Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
259 results found in cognitive accessibility.
- Stimulus Over-Selectivity (Over-Selective Attention, Tunnel Vision Attention)
- A phenomenon where an individual attends to a limited subset of available stimuli while ignoring other relevant cues in their environment. Stimulus over-selectivity is commonly observed in autistic in…
- Stimulus Overselectivity (Tunnel Vision, Attentional Overselectivity)
- A phenomenon observed in some individuals with autism where attention is focused on a limited subset of available sensory information while other relevant stimuli are neglected. Sometimes described as…
- Stress Process Model (Pearlin Stress Process Model)
- A theoretical framework developed by Leonard Pearlin and colleagues (1981) that describes how stressors, mediators, and outcomes interact dynamically over time to shape psychological wellbeing. In car…
- Survey Knowledge (Configurational Knowledge, Map-like Knowledge)
- Survey knowledge is a type of spatial understanding that provides an overview or mental map of an environment, including the relationships between landmarks, streets, and points of interest. Unlike ro…
- Sustained Attention (Vigilance, Continuous Attention)
- The ability to maintain focus on a task or stimulus over an extended period of time. Sustained attention is a core executive function that can be impaired in conditions such as ADHD, traumatic brain i…
- Talking Mats
- A visual communication framework that uses a textured mat and sets of picture symbols to help people express their views on topics that matter to them. Developed at the University of Stirling, Talking…
- Task Decomposition (Task Breakdown, Chunking Tasks)
- The process of breaking a large, complex, or overwhelming task into smaller, manageable steps that can be completed sequentially. Task decomposition is a critical cognitive accessibility strategy for …
- Task Initiation (Task Starting, Getting Started)
- The executive function skill of beginning a task or activity, particularly when the task is complex, unstructured, or perceived as uninteresting. Task initiation is a common area of difficulty for peo…
- Task Switching (Context Switching, Task-Switching Cost)
- The cognitive process of shifting attention from one task to another, which incurs a measurable performance cost in terms of time, accuracy, and mental effort. For individuals with ADHD and other cond…
- Temporal Agency
- The degree of control a viewer has over the timing and pace of media content consumption. In accessibility contexts, temporal agency refers to the ability to slow down, pause, rewind, or otherwise adj…
- Text Complexity (Linguistic complexity, Text difficulty)
- The degree to which a piece of writing demands advanced reading skills to comprehend, driven by factors such as vocabulary frequency, syntactic structure, sentence length, passage organisation, and ba…
- Text Customization (User Text Preferences, Text Personalization)
- The ability for users to adjust the visual presentation of text content to suit their individual reading needs, including modifying font size, typeface, line spacing, letter spacing, color contrast, a…
- Text Simplification (Automatic Text Simplification, Content Simplification)
- The process of transforming complex written text into simpler, more understandable versions while preserving the essential meaning. Text simplification can be performed manually by content authors fol…
- Theory of Mind (ToM, Mentalizing, Mind Reading)
- The cognitive ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intentions, desires, emotions, knowledge—to oneself and others, and to understand that others may have mental states different from one's own.…
- Time Agnosia (Time Blindness)
- Difficulty accurately perceiving the passage of time, common in ADHD and often manifesting as losing track of hours while scrolling, underestimating how long tasks take, or chronic lateness. The ADHD …
- Time Management
- The ability to plan and control how time is allocated to specific activities. In the context of accessibility and assistive technology, time management support helps individuals with cognitive impairm…
- Training Wheels Interface (Training Wheels, Progressive Disclosure)
- An interface design pattern that reduces complexity for novice users by hiding or disabling advanced features until they are needed, then gradually revealing them as the user gains competence. Named a…
- Trauma-Informed Care (TIC, Trauma-Informed Approach)
- A framework originating in social work practice that asks organisations and service providers to recognise the widespread impact of trauma on the people they serve and to integrate that understanding …
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI, Acquired Brain Injury, Head Injury)
- An injury to the brain caused by an external bodily force, typically from road traffic accidents, falls, or other impacts. TBI severity is classified using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS): mild (GCS 13-1…
- Trouble-Indicating Behavior (TIB, Trouble Source-Repair)
- Verbal or nonverbal behaviors that signal confusion, misunderstanding, or difficulty in communication. In research on dementia and human-robot interaction, TIBs are categorized into types including: r…