Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- Speaker-dependent speech recognition (User-adapted ASR, Personalized speech recognition)
- A speech recognition approach that trains or adapts its acoustic models to a specific individual's voice characteristics, rather than relying solely on general population models. For people with cogni…
- Speech Generating Device (SGD, Voice Output Communication Aid, VOCA)
- An electronic device used in augmentative and alternative communication that produces speech output, either through pre-recorded messages or text-to-speech synthesis. Speech generating devices range f…
- Speech Recognition (Voice Recognition, STT, Speech-to-Text)
- Technology that converts spoken language into text or commands by analyzing audio input. Speech recognition powers dictation systems, voice assistants, and voice-controlled interfaces. For accessibili…
- Speech Rule Engine (SRE)
- An open-source JavaScript library that generates speech and Braille output for mathematical expressions given in presentation MathML. The Speech Rule Engine performs semantic interpretation of mathema…
- Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP, Speech Therapist, Speech-Language Therapist)
- A healthcare professional who assesses, diagnoses, and treats communication and swallowing disorders across the lifespan. In the context of accessibility, SLPs play a central role in AAC intervention …
- Speech-to-Text (STT, Speech Recognition, Automatic Speech Recognition, ASR)
- Technology that converts spoken language into written text, enabling voice-based input for digital systems. In accessibility, speech-to-text serves multiple roles: it powers voice command interfaces f…
- Spell Checker (Spellchecker, Spelling Checker)
- Software that identifies and suggests corrections for misspelled words in text. Standard spell checkers often fail to catch errors made by people with dyslexia because dyslexic spelling errors differ …
- Split-Tap Gesture (Split Tap)
- A two-finger touchscreen gesture where one finger holds position on an object while a second finger taps elsewhere on the screen to activate or select it. Originally developed for the Slide Rule scree…
- Spoken Dialog System (SDS, Voice Dialog System, Conversational AI)
- A computer system that uses speech as both input and output to conduct goal-oriented conversations with users. Unlike simple voice command systems, spoken dialog systems can handle multi-turn exchange…
- Stenotype (Stenography, Shorthand Typing, Machine Shorthand, Chording)
- A specialised text-entry method that uses a keyboard with fewer keys than a standard QWERTY layout, where multiple keys are pressed simultaneously (chording) to represent phonetic sounds, syllables, o…
- Stepwise pointing (Recursive target acquisition, Tile-based pointing)
- A mouse emulation technique in which the screen is divided into a grid of tiles, the user selects a tile to zoom into it, the tile subdivides into smaller subtiles, and this process repeats until the …
- Sticky Keys (Sequential Key Entry)
- An operating system accessibility feature that allows users to press modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Command) sequentially rather than simultaneously, making keyboard shortcuts accessible to people w…
- Stylus (Digital Pen, Active Pen)
- A pen-shaped input device used to interact with touchscreens, tablets, and other digitizer surfaces. Unlike finger touch, styluses provide a smaller contact point for precise selection, and active sty…
- Surround sound (Multichannel audio, 5.1 audio, 7.1 audio)
- An audio reproduction technique that uses multiple speaker channels arranged around the listener to create an enveloping sound field. Common configurations include 5.1 (five speakers plus a subwoofer)…
- Swell Form (Capsule Paper, Microcapsule Paper, Swell Touch Paper, Minolta Paper)
- A tactile graphics production method using special heat-sensitive paper coated with microcapsules. When black ink is printed on the paper and passed through a heating machine, the dark areas absorb he…
- Swell Paper (Capsule Paper, Microcapsule Paper, PIAF Paper)
- A special paper coated with heat-sensitive microcapsules that swell when exposed to heat, creating raised tactile surfaces from printed black areas. When passed through a heating device (such as a PIA…
- Symbolic Communication (Symbol-Based Communication)
- Communication that uses symbols — including spoken words, written text, manual signs, pictures, or graphic icons — to represent meanings, objects, actions, or concepts. Developing symbolic communicati…
- Symptom Tracking (Symptom Monitoring, Symptom Logging)
- The systematic recording of mental health symptoms, behaviors, triggers, and associated contexts over time to build self-awareness, identify patterns, and measure treatment progress. For OCD, symptom …
- Synthetic Voice (Artificial Voice, Computer-Generated Voice, TTS Voice)
- A digitally generated voice produced by text-to-speech technology, used by individuals with speech impairments as an alternative means of verbal communication. People who rely on synthetic voices for …
- TTY (TDD, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, Text Telephone, Teletypewriter, Teletype)
- A text-based telecommunications device that enables people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities to communicate over telephone lines by typing messages that are displayed on a scr…