Literature Reviews

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

• Understanding the Challenges Faced by Neurodiverse Software Engineering Employees

  Meredith Ringel Morris, Andrew Begel, Ben Wiedermann (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents pioneering research into the workplace experiences of neurodiverse software developers, combining qualitative interviews with quantitative survey data. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 neurodiverse indi…

  • neurodiversity
  • autism spectrum
  • ADHD
  • dyslexia
  • workplace accessibility
  • software engineering
  • employment
  • accommodation

• CymaSense: A Novel Audio-Visual Therapeutic Tool for People on the Autism Spectrum

  John McGowan, Grégory Leplâtre, Iain McGregor (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents CymaSense, an interactive multimodal tool that generates real-time 3D visual representations of sound based on Cymatics — the study of visible patterns created by sound vibrations in physical media like water or metal plates. The …

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • music therapy
  • assistive technology
  • multimodal interaction
  • sensory processing
  • tangible interaction
  • audio-visual
  • communication
  • neurodiversity

• Digital Strategies for Supporting Strengths- and Interests-based Learning with Children with Autism

  Cara Wilson, Margot Brereton, Bernd Ploderer, Laurianne Sitbon, Beth Saggers (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates how an open-ended audio-visual calendaring app called MeCalendar was appropriated by children with autism and their teachers in classroom settings, shifting the focus from deficit-remediation to strengths- and interests-based …

  • autism
  • educational technology
  • children
  • strengths-based approach
  • self-determination
  • participatory design
  • inclusive design
  • classroom technology
  • self-expression
  • neurodiversity

• From Behavioral and Communication Intervention to Interaction Design: User Perspectives from Clinicians

  Yao Du, LouAnne Boyd, Seray Ibrahim (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This experience report from three clinicians-turned-researchers (a board certified behavior analyst from the US, and two speech and language therapists from the UK and US) reflects on the gap between clinical practice with neurodiverse children and H…

  • AAC
  • autism
  • children
  • behavioral intervention
  • speech and language therapy
  • neurodiversity
  • clinician perspectives
  • assistive technology design
  • sensory processing

• Adult Autism Research Priorities and Conceptualization in Computing Research: Invitation to Co-lead with Autistic Adults

  Dafne Zuleima Morgado Ramirez, Giulia Barbareschi, Cathy Holloway (2024) — ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

  This extensive literature review critically examines computing research involving autistic adults, analyzing 44 papers from the ACM Guide to Computing Literature published between 2007 and 2022. The work is distinctive in that the first author is aut…

  • autism
  • neurodiversity
  • adult autism
  • research priorities
  • disability models
  • double empathy problem
  • participatory research
  • ableism
  • critical disability studies
  • identity-first language

• Prefigurative Politics and Passionate Witnessing

  Rua M. Williams, LouAnne E. Boyd (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This experience report traces the unlikely partnership between two researchers — Rua Williams, an autistic disability studies scholar and activist, and LouAnne Boyd, a former behaviour therapist turned HCI researcher — whose work initially placed the…

  • critical disability studies
  • autism
  • research ethics
  • disability justice
  • participatory design
  • research methodology
  • ableism
  • neurodiversity
  • reflexivity

• Lessons Learned in Designing AI for Autistic Adults

  Andrew Begel, John Tang, Sean Andrist, Michael Barnett, Tony Carbary, Piali Choudhury, Edward Cutrell, Alberto Fung, Sasa Junuzovic, Daniel McDuff, Kael Rowan, Shibashankar Sahoo, Jennifer Frances Waldern, Jessica Wolk, Hui Zheng, Annuska Zolyomi (2020) — ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This short paper from Microsoft Research presents a candid account of a design failure and the valuable lessons it produced. The team set out to build Video Calling for Autism (VC4A), a video calling application with an "Expressiveness Mirror" that u…

  • autism
  • artificial intelligence
  • emotion recognition
  • video calling
  • participatory design
  • Wizard of Oz
  • neurodiversity
  • facial expression

• WLA4ND: a Wearable Dataset of Learning Activities for Young Adults with Neurodiversity to Provide Support in Education

  Hui Zheng, Pattiya Mahapasuthanon, Yujing Chen, Huzefa Rangwala, Anya S Evmenova, Vivian Genaro Motti (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This paper introduces WLA4ND (Wearable Learning Activities for Neurodiversity), the first wearable sensor dataset of learning activities collected from young adults with neurodiversity. While existing wearable sensor datasets focus on fitness, daily …

  • neurodiversity
  • wearable technology
  • machine learning
  • activity recognition
  • inclusive education
  • datasets
  • smartwatch
  • ADHD
  • autism
  • intellectual disability
  • Down syndrome

• LaMPost: Design and Evaluation of an AI-assisted Email Writing Prototype for Adults with Dyslexia

  Steven M. Goodman, Erin Buehler, Patrick Clary, Andy Coenen, Aaron Donsbach, Tiffanie N. Horne, Michal Lahav, Robert MacDonald, Rain Breaw Michaels, Ajit Narayanan, Mahima Pushkarna, Joel Riley, Alex Santana, Lei Shi, Rachel Sweeney, Phil Weaver, Ann Yuan, Meredith Ringel Morris (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper introduces LaMPost, a prototype email-writing interface powered by Google's LaMDA large language model, designed to support adults with dyslexia through AI-assisted writing features. The research team, which included members with lived exp…

  • dyslexia
  • large language models
  • AI writing support
  • email
  • writing challenges
  • human-AI interaction
  • neurodiversity
  • text generation
  • accessibility tools

• Exploring Collective Medical Knowledge and Tensions in Online ADHD Communities

  Tessa Eagle (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a dissertation investigating how online ADHD communities on social media platforms serve as digitally-mediated support systems for neurodivergent individuals. The author, a neurodivergent HCI researcher at UC S…

  • ADHD
  • neurodiversity
  • online communities
  • digital mental health
  • social media
  • psychosocial disability
  • techno-solutionism
  • critical disability theory
  • peer support