Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

6660 terms — page 284 of 333

Symbol Communication (Symbol-Supported Communication)
The use of graphic symbols — pictograms, ideograms, line drawings, or photographs — alongside or in place of text to convey meaning. Symbol communication supports people who cannot rely on spoken or w…
Symbol Selection Set (Symbol Board, Communication Board)
A structured collection of graphic symbols, words, or phrases arranged in a grid or other layout for use in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Users select symbols to compose messages, …
Symbol-Based Communication (Picture-Based Communication, Graphic Symbol Communication)
A form of augmentative communication that uses visual symbols — including pictures, photographs, line drawings, or icons — to represent words, concepts, or messages. Symbol-based communication is part…
Symbol-based AAC (Picture-based AAC, Pictographic AAC, Picture Communication Symbols)
Symbol-based AAC refers to augmentative and alternative communication systems whose vocabulary is represented by graphic symbols, line drawings, photographs, or pictograms rather than (or alongside) w…
Symbolic Communication (Symbol-Based Communication)
Communication that uses symbols — including spoken words, written text, manual signs, pictures, or graphic icons — to represent meanings, objects, actions, or concepts. Developing symbolic communicati…
Symbolic Interactionism (SI)
A sociological tradition, associated with Herbert Blumer and the Chicago School following George Herbert Mead, that understands social reality as constructed through ongoing interaction: people act to…
Symbrachydactyly
A rare congenital condition in which a child is born with abnormally short fingers that may be webbed, misshapen, or missing. The name combines "sym" (joined), "brachy" (short), and "dactyly" (finger)…
Symptom Fluctuation (Fluctuating Symptoms, Variable Symptoms, Good Days and Bad Days)
The variation in symptom severity that people with chronic conditions or disabilities experience over time—sometimes within a single day. Symptom fluctuation means that a person's abilities and access…
Symptom Tracking (Symptom Monitoring, Symptom Logging)
The systematic recording of mental health symptoms, behaviors, triggers, and associated contexts over time to build self-awareness, identify patterns, and measure treatment progress. For OCD, symptom …
Synaesthesia (Synesthesia)
Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which a stimulus in one sensory modality automatically and involuntarily triggers an additional experience in a different modality or sub-modality - for exam…
Synchronous Communication (Real-Time Communication, Live Communication)
Communication that occurs in real time, requiring all participants to be present simultaneously. In digital contexts, this includes video conferencing, live chat, instant messaging, and real-time coll…
Syntactic Accessibility (Technical Accessibility)
The dimension of web accessibility concerned with the correctness of code sent to the browser and assistive technologies. Syntactic accessibility focuses on whether HTML markup, ARIA attributes, and o…
Syntactic NMS (Syntactic Non-Manual Sign)
Non-manual signs that define sentence types and grammatical structure in sign languages. In ASL, syntactic NMS include raised eyebrows for Yes/No questions, furrowed brows and forward head tilt for WH…
Syntactic Parse Tree (Parse Tree, Syntactic Tree)
A tree-shaped data structure that represents the grammatical structure of a sentence according to a formal grammar. Internal nodes correspond to phrases (noun phrase, verb phrase, clause, sentence) an…
Syntactic Simplification (Sentence Simplification)
A form of text simplification that restructures complex sentences into simpler grammatical forms, such as splitting compound sentences, converting passive voice to active voice, or resolving relative …
Syntactic Structure (Program Structure, Code Structure)
The hierarchical arrangement of elements in a programming language according to the language's grammar rules, including how statements, expressions, and blocks are nested and related to one another. I…
Syntax Highlighting (Code Highlighting, Syntax Coloring)
A feature of text editors and IDEs that displays source code in different colors and fonts based on the category of terms—keywords, variables, strings, comments, and operators are visually distinguish…
Syntax-Directed Editor (Structure Editor, Syntax-Aware Editor)
A code editor that understands the formal grammar of a programming language and uses this knowledge to guide editing operations. Unlike plain text editors, syntax-directed editors treat source code as…
Synthesized Speech (Synthetic Speech, Speech Synthesis, TTS Output)
Computer-generated speech produced by text-to-speech (TTS) engines that convert written text into spoken audio output. Synthesized speech is the primary means by which screen readers convey on-screen …
Synthesized Video Description (TTS Video Description, Text-to-Speech Description, Synthesized Audio Description)
An audio description for video content that is generated using text-to-speech (TTS) technology rather than recorded by a human narrator. A describer writes a text script describing the visual elements…