Literature Reviews

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

• Exploring the Usability of Gaze-based Mobile Communication in Ghana

  Victoria Austin, Gifty Ayoka, Giulia Barbareschi, Richard Cave, Catherine Holloway (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This study evaluates the usability of Look to Speak, a free Android-based eye-gaze AAC application developed by Google Creative Lab, for people with severe communication disabilities in Ghana. The research involved training 10 local speech and langua…

  • augmentative communication
  • AAC
  • eye gaze
  • Global South
  • Ghana
  • smartphone accessibility
  • cerebral palsy
  • communication disability
  • assistive technology ecosystem
  • low-resource setting

• Task Mode: Dynamic Filtering for Task-Specific Web Navigation using LLMs

  Ananya Gubbi Mohanbabu, Yotam Sechayk, Amy Pavel (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents Task Mode, a Chrome browser extension that dynamically filters web content based on user-specified goals using large language models (specifically GPT-4o) to identify and prioritize task-relevant elements while suppressing distrac…

  • web navigation
  • screen reader
  • large language model
  • content filtering
  • task-based browsing
  • browser extension
  • inclusive design
  • web accessibility
  • GPT-4o
  • DOM manipulation

• A Review of 25 Years of Human-Computer Interaction Research on Reading Support Technologies for People with Disabilities Published in the ACM Digital Library

  Oliver Alonzo, Saad Hassan (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This systematic literature review analyzes 101 HCI publications from ACM venues spanning 2000 to 2024 that focus on reading support technologies for people with disabilities. The authors developed a comprehensive coding rubric covering publication me…

  • systematic literature review
  • reading support
  • reading disability
  • dyslexia
  • blind or low vision
  • deaf or hard of hearing
  • intellectual disability
  • cognitive disability
  • text simplification
  • readability
  • reading comprehension
  • braille literacy
  • assistive technology
  • web accessibility

• Temp access: Reflecting on multimodal GAI as an accessibility technology for temporary disability

  Kate S. Glazko (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents an autoethnographic account of using multimodal generative AI (GAI) tools as accessibility technology during a period of temporary disability. The author, an accessibility researcher, experienced an illness that simultaneously imp…

  • generative AI
  • temporary disability
  • assistive technology
  • autoethnography
  • multimodal AI
  • communication access
  • disability identity
  • technology adoption
  • AI ethics

• Enhancing Accessibility in Webtoons: Investigating Audio Effect Placement Strategies for Visually Impaired Users

  Heewon Lee, Juwon Cheong, Minsung Kim, Jia Kim, Hyunjung Kim (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This extended abstract investigates how the timing of audio effect (AE) placement—before, during (overlapping), or after narration—affects the user experience of audio-described webtoons for visually impaired users. Webtoons are Korean-originated ver…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • audio description
  • webtoons
  • digital comics
  • sound design
  • immersion
  • user experience
  • media accessibility

• Designing Accessible Calendar Tools for Blind and Low-Vision Users

  Mahmut Erdemli (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This extended abstract investigates the accessibility challenges blind and low vision (BLV) users face with calendar applications and explores how voice-activated personal assistants (VAPAs) like Siri and Alexa can enhance calendar usability. The stu…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • calendar accessibility
  • voice assistants
  • co-design
  • screen readers
  • multimodal interaction
  • workplace accessibility

• Surfacing Variations to Calibrate Perceived Reliability of MLLM-generated Image Descriptions

  Meng Chen, Akhil Iyer, Amy Pavel (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper addresses a critical safety problem in AI-powered visual access technology: multimodal large language models (MLLMs) like GPT-4o, Gemini, and Claude produce fluent, confident image descriptions that can contain fabricated content, misinter…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • image descriptions
  • multimodal AI
  • large language models
  • AI reliability
  • trust calibration
  • screen readers
  • visual access technology

• A Low-Fidelity Prototyping Method for Blind Users: A Case Study on Designing Two-Dimensional Tactile Displays

  Sara Alzalabny, Karin Müller, Kathrin Gerling, Thorsten Schwarz, Bastian Rapp, Rainer Stiefelhagen (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper addresses the fundamental problem that design workshops—a key method for involving end users in technology development—are largely inaccessible to blind people due to their reliance on visual methods like sketching, storyboarding, and visu…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • prototyping
  • co-design
  • tactile display
  • design workshops
  • assistive technology design
  • participatory design
  • haptic interaction

• Understanding Accessibility for Physically Disabled Users in VR: Interplay of Physical, Digital, and Experiential Layers

  Marvin Wolf, Kathrin Gerling, Dmitry Alexandrovsky, Merlin Steven Opp, Jan Ole Rixen (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a qualitative study with 16 physically disabled participants exploring how they engage with Virtual Reality across three interconnected layers: physical (hardware and interaction paradigms), digital (avatars and virtual world desi…

  • virtual reality
  • physical disability
  • VR accessibility
  • avatar design
  • interaction paradigms
  • social VR
  • VR gaming
  • embodiment
  • qualitative research

• "As Someone Who is Disabled, I am so thankful for Sex Work": Alternative Approaches to Access Among Disabled Sex-Workers

  Abigail Rodolitz, Vaughn Hamilton, Tamanna Tabassum, Jinny Lerner, Megan Hofmann (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates the access strategies developed by disabled sex workers, a population at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Through 12 semi-structured interviews with disabled individuals engaged in various forms of sex wor…

  • disability disclosure
  • intersectionality
  • marginalized communities
  • sex work
  • systems of access
  • harm reduction
  • adversarial stakeholders
  • qualitative research
  • disability employment
  • assistive strategies