Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
47 results found in accessibility principles.
- AI Verification (Accessible AI Verification, AI Output Verification)
- The process of checking and confirming the accuracy of AI-generated output, particularly by end users who may not have visual access to the original content. For blind users, AI verification is challe…
- Access to Information (Information Access)
- In the context of web accessibility, the concept that certain accessibility criteria are fundamentally about whether users can reach and perceive content at all, as distinct from criteria that improve…
- Accessibility (A11y)
- The design of products, devices, services, environments, and systems so that they can be used by people with the widest range of abilities, including those with disabilities. In digital contexts, acce…
- Accessibility Chain (Accessibility Chain of Custody, Chain of Accessibility)
- The concept that accessibility must be maintained throughout every link in a sequence of interactions, documents, or systems that a user must navigate to complete a task. If any single link in the cha…
- Accessibility First (Shift Left Accessibility, Built-In Accessibility)
- A design and pedagogical philosophy that treats accessibility as a foundational requirement from the very beginning of a project or course of study, rather than addressing it as an advanced topic or r…
- Accessibility Retrofitting (Retrofitting, Accessibility Remediation)
- The process of modifying existing products, websites, buildings, or systems after the fact to make them accessible to people with disabilities. Retrofitting is typically more expensive, time-consuming…
- Accessibility Workaround (A11y Workaround, Assistive Workaround)
- An alternative method, process, or tool that people with disabilities develop or adopt to accomplish tasks that are blocked by inaccessible design. Workarounds represent the hidden labor that disabled…
- Age-Related Capability Decline (Age-Related Impairment, Dynamic Diversity)
- The gradual reduction in sensory, motor, and cognitive capabilities that typically accompanies ageing, including declining visual acuity, hearing loss, reduced dexterity and fine motor control, and ch…
- Age-Related Functional Limitations (Ageing-Related Accessibility Needs, Age-Related Impairments)
- The gradual changes in sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities that commonly occur with ageing, including declining vision, hearing loss, reduced dexterity and fine motor control, and changes in memor…
- Bespoke Accessibility (Personalised Accessibility, Individualized Access)
- An approach to accessibility that recognises each person's access needs are unique and may conflict with those of others, requiring individually tailored rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. Bespo…
- Blind Epistemology
- Ways of knowing and understanding the world as a blind person, which are fluid, relational, and shaped by touch, sound, memory, spatial familiarity, and social interaction rather than visual perceptio…
- Born Accessible (Born-Accessible, Accessibility-First)
- An approach to content creation where accessibility is designed in from the beginning rather than retrofitted afterward. Born accessible content is created with accessibility requirements as core spec…
- Community-Centered Design (Community-Based Design)
- A design approach that centers the expertise, needs, and perspectives of specific communities throughout the technology development process, rather than designing for communities from the outside. In …
- Contrast Sensitivity
- The ability to distinguish between objects and their background based on differences in luminance or color. Contrast sensitivity is distinct from visual acuity and can be reduced even when acuity is r…
- Curb Cut Effect (Curb Cut Phenomenon, Electronic Curb Cut)
- The phenomenon whereby accessibility features designed for people with disabilities end up benefiting a much broader population. Named after sidewalk curb cuts — ramps originally mandated for wheelcha…
- Curb-Cut Effect (Electronic Curb Cut)
- The phenomenon whereby features designed for people with disabilities end up benefiting a much broader population. Named after pavement curb cuts originally mandated for wheelchair users, which also h…
- Customizability (Customization, Personalization)
- The ability for users to modify and configure a system's interface, interaction methods, and behavior to match their individual needs and preferences. In accessibility contexts, customizability is a c…
- Data Feminism
- A framework developed by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein that applies intersectional feminist thought to the practice of working with data, offering seven principles including examining power, ch…
- Digital Equity (Digital Equality)
- The condition in which all individuals and communities have equal access to, use of, and ability to benefit from digital technologies, regardless of disability, socioeconomic status, geographic locati…
- Disability
- A complex, multidimensional concept encompassing physical, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial differences that interact with societal barriers to limit full participation. The social model of disabi…