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• Bridging the Digital Divide: Enhancing Digital Inclusion of Blind or Partially Sighted and Deaf or Hard of Hearing Individuals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries through Smartphones as Assistive Technology

  Maryam Bandukda, Mary Caroline Yuk, Giulia Barbareschi, Laxmi Gunupudi, Vinicius Ramos, Amit Prakash, Satish Mishra, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This multi-country study evaluates a two-day scaffolded digital skills training intervention designed to improve smartphone proficiency among blind or partially sighted (BPS) and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in Brazil, India, and Kenya. The research recruited 395…

  digital inclusion · digital literacy · LMIC · blind and low vision · deaf and hard of hearing

• Ability Heuristics for Conducting Accessibility Inspections

  Claire L. Mitchell, Junhan Kong, Jesse J. Martinez, Shaun K. Kane, Amy J. Ko, Alexis Hiniker, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Mitchell and colleagues develop and evaluate a set of nine 'ability heuristics' intended to let designers and developers — not just accessibility specialists — inspect interactive technology for accessibility problems. The authors argue that existing approaches have significant…

  heuristic evaluation · ability-based design · accessibility inspection · accessibility evaluation · design methods

• Imagine, Interact: Eliciting Accessible Interactions from Users with Motor Impairments via Imagined Input Devices

  Radu-Daniel Vatavu, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This paper reports an end-user gesture elicitation study with eleven participants with upper-body motor impairments - including spinal cord injury, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's, and traumatic brain injury - who were asked to imagine input devices…

  motor impairment · gesture input · end-user elicitation · imagined devices · ability-based design

• A Personalized and Adaptable User Interface for a Speech and Cursor Brain-Computer Interface

  Hamza Peracha, Carrina Iacobacci, Tyler Singer-Clark, Leigh R Hochberg, Sergey D. Stavisky, David M. Brandman, Nicholas S Card · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This paper reports on the user interface design for an intracortical brain-computer interface (BCI) deployed for everyday at-home use by people with severe paralysis. The work centers on a 22-month longitudinal co-design study with one BrainGate2 trial participant, T15 - a…

  brain-computer interface · AAC · ALS · amyotrophic lateral sclerosis · paralysis

• Challenges in Automatic Speech Recognition for Adults with Cognitive Impairment

  Michelle Cohn, Alyssa Lanzi, Yui Ishihara, Chen-Nee Chuah, Georgia Zellou, Alyssa Weakley · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper quantifies how well state-of-the-art automatic speech recognition (ASR) handles voice commands produced by older adults with cognitive impairment, and asks which acoustic features actually predict transcription accuracy. The authors draw on the Voice…

  automatic speech recognition · ASR · dementia · Alzheimer's disease · mild cognitive impairment

• Modeling Touch Input for Users with Motor Impairments: Empirical Insights into Training Size Requirements

  Radu-Daniel Vatavu, Irina Petrariu, Tudor Horomnea, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  This CHI Extended Abstract addresses a practical question for ability-based design: how many touch observations do you actually need before you can build a user-specific model of someone's touch performance? Most touch modeling work, including Bayesian Touch and the Dual…

  touch input · motor impairment · ability-based design · adaptive interfaces · touchscreen accessibility

• Exploring Shared Augmented Reality for Low-Vision Training of Activities of Daily Living

  Yong-Joon Thoo, Karim Aebischer, Nicolas Ruffieux, Denis Lalanne · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates the feasibility of using co-located shared augmented reality (S-AR) to support low-vision therapist (LVT)-guided training for people with low vision. While virtual reality has shown promise for practicing orientation and mobility skills, it isolates users…

  low vision · augmented reality · vision rehabilitation · activities of daily living · shared AR

• Overcoming Speech Barriers: Non-Verbal Voice Cue Interaction Technique for Enhancing Smart Voice Assistant Accessibility for Individuals with Dysarthria

  Aisha Jaddoh, Fernando Loizides, Khadijah Alreafai, Omer Rana · 2025 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study presents DARIA (DysARthrIA), a novel smart voice assistant interaction system that uses non-verbal voice cues instead of spoken words and sentences. The system addresses a critical accessibility gap: commercial voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home rely on…

  dysarthria · speech impairment · voice assistants · smart speakers · non-verbal interaction

• Characterizing "Motor Ability" for Ability-Based Design

  Claire L. Mitchell, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2024 · ASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper addresses a fundamental gap in ability-based design — a prominent accessibility framework proposed by Wobbrock et al. — by rigorously defining and operationalising the concept of "motor ability" that is central to the approach. Ability-based design shifts the focus…

  ability-based design · motor ability · accessibility framework · human motor control · adaptive interfaces

• Accuracy and Reliability of At-Home Quantification of Motor Impairments Using a Computer-Based Pointing Task with Children with Ataxia-Telangiectasia

  Vineet Pandey, Nergis C. Khan, Anoopum S. Gupta, Krzysztof Z. Gajos · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper validates at-home, unsupervised use of Hevelius, a web-based active digital phenotyping system that quantifies motor impairment in the dominant arm through mouse pointing tasks. The study addresses a critical gap: while prior research showed that crowdsourced…

  motor impairment · digital phenotyping · remote assessment · ataxia · pointing tasks

• WearSkill: Personalized and Interchangeable Input with Wearables for Users with Motor Impairments

  Ovidiu-Andrei Schipor, Laura-Bianca Bilius, Radu-Daniel Vatavu · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces WearSkill, a web-based application designed to provide personalized and interchangeable input for wearable computing, with a specific focus on users with motor impairments. The system addresses a fundamental challenge in wearable accessibility: most…

  wearable technology · motor impairments · personalization · input modalities · gesture input

• Personalized Wearable Interactions with WearSkill

  Ovidiu-Andrei Schipor, Laura-Bianca Bilius, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean, Alexandru-Ionut Siean, Alexandru-Tudor Andrei, Radu-Daniel Vatavu · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents WearSkill, a web-based middleware application that enables people with upper-body motor impairments to control connected smart home devices through personalised wearable interactions. The system addresses a significant gap: most wearable devices…

  wearable technology · motor impairment · personalization · smart home · gesture input

• Quantifying Touch: New Metrics for Characterizing What Happens During a Touch

  Junhan Kong, Mingyuan Zhong, James Fogarty, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper formalizes 15 target-agnostic metrics for characterizing what happens during a touch interaction on a touchscreen, moving beyond the traditional approach of treating touches as simple (x, y) coordinate events. The key insight is that touches are not atomic — they…

  touch input · motor accessibility · human performance · touch metrics · fine motor function

• 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

• Lost in Translation: Challenges and Barriers to Sign Language-Accessible User Research

  Amelie Unger, Dieter P. Wallach, Nicole Jochems · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This experience report describes the challenges hearing researchers face when conducting user research with sign language (SL) users, based on the authors' experience running remote focus groups with German Sign Language (GSL) users as part of the AVASAG project — which is…

  deaf and hard of hearing · sign language · user research · focus groups · language accessibility

• Understanding Barriers and Design Opportunities to Improve Healthcare and QOL for Older Adults through Voice Assistants

  Chen Chen, Janet G. Johnson, Kemeberly Charles, Alice Lee, Ella T. Lifset, Michael Hogarth, Alison A. Moore, Emilia Farcas, Nadir Weibel · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates the barriers older adults face when managing their healthcare and daily routines, and explores how voice-based Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) might address those challenges. The researchers employed a user-centered design approach, conducting…

  voice assistants · older adults · healthcare · intelligent virtual assistants · gerontechnology

• Toward a Competency-based Approach to Co-designing Technologies with People with Intellectual Disability

  Andrew A. Bayor, Margot Brereton, Laurianne Sitbon, Bernd Ploderer, Filip Bircanin, Benoit Favre, Stewart Koplick · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper proposes a Competency-based design approach for co-designing technologies with people with intellectual disability, extending Wobbrock et al.'s influential ability-based design framework. While ability-based design focuses on what users "can do" rather than their…

  intellectual disability · co-design · participatory design · ability-based design · cognitive accessibility

• Perception and Adoption of Mobile Accessibility Features by Older Adults Experiencing Ability Changes

  Rachel L. Franz, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Yi Cheng, Leah Findlater · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents the first empirical study exploring how older adults experiencing progressive ability changes perceive and adopt built-in mobile accessibility features on smartphones and tablets. The researchers conducted interviews with 14 older adults (aged 65-93, mean 77)…

  aging · older adults · mobile accessibility · ability-based design · accessibility features

• HowToApp: Supporting Life Skills Development of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

  Andrew A. Bayor · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This student research abstract describes the co-design and preliminary evaluation of HowToApp, a mobile application that helps young adults with intellectual disability (ID) search for, watch, archive, and share YouTube videos related to their personal skills development…

  intellectual disability · co-design · social media · YouTube · skills development

• Incorporating Social Factors in Accessible Design

  Kristen Shinohara, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Wanda Pratt · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper investigates how professional designers can incorporate social factors into accessible design using Design for Social Accessibility (DSA), a framework developed in prior work by Shinohara and Wobbrock. The core premise is that accessible design has traditionally…

  design methodology · social accessibility · inclusive design · user-centered design · visual impairment

• Simulation of Motor Impairment in Head-Controlled Pointer Fitts' Law Task

  Syed Asad Rizvi, Ella Tuson, Breanna Desrochers, John Magee · 2018 · Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This poster paper proposes simulating motor impairments in a head-controlled mouse pointer system (Camera Mouse) to address the challenge that participants with motor impairments are not always available for accessibility research or software development testing. The Camera…

  motor impairment · simulation · head tracking · alternative input · Fitts' law

• Ability-Based Design: Concept, Principles and Examples

  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Shaun K. Kane, Krzysztof Z. Gajos, Susumu Harada, Jon Froehlich · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This foundational paper introduces ability-based design as a paradigm shift in accessible computing—moving focus from what users cannot do (disability) to what they can do (ability). The authors argue that traditional approaches like assistive technology place the burden of…

  ability-based design · universal design · inclusive design · adaptive interfaces · motor impairment

• Blind People and Mobile Touch-based Text-Entry: Acknowledging the Need for Different Flavors

  João Oliveira, Tiago Guerreiro, Hugo Nicolau, Joaquim Jorge, Daniel Gonçalves · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates how individual differences among blind people affect their performance with different touchscreen text-entry methods. Thirteen blind participants (ages 24-62) were evaluated using four methods on a Samsung Galaxy S: QWERTY (standard VoiceOver-style…

  blindness and low vision · text entry · touchscreen accessibility · mobile accessibility · ability-based design

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