Literature Reviews

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

• Intelligent Assistive Communication and the Web as a Social Medium

  Karl Wiegand (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This short paper presents doctoral research on applying natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to improve augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, with a particular focus on enabling web-based social interaction for p…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • AAC
  • natural language processing
  • machine learning
  • social media accessibility
  • brain-computer interface
  • speech impairment
  • icon-based communication

• Voice Creator: Giving Customized Voice to the Voiceless for Online Communication

  Hyeon Jeong Byeon (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This extended abstract presents Voice Creator, a web-based prototype that allows people with speech or hearing impairments to create customized synthetic voices for online communication. The work is motivated by research showing that voice-based comm…

  • speech synthesis
  • voice customization
  • speech impairment
  • hearing impairment
  • computer-mediated communication
  • text-to-speech
  • AAC

• One Does Not Simply 'Mm-hmm': Exploring Backchanneling in the AAC Micro-Culture

  Tobias M Weinberg, Claire O'Connor, Ricardo E. Gonzalez Penuela, Stephanie Valencia, Thijs Roumen (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores how users of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technology engage in backchanneling—the subtle verbal and non-verbal signals (like "uh-huh," nods, and facial expressions) that listeners use to show engagement, signal…

  • AAC
  • backchanneling
  • non-verbal communication
  • micro-culture
  • listener feedback
  • speech impairment
  • motor impairment
  • co-design
  • conversational agency
  • expressive communication