Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Deaf Individuals' Views on Speaking Behaviors of Hearing Peers when Using an Automatic Captioning App

  Matthew Seita, Matt Huenerfauth (2020) — Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '20)

  This CHI 2020 Late-Breaking Work paper investigates what behaviors hearing speakers should ideally exhibit when holding in-person conversations with Deaf or deaf people using an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) captioning app on a mobile device. Th…

  • automatic speech recognition
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • captioning
  • captions
  • speaking behavior
  • mobile accessibility
  • communication
  • user research
  • accessibility research

• A Portable Device for the Translation of Braille to Text

  Iain Murray, Andrew Pasquale (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the development of a portable, handheld device that optically scans embossed Braille and translates it into printed text in real time. The device addresses a significant communication barrier: while many blind and vision-impaired …

  • braille
  • optical braille recognition
  • assistive technology
  • visual impairment
  • communication
  • portable device

• We Need to Communicate! Helping Hearing Parents of Deaf Children Learn American Sign Language

  Kimberly A. Weaver, Thad Starner (2011) — The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents interview research with hearing parents of deaf children to understand their motivations, challenges, and needs when learning American Sign Language, informing the design of SMARTSign, a mobile ASL learning application. In the Uni…

  • deaf accessibility
  • sign language
  • educational technology
  • mobile accessibility
  • Deaf Culture
  • language access
  • communication
  • child development

• Involving Clinical Staff in the Design of a Support Tool to Improve Dental Communication for Patients with Intellectual Disabilities

  Rachel Menzies, Daniel Herron, Lesley Scott, Ruth Freeman, Annalu Waller (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper describes a design workshop conducted as part of the "Stories at the Dentist" project, which aims to develop a computer-based support tool to help people with intellectual disabilities (ID) better understand dental procedures. Visit…

  • intellectual disability
  • healthcare accessibility
  • communication
  • user-centered design
  • clinical communication
  • social stories
  • dental care

• UbiBraille: Designing and Evaluating a Vibrotactile Braille-Reading Device

  Hugo Nicolau, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro, Luís Carriço (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '13)

  This paper presents UbiBraille, a wearable vibrotactile device that enables blind users to read textual information privately and inconspicuously by leveraging their existing knowledge of Braille. The device consists of six small vibration motors att…

  • braille
  • vibrotactile
  • wearable technology
  • blind users
  • haptic feedback
  • assistive technology
  • privacy
  • deafblindness
  • communication
  • Arduino
  • text entry

• Motion History to Improve Communication and Switch Access for People with Severe and Multiple Disabilities

  Guang Yang, Mamoru Iwabuchi, Rumi Hirabayashi, Kenryu Nakamura, Kimihiko Taniguchi, Syoudai Sano, Takamitsu Aoki (2014) — Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demo paper presents the application of Motion History — a computer vision technique that visualises a user's movement history as a heat map — to support communication and switch access for people with severe and multiple disabilities. The system…

  • severe disabilities
  • multiple disabilities
  • switch access
  • computer vision
  • Kinect
  • communication
  • AAC
  • intellectual disability
  • children

• Does It Look Beautiful? Communicating Aesthetic Information about Artwork to the Visually Impaired

  Caroline Marie Galbraith (2014) — Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper explores how aesthetic information about visual art is communicated to people who are visually impaired, based on observational data from a study where blind individuals and sighted companions explored an art gallery together on the Univer…

  • visual art
  • museum accessibility
  • blindness
  • image description
  • communication
  • aesthetic experience
  • cultural accessibility

• Evaluation of the Use of Real-time 3D Graphics to Augment Therapeutic Music Sessions for Young People on the Autism Spectrum

  J. J. McGowan, I. McGregor, G. Leplâtre (2021) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  CymaSense is a real-time 3D visualization application based on cymatics—the study of making sound visible through vibration patterns—designed to augment therapeutic music sessions for autistic individuals. The system maps audio parameters to visual e…

  • autism
  • music therapy
  • multi-sensory
  • audio-visual
  • cymatics
  • tangible user interface
  • natural user interface
  • communication

• "I Felt Listened to": Evaluating an AI-Powered Reflection Tool for Care Partners

  Jazette Johnson, Hira Jamshed, Rachael Zuppke, Amanda Leggett, Emily Mower Provost, Robin N. Brewer (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study evaluates CareJournal, an Amazon Alexa skill designed to support communication between older adult care receivers and their family caregivers through AI-assisted daily reflection. The research addresses the challenge of "articulation work"…

  • voice assistants
  • generative AI
  • caregiving
  • older adults
  • reflection
  • communication
  • Amazon Alexa
  • articulation work
  • care relationships

• Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Perspectives on Imperfect Automatic Speech Recognition for Captioning One-on-One Meetings

  Larwan Berke, Christopher Caulfield, Matt Huenerfauth (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper investigates whether and how to display word-level confidence information from Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems in real-time captions for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) users during one-on-one meetings with hearing people. ASR en…

  • deaf accessibility
  • automatic speech recognition
  • captioning
  • communication
  • user research
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • confidence display