Literature Reviews

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

• Overcoming Speech Barriers: Non-Verbal Voice Cue Interaction Technique for Enhancing Smart Voice Assistant Accessibility for Individuals with Dysarthria

  Aisha Jaddoh, Fernando Loizides, Khadijah Alreafai, Omer Rana (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study presents DARIA (DysARthrIA), a novel smart voice assistant interaction system that uses non-verbal voice cues instead of spoken words and sentences. The system addresses a critical accessibility gap: commercial voice assistants like Alexa …

  • dysarthria
  • speech impairment
  • voice assistants
  • smart speakers
  • non-verbal interaction
  • assistive technology
  • speech recognition
  • ability-based design

• Bridging the Digital Divide: Enhancing Digital Inclusion of Blind or Partially Sighted and Deaf or Hard of Hearing Individuals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries through Smartphones as Assistive Technology

  Maryam Bandukda, Mary Caroline Yuk, Giulia Barbareschi, Laxmi Gunupudi, Vinicius Ramos, Amit Prakash, Satish Mishra, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway (2026) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This multi-country study evaluates a two-day scaffolded digital skills training intervention designed to improve smartphone proficiency among blind or partially sighted (BPS) and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in Brazil, India, and Kenya. …

  • digital inclusion
  • digital literacy
  • LMIC
  • blind and low vision
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • smartphones
  • assistive technology
  • scaffolding
  • ability-based design
  • digital skills training

• Simulation of Motor Impairment in Head-Controlled Pointer Fitts' Law Task

  Syed Asad Rizvi, Ella Tuson, Breanna Desrochers, John Magee (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This poster paper proposes simulating motor impairments in a head-controlled mouse pointer system (Camera Mouse) to address the challenge that participants with motor impairments are not always available for accessibility research or software develop…

  • motor impairment
  • simulation
  • head tracking
  • alternative input
  • Fitts' law
  • camera mouse
  • usability testing
  • ability-based design
  • pointing devices

• Incorporating Social Factors in Accessible Design

  Kristen Shinohara, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Wanda Pratt (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper investigates how professional designers can incorporate social factors into accessible design using Design for Social Accessibility (DSA), a framework developed in prior work by Shinohara and Wobbrock. The core premise is that accessible d…

  • design methodology
  • social accessibility
  • inclusive design
  • user-centered design
  • visual impairment
  • design workshops
  • participatory design
  • stigma
  • ability-based design

• HowToApp: Supporting Life Skills Development of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

  Andrew A. Bayor (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This student research abstract describes the co-design and preliminary evaluation of HowToApp, a mobile application that helps young adults with intellectual disability (ID) search for, watch, archive, and share YouTube videos related to their person…

  • intellectual disability
  • co-design
  • social media
  • YouTube
  • skills development
  • ability-based design
  • digital inclusion
  • self-determination
  • cognitive accessibility

• Perception and Adoption of Mobile Accessibility Features by Older Adults Experiencing Ability Changes

  Rachel L. Franz, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Yi Cheng, Leah Findlater (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents the first empirical study exploring how older adults experiencing progressive ability changes perceive and adopt built-in mobile accessibility features on smartphones and tablets. The researchers conducted interviews with 14 older…

  • aging
  • older adults
  • mobile accessibility
  • ability-based design
  • accessibility features
  • technology adoption
  • progressive disability
  • digital inclusion
  • stigma
  • touchscreen accessibility

• Understanding Barriers and Design Opportunities to Improve Healthcare and QOL for Older Adults through Voice Assistants

  Chen Chen, Janet G. Johnson, Kemeberly Charles, Alice Lee, Ella T. Lifset, Michael Hogarth, Alison A. Moore, Emilia Farcas, Nadir Weibel (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates the barriers older adults face when managing their healthcare and daily routines, and explores how voice-based Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) might address those challenges. The researchers employed a user-centered desi…

  • voice assistants
  • older adults
  • healthcare
  • intelligent virtual assistants
  • gerontechnology
  • user experience design
  • ability-based design
  • patient portals
  • qualitative research

• Lost in Translation: Challenges and Barriers to Sign Language-Accessible User Research

  Amelie Unger, Dieter P. Wallach, Nicole Jochems (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This experience report describes the challenges hearing researchers face when conducting user research with sign language (SL) users, based on the authors' experience running remote focus groups with German Sign Language (GSL) users as part of the AV…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language
  • user research
  • focus groups
  • language accessibility
  • ability-based design
  • research methods
  • German Sign Language
  • inclusion

• Quantifying Touch: New Metrics for Characterizing What Happens During a Touch

  Junhan Kong, Mingyuan Zhong, James Fogarty, Jacob O. Wobbrock (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper formalizes 15 target-agnostic metrics for characterizing what happens during a touch interaction on a touchscreen, moving beyond the traditional approach of treating touches as simple (x, y) coordinate events. The key insight is that touch…

  • touch input
  • motor accessibility
  • human performance
  • touch metrics
  • fine motor function
  • touchscreen accessibility
  • ability-based design

• Personalized Wearable Interactions with WearSkill

  Ovidiu-Andrei Schipor, Laura-Bianca Bilius, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean, Alexandru-Ionut Siean, Alexandru-Tudor Andrei, Radu-Daniel Vatavu (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents WearSkill, a web-based middleware application that enables people with upper-body motor impairments to control connected smart home devices through personalised wearable interactions. The system addresses a significant…

  • wearable technology
  • motor impairment
  • personalization
  • smart home
  • gesture input
  • assistive technology
  • middleware
  • ability-based design