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• AMI: An Adaptable Music Interface to Support the Varying Needs of People with Dementia

  P. Frazer Seymour, Justin Matejka, Geoff Foulds, Ihor Petelycky, Fraser Anderson · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents AMI (Adaptable Music Interface), a tangible, modular music player designed to be reconfigured by caregivers to match the changing needs and preferences of individuals with dementia. Over 46 million people worldwide live with dementia, a progressive syndrome…

  dementia · tangible interaction · music accessibility · personalization · aging

• Good Background Colors for Readers: A Study of People with and without Dyslexia

  Luz Rello, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents the first large-scale user study measuring the effect of background colors on screen readability for people with and without dyslexia, providing empirical evidence for the widely recommended but previously unvalidated practice of using colored backgrounds to…

  dyslexia · readability · color contrast · reading accessibility · visual design

• Design and Psychometric Evaluation of an American Sign Language Translation of the System Usability Scale

  Matt Huenerfauth, Kasmira Patel, Larwan Berke · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper addresses a significant gap in accessibility research methodology: the lack of standardized usability questionnaires available in American Sign Language (ASL) for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) participants. The System Usability Scale (SUS) is one of the most widely…

  sign language · deaf accessibility · usability testing · survey translation · psychometrics

• Introducing People with ASD to Crowd Work

  Kotaro Hara, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores whether crowdsourcing platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) can provide viable employment opportunities for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With an estimated 50-75% unemployment rate among adults with ASD in the U.S., the authors investigate…

  autism spectrum disorder · crowdsourcing · employment · micro-tasks · assistive technology

• CymaSense: A Novel Audio-Visual Therapeutic Tool for People on the Autism Spectrum

  John McGowan, Grégory Leplâtre, Iain McGregor · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents CymaSense, an interactive multimodal tool that generates real-time 3D visual representations of sound based on Cymatics — the study of visible patterns created by sound vibrations in physical media like water or metal plates. The system was designed to…

  autism spectrum disorder · music therapy · assistive technology · multimodal interaction · sensory processing

• The Effects of "Not Knowing What You Don't Know" on Web Accessibility for Blind Web Users

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Irene Lin, Saiph Savage · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper introduces and empirically investigates the concept of "Not Knowing What You Don't Know" (NKWYDK) in the context of blind web users. When a blind person encounters difficulty finding information on a web page, they face a fundamental uncertainty that sighted users…

  web accessibility · screen readers · blindness · usability · information foraging

• Using Participatory Design with Proxies with Children with Limited Communication

  Foad Hamidi, Melanie Baljko, Isabel Gómez · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the use of Participatory Design with Proxies (PDwP) as a methodology for including children with severe communication limitations in the design of digital technologies. PDwP is a variation of participatory design where people familiar with the target users —…

  participatory design · children with disabilities · communication accessibility · augmentative and alternative communication · design methodology

• Speed-Dial: A Surrogate Mouse for Non-Visual Web Browsing

  Syed Masum Billah, Vikas Ashok, Donald E. Porter, IV Ramakrishnan · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents Speed-Dial, a system that uses an off-the-shelf Microsoft Surface Dial as a surrogate mouse for non-visual web browsing. The core problem it addresses is the fundamental mismatch between how sighted and blind users interact with the web: sighted users can…

  screen readers · web accessibility · blindness · haptic technology · input devices

• VocalIDE: An IDE for Programming via Speech Recognition

  Lucas Rosenblatt · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This student research paper addresses the underrepresentation of people with upper-limb physical impairments in the developer community — while 6.7% of Americans have upper-limb impairments, less than 4% of developers report any physical disability. The author argues that…

  speech recognition · motor disability · programming accessibility · voice interface · upper-limb impairment

• FluxMarker: Enhancing Tactile Graphics with Dynamic Tactile Markers

  Ryo Suzuki, Abigale Stangl, Mark D. Gross, Tom Yeh · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents FluxMarker, an inexpensive and scalable system that adds dynamic, movable tactile markers on top of static raised-line tactile graphics. Traditional embossed tactile graphics are static and cannot represent changing data, while existing refreshable braille…

  tactile graphics · visual impairment · blindness · data physicalization · haptic technology

• WeLi: A Smartwatch Application to Assist Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

  Hui Zheng, Vivian Genaro Motti · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster paper presents WeLi (Wearable Life), a smartwatch application designed to assist students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in post-secondary educational environments. The system was developed for and deployed at Mason Life, a programme at…

  wearable technology · intellectual disability · developmental disability · special education · self-regulation

• Tangibles + Programming + Audio Stories = Fun

  Varsha Koushik, Shaun K. Kane · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster introduces Story Blocks, a tangible programming toolkit designed to make block-based programming accessible to blind and visually impaired users. Block-based programming languages like Scratch and Blockly are popular tools for teaching children to code, but they…

  programming education · blindness · visual impairment · tangible interaction · children

• Understanding Fatigue and Stamina Management Opportunities and Challenges in Wheelchair Basketball

  Patrick Carrington, Denzel Ketter, Amy Hurst · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper investigates the current use and future potential of wearable fitness technologies for stamina and fatigue management in wheelchair basketball — a team sport originally created for paraplegic athletes that now includes people with a range of physical abilities. The…

  adaptive sports · wearable technology · wheelchair · fitness tracking · physical disability

• Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Perspectives on Imperfect Automatic Speech Recognition for Captioning One-on-One Meetings

  Larwan Berke, Christopher Caulfield, Matt Huenerfauth · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper investigates whether and how to display word-level confidence information from Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems in real-time captions for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) users during one-on-one meetings with hearing people. ASR engines assign confidence…

  deaf accessibility · automatic speech recognition · captioning · communication · user research

• Development and Theoretical Evaluation of Optimized Phonemic Interfaces

  Gabriel J. Cler, Cara E. Stepp · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents the development and computational evaluation of optimized phonemic communication interfaces for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users. Unlike traditional letter-based (orthographic) interfaces like QWERTY keyboards, phonemic interfaces allow…

  augmentative and alternative communication · motor disability · input methods · interface design · speech synthesis

• NavCog3: An Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Blind Indoor Navigation Assistant with Semantic Features in a Large-Scale Environment

  Daisuke Sato, Uran Oh, Kakuya Naito, Hironobu Takagi, Kris Kitani, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents NavCog3, a smartphone-based indoor navigation assistant for people with visual impairments, evaluated at scale in a 21,000 m² shopping mall in Japan. Unlike many prior indoor navigation prototypes that were tested only in constrained lab environments, NavCog3…

  indoor navigation · blindness · visual impairment · wayfinding · Bluetooth beacons

• Opinions and Preferences of Blind and Low Vision Consumers Regarding Self-Driving Vehicles: Results of Focus Group Discussions

  Julian Brinkley, Brianna Posadas, Julia Woodward, Juan E. Gilbert · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the opinions, concerns, and preferences of 38 blind and low vision participants regarding self-driving vehicle technology through eight focus group sessions conducted over two days in north central Florida. Participants had a mean age of 51.5 (range 18-90),…

  blindness · low vision · autonomous vehicles · accessible transportation · mobility

• Imagining Artificial Intelligence Applications with People with Visual Disabilities using Tactile Ideation

  Cecily Morrison, Edward Cutrell, Anupama Dhareshwar, Kevin Doherty, Anja Thieme, Alex Taylor · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents a novel tactile ideation methodology for working with people with visual disabilities to imagine future AI applications, and reports on cross-cultural workshops conducted in the UK (6 participants) and India (8 participants). Rather than asking users about…

  artificial intelligence · blindness · visual impairment · participatory design · design methodology

• Evaluating an iPad Game to Address Overselectivity in Preliterate AAC Users with Minimal Verbal Behavior

  LouAnne E. Boyd, Kathryn E. Ringland, Heather Faucett, Alexis Hiniker, Kimberley Klein, Kanika Patel, Gillian R. Hayes · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper evaluates Go Go Games, an iPad-based therapeutic game suite designed to teach Multiple Cue Responding (MCR) to preliterate, minimally verbal children who exhibit overselectivity — a learning challenge where individuals attend to only one or a few features of a…

  augmentative and alternative communication · autism spectrum disorder · children · cognitive accessibility · game accessibility

• Investigating Microinteractions for People with Visual Impairments and the Potential Role of On-Body Interaction

  Uran Oh, Lee Stearns, Alisha Pradhan, Jon E. Froehlich, Leah Findlater · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper investigates how well microinteractions — brief, high-frequency mobile tasks that take sighted users only a few seconds to complete — are currently supported for people who are blind or visually impaired (VI). While modern smartphones are reasonably accessible through…

  microinteraction · on-body interaction · visual impairment · wearable technology · mobile accessibility

• "But, I Don't Want/Need a Power Wheelchair": Toward Accessible Power Assistance for Manual Wheelchairs

  Dafne Zuleima Morgado Ramirez, Catherine Holloway · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the needs, expectations, and experiences of manual wheelchair users regarding power assist devices — motorized attachments that augment a manual wheelchair's propulsion without converting it into a full power wheelchair. Manual wheelchair users face…

  wheelchair accessibility · assistive technology · participatory design · physical disability · spinal cord injury

• BrailleSketch: A Gesture-based Text Input Method for People with Visual Impairments

  Mingzhe Li, Mingming Fan, Khai N. Truong · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents BrailleSketch, a gesture-based text input method for touchscreen smartphones designed for people with visual impairments who already know the Braille alphabet. Rather than requiring users to tap specific screen locations or use multi-finger chording (as with…

  text entry · braille · gesture interaction · visual impairment · mobile accessibility

• Skin Conductance as an In Situ Marker for Emotional Arousal in Children with Neurodevelopmental Communication Impairments: Methodological Considerations and Clinical Implications

  Mariana Aparicio Betancourt, Laura S. Dethorne, Karrie Karahalios, Jennifer G. Kim · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper explores the use of wearable biosensors to measure electrodermal activity (EDA) — specifically skin conductance — as a proxy for emotional arousal in children with neurodevelopmental communication impairments. While EDA has been used in psychological research for over…

  electrodermal activity · wearable sensors · emotional arousal · autism · neurodevelopmental disorders

• Experiencing EVA Park, a Multi-User Virtual World for People with Aphasia

  Julia Galliers, Stephanie Wilson, Jane Marshall, Richard Talbot, Niamh Devane, Tracey Booth, Celia Woolf, Helen Greenwood · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines the user experience of EVA Park, a multi-user virtual world designed specifically for people with aphasia (PWA) to practice conversations. Aphasia, a communication disorder most commonly caused by stroke (occurring in 45% of stroke survivors), affects…

  aphasia · virtual worlds · stroke rehabilitation · speech-language therapy · social interaction

• "Hands On" Visual Recognition for Visually Impaired Users

  Joan Sosa-García, Francesca Odone · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a collaborative visual recognition system designed to help blind or visually impaired (BVI) users identify specific product instances — distinguishing between brands, models, or types of objects that feel similar when handled. While BVI individuals can often…

  visual impairment · object recognition · computer vision · assistive technology · wearable technology