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• Adaptive and Storytelling Practices of Panamanian Autism Families: Towards Culturally-Situated Digital Storytelling

  Elizabeth del Carmen Castillo, Debbie Alvarado Latino, Cecilia Aracelly Fonseca Sánchez, Annuska Zolyomi · 2026 · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (GROUP)

  This PACM HCI (GROUP) paper presents a formative, culturally-situated design study with eight Panamanian mothers of autistic individuals (ages 3–27) to understand the resource barriers autism families face in Panamá and the role storytelling plays in their daily lives. The…

  autism · neurodiversity · culture · Global South · storytelling

• The ORBIT India Dataset: Understanding the Challenges of Collecting a Disability-First AI Dataset in Low-Resource Environments

  Gesu India, Martin Grayson, Cecily Morrison, Daniela Massiceti, Simon Robinson, Jennifer Pearson, Matt Jones · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This paper introduces ORBIT-India, the first teachable object recognition dataset contributed entirely by people who are blind or have low vision in India. It extends the UK/Canada-collected ORBIT dataset (Massiceti et al., 2021) to the Indian context — home of the world's…

  AI · accessibility · datasets · teachable object recognition · vision impairment

• Exploring AI Opportunities in Deaf Education: Understanding Design Needs Through Teacher and Parent Perspectives in Bangladesh

  Md. Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan, Nadim Mahmud Dipu, Tanvir Rahman, Oindri Aurunima Sarker, Shidhartha Chakrabarty Turzo, Jannatun Noor · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 qualitative study investigates how AI-powered educational tools should be designed for Deaf learners in Bangladesh — a low-resource context where Bangla Sign Language (BdSL) is still evolving, datasets are small, and infrastructure (internet, electricity, devices)…

  deaf education · sign language · Bangla Sign Language · BdSL · artificial intelligence

• Keeping Community-in-the-Loop: A Novel Methodology for UX Research

  M C, Clara Caldeira, Talita Pagani, Vinita Tibdewal · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  This CHI 2026 Extended Abstracts poster from a Google research team introduces Community-in-the-Loop (CoLoop), a research and design methodology aimed at correcting the shortcomings of transactional, short-term UX research when working with people with disabilities (PwD) in the…

  UX research · participatory design · co-design · community-based participatory research · disability rights

• Accessibility Research Across Borders: Collaboration and Community Building in Accessibility and ICTD Research

  Tamanna Motahar, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Sara Moin, Vikram Kamath Cannanure, Maitraye Das, Giulia Barbareschi, Laura Sanely Gaytán-Lugo, Aditya Vashistha, Kurtis Heimerl, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Neha Kumar, Nova Ahmed, Maya Cakmak · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This workshop paper proposes and describes an ASSETS 2025 workshop exploring collaboration and community building at the intersection of accessibility research and Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD). The organizers — a diverse, international…

  global south · ICTD · community building · collaboration · affordable assistive technology

• Toward a Multi-layer Framework to Assess the Quality of Life Impact of Smartphones as Assistive Technology for People with Sensory Disabilities in Kenya

  Maryam Bandukda, Lan Xiao, Giulia Barbareschi, Philip Oyier, Henry Athiany, Raul Szekely, Wallace M Karuguti, Mwangi J Matheri MJM, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents the first longitudinal mixed-methods study investigating the impact of smartphones as assistive technology on the quality of life (QoL) of blind or partially sighted (BPS) and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in Kenya. The study involved 193…

  smartphones · assistive technology · Global South · Kenya · blindness and visual impairment

• Exploring the Usability of Gaze-based Mobile Communication in Ghana

  Victoria Austin, Gifty Ayoka, Giulia Barbareschi, Richard Cave, Catherine Holloway · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This study evaluates the usability of Look to Speak, a free Android-based eye-gaze AAC application developed by Google Creative Lab, for people with severe communication disabilities in Ghana. The research involved training 10 local speech and language therapists (SLTs) and…

  augmentative communication · AAC · eye gaze · Global South · Ghana

• Generative AI for Teachers with Vision Impairments in the Global South: A Bridge Too Far?

  Manohar Swaminathan, Tarini Naik · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This mixed-methods study examines the readiness and capacity of teachers with vision impairments (TVIs) in India to leverage generative AI technologies in their teaching practice. The research combines in-depth interviews with 15 TVIs from 10 schools in Karnataka and a…

  generative AI · vision impairment · education · Global South · India

• Understanding the Video Content Creation Journey of Creators with Sensory Impairment in Kenya

  Lan Xiao, Maryam Bandukda, Franklin Mingzhe Li, Mark Colley, Catherine Holloway · 2025 · Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)

  This paper presents the first in-depth qualitative study of video content creation by people with visual and hearing impairments in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) context, specifically Kenya. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 video creators in…

  video content creation · sensory impairment · visual impairment · deaf and hard of hearing · low- and middle-income countries

• Help and The Social Construction of Access: A Case-Study from India

  Vaishnav Kameswaran, Jerry Robinson, Nithya Sambasivan, Gaurav Aggarwal, Meredith Ringel Morris · 2024 · ASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper examines the role of help in how people with visual impairments (PVI) navigate indoor environments in India, challenging the Western-centric assumption that independence should be the primary goal of assistive technology design. Through a mixed-methods qualitative…

  visual impairment · indoor navigation · Global South · India · social accessibility

• Breaking the News Barrier: Towards Understanding News Consumption Practices among BVI Individuals in India

  Peya Mowar, Meghna Gupta, Mohit Jain · 2024 · ASSETS 2024: 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This study examines digital news consumption practices among blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals in India, a country home to approximately 4.95 million blind and 35 million visually impaired people. Through semi-structured interviews and contextual inquiry with 17…

  blindness · visual impairment · news consumption · screen readers · information access

• Scaffolding Digital Literacy Through Digital Skills Training for Disabled People in the Global South

  Laxmi Gunupudi, Maryam Bandukda, Giulia Barbareschi, Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, Aanchal Singh, Satish Mishra, Amit Prakash, Catherine Holloway · 2024 · ASSETS 2024: 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a digital skills training intervention for 138 blind and partially sighted (BPS) and deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) people across India and Kenya, grounded in Vygotsky's Scaffolding Theory. The study addresses the digital divide facing disabled people in…

  digital literacy · digital skills · scaffolding · visual impairment · hearing impairment

• From Information Seeking to Empowerment: Using Large Language Model Chatbot in Supporting Wheelchair Life in Low Resource Settings

  Wen Mo, Aneesha Singh, Catherine Holloway · 2024 · Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper explores the deployment of Wheelpedia, a WhatsApp chatbot powered by GPT-4, as a design probe to support wheelchair users and professionals in Nigeria and Kenya over a two-month period. The WHO estimates that approximately 80 million people globally require a…

  wheelchair · assistive technology · chatbot · large language model · low and middle-income countries

• Challenges and Considerations for Accessibility Research Across Cultures and Regions

  Laleh Nourian, Yulia Goldenberg, Muhammad Adamu, Vikram Kamath Cannanure, Catherine Holloway, Neha Kumar, Katharina Reinecke, Garreth W. Tigwell · 2024 · Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024)

  This workshop proposal addresses a critical blind spot in accessibility research: its overwhelming bias toward Western, Global North perspectives. Drawing on postcolonial and decolonial computing frameworks, the authors argue that despite the rapid expansion of accessibility…

  cross-cultural accessibility · Global South · postcolonial computing · decolonial computing · HCI4D

• What difference does tech make? Conceptualizations of Disability and Assistive Technology among Kenyan Youth

  Giulia Barbareschi, Norah Shitawa Kopi, Ben Oldfrey, Catherine Holloway · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This paper examines how young Kenyans without disabilities conceptualize both disability and assistive technology (AT), addressing a significant gap in accessibility research that has predominantly focused on Global North perspectives. While over 80% of people with disabilities…

  disability stigma · assistive technology · Global South · Kenya · youth attitudes

• Enhancing Internet Search Abilities for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Sri Lanka

  Theja K. Arachchi, Laurianne Sitbon, Jinglan Zhang, Ruwan Gamage, Priyantha Hewagamage · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines how young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Sri Lanka, who had never previously used the Internet, learned to perform web searches using Google in their native Sinhala language. Ten participants aged 18-30 from two special schools participated in…

  intellectual disabilities · web search · digital literacy · eLearning · cognitive accessibility

• Bridging the Divide: Exploring the use of digital and physical technology to aid mobility impaired people living in an informal settlement

  Giulia Barbareschi, Ben Oldfrey, Long Xin, Grace Nyachomba Magomere, Wycliffe Ambeyi Wetende, Carol Wanjira, Joyce Olenja, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This qualitative study examines how people with mobility impairments living in Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, use both traditional assistive technology (wheelchairs and tricycles) and digital technology (mobile phones) in their daily lives.…

  mobility impairment · assistive technology · wheelchairs · mobile phones · informal settlements

• Value beyond function: analyzing the perception of wheelchair innovations in Kenya

  Giulia Barbareschi, Sibylle Daymond, Jake Honeywill, Aneesha Singh, Dominic Noble, Nancy N. Mbugua, Ian Harris, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This study evaluates a novel wheelchair service provision model called InnovATe, developed by Motivation UK, that uses Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing to manufacture bespoke wheelchairs in Kenya. Over five months at the Bethany Kids rehabilitation centre in Joytown,…

  wheelchairs · assistive technology · 3D printing · emotional design · service delivery

• Disability design and innovation in computing research in low resource settings

  Dafne Zuleima Morgado-Ramirez, Giulia Barbareschi, Maggie Kate Donovan-Hall, Mohammad Sobuh, Nida' Elayyan, Brenda T Nakandi, Robert Tamale Ssekitoleko, Joyce Olenja, Grace Nyachomba Magomere, Sibylle Daymond, Jake Honeywill, Ian Harris, Nancy Mbugua, Laurence Kenney, Catherine Holloway · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This experience report from a large international team spanning UCL, University of Southampton, University of Jordan, Makerere University (Uganda), University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Salford, and the Global Disability Innovation Hub presents reflections from four…

  disability innovation · ICT4D · low resource settings · Disability Interaction · inclusive design

• Towards Devising a Low-cost and Easy-to-use Arithmetic Learning Framework for Economically Less-privileged Visually Impaired Children

  Tusher Chakraborty, Taslim Arefin Khan, A. B. M. Alim Al Islam · 2018 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical gap in assistive technology: the lack of affordable, easy-to-use tools for teaching arithmetic to visually impaired children in low-income countries. While assistive calculators and digital tools exist, they are prohibitively expensive for the 90%…

  visual impairment · blindness · mathematics education · low-resource settings · Braille

• Social Media Platforms for Low-Income Blind People in India

  Aditya Vashistha, Edward Cutrell, Nicola Dell, Richard Anderson · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This groundbreaking study provides the first analysis of social media use and non-use by low-income blind people in rural and peri-urban India—a population largely absent from accessibility research despite India having the world's largest blind population (63+ million). The…

  blindness · social media · low-income · India · Global South

21 results.