Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
259 results found in cognitive accessibility.
- Processing Speed (Information Processing Speed, Cognitive Processing Speed)
- A cognitive ability referring to how quickly a person can perceive, process, and respond to information. Processing speed affects how rapidly someone can read, understand instructions, react to stimul…
- Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD, Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities, PIMD)
- Profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) refers to a combination of profound intellectual disability with additional physical, sensory, or health impairments that together create extremely c…
- Progress Tracking (Progress Indication, Progress Visualization)
- The use of visual or auditory indicators to show how far a user has advanced through a task, document, or process. In cognitive accessibility, progress tracking serves multiple functions: it provides …
- Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness)
- A neurological condition characterised by the inability to recognise familiar faces, despite otherwise intact visual and cognitive abilities. People with prosopagnosia may fail to recognise family mem…
- Prospective Memory
- The ability to remember to carry out intended actions in the future, such as taking medication at a specific time, attending an appointment, or completing a task when a particular cue arises. Prospect…
- Proxy (Support Person, Intermediary User)
- In accessibility contexts, a person who assists someone with a disability in using technology or accessing services. Proxies may include family members, caregivers, support workers, or friends who hel…
- Readability (Text Readability)
- The ease with which written text can be read and understood, determined by factors including vocabulary complexity, sentence length, grammatical structure, and text organisation. Readability is distin…
- Reading Assistance (Reading Assistance Technology, Reading Support Tools)
- Reading assistance refers to technologies and strategies that help people understand written text more easily. This includes tools like text-to-speech, automatic text simplification, screen readers, r…
- Reminiscence (Reminiscing, Life Review)
- The process of recalling and sharing past experiences, often prompted by sensory cues like photographs, music, or familiar objects. For people with dementia, reminiscence can be more accessible than d…
- Reminiscence Therapy (Reminiscence-Based Therapy, Life Review Therapy)
- A non-pharmacological therapeutic approach for people with dementia that uses artifacts, photographs, music, and other personally meaningful materials to stimulate recall of past experiences and promp…
- Resilience (Psychological resilience, Dementia resilience)
- Resilience refers to the dynamic capacity of an individual to adapt positively in the face of adversity and to maintain or recover a satisfactory level of psychological and functional well-being. In t…
- Response Bias (Acquiescence Bias, Yea-Saying Bias)
- A systematic tendency for research participants to respond in a particular way regardless of the actual content of the question, distorting data collection and analysis. In accessibility research invo…
- Route Knowledge (Procedural Knowledge, Sequential Knowledge)
- Route knowledge is a type of spatial understanding that consists of sequential, turn-by-turn information about how to get from one place to another along a specific path. In navigation for people with…
- Safe Walking Technology (Safe Walking Aids, Walking Safety Devices)
- Assistive technologies designed to help people with cognitive impairments, particularly dementia, walk safely outdoors. These devices typically combine GPS tracking, navigation assistance, fall detect…
- Sans-Serif Font (sans serif, grotesque font)
- A typeface that lacks the small projecting lines (serifs) at the ends of letter strokes. Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana are generally recommended for screen readability and are of…
- Scaffolding (Instructional Scaffolding, Cognitive Scaffolding)
- A support strategy that provides temporary, structured assistance to help a learner accomplish tasks they cannot yet perform independently. In digital accessibility, scaffolding can take the form of p…
- Schema (Script, Mental Schema, Cognitive Schema)
- A cognitive framework or mental model that organises knowledge about a typical sequence of events in a familiar situation. In accessibility and AAC design, schemas are used to structure interfaces so …
- Schizophrenia (Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders)
- A chronic psychiatric condition characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, emotion, and behavior, including symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, reduced emotio…
- Selective Attention (Focused Attention)
- The cognitive ability to focus on a specific stimulus or task while filtering out irrelevant distractions. In accessibility and inclusive design, understanding selective attention is critical for crea…
- Self-Regulated Learning (SRL, Self-Directed Learning)
- The process by which learners actively manage their own cognition, motivation, and behavior to achieve learning goals. Self-regulated learning involves planning approaches, monitoring comprehension, a…