Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
148 results found in disability studies.
- Critical Disability Theory (Critical Disability Studies, CDT)
- An interdisciplinary theoretical framework that examines disability as a social, political, and cultural phenomenon rather than solely a medical condition. Critical disability theory draws on disabili…
- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
- An interdisciplinary research methodology that examines how language and texts both reflect and shape power structures, ideologies, and social practices. Originating from the work of Michel Foucault, …
- Critical Race Theory (CRT)
- Critical Race Theory is a scholarly framework originating in legal studies that examines how laws, policies, and institutions perpetuate racial inequality, even in the absence of overt individual raci…
- Cross-Disability Solidarity (Cross-Disability Alliance, Disability Solidarity)
- A framework for collective action in which people with different types of disabilities unite around shared goals of access, inclusion, and justice rather than organizing solely around specific disabil…
- Cultural Model of Disability
- An extension of disability models that accounts for the multitude of cultural meanings embedded in disability across different societies and communities. The cultural model recognizes that disability …
- Culturally-Situated Design (Culturally-Embedded Design, Culturally-Responsive Design)
- An approach to technology design that treats culture — including national identity, religion, ethnicity, language, geo-politics, and community traditions — as central to user needs and design decision…
- Cumulative Marginality (Stacked Stressors, Intersecting Disadvantage)
- The compounding effect of multiple marginalizing factors—such as disability, low income, first-generation student status, racial minority status, or caregiving responsibilities—that together create gr…
- Cyborg Theory (Cyborg Manifesto)
- A theoretical lens originating in Donna Haraway’s 1985 "A Cyborg Manifesto" that views technology as an integrated extension of human cognitive and bodily capabilities rather than as a separate tool. …
- 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…
- Deaf Gain
- A reframing concept that positions Deafness not as a loss (hearing loss) but as a gain — emphasizing the unique contributions, perspectives, and capabilities that Deaf individuals and Deaf culture bri…
- Deafhood
- A concept introduced by Paddy Ladd that reframes Deaf identity as a process of becoming and self-actualization rather than a medical condition to be fixed. Deafhood emphasizes the possibilities and ri…
- Deficit Narrative (Deficit-Based Framing, Deficit Model)
- A framing approach that characterizes disability or neurodivergence primarily in terms of what individuals lack, cannot do, or do poorly compared to a non-disabled norm. Deficit narratives are embedde…
- Deficit-Oriented Research (Deficit Model, Deficit-Based Approach)
- A research approach that frames its subjects primarily in terms of what they lack, cannot do, or need to have fixed, rather than recognizing their strengths, agency, and lived expertise. In disability…
- Deinstitutionalisation (Deinstitutionalization)
- The process of transitioning people with disabilities — particularly intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions — from large, segregated residential institutions into community-based livin…
- Desexualization (Asexualization)
- The social phenomenon in which disabled people are assumed to be uninterested in, incapable of, or undeserving of sexual relationships and intimacy. This manifests as invasive questioning about sexual…
- Design Saviorism
- A problematic dynamic in design practice where nondisabled designers position themselves as rescuers of disabled people, seeking praise while attempting to fix something that is not broken. Design sav…
- Design justice
- A framework that centers the perspectives and leadership of people most affected by design outcomes, challenging traditional design processes that often reinforce existing power structures. Coined and…
- Digital Exclusion (Digital Marginalization)
- The condition in which individuals or groups are unable to access, use, or benefit from digital technologies due to barriers related to disability, socioeconomic status, age, geography, or digital lit…
- DisCrit (Disability Critical Race Studies, Dis/ability Critical Race Studies)
- DisCrit (Disability Critical Race Studies) is a theoretical framework that merges Disability Studies with Critical Race Theory to analyze how racism and ableism are interdependent systems that work to…
- Disability Community (Disabled Community)
- A group of people connected by shared experiences of disability who may share culture, identity, advocacy goals, and mutual support networks. Disability communities can be organized around specific co…