, Xuhai Xu, Eve Riskin, Anind Dey, Jennifer Mankoff · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This mixed-methods study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic's shift to online learning affected undergraduate students with disabilities and mental health concerns at a large US public university. The researchers compared 28 students with disabilities/mental health concerns to…

  online learning · COVID-19 · mental health · higher education · disability

• Two-In-One: A Design Space for Mapping Unimanual Input into Bimanual Interactions in VR for Users with Limited Movement

  Momona Yamagami, Sasa Junuzovic, Mar Gonzalez-Franco, Eyal Ofek, Edward Cutrell, John R. Porter, Andrew D. Wilson, Martez E. Mott · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a significant accessibility barrier in virtual reality: the requirement to use two motion controllers simultaneously for bimanual interactions. Many VR applications assume users can hold and manipulate two controllers, excluding people who have use of only…

  virtual reality · VR accessibility · motor impairment · input techniques · bimanual interaction

• Author Reflections on Creating Accessible Academic Papers

  Rachel Menzies, Garreth W. Tigwell, Michael Crabb · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This mixed-methods study investigates why academic papers remain inaccessible despite available guidance from SIGACCESS and others. The researchers analyzed 3,866 content elements (tables, charts, images) from 330 ASSETS conference papers spanning 2011-2020, then conducted…

  document accessibility · PDF accessibility · academic publishing · alt text · data visualization

• Beyond the Cane: Describing Urban Scenes to Blind People for Mobility Tasks

  Karin M. P. Hoogsteen, Florian Mathis, Garreth W. Tigwell, Alastair R. Beresford, Mohamed Khamis · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research investigates what environmental information is most useful for blind pedestrians navigating urban spaces, moving beyond obstacle-avoidance to understand comprehensive scene description needs. The authors conducted two experiments with 13 cane-using blind…

  blindness · mobility · orientation and mobility · navigation · scene description

• Ally: Understanding Text Messaging to Build a Better Onscreen Keyboard for Blind People

  Danielle Lottridge, Chris Yoon, Darren Burton, Chester Wang, Jofish Kaye · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research presents Ally, a smartphone onscreen keyboard designed specifically for blind users who need to enter text messages when voice input or external keyboards are unavailable. The authors recognized that blind smartphone users employ heterogeneous input methods—voice…

  blindness · text entry · mobile accessibility · keyboard design · VoiceOver

• A Scoping Review of Assistance and Therapy with Head-Mounted Displays for People Who Are Visually Impaired

  Yifan Li, Kangsoo Kim, Austin Erickson, Nahal Norouzi, Jonathan Jules, Gerd Bruder, Gregory F. Welch · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This scoping review systematically examines how Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) have been used for visual assistance and therapy for people with visual impairments. The authors searched six databases (IEEE, ACM, Springer, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PubMed) and screened 1,251…

  low vision · visual impairment · head-mounted display · virtual reality · augmented reality

• Reading-Assistance Tools Among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Computing Professionals in the U.S.: Their Reading Experiences, Interests and Perceptions of Social Accessibility

  Oliver Alonzo, Lisa Elliot, Becca Dingman, Sooyeon Lee, Akhter Al Amin, Matt Huenerfauth · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research investigates the reading experiences, needs, and interests of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) computing professionals in Automatic Text Simplification (ATS) tools—software that automatically rewrites complex text to make it easier to read. The study addresses a gap…

  deaf · hard of hearing · DHH · automatic text simplification · reading assistance

• Tactile Materials in Practice: Understanding the Experiences of Teachers of the Visually Impaired

  Mahika Phutane, Julie Wright, Brenda Veronica Castro, Lei Shi, Simone R. Stern, Holly M. Lawson, Shiri Azenkot · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research investigates how Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) create, acquire, and use tactile materials—tactile graphics, 3D models, and real objects—in their educational practice. Despite growing research interest in tactile material creation technologies, there has…

  visual impairment · blindness · tactile graphics · 3D models · education

• Understanding How Sensory Changes Experienced by Individuals with a Range of Age-Related Cognitive Changes Can Affect Technology Use

  Emma Dixon, Amanda Lazar · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This qualitative study investigates how sensory changes experienced by people with age-related cognitive changes—including dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD)—affect their technology use. The researchers conducted interviews with 22…

  dementia · cognitive accessibility · mild cognitive impairment · sensory changes · older adults

• A Support Worker Perspective on Use of New Technologies by People with Intellectual Disabilities

  Saminda Sundeepa Balasuriya, Laurianne Sitbon, Margot Brereton · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This qualitative study examines how support workers and managers at Australian disability community day centres perceive and facilitate technology use by people with intellectual disabilities. The researchers interviewed 15 support workers and 5 managers across four centres that…

  intellectual disability · support workers · technology adoption · disability services · co-design

• Comparing Two Safe Distance Maintenance Algorithms for a Gaze-Controlled HRI Involving Users with SSMI

  Vinay Krishna Sharma, L. R. D. Murthy, Pradipta Biswas · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents an eye gaze-controlled augmented reality interface for operating a tabletop robotic arm, designed specifically for people with severe speech and motor impairment (SSMI). Users with SSMI often cannot manipulate physical objects due to spasticity but are…

  eye gaze tracking · robotics · severe motor impairment · human-robot interaction · augmented reality

• "Every Website Is a Puzzle!": Facilitating Access to Common Website Features for People with Visual Impairments

  Natã M. Barbosa, Jordan Hayes, Smirity Kaushik, Yang Wang · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a fundamental challenge for screen reader users: while sighted users can rely on visual conventions to find common website features (log in at top right, contact at bottom), these shortcuts are inaccessible to users with visual impairments who must linearly…

  visual impairment · screen readers · web accessibility · machine learning · crowdsourcing

• Customizable Tabular Access to Web Data Records for Convenient Low-vision Screen Magnifier Interaction

  Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces TableView+, a browser extension designed to address the significant challenges low-vision screen magnifier users face when browsing websites containing web data records—structured listings such as product catalogs, job postings, flight search results, and…

  low vision · screen magnifier · web accessibility · data extraction · browser extension

• Shared Privacy Concerns of the Visually Impaired and Sighted Bystanders with Camera-Based Assistive Technologies

  Taslima Akter, Tousif Ahmed, Apu Kapadia, Manohar Swaminathan · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates the privacy and ethical concerns surrounding camera-based assistive technologies (like smart glasses) from two perspectives: people with visual impairments (PVIs) as technology wearers and sighted people as bystanders who might be observed. The…

  privacy · visual impairment · camera-based assistive technology · AI ethics · algorithmic bias

• Development and Evaluation of a Tool for Assisting Content Creators in Making PDF Files More Accessible

  Debashish Pradhan, Tripti Rajput, Aravind Jembu Rajkumar, Jonathan Lazar, Rajiv Jain, Vlad I. Morariu, Varun Manjunatha · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents the development and evaluation of "Ally," a web-based tool designed to help content creators remediate PDF documents for accessibility. While trillions of PDF documents exist online, only a small fraction include the metadata necessary for assistive…

  PDF accessibility · document remediation · content tagging · reading order · accessible tables

• Inclusive Improvisation: Exploring the Line between Listening and Playing Music

  Alon Ilsar, Gail Kenning, Sam Trolland, Ciaran Frame · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper explores how Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) designed for professional performance can be adapted into Accessible Digital Musical Instruments (ADMIs) with minimal hardware and software changes. The authors present the AirSticks, a gestural instrument originally…

  accessible digital musical instruments · ADMI · gesture recognition · music accessibility · improvisation

• MetaCogs: Mitigating Executive Dysfunction via Agent-based Modeling for Metacognitive Strategy Development

  Rua M. Williams, Kiana Alikhademi, Imani N. S. Munyaka, Juan E. Gilbert · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study presents MetaCogs, a virtual reality experience designed to teach metacognitive strategies for managing executive dysfunction. Rather than targeting autistic or ADHD individuals as populations needing "intervention," the research centers autistic experiences as a…

  executive function · metacognition · autism · ADHD · virtual reality

• Addressing Accessibility Barriers in Programming for People with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

  Aboubakar Mountapmbeme, Obianuju Okafor, Stephanie Ludi · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This systematic literature review analyzes 70 papers published between 2000-2020 examining accessibility barriers in programming for people with visual impairments and proposed solutions. The review covers both professional programmers and students learning to code, spanning…

  visual impairment · blindness · programming · IDE accessibility · screen readers

• AIGuide: Augmented Reality Hand Guidance in a Visual Prosthetic

  Sooyeon Lee, Chien Wen Yuan, So-yeon Yoon, John M. Carroll · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  AIGuide is an iOS smartphone application designed as a "visual prosthetic" to help people with visual impairments locate and physically reach objects in their environment. The app addresses what the authors call the "last meter problem"—while existing object detection apps like…

  augmented reality · visual impairment · object detection · hand guidance · multimodal feedback

• Comic Spin: A Comic Creation Tool Enabling Self-expression for People with Aphasia

  Carla Tamburro, Timothy Neate, Abi Roper, Stephanie Wilson · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  Comic Spin is a tablet application (iOS and Android) designed to enable people with aphasia to create comic strips through a constrained creativity approach. Aphasia, typically caused by stroke, affects language abilities including reading, writing, speaking, and…

  aphasia · creativity support tools · constrained creativity · self-expression · stroke

• Privacy Concerns for Visual Assistance Technologies

  Abigale Stangl, Kristina Shiroma, Nathan Davis, Bo Xie, Kenneth R. Fleischmann, Leah Findlater, Danna Gurari · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This comprehensive study examines privacy concerns of blind users when sharing images and videos with visual assistance technologies (VATs) like Aira, Be My Eyes, and Seeing AI. The research addresses a fundamental tension: blind people must share visual data to receive…

  visual impairment · privacy · visual assistance technology · artificial intelligence · remote sighted assistance

• INC-Hg: An Intelligent Collaborative Haptic-Gripper Virtual Reality System for Children with Autism to Develop Social Skills

  Yao Zhao, Nicole Shay, Jonathan Cofino, Debra Sterling, Erin Paquette, Adriana Debarros, Maria Gillen, Michelle Won, Zhigang Zhu, Cecilia Feeley, Amy Hurst · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents INC-Hg (Intelligent Collaborative Haptic-Gripper), a VR system designed to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) practice collaborative and social communication skills. The system addresses a significant challenge: traditional collaborative VR…

  autism spectrum disorder · virtual reality · collaborative learning · haptic feedback · intelligent agents