Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
25 results found in blindness.
- Abacus (Cranmer Abacus, Counting Frame)
- A manual calculating tool consisting of a frame with rods and movable beads used for arithmetic operations. For visually impaired users, adapted versions like the Cranmer abacus feature beads that sta…
- Beep Baseball (Beepball)
- An adapted version of baseball designed for players who are blind or visually impaired. The game uses an oversized softball containing electronic beepers that emit sound, and bases that buzz when acti…
- Blind Hockey (Visually Impaired Hockey, VI Hockey)
- An adapted form of ice hockey designed for players who are blind or have low vision. The sport uses a larger, oversized puck containing ball bearings that rattle when the puck moves, allowing players …
- Blind Navigation (Non-visual navigation, Navigation for blind people)
- The subfield of navigation research and assistive technology that addresses how people who are blind or have low vision find their way through indoor and outdoor environments without relying on sight.…
- Blind Photography (Photography by Blind People)
- The practice of photography by individuals who are blind or have low vision, challenging assumptions that photography is an exclusively visual medium. Blind photographers use a range of strategies inc…
- Braille (Braille System, Braille Code)
- A tactile writing system used by people who are blind or have low vision, consisting of patterns of raised dots arranged in cells of up to six dots in a 3x2 configuration. Each cell represents a lette…
- Braille Music (Braille Music Notation, Music Braille)
- A tactile system for encoding Western music notation using the same six-dot cells as literary Braille. Braille Music is read through touch rather than sight, making it particularly useful for blind mu…
- Code Navigation (Code Browsing, Codebase Navigation)
- Code navigation refers to the process of moving through, understanding, and locating specific elements within a software codebase. For sighted developers, this is supported by visual cues such as synt…
- Early Blind (Congenitally Blind, Early Onset Blindness)
- A person who was born blind or lost their vision before approximately age 5-7, before visual memories and spatial concepts based on vision were fully established. Early blind individuals develop spati…
- Goalball
- A Paralympic team sport specifically designed for athletes with visual impairments. Two teams of three players attempt to roll a ball containing internal bells into the opposing team's goal while defe…
- Incidental Learning (Observational Learning, Informal Learning)
- Knowledge and skills acquired without deliberate instruction, typically through casual observation of the environment and other people. An estimated 80% of early childhood learning occurs incidentally…
- Late Blind (Adventitiously Blind, Acquired Blindness)
- A person who lost their vision later in life, typically after age 5-7 when visual memories and concepts have been established. Late blind individuals often retain visual memories and may use these to …
- National Library Service (NLS, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled)
- A program of the Library of Congress in the United States that provides Braille and audio materials to eligible borrowers who are blind, have low vision, or have physical disabilities that prevent the…
- Obstacle Avoidance (Obstacle Detection)
- The ability to detect and navigate around physical barriers in one's path, a critical mobility skill for blind and visually impaired people. Traditional obstacle avoidance relies on long cane techniqu…
- RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People, Royal National Institute for the Blind)
- The largest charity supporting blind and partially sighted people in the United Kingdom, providing services including accessible format transcription, assistive technology advice, employment support, …
- Refreshable Braille Display (Braille Display, Braille Terminal, Refreshable Tactile Display, RBD)
- An electromechanical device that renders Braille characters by raising and lowering small pins through a flat surface, allowing blind users to read digital text output by touch. These devices connect …
- Shorelining (Trailing)
- An orientation and mobility technique in which a person with a visual impairment follows a consistent surface edge — such as a wall, curb, edge of a sidewalk, or other contrasting surface — to maintai…
- Sighted People Interference (Sighted Interference)
- A social barrier experienced by blind and visually impaired people when sighted individuals's reactions, interventions, or presence impede their independent activities in public spaces. This can inclu…
- Smart Cane (Electronic Cane, Intelligent Cane)
- An enhanced version of the traditional white cane that incorporates electronic sensors — typically ultrasonic or infrared — to detect obstacles beyond the range of physical contact, providing haptic o…
- Social Attention (Social Orienting)
- The set of behaviours, motivations, and perceptual processes involved in directing and coordinating attention toward other people during social interaction. Social attention includes orienting toward …