Literature Reviews
Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.
21 results found tagged ableism.
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Deinstitutionalizing Independence: Discourses of Disability and Housing in Accessible Computing
This paper uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine how the history of institutionalization and deinstitutionalization in the United States shapes contemporary Accessible Computing (AC) research focused on domestic spaces. The authors analyz…
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Understanding Disability Services Toward Improving Graduate Student Support
While approximately 19.5% of U.S. undergraduate students have disabilities, only about 7% of graduate students self-identify as disabled, and just 5.5% of computing doctorate recipients report disabilities. This steep drop-off suggests systemic barri…
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Accept or Address? Researchers' Perspectives on Response Bias in Accessibility Research
Response bias — the tendency for participant responses to be skewed by factors beyond the actual research questions — is a concern in all human-subjects research, but it takes on unique dimensions in accessibility research. Ming et al. conducted semi…
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"That's in the eye of the beholder": Layers of Interpretation in Image Descriptions for Fictional Representations of People with Disabilities
This paper investigates how to create accurate and sensitive image descriptions for fictional representations of people with disabilities — a challenge that arises when real subjects cannot be consulted about their preferred identity terminology. The…
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Nothing Micro About It: Examining Ableist Microaggressions on Social Media
This paper presents the first study examining how disabled people experience ableist microaggressions specifically on social media. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 participants with various disabilities — including physic…
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Assistive or Artistic Technologies? Exploring the Connections between Art, Disability and Wheelchair Use
This paper explores the reciprocal influences between art, disability, and assistive technology use through semi-structured interviews with 17 artists who use wheelchairs for mobility. Participants spanned diverse artistic disciplines — dance (7), mu…
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Understanding Digital Content Creation Needs of Blind and Low Vision People
This mixed-method study investigates the digital content creation needs, interests, and experiences of blind and low vision (BLV) people through a large-scale survey (N=165) and follow-up interviews (N=15). The research addresses a gap in accessibili…
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Examining and Mitigating Ability-bias in LLMs via Self-Reflection
This short paper investigates ability bias in large language models — the tendency of LLMs to encode and perpetuate stereotypical or discriminatory associations about people with disabilities. Using the Bias Benchmarking Questionnaire (BBQ) dataset, …
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The Fears, The Hopes, The Oscillations: A Critical Analysis of Tech Startups Targeting Autism
This paper employs thematic and critical discourse analysis to examine the websites of 38 autism tech startups founded in the U.S. since 2012, investigating how these companies construct problems, users, and technological legitimacy through their mar…
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Designing Through Lived Experience: Reflections on Control, Embodiment, and Social Bias in Accessibility Research
This paper presents an analytic autoethnography of three accessibility research projects led by the first author, Atieh Taheri, a disabled researcher with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) who has used a wheelchair her entire life. Each project emerged f…