Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
26 results found in sensory accessibility.
- 3D Printed Model (3D Print, Additive Manufacturing Model)
- A physical object created through additive manufacturing (layer-by-layer material deposition) that can serve as an accessible learning tool for blind and low vision users. 3D printing enables rapid, c…
- Auditory Filtering (Selective Listening, Cocktail Party Effect)
- The neurological ability to selectively attend to specific sounds while suppressing or ignoring background noise. Many autistic individuals and people with sensory processing differences experience di…
- Blind Education (Education for the Blind, Visual Impairment Education)
- Educational practices, methods, and systems designed to provide equitable learning opportunities for students who are blind or have low vision. Blind education encompasses specialized schools for the …
- Blindness (Total Blindness, Visual Blindness)
- A condition of having no functional vision or light perception, requiring entirely non-visual means of accessing information and navigating the environment. Blind users typically rely on screen reader…
- Braille Display (Braille Terminal, Refreshable Braille Display)
- An electromechanical device that displays braille characters using small pins that raise and lower dynamically, enabling blind users to read digital text through touch. Traditional braille displays pr…
- Braille Labeling (Braille Labels, Braille Signage)
- The practice of adding braille text to physical objects, signs, models, or controls to make them accessible to blind users who read braille. While braille labeling is important for accessibility in pu…
- Cross-Sensory Translation (Sensory Substitution, Sensory Translation, Cross-Modal Translation)
- The process of converting information from one sensory modality to another — for example, representing visual information through touch, sound, smell, or taste. In exhibition accessibility, cross-sens…
- Deafblind (Deaf-Blind, Deafblindness, Dual Sensory Loss)
- A condition involving combined hearing and vision loss that significantly affects communication, access to information, and mobility. Deafblindness is not simply the sum of deafness and blindness — it…
- Deafblindness (Deaf-Blindness, Dual Sensory Impairment, Combined Vision and Hearing Loss)
- Deafblindness is a combined vision and hearing impairment that creates unique challenges beyond those associated with either sensory loss alone. It is not simply the sum of deafness and blindness — th…
- Haptic Communication (Social Haptics, Tactile Communication, Haptic Interaction)
- A method of conveying information through touch-based signals, vibrations, or physical patterns on the body. Haptic communication is particularly important for individuals with deafblindness or other …
- Haptic Feedback (Tactile Feedback, Touch Feedback)
- Information conveyed through the sense of touch, typically using vibrations, force, or texture changes to communicate data or system states to a user. In accessibility, haptic feedback provides non-vi…
- Low Vision (Partial Sight, Visual Impairment)
- A visual condition in which a person has significant vision loss that cannot be fully corrected with glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery, but retains some usable vision. People with low vi…
- Multi-Sensory Design (Multisensory Experience, Multi-Sensory Accessibility)
- Multi-sensory design is an approach to creating experiences, environments, or products that engage multiple senses—touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight—rather than relying predominantly on vision. …
- Noise Sensitivity (Auditory Hypersensitivity, Hyperacusis, Sound Sensitivity)
- A heightened physiological and emotional response to sounds that others may tolerate without difficulty. Common among autistic individuals and people with other sensory processing differences, noise s…
- Non-Visual Feedback (Non-Visual Output, Alternative Sensory Feedback)
- Any system output or response that does not rely on vision to be perceived, including auditory cues (speech, tones, sonification), haptic feedback (vibrations, force), and tactile output (braille, rai…
- Refreshable Tactile Display (RTD, Refreshable Braille Display, Dynamic Tactile Display)
- An electronic device that presents tactile graphics and content through an array of small pins that can be independently raised or lowered to create dynamic, changeable tactile surfaces. Unlike tradit…
- Sensory Accessibility
- The design of environments, technologies, and experiences to accommodate people with diverse sensory processing needs, including those with heightened or reduced sensitivity to sound, light, touch, sm…
- Sensory Aid (Sensory Assistive Device)
- Assistive technologies that translate sensory inputs into alternative modalities to support people with sensory disabilities in the workplace and daily life. Examples include screen readers (visual to…
- Sensory Impairment (Sensory Disability)
- A broad term encompassing conditions that affect the senses, primarily vision and hearing. Sensory impairments include blindness, low vision, deafness, and being hard of hearing, each presenting disti…
- Sound Masking (Acoustic Masking, Noise Masking)
- A technique that introduces ambient background sounds to reduce the perceptual prominence of unwanted or disruptive noises, rather than blocking them entirely. Originally used in architectural acousti…